Bachelor Thesis: Faculty of Behavior Sciences Psychology.
#Dexture intro serial
Kerutt, B., (2012) Sympathizing with a serial killer: an explanation of the success of Dexter. "The search for self: Everyday heroes and an integral revisioning of the heroic journey in postmodern literature and pop-culture." Ph.D. (2012) The new American hero: dexter, serial killer for the masses. Fundamentals of media effects (2nd ed., pp. The heroic monster: dexter, masculinity, and violence. Antiheroes are unconventional and very unlike the heroes of the past, however they create a new and fascinating modern day character that battles their problems by any means necessary.Īrellano, L. We are forced to make choices that we must justify as an end or a means to an end.” (Kinnaird 2013). All of us understand it as a significant phenomenon because we are tested on it every day. “ We see the same thing over and again within our cultural belief systems, religions, and systems of government.
Dr.Brian Kinnaird a professor of social psychology and criminal justice states that anti heroes bring up a confusing moral paradox. In these cases we are already rooting for the character to do whatever necessary to make things right again. When we see that a character has been wronged, we can relate that situation to our own lives. Almost anyone could relate to the appeal of justice or vengeance no matter the laws in place. Despite their actions, these characters are very aware of the injustices they have committed and they have a conscience that makes them mindful.Īs a society we are unable to say that everyone acts according to the law. Murray concludes with the idea that we will always have sympathy for the antihero. Matt Murray is a film studies professor at The University of Kent, Murray suggests, “There can be little doubt that there is a large audience for the morally distressed narrative, and that the sustained exploration of weak, dubious, compromised and corrupt protagonists is a major reason for the critical and popular success of these programs.” (Murray 2014) Murray provides examples of such narratives success including programs like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, and more. When we see characters taking justice into their own hands, we are likely to support their decisions. Dexter makes people pay for their horrific crimes, rather than waiting for the police department to do so. We can also relate to the desire to put justice in our own hands. Dexter comes off as a normal guy, and as we learn more about Dexter’s dark past and his violent mind, we actually sympathize with him. We can look at these characters and create justification for why they are behaving the way they do.ĭexter Morgan’s narrative contains extreme violence and yet it is still relatable to an audience. All of these anti-heroes have a goal or a purpose they are trying to meet, whether it is attempting to support their family or trying to bring justice to those who do others harm. Why is it that their illegal and immoral behaviors do not effect our approval of them? According to Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, people who engage in reprehensible behavior look to justify their actions through disinhibitory devices (Bandura, 2009). All of these characters are like us they have normal everyday jobs, families, and deal with struggles similar to our own.
#Dexture intro series
Dexter Morgan from the TV series Dexter is a violent serial killer who is still able to maintain a family and a career. Nancy Botwin from Weeds is a drug dealing housewife and mother who serves jail time. Walter White from Breaking Bad is a high school chemistry teacher who begins cooking meth to bring in money for his family. Many of todays most successful television programs feature the loveable anti-hero, who despite their questionable actions, are respected and admired by audiences.
However, Anti-heroes are far more complex characters, often with a darker past influencing their behavior. The main character is often the one that people go to for advice, and is someone who learns a valuable ethical lesson at the end of the story. Typically, audiences are primed to believe that a main character should possess mostly positive and moral traits. The definition of an anti-hero is, a central character within a narrative that lacks anticipated admirable qualities. The portrayal of anti-heroes has become the focus of many entertainment story lines. In both movies and television, writers are straying away from typical good guy narratives by delving into something darker and more complex.
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