There is no doubt that the popularity of the anti-hero as we know it has increased in recent times. With unlikely, yet popular moral gray protagonists like Jack Bauer, Dexter, and Gregory House leading some of the most popular TV shows and characters like James Bond, Lisbeth Salander, Tyler Durden (from Fight Club), and Jack Sparrow being some of the most memorable in movies, it is not surprising that there has been an increased interest to understand what causes this characters to be so popular (Peter Jonason in et al., 193). What is it that makes them as likeable, if not more, than a normal hero? How come we relate to characters that perform actions that, if done in real life, would cause us to see them in a whole different light?
My argument is that an increased understanding in the human psyche has enabled us to see through our preconceived moral standards to accept and, in many cases, admire these anti-heros. Under the right circumstances, almost any action is permissible (albeit not necessarily right or wrong). The readers, however, must undergo a process of exposure to the anti-hero and the world she inhabits before they permit her actions. This process of “disengagement” (presented by Daniel Shafer and Arthur Raney) is what enables the reader to change his preconceived moral standards, at least in the anti-hero’s universe, to actually enjoy the story. Before explaining the big picture, however, I think it is important to understand how the enjoyment of stories can be weighted.
The enjoyment of most narratives is measured through the affective disposition theory (ADT). Shafer and Raney explain that:
“ADT is generally considered the most comprehensive theory explaining the process through which enjoyment is derived ...
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...mpathy, understand her flaws and what lead her to be the way she is, and feel those appeals to our primitive feelings related to the Dark Triad of personality traits when she kicks some butt, we can finally enjoy the positive emotions which would be condemned as wrong in the real world.
Works Cited
Funk, C. and Gazzaniga, M. “The functional brain architecture of human morality”. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 19 (2009): 678-681. Web.
Hemley, R. “Sympathy for the Devil, What to Do About Difficult Characters”. Creating Fiction (1999): Edited by Julie Checkoway. Story Press.
Jonason, P. “The Antihero in Popular Culture: Life History Theory and the Dark Triad Personality Traits”. Review of general psychology 16.2 (2012): 192-199. Web.
Shafer, D. and Raney, A. “Exploring How We Enjoy Antihero Narratives”. Journal of Communications 62 (2012): 1028-1046. Web.
The Anti-hero in The Crucible A hero is defined as "someone admired for his bravery, great deeds or noble qualities". There are three categories to which all heroes can be classified into, one of which is the anti-hero genre. An anti-hero has the role of a hero thrust upon them.
Not everyone that goes to the cinema wants to have complex moral dilemmas in every movie they see. With a good and bad side, it is easy to sit back and relax. It is simple, traditional, and fun. Sometimes this is just a result of bad directing and one dimensional characters. According to Brandi Reissenweber, one-dimensional characters are seen only when “one side of their personality comes through.” For this context, a one-dimensional villain would have no redeeming qualities to contrast is evilness. Similarly, a hero would have no flaws and would be the absolute image of good. As Omer Bartov mentions in his “Anti-Hero as Hero” article, “absolute goodness may remain so totally divorced from reality.” But even one dimensional characters are not the full problem. A character could be an elaborate and complex character yet still be portrayed by the director as someone who is evil and always will
When asking people about what characteristics they think of when they think of a hero the most common answers would be doing good deeds and not allowing evil to flourish. This is what we have been made to believe. One of the first images that come to mind when the word hero is mentioned is a superhero. An image of Batman or Superman is likely, one who is good natured and conquers evil as it appears. Just doing good deeds or not committing evil sins is not enough. First you would have to distinguish the difference between an evil and a good action. The line between good and evil is so thin that specific attributes and certain actions are constantly being exchanged back and forth. We cannot decide as a society what is good and what is evil. A modern day example would be when the United States made the decision to bomb Japan during World War II. For Americans celebration ensued as it was thought to be a decisive moment of victory. Those who were involved in t...
Perceptions of the superhero and supervillain are mainly based on subjective definitions of each concept. These observations often lead to a definitive dichotomy that precisely splits characters into two impermeable divisions. However, this stringent separation is unable to account for the characters that are not at the extreme ends of their respective side. Neither is this rift capable of classifying characters that flirt with both sides of the superhero-supervillain dichotomy. Therefore it is imperative to analyze the established criteria for both superhero and supervillain to derive a more adequate explanation. Most superheroes are not easily characterized, but rather fall somewhere between Superman, the bastion of moral purity, and Doctor Doom, the display of indubitable corruption. This solicits genesis of an entirely new notion about the differences between superheroes and supervillains. A more precise idea is that superheroes and supervillains are lined on a spectrum that spans from pure good to pure evil. Disparities between superheroes and supervillains are not black and white, but rather these characters are on a spectrum that radically changes based on individual cases.
[11] Blair, R. J. R. (2007). The amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex in morality and psychopathy. Trends in cognitive sciences, 11(9), 387-392.
Having issues makes characters such as these much more unique and memorable than an ordinary hero. In almost every story the audience has a fairly uniform idea of what a hero is. This would be the quintessential Mr. Perfect, Superman archetype that has been used thousands of times before. When a hero or antihero has flaws, there many options to develop this character to texturize the narrative, and giving the character flaws can give the reader something to relate to as mentioned
Kennedy, X J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Sixth ed. New York: Harper Collins College Publishers, 1995. Print.
In Nightcrawler, Jake Gayllenhaal plays a character named Lou Bloom, who stumbles upon the world of local TV news. He becomes a stringer, someone who films breaking stories, often tragic and violent, and sells the footage to TV stations. Lou is motivated, clever, and a sociopath, “what if my problem wasn’t that I don’t understand people but that I don’t like them” (Nightcawler). Throughout the film, Lou’s lack of empathy and drive to succeed leads him to take increasingly unforgivable actions. Yet, he remains the hero of the story while the audience is engaged. Why? How necessary is it to have a likeable protagonist? And wat do antiheroes offer more than other heroes? Screenwriter Dan Gilroy creates sympathy for Lou in some situations. First
Raine, A. & Yang,Y. (2006). Neural foundations to moral reasoning and antisocial behavior. Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience.
Recent reports in science have found discrete locations in the brain that are used in intricate systems that serve as the human moral compass (1).Changes in the brain have long been known to change the behaviors of a man. In the famous example of Phineas Gage, an accident at his job caused an iron rod to pierce through Gage's skull. Gage was able to stand and speak a...
In “The Thematic Paradigm,” Robert Ray explains how there are two vastly different heroes: the outlaw hero and the official hero. The official hero has common values and traditional beliefs. The outlaw hero has a clear view of right and wrong but unlike the official hero, works above the law. Ray explains how the role of an outlaw hero has many traits. The morals of these heroes can be compared clearly. Films that contain official heroes and outlaw heroes are effective because they promise viewer’s strength, power, intelligence, and authority whether you are above the law or below it.
One can easily be caught up in high action movies, such as Batman, Avatar, or Iron Man. Many children want to be like the heroes in these movies. They dress up to look like them on Halloween. Some even sleep in their favorite hero’s outfit. Unfortunately, today's society has lost the actual meaning of heroism. In an essay titled Hollywood’s Hero Deficit, by James Bowman, the author laments over the loss of genuine heroism. Bowman states that: “Heroism can continue to exist only on a plane far removed from the daily lives of the audience.” True heroes are not violent warriors. They try to do what is right. Heroes, like Odysseus, have a noble quest: to get home. Heroes are clever, not contentious. Today’s view of ‘Heroism’ can only exist in fairy tales, for todays heroes only show bravery through violence. Even worse, these acts of bravery bring happiness to the hero. The pure heroism that comes from moral victories has been missing in today's society for several decades, and has impoverished our society..
Some people might disagree like the antagonists from these stories or people from the real world because they aren't paying attention on what they're doing or what are they reading even people hate the stories, or the people in the story, but if they know the character better they might be surprised on the good character and understand on what they are sacrificing!!!
Throughout history, the art of storytelling has been an imperative tool for an array of purposes. Humans have utilized storytelling for nearly everything, such as passing down traditions or just pure entertainment. Storytelling in its most basic form is something that humans need, as they give everyone a sense of everything it means to be human. However, along the path of humanity’s development and growth, stories themselves and the way they are told also seemed to change. With humanity's innovation and push toward new technologies, narratives were then passed along in a variety of forms, spanning from novels and radio to film and television. Although the push for new technologies has provided a stellar platform for different stories to find
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