The Character of the Antihero on the TV - Term Paper Example

Effects of anti-hero roles in TV shows on audience as a part of popular culture in society Introduction An antihero can be defined as a protagonist or prominent figure that has a conspicuous lack of heroic characteristics. Television shows have always featured antihero characters who are mobster, drug dealers, compromised police officers as well as serial killers. An antihero is a form of a villain or a hero and a villain blended together to create a complex character that increases their popularity. It can be christened the “Tony Soprano” effect on culture as the character of the antihero has become the rage in professional wrestling that is increasingly being staged, the weekly television drama shows or even on the larger screens where movies have made characters such as batman become more mysterious and darker. The oral shift that has been experienced in the television characters was as a result of the increase in the number of cable television networks in the United States. These networks allowed the makers of programmes to come up with content that did not require such a broad appeal and set them free to increase the diversity of what could be shown on television. The moral direction and guidelines associated with these characters are less rigid when compared to those of their forerunners. Presently, the level of flexibility has increased to the point where comedy and drama have an ability to create a clear distinction. In regard to the various networks that are responsible for the creation of these programs, the demarcation may be placed anywhere provided the story that is told by the offensive behavior is captivating and the actions of the characters can be justified. Effect of anti-hero roles in TV shows The new generation of programming is in an era that has been considered by many people as the Golden Age or The Dawn of television that is characterized by new forms of characters which have been nominated for numerous awards for their performances. The man who engages in lying and cheating as well as the woman who willingly trades sex for favors, sells marijuana in the gated communities and commits adultery with married men, the people who are depicted by these characters. The anti-hero who plays the leading role does not possess the traditional qualities associated with the traditional leading characters in programmes. In majority of the programmes today, the anti-hero is not courageous, kind, or noble and he or she generally lacks moral goodness. The character of the anti-hero is usually weaved in flaws and badness, and the characters disregard the typical processes associated with the society for their own personal agendas. This has developed into a compelling phenomenon founded on the concept that the audience roots for a person who is in violation of the values that are considered to be right. In his writing, Stephen Garrett dwells on the diminishing lines between the typical people and the villains who are seen on television. The twenty-first century has introduced a newer form of heroes, the anti-heroes who have taken over the drama and comedy genres in the programmes that are seen on television today. The new television programmes have started reflecting the contemporary world and society has the ability to recognize the changes that have taken place in the television heroes who appear in the modern crime programmes. For instance, Hawaii Five-O was a crime programme whose main characters were depicted real heroes, as compared to The Sopranos, which does not depict any real heroes apart from Tony Soprano, the brutal anti-hero (Garrett 319). With the introduction of the anti-hero to the modern programmes, there is no going back as traditional heroes are now completely replaced by the anti-heroes (Garrett 321). A character that has been considered to habitually break the tradition of the hero in the conventional television programmes is that of Tony Soprano, the main character in a programme by HBO known as The Sopranos. Tony is deeply concerned about his families in both roles exhibited in the programme as a traditional family man and as a criminal, and he demonstrates a yearning for a simpler time in the history of America. In the pilot episode of the programme, he tries to inquire about what transpired with Gary Cooper. “The strong silent type….He wasn’t in touch with his feelings….He just did what he had to do.” Even though Tony may have wanted to resemble Gary Cooper, he went on to exemplify the new anti-hero who is a man who indulges own transgressions and rationalizes the actions he takes as serving the greater good despite the greater good being his own needs in most of the cases. The anti-hero has been considered to be encouraged and motivated by the impetus of success as well as the motivation of security to take part in horrible things. The character associated with Tony Soprano is one that went past the numerous typical clichés of the gangster genre and depicted him as devoted father and an intensely troubled individual whose life revolves around violence and immoral behavior that comes with it. The character also demonstrates a man who is tormented psychologically and who over-indulges in his own dreams and fears. Right from the commencement of this series, the character of Tony was secured in more than a single reality. To begin with, he led a criminal enterprise that earned money and gained power through by hurting and injuring other people. Also, his father brutalized him as he grew up and he ultimately found himself idolizing him, he was a son to a woman whose individual faults led to a setting that made tony feel unloved, and the husband to a wife who had personal conflicts that led her to deviant behavior, among other characteristics of his realities. Throughout the series, Tony soprano is considered as both a hero and an anti-hero all at the same time as he was rich, powerful and charismatic, and this allowed him to freely do what he wanted, but this created some form of desperation and emptiness in him. According to the conventions of the society, Tony Soprano had it all as he could get any woman he desired, get rid of anyone standing in his way and inspire fear and respect from the people who surrounded him. The airing of The Sopranos continued for almost a ten years and created a perception of Tony as having a complex disorder while applying the hardships faced by the character on a day to day basis. The series Breaking Bad is also demonstrates an example of an anti-hero character that was celebrated widely since The Sopranos. Almost the entire United States found itself supporting the main character who is involved in cooking meth, and uses murder and betrayal in efforts to maintain the activities of his empire. In his attempt to amass more power and wealth, his career, friendships and marriage are broken. The main character turned from a typical complying chemistry teacher into a drug dealer, hungry for power, but the audience did not falter in their devotions and support of the character. The man that people idolized in this series was a criminal and villain, the same way Tony Soprano is idolized in The Sopranos. In entirety, the audiences of television programming have found themselves celebrating the reign of men who are imperfect and the women who prefer to be in the limelight. Most of the modern shows, from Breaking Bad, to The Sopranos which have become favorites for huge audiences are led by imperfect characters who act in questionable ways that are mainly self-serving. The audiences follow these characters in their journeys, their pursuits for recovery, fame, fortune as well as love which are the same objectives that the viewers find themselves seeking. The audience then sees the selfishness that is associated with achieving the objectives and dreams that they seek through watching other people betray and behave in an ill-motived manner which is a nature that is associated with humans. Unlike the programmes that ran on television before the modern times, when the key characters resembled the typical American citizen, wife, husband or child, the main characters in today’s programming are the undesirables and the wicked who embrace the real American culture, and not mere projections of what people want to become. It still remains difficult to understand why the audience still loves them and why they find themselves rooting for these wicked characters who steal, lie and kill. Even those who cook and sell meth and the ones that commit murders of innocent people are also rooted for in the course of these programmes. This simply demonstrates that the viewers are practical, and have developed an appreciation of the real fabric that makes the country great, this includes the faults and selfish motives associated with the people. The society today is characterized by divorces, corrupt people as well as celebrity meltdowns, and acknowledging at a tender age that there is no perfect being and watching individual who are perfect is not what should occur in the society. The audience wants to watch people that resemble those in the society, who are characterized by imperfection and flaws. The audiences prefers watching the flawed characters since it is liberating to root for them and makes them feel better about how they take part in the same kind of lying and betrayal. When audiences watch the lying and betrayal in the programmes on television they feel better about their own faults, as they have seen others taking part in the same. The main reason why people are attracted to the anti-hero characters and root for them is because they can relate to the actions of these anti-heroes. Since perfect people do not exist, therefore, the audience develops empathy, which is a strong emotion, as they attempt to understand a character, even one who murders innocent people and betrays those they love. Another reason why the audience root for the anti-hero characters is because they are complex and demonstrate the way life is complicated. People all over the world are plagued with insecurities and misgivings, and prefer watching people who share the same emotions and hardships. Therefore, the viewers develop expectations that the characters they have put a lot of time into watching will have similar intricate emotions like them. The audience cannot be able to connect with a housewife who is always joyful and happy as it is not realistic. Similar to the typical hero, the anti-hero also displays strength regardless of the fact that he does not demonstrate the same ethical grounds. The anti-heroes are determined not to let anything deter their endeavors and this usually leads them down the immoral path. The audience develops respect for the anti-hero since he is portrayed as person who commands respect and does not tolerate people who challenge him. Regardless of the fact that the intentions associated with the anti-heroes are questionable, what motivates them is always pure. In the case of Walter White in Breaking Bad, the teacher only decided to starts cooking and selling meth only to provide his family when they needed it, and even though his actions were not moral, his intentions were pure. Conclusion American films have for a long time demonstrated essential patterns and contradictions in the myths associated with the society and regardless of whether it is in real life or the silver screen, Americans have often been uncertain concerning the value of civilization (Ray 377). After the debut of The Sopranos and the restrictions on how people could be depicted as well as their motivations loosened, this marked the beginning of change in the characters that were depicted by different programmes. The advent and increase of cable networks has given the go ahead to the programme-creators to create programmes with anti-hero characters with the intention of getting more attention to their shows that had been viewed as dangerous and nonconformist. The Sopranos could have created the first anti-hero, but with time, a wide variety of other similar characters have developed. Dexter, Dead Wood and The Wire among other programmes that run on cable and network television have been created to challenge the traditional idea of the definition of a hero. Through this programmes, the extent to which characters can be pushed while expecting the viewer to continue watching them has been tested. Tony Soprano and the rest of the anti-heroes continue to be watched and supported by numerous advocates regardless of their dreadful conduct. In order for these forms of characters to develop an engagement with the audience watching the programmes, the viewers have to understand the reasons behind their actions; their actions must flow with the characters as well as the set-ups that are comprehended. Work cited Ray, Robert B. "The Thematic Paradigm." Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford, 1997. 342-51. Print. Garrett, Stephen. "Why We Love TV's Anti-heroes." Signs of Life in the U.S.A.: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. 7th ed. Ed. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. Boston: Bedford, 2012. 318-21. Print. Read More