God, Superheroes and WFH

Watching Alita – Battle Angel got one thinking about the number of super heroes we have been creating. There have been two major ones in the last few months – Aquaman and Venom – and not so long ago, Black Panther and Captain Marvel, where a woman played the title role adding to the diversity of characters on offer. And Black Widow was stopped in her tracks by the Corona virus. We understand that they have all minted money at the box office and are comic-book characters that many Americans have grown up with. But all that don’t seem to add up enough to explain the on-going frenzy.

 This sudden proliferation of out-of-this-world heroes and their solving/addressing unimaginable woes besetting our world could very well be an indication of Mankind looking for reassurances to assuage all its existential fears.

The blowing up of these characters into giant performers with eye-popping special effects are part of the vicarious ‘feel-good’ factor that we earthlings seem to need badly.

 But for their masks, internal electronics and other such largely outlandish accoutrements, they are all human-like. In all the stories to do with modern superheroes, all of them meet their come-uppance not with vicious villains but when confronted with strong human emotions such as love, filial fealty or parental afflictions. The Bible tells us: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” So God created man in his own image” (Genesis 1:26-27). We have done the same with characters who look like us but possess far superior powers.

But there is a lot to say for what Voltaire (1694 – 1778) points out as an after-effect: “In the beginning God created man in His own image, and man has been trying to repay the favour ever since.”

Creating and attributing powers to superhero characters is part of Man visualising God.

Why would Man need a God or a halfway superhero? Having a superior being creates a ‘creative tension’ for Man between what we are, and what we can be. Is that why Voltaire said, “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him?” Maybe. But this view is based on an inherent assumption that Man relentlessly tries to become a better version of himself. If we look around our fellow denizens, that may not appear to be true.

What if the real reason for Man to ‘invent’ God is to have some one to appeal to, ask favours from, look up to, seek directions from, and to generally feel good about having someone show us the way.

There is so much less to do as a follower, after all. A school of thought proposes, with a lot of validity, that huge belief in anything (even a prop like God that you can lean on) outside yourself to ensure your well-being is a weakness. Man is often weak, and so needs a God.

 Therefore, it is with a bit of amusement that one reads all the reports about how, as a result of the experience from the Corona-induced lockdown, WFH will be the new way of work life. Going by Man’s need for an external stimuli (God) to propel oneself forward, a significant portion of mankind needs a Supervisor and/or a Manager to put in a honest day’s work. Left to himself/herself, an average worker (yes, even in 2020) will be bereft of purpose, motivation and direction.

This worker needs to know who that person he/she ‘reports’ into is, even if that person (God) be distant, abrasive or unhelpful. Things go better when the worker can ‘see’ that person, know he/she can go to that person when in doubt (Superhero), and be a willing participant in all the ‘rituals’ that establishes this hierarchy.

 Higher position on the hierarchy is a hidden power of a superhero. In WFH, you, your time, the work, and well-defined outcomes are alternating as one’s ‘boss’. This abstract set of work drivers won’t cut it. Just as Bangalore Traffic Police have dummy police ‘dolls’ placed at traffic junctions to make motorists behave, at the very least, workers of 2020 will need a ‘dummy’ Manager/Supervisor they work for. Somebody who they ‘believe’ is out there for them to go to, for directions. A superhero with a higher resolve.

 The virus has shown us the technology behind WFH works and is feasible. Nothing more, nothing less. The belief systems that drive us to do good work need a reboot and should come from within.

A system that works when there is no one to demand good work, or when no one is watching you. Until that comes to pass, for bulk of the global workforce of 2020, WFH is very far away as a new normal.