The Evil in You - Part 2

My perspective on my research topic has changed in a few ways.  I still think that people like a villain because of relatability and that chance to experience something without the danger, but now I think that for some cases people are lured into liking the villain.  The articles each had their own explanation as to why someone likes a villain, but they were all pretty much similar in context.  In one the articles that I read, the author mentioned the lack of a hero in some shows leaving only the villain.  They also mentioned that they sometimes do not show the victim(s), leaving someone to be okay with sympathizing with the villain.  I plan on comparing some of the villains with the some superheroes and read an article on vigilante heroes and how they were influenced by politics within the 1980’s.  I am still going to focus on the different ideas of what people see in each villain.  I am also going to look at Disney villains and their evolution and interest within our society.  I never noticed that they followed a stereotypical and, at times, racist stereotype.  Now they are becoming more like heroes and have their own fan bases.

            I am going to start with what heroism is, then move into what some of the theories behind why people like villains are.  Then I am going to proceed to look at specific examples and compare them to heroes.  I am going to finish with any theories on what in popular culture makes people like them such as the lack of a hero and a push for money. Overall, I am going to focus mainly on the reasons why someone likes them and what they might see when they look at the characters. 

The Evil in You

For the research paper, I chose to look at evil and its presence and impact on pop culture.  My view on the topic is that society is becoming more and more interested in villains and antiheroes.  It seems like they feel like they relate to them more.  I want to look further into why society thinks like this and whether or not popular culture caused the shift or society’s interested did. 

            My research question is:  Why does society enjoy villains and anti-heroes in shows and movies?  Has popular culture impacted ideals or has society impacted popular culture and created a new era of villains?  It relates to popular culture because of television series and movies such as Dexter and Maleficent that follow the story line of someone who is not like the rest.  These are popular mediums in our society making them apart of popular culture.  It also relates with the question of whether or not society changed popular culture or vice versa. 

            So far I know that there has been an increase in these shows.  This idea has been a part of society for a while stemming from mythology and historical events such as the celebration of The Boston Tea Party (Donnelly Pg. 17).  Another things related to my subject that I noted in an article is the idea of seeing people at their worst in reality television series, something that became very popular (Turnau Pg.1).  I have read in other articles that we feel a connection to flawed heroes and villains.  I need to find those other articles, they will help me make a strong essay.

            Right now my answer to the research question I posed would be that our society feels pressured and finds the anti-hero or villain interesting because it is something we could never act out in our life and are easier to relate to than the perfect, charismatic, and good looking heroes that are out there. 

DONNELLY, ASHLEY M. "The New American Hero: Dexter, Serial Killer For The Masses." Journal Of Popular Culture 45.1 (2012): 15-26.Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

Turnau T. Inflecting the World: Popular Culture and the Perception of Evil. Journal Of Popular Culture [serial on the Internet]. (2004, Nov), [cited April 16, 2015]; 38(2): 384-396. Available from: SocINDEX with Full Text.