I’ve seen a lot of debate over the course of my life over “everyone is special” and what that means. Particularly recently, I’ve seen a lot of people who dislike the scene in The Incredibles where Dash responds to the phrase with “That’s just another way of saying nobody’s special.”
Let’s talk about what both aspects of that conversation mean, both positively or negatively.
The movie has some messaging issues, I agree. Dash’s criticisms also come out of the mouth of the movie’s main villain, and his main plan is to render the concept of “superhero” irrelevant by spreading superpower-emulating technology throughout the populace. I don’t think that’s something the heroes really object to, and it’s definitely not why they go to stop him--even setting aside the fact that he’s a serial killer, he’s putting a whole city in danger to establish himself, and probably plans to do so many more times in the future. The movie comes across as some kind of condemnation of lifting people up to exceptional heights as a result. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe that was the intended message, but it seemed unintentional to me.
But let’s look at the good old “everyone’s special” dismissal, shall we? Because that’s what it is: a dismissal. Dash was looking for validation that he did have something special about him. It doesn’t matter that his mother’s right--everybody’s got something--Dash needed to hear that what he could do mattered. Every time I hear someone working with children go “Everyone’s special”, I hear them missing the point of what that kid needs (unless that kid’s being a little shit to other kids, of course). Dash doesn’t deserve to be told that what’s special about him is bad because other kids can’t do it. It’s not fair to let him compete with them, obviously, superpowers are a bit beyond real-world comparisons, but he didn’t deserve that any more than any other kid deserves to be told that the things that set them apart aren’t special. That’s what “everyone’s special” means, as Dash says; it’s the adult saying “that’s nice, dear, but it doesn’t matter.”
Every kid’s got something. Some kids can run really fast. Some kids can paint. Some kids can write amazing stories. Some kids can do complex algebra in their heads, some kids can throw a handegg really far, some kids can run circles around other people at chess. What’s special about you matters, what’s different about you is important. Be proud of it. Be proud of it as an adult, too. It is different and special that you can speedpaint landscapes. It is different and special that you can lift more than anyone else at your gym. It is different and special that you make great french toast. You’re good at things. You’re better at some things than other people. They’re better at other things than you are. Big or small, these things matter. Celebrate them.
and screw the school system that made me start over with algebra 1 in ninth grade just because they didn’t want to have to deal with the fact that I finished high school math in elementary school you’re the reason I lost interest in higher math you asshats