Probably my favorite character in any book, movie or television show is the antihero; not to be confused with the antagonist. Where an antagonist is a villain, the one causing the problem that is progressing the plot for the hero or protagonist, the antihero is the protagonist with a less than conventional characteristics of the typical hero. Yesterday, I noted that the hero was courageous, self-sacrificing and morally right. The antihero tends to be selfish, morally ambiguous and show more signs of being cowardly in the face of danger.
Its true that everyone loves a great villain. The villain, with all their endless evil and conniving, create the plot that stories are surrounded by. The antihero is all that corruption without making the reader feel like they are siding with evil while they love them. The best part about them, is that you get all of the faults, mistakes, malicious behavior and sharp wit of the villain, but they are, in a way, fighting for good. Occasionally, they aren't fighting for good or bad, they are fighting for themselves. Let's go through a few examples. Here are some of my favorites.
Pirates of the Caribbean - Captain Jack Sparrow
This character single handedly created a franchise. It brought life to the pirates of old and he was the antihero that everyone wanted to be like.
Lost - Benjamin Linus and James "Sawyer" Ford
Both of these characters have very distinct 'bad guy' feelings. Ben being the more questionable of the two (since we still aren't sure what side he is one). Sawyer is fighting more for good, but doing it in a way that serves him best. (Not to mention Kate, who is technically a fugitive. Just saying.)
Dexter - Dexter Morgan
This show just put the lead actor in a place for a Golden Globe. The character is a serial killer hunting murderers. It's the ultimate antihero in that he will kill to find, what he believes is true justice.
Fight Club - Tyler Durden
Brad Pitt's portrayal of this fictional character created quite a stir. Honestly, I can ask any guy what their favorite movies are and there is no doubt that Fight Club with it's chaos creating character will make the list.
I could go on and on. The antihero is one of the most loved characters in all of literature and media. We want to love the bad guy. Woman want to change him, men want to him him. Don't get me wrong, there are certainly the female antihero. What about Pam from the Southern Vampire series? Or even someone a little more mild, like Meredith Grey of Grey's Anatomy? She's repeated described as being 'dark and twisty inside,' labeling her as the antihero and still the protagonist.
I promise, the women in my book, most of them are the antihero. With the exception of Julian's mother and sister, the rest of them have a distinct flair for self-serving, self-preservation, and morally ambiguous behavior.
DISCUSSION! Talk about your favorite antihero in any book, series, show or movie. Also, it's Question Friday tomorrow!! Ask me anything, everything and all you want to know will be revealed... well, within reason. Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My favourite antiheros include:
ReplyDeleteMad Martigan. The first time we see him in the movie Willow, he's hanging out in a crow's cage for an undisclosed crime. He's a mercenary looking for freedom who falls into a cause, which he resists for as long as possible; he's a cad, yet he also ends up trying to take care of the saviour/baby. He's also witty. Most antiheros are witty.
Thorn Drumheller (formerly Willow Ufgood). We see him in the sequel trilogy of books to the above movie. He's darker in the sequels; he's lost so much, encountered so much, learned so much, that the naive and innocent sorcerer could not help but be changed. He sees things in shades of grey. Hell, he make a deal with a demon, so he can learn to walk through stones and rock in order to escape prison. He's badass.
I can't remember his name but Nick Nolte's character in the movie I Love Trouble is pretty much an antihero, too. He's a journalist who takes a lot of shortcuts, barely makes deadlines, bends all the rules, and seduces anything with boobs along the way to get what he wants.
And you already have my questions. ;)
I would have totally said Tyler Durden, but you stolessssss! One of my favorites has to be Captain Kirk from the new Star Trek, because he's a badass, willing to shove his way to get whatever he wants, but deep down, he's a good person and wants to save the day:)
ReplyDeleteAnother good one is Eric from True Blood. It's obvious that he's a vampire willing to mercilessly slay and torture humans, but he also shows inexplicable kindness to Sookie, Sam and Arlene's children. Besides, we all love him more than Bill (*shudder*) anyhow, because his way of skirting around the rules is so unorthdox, yet... sexy;)
Some more lame questions to add to the ones i posted on your LJ:
1) Does Julian have a sidekick/bestie that will accompany him on his travels of epic proportions?
2) What inspiring/badass music have you been listening to to prepare/write this epic?
I realize I'm commenting to this ages after it's been posted, and I talk to you on such a regular basis that it seems almost silly to simply leave a comment. BUT WHATEVS. I'M SILLY.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I like best in fiction is the antihero. While I enjoy reading about the Good Guy and his Noble Motives, the fact of the matter is that people just don't work like that. Sure, there are a few exceptions to the rule, but go out and pick someone off the street, and it's more likely that they're not the sort to give selflessly or go on an Adventure to Save The Princess. For two reasons - first, because we don't have the sort of Princess that need that sort of Saving, and second, because the average person is not Galahad.
That said, one of my favorite antiheroes is Lancelot. By the traditional definition of 'antihero', he isn't one. He's obviously one of the heroes. He's a Knight of the Round Table. Obviously he's a Good Guy, right? He's one of Arthur's most trusted friends. But he's also just as obviously human as anyone else. And there's really no other word I can use to describe it, apart from "human". He's good. He's selfish. His motives aren't always pure. But he's a Knight of the Round Table, which means he's supposed to embody the very things that he isn't. It's a beautiful dichotomy.
And as much as archetypes are a wonderful thing, as you know very well of me I prefer to dig down and discover the completely human motivations behind characters' actions. Partly it stems from training as an actor, partly it stems from a sheer fascination with the ways the human mind can come up with to convince itself that actions taken aren't driven by an underlying selfish desire.
Also I need a blogspot so I can comment to you properly.