Villains
Do It Better: Why This Generation Is Obsessed With The Anti-Hero
Dec 23, 2013 – Elite Daily
Think about your favorite
television shows. Think about your favorite character. Is he a power-hungry politician? Is
he maybe a motorcycle gang member, or is he a narcissistic philanderer in ad
sales? Do you root for
the man cooking the meth or the DEA agent trying to stop him? Do you root for
the savior or the criminal?
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The anti-hero is the protagonist
who does not have the traditional qualities of the admirable leading man or
woman. He or she lacks
courage, kindness and nobility, but most notably, moral goodness. It’s a
character wrought with flaws and demons, disregarding the normal societal processes
for his or her own agenda. It’s become a compelling phenomenon based on the
concept that we are rooting for someone who is violating everything we’ve ever
known as right.
The best example of the
anti-hero archetype is “Breaking Bad.” The AMC series
was the first national celebration of the anti-hero since “The Sopranos.” An
entire nation was found rooting for a meth lord who turned to murder and betrayal to keep his empire
functioning. We watch the dissolution of his marriage, friendships and career
in an attempt to gain power and wealth.
We watched him turn from an
acquiescent chemistry teacher to a power-hungry drug dealer and still never
faltered in our allegiance and devotion to him. It’s a strange thing when you
step away from the man you’ve been idolizing and look at him as who he really
is: a criminal, a madman and villain.
As a whole, we have come to
celebrate the reign of the flawed men and women who stand in the spotlight.
From “Breaking Bad,” “American Horror Story,” “The
Sopranos,” “Girls,” “Boardwalk Empire,” almost every show we
love is led by a flawed character — a man or woman with questionable actions
and motives — always self-serving and determined to succeed at any cost.
We follow these characters
throughout their journeys:
their quests for
redemption, fame, fortune and love — the same common goals we find ourselves
longing after. And like ourselves, we see the selfishness that comes with attaining goals and
dreams. We watch other people commit betrayal and wrongdoing that comes with
human nature.
Unlike the shows of our parents’ generation, when the main characters were
examples of the ideal American citizen, housewife, husband or child, these main
characters are the undesirables, the flawed and the evil that encompasses the
true American culture, not just projections of what we want it to be.
But why do we love them? Why
do we find ourselves rooting for the ones who steal, lie and cheat? Why do we support the ones who sell
meth and murder innocents? The ones who betray their lovers, alienate their friends and get
even at any cost. What does this say about us?
It says we’re realistic; we
understand the true fabric of what makes this country great, the flaws of the
people and their selfish
motives. We live in an age of divorce, corruption and celebrity
meltdowns, realizing at a young age that no one is perfect and watching someone
perfect isn’t what we want to see. We want to see the people like us, the
people with flaws and mixed morals. We want to watch the people who don’t know
how to behave correctly
all the time and don’t always make the morally correct decision.
We love them because it’s
cathartic to love them. They make us feel better about those lies we told and
those acts of betrayal. We don’t feel so bad about our own mistakes and flaws
when we see others doing the same.
NOTES DE COURS:
. We root for Walter White although
/ even though he is a drug lord who doesn’t hesitate to betray
and murder people. He becomes greedy and power-hungry although at first he was a harmless teacher, a devoted husband and father . This mix
of good and evil makes him an anti-hero, someone we find / fascinating.
So in spite of all his flaws, we can’t help rooting for him. (on en peut s'empêcher de le soutenir)
harmless = inoffensif - harmful = nuisible,
néfaste
4. why are anti-heroes so attractive and popular?
First, they are flawed,
just like us. We share the same goals in life: the quest of love, success and
redemption. We can’t help
identifying with them because they are as imperfect as we are.
People want fictional heroes to be realistic, not perfect individuals. We
can identify with them
because of their flaws, unethical
choices, questionable behaviour.
