So I just recently watched Ender’s Game (the 2013 movie), I never read the book, but after watching it I am wondering how is Ender’s Game a good story. Now when I say a good story I am not talking about whether it is well written (it was well written) or the characters were not memorable (they were memorable), no the story itself the author is writing is quite warped.

1) Card, the author, made a story which is very much a revenge fantasy. He created a character Ender who is supposed to be sympathetic he does so by subjecting Ender to relentless torment, manipulation, mind screw, aggression, and bullying. This character is relentless subjected to all these stresses, and during the story he is purposefully left alone without allies no parents or mentors only his fellow children which he has to turn into allies. Card even goes so far to make Ender the smallest child in his environment, to encourage sympathy. Yet even with all these stresses somehow Ender prospers, and he defeats all challenges.

When Ender is final faced with the tipping point of every challenge, it is never him that starts the confrontation. Ender is written as blameless and innocent. Ender defeats said challenge dispassionately and without emotion. Even when Ender goes way too far, somehow it is presented to the viewer that Ender’s action is justified. Ender continues to kick the living shit out of the boy in the beginning of the movie so Ender would never be bullied by the boy again, he is removing the bully ability to make war

Oh the genocide at the very end, it was just a computer simulation, except it was not. This way the main character is innocent of genocide since he was being lied to.

In other words Ender is perfect, to use a popular internet terminology Ender is a Mary Sue. How is this not a revenge fantasy?

2) Card seems to love violence and aggression, no a better way to put it is Card is fascinated with violence and aggression. The sheer amount of violence that he puts Ender through is proof of it. Furthermore Card doesn’t just subject Ender to violence he also subjects Ender to humiliation trying to have the bullies to emasculate him. Ender is also subject to countless mind screw and manipulation. Do not listen to authority since authority will lie to you. “This will not hurt” while they rip a metal diode out of your head.

3) While watching all this it becomes obvious to me, that the author Card is a deeply troubled individual. One does not write about child abuse with such fervor unless one was also abused. I pity the poor man. I personally don’t believe in a god, but I hope there is some force out there that will help the author come to peace with whatever traumas he experience.

So my question how is this a story you would recommend to a Young Adult and is supposed to be a story about morality.