(copying and pasting this from my Tumblr, because I've been thinking too much today, and I just want to carry on about it, I guess :P)
I feel like most people think of Brain as the classic embodiment of the “Evil Genius” trope; the narcissistic, self-absorbed maniac who just wants to rule the world because he thinks he’s Hot Shit.
Now, I think Snowball fits this description quite well. But Brain? From what I’ve seen of the boy, he really doesn’t. In fact, he pretty much subverts the trope.
There’s a saying I heard years ago, that goes something like: “People who believe they are nothing want to be everything.” I get that feeling from Brain, a lot. He really gets married to the idea of ruling the world, and reeeeally works himself into a lather about the whole concept every time he tries it. But there are all these momentary falters of confidence that appear, especially right after a failure (obviously). The drive to conquer humanity is a crutch. A facade, through which doubt and self-loathing always seem to drip. (And it’s not just those small moments, either; there are episodes where they go into this issue… quite at length)
Returning to the aforementioned quote, I get the impression that Brain pursues this dream, not because he feels entitled, but because his sense of self-worth is so abysmally low that absolute planetary conquest is what it would take for him to feel like he has any value or agency as a person. Or, at least, he believes that it is.
… Y’all really should watch the series one day, if you never have before. (the actual Pinky and The Brain series, not just the shorts from Animaniacs) The way they write Brain’s character over the course of the series is… exceedingly tragic.
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6 years, 4 months ago
16 Dec 2017 16:14 CET
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