Humanity over thousands of years always rallied behind some kind of strong leader. While doing this, they rarely questioned whether this behavior was for a just cause or not. In early cases, people simply appreciated the need to stay together, and understood the benefits of an organizational hierarchy based on merit. If I could be forgiven for using the most tired old example from the presumed lives of ancient groups of people, please imagine a group that needs to hunt down a mammoth. It only makes sense for the younger members of the group to follow the lead of the older and more experienced members. In this case, the benefits of the organizational hierarchy are clear. However, when a group of soldiers is ready to die so their local lord can avoid some additional taxes on his imported goods, it is not as straightforward. In cases of royalty and lordship the primal human instinct to follow a leader becomes something of a side effect.
Even today, popular culture includes many stories that not only condone but bless the characters that claim lordship over a group of people. In many cases they are depicted as the ones who make sacrifices for their people. However, even a simple research effort on the concept of royalty and lordship will reveal that the truth is exclusively the opposite. Kings and lords always exploited the masses with the help of a select group of violent soldiers who took a share of the stolen wealth. While the facts of history are crystal clear, how can we justify having these figures depicted as good or even saintly in popular culture?
There are several reasons behind the over utilization of royal characters in movies and games, etc. The most important of these is the daydreaming potential. People love daydreaming about an alternative version of their lives where they are royalty. Royal people are loved and more importantly respected simply because of their bloodline. This kind of a story is a lot more appealing than other stories where the character works hard and achieves something significant. Such realistic characters run the risk of making the audience question their life choices or even worse make them realize that they will never have a great life. These types of realizations would certainly ruin the experience for the general audience member. Royalty stories are more like stories where one character wins the lottery. Obviously, royalty stories are a lot more interesting because royals are considered old money and therefore respected far more than a lottery winner.
It would be much more helpful and constructive if people were not hypnotized by these cheesy stories and their attention was on the injustices around them rather than some sad daydream about how they could also look down upon their current peers if they were given the opportunity.
Reading these lines, one may think that royalty stories are rare, and their influence is exaggerated. However, there are many different forms of royalty. For instance, a person watching the story of Star Wars may not think that it is a story about a royal family. A closer inspection will reveal that it is nothing but a story about a royal family and its struggle to remain in power. And no. I am not referring to the evil dark-side. I am referring to the supposedly good light-side as the royal family. From Game of Thrones to Frozen, from Shrek to Lord of the Rings, almost every story with a “chosen one” aspect is a story about royalty. Unfortunately, these stories are turning the poor lower classes of society into brainless losers who do nothing but cheer for the imaginary or sometimes real royals who exploit them.