Good versus Evil

I'm not going to quote Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter for you, but I assure you that I most certainly can. Have you ever taken the time to ask yourself why all of these sagas enjoy such lasting popularity? Not a single one of them has a particularly original storyline. All three employ simplistic, purely (though inexplicably...) evil tyrants in the forms of Emperor Palpatine, Lord Voldemort, and Sauron. One of them is very poorly written (Anakin, you're breaking my heart!), and all three rely heavily on various forms of magic. The protagonist in each is a confidence-lacking youngster who finds himself along the way. Wow, it sounds like a blockbuster in the making.
Do I mean to mock these stories? Honestly, yes, but I'm mocking myself in the process because I love all three stories as anyone who knows me will attest. They're timeless, essentially simple, and play on the greatest of man's emotions: altruism, greed, goodness, and fear. The world in each is remarkably black and white. In Star Wars, the Empire and the Sith are evil. The Rebellion and the Jedi are good. That's just how it is. Do you want to do some good today? Well then, pick up your lightsaber and kill some stormtroopers or a Darth Someone if you get the chance! In Lord of the Rings, men, elves, dwarves, and hobbits are good. Sauron and his minions are evil. Once again, doing some good is relatively simple. Pick up your sword, head up into the mountains to kill some orcs or goblins. Hack those evil creatures, dude, and tell us if you ever see a female orc! As for Harry Potter, Voldemort and the Death Eaters are evil (Death Eaters? Please, how could they possibly be good with a name like that?). They like to kill people for fun and usurp power through torture, murder, and whatever means possible. Yet again, the enemy is easily recognizable and unquestionably ill-intentioned.
Am I telling you that I want to combat Evil? You bet I am. Have I mentioned that I've decapitated over 20 orcs just today? I also slapped Draco Malfoy. At times I have seriously considered dropping all of my current career plans and aiming to become a U.S. Marshall. How badass would it be to hunt down murderers and rapists for a living? I could basically call myself an auror and measure how much better I make the world annually. Here's a glimpse of this world in which I fight Evil as a U.S. Marshall and my wife saves lives every day as a hot doctor. Stethoscope and all.
Hypothetical, yet existent future wife: "Welcome home, darling husband. Have some delicious pie. What did you do at work today?"
A burlier, hairier future me: "Oh, you know, the usual. Toppled one international sex slave organization, and beat the hell out of a child rapist with my fists for resisting arrest. He'll never touch a child again after the beating I gave him."
Future wife: "Wow, you are sexy and cool. I look really hot right now."
Future me: "Whoa, you are so right."
Future wife: "Take me now, please."
Future me: "Deal."
Anyway, that's what I would like. Positive thinking brings results, right? But, back to my basic message, stories are made great by containing what we scarcely have. Simplicity. Heroics. And most of all, magic. May the Force be with you. Good luck, future me. Save our society.