Who is an anti-hero?
Author of the article: Tatiana Zhakova
Journalist, linguist, teacher of storytelling with 10 years of experience
In 2015 she created and promoted her project about Nizhny Novgorod, nnstories.ru, after which she created a course called "Storytelling: How to Tell Your Story" based on it. Over 4,000 students have taken the course.
A linguist by education, she quickly masters new areas. Now she is actively studying screenwriting and storytelling in movies/serials, and writes about it in her project's blog.
A linguist by education, she quickly masters new areas. Now she is actively studying screenwriting and storytelling in movies/serials, and writes about it in her project's blog.
You have probably come across such a concept. The anti-hero is the main character in a movie or TV series, who is infused with a mass of negative traits and qualities.
That is, he is not a hero in the usual sense of the word. There is nothing heroic about him, we do not want to be like him. However, we still enjoy following the development of his story.
That is, he is not a hero in the usual sense of the word. There is nothing heroic about him, we do not want to be like him. However, we still enjoy following the development of his story.
The first vivid antihero who aroused our sympathy was definitely Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City.
She wasn't perfect, and she said so herself. Her flaws - her curly hair, her love of shoes, and her habit of living the Manhattan life - just added to her charm and made her so lovable.
She wasn't perfect, and she said so herself. Her flaws - her curly hair, her love of shoes, and her habit of living the Manhattan life - just added to her charm and made her so lovable.
Although, by the way, even Scarlett O'Hara from "Gone with the Wind" we can call an anti-hero - in her too, humanly, there was little that was good.
But after that, in the 2000s, there were a huge number of male anti-heroes. There's Walter White from Breaking Bad and Dexter and even Sherlock, if you think about it.
More examples:
Daenerys from "Game of Thrones," Piper Chapman from "Orange is the Hit of the Season," and Danila Bagrov and Sanya White from our Russian reality.
What do they have in common?
Definitely a trauma from childhood that prevents us from moving forward. Anti-heroes don't even want to think about the past, they see the world only through the prism of "What can we become?
In addition, they all tend to have their own "set of laws" that justifies them in their own and in our eyes. Think of Dexter - he has a moral code, right, who to kill and who not to kill?
In addition, they all tend to have their own "set of laws" that justifies them in their own and in our eyes. Think of Dexter - he has a moral code, right, who to kill and who not to kill?
Why do we enjoy following anti-heroes so much?
That's why we like to follow them-they give us a chance to touch something forbidden that we would never touch in real life. Communicate with our dark side.
It's interesting that since the metoo-type movements, the dominance of men as anti-heroes has noticeably decreased. And now we have mostly female anti-heroines: remember "Ozark" and "And Fires Smolder Everywhere."
By the way, anti-heroines are very often married to anti-heroes!
It's interesting that since the metoo-type movements, the dominance of men as anti-heroes has noticeably decreased. And now we have mostly female anti-heroines: remember "Ozark" and "And Fires Smolder Everywhere."
By the way, anti-heroines are very often married to anti-heroes!
Anti-heroes in social networks
It seems to me that nowadays it is much more interesting to follow anti-heroes than good and fluffy heroic characters. And on social networks as well! I've met quite a few profiles (including those of my real-life acquaintances) that run their story, actively showing their flaws and negative traits. And their subscribers only like it more!
So now you don't have to try to be a good hero at all, you can just be an anti-hero and attract people's attention.
So now you don't have to try to be a good hero at all, you can just be an anti-hero and attract people's attention.
Also, I've been thinking.
Do heroes become anti-heroes over time? For example, Zhenya Lukashin from everyone's favorite Soviet movie. When we were kids, we thought it was a fairy tale: once he found himself in another city, found love, and defeated Koshchei. Now we know that Zhenya is an infantile boy, unable to take responsibility for his life!
So did he turn out to be an anti-hero, do you think?
So did he turn out to be an anti-hero, do you think?