Why Do You Need A Successful Hero To Identify With A Character?

Accept yourself

I have recently listened to an old interview by a famous Italian actor and writer. His main character, Ugo Fantozzi, is an employee who is often humiliated and accepts any kind of requests from his boss, the company he works for, and his fellow employees.

Fantozzi and his colleagues sell out their dignity and allow others to treat them like floor mats. Fantozzi is not always submissive, and sometimes he has the courage to rebel and asserts his dignity, yet he is often forced to endure one defeat after another. This character is comic and tragic at the same time.

This is a translation of a short monologue with his wife, Pina:

They ridiculed me, but if they think I am done with it, they are wrong. Because I, Pina, have one characteristic. They don’t know it, but I am indestructible! And you know why?

Because I am the greatest loser of all time. I have always lost, everything!

In the interview, the author said that his great success is due to the fact that his followers identify with the character of Fantozzi. We are all unlucky and sometimes make ridiculous mistakes. His suffering is our suffering, his misfortunes are also our daily tribulations in life.

Yet, the author added that everybody told him: ‘Fantozzi reminds me of my colleague, of my neighbor, of my sister’, but nobody admitted: ‘Fantozzi reminds me of myself’.

Why is that? Why don’t we admit our weakest and most ridiculous behaviors? How often have we accepted more work even if we were already overwhelmed, just because we couldn’t say no? How often have we attended a company dinner only because our boss expected us to do it? We are not always brave or ready to ask for suitable recognition.

So, how could Fantozzi and his exaggerated failures be inspiring for all of us? He shows us who we are, even if we don’t acknowledge it, but he also shows what we should avoid doing. It makes us think that some kind of behavior could be a little absurd and that we can change it.

We make mistakes, we try to improve, then make another mistake. We don’t need to show off and pretend we are perfect or feel stronger only if we are in the group of the winners. We might stop identifying ourselves with the position we cover and feel affection also towards our weakest part and our unbelievable mistakes.

We all are losers, one day or another. That’s the truth and the message Fantozzi gives us. I think we need to admit it, accept our limits, and go on.

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