There’s always beer: 10 tips for gracious defeat from the best onscreen losers

Losing isn’t easy. It’s demoralizing at best, but especially so when that loss comes at the hands of a group of people whose win has resulted in a spike in hate crimes. But a majority of the voting population did lose, with their candidate—be it Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson, or Dr. Jill Stein—emerging from November 8 with an uncertain future in the private sector.

While it’s easy enough to give in to the darkness, those of us who are capital-L losers will also eventually have to pick ourselves up, hop over the crinkled tissues, and get to the business of making our lives and world better, no matter what. We must be gracious in defeat, remembering that, as Michelle Obama says, “When they go low, we go high.” It’s undoubtedly hard, and right now, it might feel impossible, but here are some tips for moving forward with grace, respect, and alcohol, courtesy of both your fictional friends and your very real internet friends at The A.V. Club. Stay strong, America. The good will out.

10. (1980): Sometimes losing helps set your sights on an even bigger victory

It’s easy to get distracted by petty squabbles. But don’t allow these little battles to come at the expense of the war. This is the lesson Prince Barin has to learn in 1980’s Flash Gordon. Barin (Timothy Dalton) is exiled Mongo royalty, distrustful of the titular football-playing Adonis (Sam J. Jones) from another world. So when Flash and the prince are captured and taken to the Hawkman kingdom, Barin challenges Flash to a duel on a spiked, tilting platform floating above the open sky. But Flash saves the prince’s life just before he falls to his death, earning Barin’s friendship. With all that needless macho posturing resolved, the two were able to work together to impale Ming on a spaceship and save Mongo. Which seems like a much better use of his emotional energy. [Nick Wanserski]