There are many reasons why the trope of La Résistance is so attractive and prevalent in modern western media. After all, even in its most elaborate forms, the trope feeds from the old theme reflected in the story of David Versus Goliath and many other mythologies: evil is bigger, omnipresent and dominant, but good doesn't stay down and has bravery to compensate being small and seemingly insignificant. Moreover, the notion of living in a world ruled by evil, yet continuing to be oneself and one of the few people strong enough and moral enough to take action, makes life inherently special and satisfying, even if there's no immediate hope of actually changing things. In a world where there is something to resist against, merely waking up in the morning and believing something different can feel like an act of self-affirmation.
Needlessly to say, this trope has been incessantly used by propaganda through human history and remains strong in modern day, as nothing moves people to act like the presence, either real or constructed, of a powerful threat to everything they hold sacred, especially if it requires little real sacrifice to be considered part of the solution. Theorists like Goebbels and Timsit illustrate quite well how societies are easily controlled by keeping things simple and appealing to our ancient tribal impulses and our adolescent desires to change the world rather than letting it change us.
Although quite extended nowadays, La Résistance is especially integral to the western zeitgeist. European and western cultures are typically more individualistic and value personal independence, while their Asian and African counterparts tend to value collectivism, and affirm self-sacrifice and conformity for the sake of the greater whole rather than personal distinction or accomplishment. That's why the Stock Shōnen Hero typically aspires to curb injustice by changing the system from within, basically beating it at its own game, rather than actually breaking away from its established rules and structures. The history of democracy, itself tied closely with the West, is another important factor. After all, few monarchies stepped down voluntarily, and the image of the plucky common folk or proletarians waving banners and throwing down the decadent and corrupt aristocracy is a widespread and popular one.
And that takes us to Hollywood's long tradition of venerating this trope. It's not difficult to see why the United States is so taken with the idea of heroic resistance fighting against evil with overwhelming odds: their whole country was born of a revolution against a massive empire, and has defined itself ever since as a bulwark of freedom against the "despotic" and "totalitarian" states of Europe and Asia, which seek to crush the individual and make them conform to serve a "great leader" or "the state." La Résistance depicts all the values Americans hold most dear: personal courage, individualism, independence, self-determination, moral righteousness, and optimism - the belief that, against all odds, Good will eventually prevail.
With all that said, the actual history of resistance movements is a depressing record. The vast majority of peasant revolts and armed rebellions by commoners throughout history have ended in failure. Typically governments have only ever been toppled by revolution when the professional armed forces turn against the regime, not because they were defeated militarily by partisans. There are exceptions, of course, but even the legend of the trope namer itself, the French Resistance during World War II, far surpasses reality. Very, very few French participated in armed resistance against the Nazis or the Vichy state, and their military contribution was marginal at best. This was the reason the documentary The Sorrow and the Pity was prevented from being broadcast on French television (the ORTF at the time) for a time by Charles de Gaulle's administration in 1969.
