What do Alaska Young (looking for Alaska,) Spike from “Buffy”
and Batman have in common? They all play the cool and aloof card and leave
their fans thirsty for more, but why does it work?
We seem to be attracted to characters that couldn’t care less
about anything other than the protagonist, yet I’ve not noticed it until
recently with my relapse back to Buffy The Vampire Slayer and their three leather
clad, badass characters (Faith, Angel and Spike) that have stolen my heart more
than the main leads have. However if you met someone that arrogant and uncaring
in real life you would either not remember them or have a bitter taste left on
the tongue, so why is it when you see a figure in the distance in a leather
jacket with their head down smoking a cigarette there is some kind of allure
triggered?
Another theory is that its more relatable to fall for a
“blank slate character” like Harry Potter or Becca from Pitch Perfect because
they have no controversial opinions or deep feeling until later in the narrative,
and by then you will be able to sympathise. These protagonists allow the show
to be watched by anyone without having their actions justified, evil is bad, so
we remove even if there are consequences – basic utilitarianism.
Finally rebels are sexier, dark love interests like the
cliché “brooding vampire” and the “rebellious indie chick” allows a taste of
what we could never get away with in real life. They call the shots and will
make dramatic sexy speeches before slipping on tight leather and slipping away
into the darkness. We envy their control and how they mirror the oh-so-innocent
protagonists making a perfect devil’s advocate. They indulge us in the
unobtainable and help us imagine a world where we get what we want. The perfect
example of this is River Song from Dr Who with her trigger happy principles and
the doctor acting as impulse control and balancing the moral scale.
But does this have a negative effect? Could all these feisty,
uncaring anarchists be making us more cold and chaotic? Are we becoming
detached because of our passion for making a badass character a little too bad?
Or is the increase in stories with a dark avenger type a reflection of our
current views as a society, the desire to put ourselves first and call the
shots in a competitive world?
What do you think? Feel free to add to the discussion
