Heels and Simplistic Moral Narratives

The moral case for using simplistic moral narratives to help deal with the grey areas of life.

People like to believe that the world is simple.

There are good guys and bad guys. Certain people do the right thing and others do the wrong thing. It's just that simple. This makes them feel confident in their outlook and believe that they're on the side of the people doing the right thing. Anyone who doesn't agree or has a different way of going about things, must by definition be doing the wrong thing. Dividing the world in this way avoids any consideration of what might be wrong about their own way of doing things. A comforting way of viewing the world. Of course, the problem is that the world is by no means that simple. Rather than a simple black and white divide, there are shades of grey.

Despite this, people still crave something much more simple.

Pro wrestling plays into this craving that people have. It creates clear dividing lines between right and wrong, good and evil. There are almost no grey areas in professional wrestling. When one does arise, it's usually simplified into a match between two or more of the performers. Through such a dynamic, the grey area becomes very black and white. One person wins, the other person loses. Sometimes it's the good person, other times it's the bad person. But by the end of the match, things are made very clear. Or at least they're given a clear path forward to try and resolve it down the line with another match.

Seeing things through this lens allows people to resolve their personal issues with the fact that life is far from simple. They can feel a sense of resolution in these simple terms. Often this makes dealing with the nuances and uncertainty they live with every day more palatable. It helps people in the same way that most other film and television does. A cathartic process for their own benefit and the people around them.

Heels is very much about that process. About the creation of these simplistic moral narratives people feel a need to experience. But of course what makes it so interesting is the fact that it shows what's behind the scenes. The complicated moral judgments and grey areas of the wrestling world that most people don't really notice. Watching characters like Jack Spade (Stephen Amell) and his brother Ace (Alexander Ludwig) navigate these murky waters to create the moral simplicity for the audience they perform for is a fantastic thing.

These people spend their whole lives learning how to play to a crowd in order to make them hate or love the characters they play. All for people to feel better by the end of it that something has been resolved. Even if the complications behind the scenes don't end the way they want them to, or we as the audience want them to. Which is what makes it so fascinating.

Do yourself a favour and check out Heels to explore your own need to feed simplistic moral narratives.

Heels is currently available on Starz, Hulu and Amazon.

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