Why Anti Heroes Are So Appealing For The Public

A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom. I’m writing this essay to talk to you about what heroes do. Because I believe that our heroes are important and that they deserve the recognition that they do deserve. Some of our heroes are the army, firefighters, police officers, ambulance, and much more. I’m going to list 3 reasons why heroes are important. The following points are: Heroes risk their lives, they don’t care about the fame, and they never give up. One of the reasons why heroes are so important is that they risk their lives for us. Heros do this because they care about the people that need help. They do it because they care about us. Some heroes try to help us get through things like drugs and

This presents a problem in anti-hero stories, where, according to them, moral judgment plays an “insignificant role in antihero liking” (1037). Therefore, ADT, while effective in measuring likeability of heroic protagonists, fails to measure that of antiheroes. To try to measure the enjoyment of antiheroic stories, Shafer and Raney conducted two studies. In the first one, a group of students was split into two groups. One watched and antihero movie and the other a movie with a classical hero protagonist. Through various points in the film, the viewers were asked to rate the protagonist likeliness on a scale from 0 to 50, with 25 being neutral. Here are the results from the study (fig. 1):

The concept of a hero has been around for many generations, and the meaning of a hero is defined in ways people grasp its idea. A hero can be a person who has a superpower and is willing to make a personal sacrifice for the benefit of others or can be an ordinary everyday person who just wants to help people out of his or her own heart. Linda Seger’s article, “Creating the Myth,” tackles the idea of a “Hero 's Myth,” and shows the ten steps of how heroes are transformed from an ordinary person to the Savior. On the other hand, Robert B. Ray piece titled, “The Thematic Paradigm,” emphasizes that in modern films, it is either having an “Outlaw Hero or an Official Hero,” which he uses three stages to demonstrates how they are different each other in the way they perform in the society. Further, the article, “Out of Character: Wonder Woman’s Strength Is Her Compassion - What Happened?” by Stevie St. John, explains how Wonder Woman was viewed as a compassionate woman in the 1940s and 1950s, and in the 2000s she changes into a more violent person. In this essay, I argue that a hero is subjective, and is defined by the villain or event that they had to adapt to suddenly.

Sporting a fedora, suit and a cigarette in hand, leaning against a wall, the captivating anti-hero stands double crossed in the stereotypical L.A. noir genre. Right in the heat of World War II noir started to rise to the top and become a popular source of entertainment and instant distraction from reality. Many people were drawn to the anti-hero; they were drawn to the flawed characters who were the “heroes” despite their flaws. A hero embodies what people want to be, most consider noir anti-hero’s the same. You can idolize them in a story, but they all have specific characteristics that make the “hero,” themselves, just as vulnerable as everyone else. An anti-hero needs to be layered, complicated, and flawed that pushes the boundaries of what is right and what is wrong. They need an illustrated struggle that builds through growth so as the audience reads they can keep showing optimism for the anti-hero as they try to seek redemption. A novel by James M. Cain, Double Indemnity’s anti-hero Walter Neff has many flaws; flaws that are egotistical and murderous, but also manipulative and powerful. Just like Walter Neff, a recent character that is the epitome of an anti-hero is, Frank Underwood in the show House of Cards. Frank started at the bottom and with his anti-hero characteristics powered his way to presidency putting many morals aside and doing what he thought was the only option to achieve what he wanted. With complex motives, a driven mindset, and no boundaries, the

Superman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman—what do all these characters have in common? They are all products of the human aspiration to be saved. The word hero is passed around too much these days. A hero is not a football player that scores the game-winning touchdown or the goaltender who saves his team from a loss. A hero is usually an ordinary person that did extraordinary things. A true hero is really never a hero at all; at least not in their own mind. However, there are various cases today in which we see the exact opposites of these characters, the anti-heroes. The anti-hero is one who cannot be classified as a hero, for that said character lacks natural heroic qualities. However, the anti-hero cannot be described as a villain either.

The tendency for us to want of need heroes and villains impacts us dramatically in a number of ways. Firstly, the heroes that we have, especially as children, do affect us dramatically in our behaviour towards others and views on ourselves. One of the major problems with this is that we don't choose the right people to idolised a lot of the time, which in turn reflects on our societal values needing to be deeply questioned. Take a sports star, for example. A huge number of children will grow up having a sports star or stars affecting their attitudes and values. These athletes can no doubt have some very positive impacts, as many of them come from poverty or tough circumstances. It's these athletes that give children in similar situations hope.

Everybody has their own version of what a hero is supposed to look like and what they must do to act as a hero, but heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Heroes are defined by how they are able to help under certain circumstances. For instance, Martin Luther King Jr. fought for racial equality in the 60’s, Susan Brownell Anthony fought for the women's right to vote in the 1800’s, Christianity’s Jesus Christ fought to protect humanity for all their sins over 2000 years ago, Luke Skywalker fought the Galactic Empire to restore order for the entire universe a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, and Iron man who fought numerous villains to keep the public safe in popular media. The story of “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. shows how an anti-hero may be the best type of hero in a dystopian setting. This anti-hero is better known as

A hero is someone admired for their courage, achievements, and/or idealized qualities, however; a movie can also portray an anti-hero. An anti-hero is a central character in which lacks conventional heroic characteristics. In every movie, book, or in reality every hero has their ups and downs. Many people undergo many hardships to become a hero. There are many stages a hero has to overcome such as: Separation, Initiation, and Return.

Over the course of this semester, students of World Masterpieces by Amanda Drake have learned about “othering” and anti-heroism. Many of the central characters in the stories and plays that were assigned, exemplified anti heroism and othering. Anti-Heroes, by definition, are typically main characters of a story, play or movie, which lack classic “heroic” traits. Due to these characters lacking heroic traits, they are othered by society and peers, making these characters outcasts.

In the reading, “Why We Love TV’s Anti-heroes” by Stephen Garrett, he points out that anti-heroes are becoming more popular than the traditional hero. Garrett states, “the word hero is abused in the news, the sports reports, and even in conversation” (318). For example tabloids recognize someone who battles a drug addiction and overcomes it or a substitute kicker for the football game kick the winning field goal (318). You see he argues that traditional heroes are “boring” and that there are no longer any more real heroes (318-321). Anti-heroes are characters or people who are just evil but still get the viewers to like

Anti-heroes do not solely exist in the fictional world. There are people in the real world, everyday who fit the anti-hero description. They are… the Mob. In ancient times loyalty was purest form of respect. It was a way of life. One was loyal to his or her family, govern, king, and God. Hand in hand with loyalty, comes the right to revenge. The Mob is one of the few “societies” that has reserved that tradition. For example: when a family member is assassinated, it is not only the right, but also the duty of the surviving family to avenge that death. This loyalty to one’s own, coupled with the fierce determination to protect them, are incredibly heroic qualities. Organized crime families are oohed and ahhed by the press and pop culture, and have their own fans. While these people are not ideal role models, they possess heroic qualities worthy of aspiration.

Unlike heroes, villains are remembered for their loss. They are remembered for their apparent strength and dominance, covering overpowering weakness found within. Villains fight for what is material, even if the material is really thin, and they are remembered for their misplaced priority of quantity over quality.

Who is a hero? How does the definition of a hero change over time? The Epic of Gilgamesh is perhaps the “longest and greatest literary composition written in cuneiform Akkadian” (Dalley 39) and told to an audience, while The Odyssey, and Oedipus the King came many centuries later. However, they all have a hero that represents the values of the society at the time. This paper is going to compare and contrast the ideal of the hero from ancient Mesopotamia in Gilgamesh in approximately 2000 BC, The Odyssey, from the close of the 8th century BC focusing on Odysseus’ long journey home to Ithaca, and Oedipus the King written in about 430 BC and telling the story of the King, Oedipus who fulfills a prophecy.

The original hero archetype greatly contrasts the modern anti-hero archetype. A hero is someone who displays little to no flaws and is widely liked by the majority. This character presents its storyline with exceptional traits. The anti-hero archetype is completely opposite of the hero archetype. “Unlike the traditional hero who is morally upright and steadfast, the anti-hero usually has a flawed moral character” (Michael). Modern anti-heroes lack in grace, power, and social success (Neimneh). They deal with issues and insecurities such as alcoholism and infidelity (Michael). Anti-heroes make unpleasant moral compromises, in contrast to the desired, in order to reach something. They want to create order where it is impossible and put the protagonist to ‘justice’. Traditional hero characters often succeed when trying to complete their quests, which contrasts the extremely grimm success rate of anti-hero victory. Anti-heroes also do not let their inner thoughts influence their actions while original or traditional heroes seek self-definition (Teleky). Traditional hero characters often succeed when trying to complete their quests, which contrasts the extremely grimm success rate of anti-hero victory. The faultless ways of the hero archetype sets it apart from people in society, making it extremely unrelatable to the mass amount of humans today, allowing the anti-hero archetype to prevail through.

An anti hero is said to have flaws, he is gritty, and he often looks for redemption or for his own revenge satisfaction and sometimes for the greater good of society. One more significant point is that unlike tragic hero who thinks of what is a right or a moral thing to do at times, an anti hero does what appears to be right to him. He is often misunderstood by the society; he could perhaps be called as a noble criminal or a vigilante and their mostly motives are fulfilled by breaking the law a.k.a “the ends justify the means”. The last characteristic of an anti hero is his increased moral complexities and rejection of traditional