ADSactly Culture - The Anti-Hero
From early childhood, we are encouraged to believe there are two sides of things, there is good and then, there is bad. We read (or rather, our parents read us) stories about the dragon and the prince. The witch and the good princess. In all these childhood stories, it is clear to us who is the good character and who is the evil one, there is an obvious line there. But as we grow up, we find the line is more blurred than we used to think. More blurred than we'd like to think, perhaps.
And that's good because that's what makes things interesting. As an artist, I've always been drawn by the flawed character, I've always kinda wanted to give into the dark side, you know? It seems to me that conflicted characters appeal to the reader/viewer far more than straight up good guys.
In another post for @adsactly, I discussed the classical byronic hero, what he means and where we might find him in classic literature as well as in more modern reads. And today, I figured I'd write a bit about another favorite archetype – the anti-hero.
The anti-hero, while similar to the byronic, is also quite different when you look at him up close. The anti-hero and the byronic are both outcasts, shunned by society and more often than not, they both have a murky past.. But the anti-hero will always put his best interest first. He doesn't care about the rest of the world, while the byronic hero does. The anti-hero is quite happy to do what is good for him, whereas the byronic hero is not. The byronic hero can't be content because it is in his nature to doubt himself, to find faults in his actions. He will always suffer because he will never be good enough, whereas the anti-hero is always good enough for himself. Basically, the anti-hero is less nice than the byronic hero.
To understand the archetype of the anti-hero better, we ought to look at some classic anti-hero examples.
1. Tyrion Lannister (A Song Of Ice And Fire)
Interestingly enough, he seems to be one of the most loved characters of the series, which only goes to show just how appealing flawed characters can be. While it's easy to see things from Tyrion's point of view (because of his backstory, his father's ongoing hatred towards him for being a dwarf and “killing” his mother and because of all the abuse and mockery he suffers as a result), you can't really claim he's a good guy, can you?
I know, I know, I love him too.
But Tyrion Lannister is a great anti-hero. Note the word hero, so we're still rooting for him in the end. Tyrion is usually driven by selfish impulses and desires, he minds his own interests and does anything he can to get them. He doesn't have many friends and doesn't care about many people, except his brother Jamie (who, funnily enough, is also an anti-hero).
The anti-hero is unpredictable and I'm sure we can all agree so is Tyrion Lannister. He can be good, but he can also be really bad and he's the only one controlling that. He might choose to be nice or he might choose to be bad, maybe just to annoy you.
Tyrion is a particularly nice example because there is just so much to like about him – he's witty, he's funny, he's incredibly intelligent.
2. Becky Sharp (Vanity Fair)
Perhaps you remember the 2004 film adaptation (or perhaps you're watching the currently running TV show Vanity Fair) or indeed, perhaps you've read William Makepeace Thackeray's novel of the same name. Hopefully, you know who I'm talking about – the young poverty-stricken Becky, whose only purpose in life is, basically, to claw her way into high society. She first befriends Amelia Sedley, a young rich girl, and attempts to seduce her super-rich brother, but fails. Later, she goes to work as governess to another rich man, Sir Pitt Crawley, and makes a rather good impression. Sir Pitt's wife eventually dies and the old man proposes marriage to Becky. But she has secretly married his son, which she now regrets, because if she'd known the old woman would die, she would've definitely married the old (much richer) man.
That should tell you enough about Becky's character. Of course, there is much more left of the story – she goes on to cause many other people pain.
And yet, she too is understandable. She is cunning and ruthless, sure, and she only seems to care about herself. But we as readers can understand why, we see the injustice Becky perceives in how her family is poor (her deceased father being an artist and she herself being an intelligent woman) while other, perhaps less deserving people, are rich. She is cruel when she wants to be and good when she wants to be and the fact that she has an understandable backstory and motivation sets her up as another anti-hero.
3. George Costanza (Seinfeld)
I felt the need to lighten the mood a little with this last example. Chances are you've seen at least a couple of Seinfeld episodes, because who hasn't? And it's very possible you know that all the main characters are really anti-heroes, likable though selfish, driven by their own interests, George being the worst of them all. He is utterly selfish and conniving, often trying to concoct a scheme to get himself a better deal in life.
And yet, people like him and relate to him. Many Seinfeld-fans (such as myself) often use Constanza quotes in their day-to-day lives. Again, George is an understandable characters, like all anti-heroes. He may lack morals and do whatever he wants, regardless of how it might impact society, but we see more of ourselves in him than we like to acknowledge...
There are anti-heroes everywhere and in recent years, they've become far more popular than straight-up heroes.
So, who's your favorite anti-hero?
Authored by @honeydue
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The reason why we seemed to have loved Tyrion Lannister despite being an antihero is the empathy created by the writers towards his characterization and this created a endearing love for him because of the incessant abuses he got , I believe some anti Heros are even better loved than the eponymous character or the protagonists, this is beautifully written
I love the anti-hero genre.
Unfortunately, i stopped watching TV, i left it in an abandoned room, and then left the state. Doubled back on my trail, and left many false paths.
... so, i do not know any of these characters.
The little bits of Seinfeld that i have seen just show me selfish characters. I never saw any good traits. Nothing would make me hang out with any of them.
This years very much talked about anime, The Rising of the Shield Hero is about an anti-hero. And it is a very good story.
There are many great examples of anti-heroes :) These are but a few, naturally, that I felt readers might relate with.
That is good, I like this idea. I have not heard of the The Rising of The Shield Hero, but I shall check it out :)
Very good post, @honeydue! Returning to the theme of the hero, you offer us in this post ideas that complete the previous article, on which I left you a comment.
I would observe that sometimes it causes us problems in our understanding of the complexity of the issues, that we are bound by a vision of antagonistic binary oppositions. I think it's a bit of what happens with the notion of anithero, which would result in being, then, simply the hero's antagonist, depending on how we conceive the hero.
I would like to think of contemporary literature and cinema outside the binary figure of the hero-antihero, which somewhat limits the complexity of post-romantic artistic production.
If we go to the cinema, there are truly attractive figures that represent unnoble or low values (as Aristotle would say); for example, Colonel Kurtz of Apocalypse Now or the psychopathic characters of The Silence of the Lambs or Seven.
Grateful for your post, @honeydue. Greetings.
As I told you in your post about heroes, I think anti-heroes are more real and we can sometimes identify with them more. So much so that it's not strange that some antiheroes are more famous and eye-catching in some movies or television series. In short: cameras are stolen from the protagonist. In particular, I like a lot of anti-heroes. For example SHREK, his bad character is only a defense mechanism, because he knows that because of his appearance, people will treat him badly or will be afraid of him. He's not the typical prince charming you would expect for a princess, but he is brave and loved. Another is MALEFIC, although I don't like Angelina Jolie, I must admit that this character is very interesting, because despite the intimidating appearance of Maléfica, we know that she was not always like this: she was betrayed by the boy with whom she was in love. That can happen to all of us only we don't all have the power to avenge ourselves. LOL. Finally I leave Deadpool, my favorite. This is the best of all. According to him: "Well, let's value the pros and cons of being a superhero. Pro: they've got girls all over the place. Discounts on dry cleaning. Lucrative film contracts, pre-schools and films with other superheroes. Cons: everyone is a law-abiding nerd. I love it. Thanks for this post, @honeydue.
Ha, I actually wanted to use shrek as an example, but changed my mind at the last second. Yes, he is an excellent example. I liked Maleficent too although I also dislike Angelina Jolie. It's an interesting premise, the story told through the eyes of the "evil character" is a very different story. For each man (or woman) is a hero in his own tale. And Deadpool, yes, I was thinking of him as well when I wrote this! Well, he does have an exceppent point there, doesn't he? :D
I'd say the antihero is definitely on the rise here, hence the popularity of characters such as Deadpool. :)
When you look at these act critically, the anti-hero is that hero that is hated by everyone because of their pessimism and antagonistic behavior towards the protagonist. The way I see it, the anti-heroes are helpers. Yes! Without them, there will be no hero and the heroes will have nothing to celebrate. So if others despise them, they should appreciate them as well even if it is to a lesser degree.
I think so too. The anitheroes have their own important role in the story, as do antagonists. :)
Your post is always good. I like your post very well
This is exactly what I needed.
Smile, I think you really brought good and better Idea for many to follow and emulate them for the whole planet earth to be clean and free from trash. Morealso, I would love some dapps to join the movement as well so we can improve on daily basis
Are you going on show Tyrion or book Tyrion for your analysis? I was just curious.
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Nice blog @adsactly
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