Sonic, the Most Sincere Hedgehog in the World
▻https://medium.com/@siegarettes/sonic-the-most-sincere-hedgehog-in-the-world-754a65eec80d
Sonic tends to continue on regardless, with the same confidence and bravado only a teenager could have.
This is his best quality.
In a world dominated by post-modern thought, irony has become one of our most valuable tools for new media. Whether that’s in a painting, comedy, online headline or endless memes, the modern world has trained us to engage everything with an ironic stance. We mask vulnerability with it, perform an affect of detachment to show that we’re free of naivety. In an environment like that it becomes dangerous to show sincerity. To engage openly and wholeheartedly is a good way to put a target on yourself.
Sonic the Hedgehog is painfully, wonderfully sincere.
Sonic is earnest in the way only a teenager can be — where novelty is king and your expectations haven’t yet been weighed down by the cynicism of adulthood.
Sonic is an emotional reality where every feeling exists at its maximum expression.
Sonic is exactly the type of character who we’d be told has been tortured for months, only for him to show up making jokes in the next scene.
“ To live a life of power, you must have faith that what you believe is right, even if others tell you you’re wrong. The first thing you must do to live a life of power is to find courage. You must be ready to reach beyond the boundaries of Time itself. And to do that, all you need is the will to take that first step…”
Sonic is so earnest it only feels right that his box art has messages telling you to live for the moment, live a life of power — or else you’ll carry regret and watch the Sun laugh at you.
Sonic runs even faster when powered by friendship — which is so powerful that it causes rock songs to play at every climax.
Sonic has the power of God and Anime on his side.
Bring any cynicism or irony to Sonic and it falls apart. Sonic refuses to be anything but earnest or positive in the worst of times. That’s not something we often have time for today. It comes off as shallow, or empty. But when I put that cynicism aside, engaged with the character openly and earnestly, I found that there was a lot I loved, that I’d forgotten. Even more, I found that there was plenty that I’d never seen before, and found fresh things to appreciate.
There is something deeply comforting about running around in Sonic’s world. Something full of joyous, infinite energy. Finding it just required me to be honest, and let myself care again.