... because Sam is "special" he can only be good (according to his father and his brother) by repressing himself and avoiding any trace of a unique or extraordinary identity.
I think there's also an element of Sam as 'Lucifer before the Fall' (and, trust me, I can go on and on about that for hours). Sam needs to avoid Lucifer's sin of Pride, and if you notice that's what demons try and tempt him to - "you don't really need Dean" etc. So Sam isn't being overtly heroic because he is avoiding pride, seeking to live with humility. This doesn't mean he's not heroic, just that his heroism might lie in self-discipline.
Dean is so much more "the girl" than Sam is - if we're thinking gender-stereotypes which I usually wouldn't. Who can't live without their family? Whose sense of self-worth is tied up with caring and protecting others? Yep, Dean, that would be you.
Yeah, I was just sort of throwing things out there at the end. And I totally agree that Dean can be seen as "the girl" because of how his identity is so defined by his relationships to others
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It's portrayed as if psychic = evil is some kind of obvious or self evident truth.
Which makes no sense within the show's own mythology because we have Missouri - obviously psychic, obviously not evil - so there's every possibility that Sam's abilities come from the same source as hers and could be used for good - as we see in "Home" when they enable him to save Jenny and her family
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Sorry for a incredibly belated reply! Mostly I just wanted to say that I whole heartedly agree about the supernatural "racism" sensibility surrounding Sam's abilities. And as I said before, I just anxious for the show to deal with it already.
As for Sam as Lucifer, that's really fascinating. Because while I knew about Lucifer aka the Morning Star (and his falling out due to pride) I had no idea Jesus was also referred to as the "Morning Star". Awesome stuff, that, as you said, points to Sam's potential as "Anti-Christ or Messiah"
Finally, congrats on an essay in the Smart Pop book! I'll definitely be looking forward to it.
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I think there's also an element of Sam as 'Lucifer before the Fall' (and, trust me, I can go on and on about that for hours). Sam needs to avoid Lucifer's sin of Pride, and if you notice that's what demons try and tempt him to - "you don't really need Dean" etc. So Sam isn't being overtly heroic because he is avoiding pride, seeking to live with humility. This doesn't mean he's not heroic, just that his heroism might lie in self-discipline.
Dean is so much more "the girl" than Sam is - if we're thinking gender-stereotypes which I usually wouldn't. Who can't live without their family? Whose sense of self-worth is tied up with caring and protecting others? Yep, Dean, that would be you.
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Which makes no sense within the show's own mythology because we have Missouri - obviously psychic, obviously not evil - so there's every possibility that Sam's abilities come from the same source as hers and could be used for good - as we see in "Home" when they enable him to save Jenny and her family ( ... )
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As for Sam as Lucifer, that's really fascinating. Because while I knew about Lucifer aka the Morning Star (and his falling out due to pride) I had no idea Jesus was also referred to as the "Morning Star". Awesome stuff, that, as you said, points to Sam's potential as "Anti-Christ or Messiah"
Finally, congrats on an essay in the Smart Pop book! I'll definitely be looking forward to it.
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