Why do we love to classify people (in fiction)?

[DokiDokiTsuna]

...I guess we love to classify people outside of fiction as well, but I'd rather not go there just yet. ^^;

Anyway, I was thinking about things like Hogwarts houses, or the factions in Divergent, or even the Four Nations in Avatar, to an extent-- why do we like to do that? Separate people according to personality and interests; making sure they spend their formative years surrounded by the like-minded?

I would say that Avatar is an example of 'classifying' done right, actually: it's never implied in the story that anyone who acts a certain way belongs to a specific nation; there's always a larger cultural force behind any conformity (like the Air Nation's philosophy, or the former Fire Nation's propaganda).

I only include it here because fans treat the Nations the same way as the other systems: if you're aggressive and hotheaded, you're a firebender; if you're easygoing and carefree, you're an airbender, etc. ^^; They insist on watering the concept down to yet another personality quiz. Why, though??

I offer three answers:

1) It's fun. ^^ Humanity collectively has done it over and over throughout history (the four humors, zodiac signs); it's only natural that we'd enjoy building stories around the concept of all the characters fitting into cute little boxes. Plus, it offers an easy opportunity for reader interaction: they can try to figure out which little box they might fit in! =D

2) It makes a good foundation. So many stories center around the hero leaving familiarity behind and venturing out into the unknown, and an easy way to set this up is by starting them off in a place where everyone has one big obvious thing in common. Then maybe they meet other characters from places where some other big obvious thing is the norm, and expand their worldview.

3) 'Like begets like'. If you start with a diverse group of characters and work backwards, it's easy to imagine that each one came from a place that molded them into the person they are, right? Kinda like when people design the MC's parents to look like them; so you can easily tell where they 'got' all their own features from.
Of course, this isn't realistic: a person can live in a country without exhibiting its stereotypical behavior just as well as someone can have a child that doesn't really look like them. But, y'know, it's easier to take the obvious route. ^^;

[vothnthorvaldson]

I'll go the more pessimist way, and say it helps building a sense of 'us against them' which a lot of people like although not many would easily admit it; either between categories, or against those who do not fit in any of these categories.

[Inspector_Spinda]

you are correct, but also the more cynical answer is that it makes it so easy to sell merch. it also gets people excited. humans naturally love to classify things. they also love horoscopes and personality tests and this type of trope fits it completely.

[VibrantFox]

i think the simplest answer is that it reflects reality.

its literally everywhere in almost everything so the fact that it bleeds into fiction and vice versa isnt really all that surprising when you think about it. ordering happens often in the real world; divisions based on class, race, income and so on all exist in the real world and fiction no matter how much it tries to separate itself from reality is still reflective of it (hence why they impact one another).

[zvein]

I can only guess that in a sense writers/creators want tools to create tension/drama within their story, and the easy step for that is to create boxes where for some reason the differences among residents of each box are more pronounced than their similarities—-the thing they can relate to. And what causes more drama than tribalism?
The problem with this tool is that the creators rarely make classifications that make sense, instead they feel gimmicky, and there’s often little to no nuances.

[rajillustration]

I think in some situations the classifications are a satirical commentary on IRL stuff. Like how Hogwarts could just get rid of the house system and fix a lot of systemic problems in their society--but they don't, because they're racists who profit off of the house system. And at the end of the series, the same problems they just went through over 7 whole books will only repeat itself because they never removed the systems that made death eaters in the first place. The houses are still there. It'll just start over in a few more generation, and since a lot of that series is about the rise of fascism and mirrors the world wars in a big way, it's like...pretty much all commentary.

Same with like Jedi and Sith, who have this cycle of fighting time and time again. They even tried to like remove the Jedi or remove the Sith several times in canon, but you can't, because it's this commentary on greed and corruption. The series can kind of continue forever because how do you just erase greed? There will always be a Sith.

And then in Batman--there's the joker gang of hundreds of Jokers instead of just one--because you can't kill the joker, he's commentary.

Avatar is another one I haven't seen all of, but it does feel like parts of it is supposed to mirror real life history. Not sure what it is yet because I haven't finished it, but you do see similarities in the history of some of the nations and the histories of our nations today, although we don't have magical powers.

Not saying that it's always entirely commentary, but that there is intention of the authors when they make these groups in their stories.

[gabriellabalagna]

Maybe we just like to exaggerate and stereotype. Maybe it's kind of like how 2d animation strives to exaggerate actions to actually make them feel more lifelike. Or maybe we do it because it helps us differentiate characters and make them more memorable.

[ogjuic]

need to as my story takes place during the collapse of the multiverse which then creates one new one with a world the size of a galaxy that is now the new home of all the living inhabitants of the now-destroyed universes. makes it easier for me as well as the characters in the world to know who to trust and the things a person says. So I guess it fits more with 2

[demikuro]

Because we need it to exist.

NGE talks about this. The only way that you become aware of your own existence and define what is "I" is through recognizing that and those who are not you.

There are only two worlds, Me and that which is not me.

Classification is just a by-product of that.

Is it a good or a bad thing? That is a question for another day.