The Psychopathic TV Landscape: Psych 101 Didn't Prepare Me For This

[Watcher0363]

The Psychopathic TV Landscape: Psych 101 did not prepare me for this.

 

After watching the 8th episode of the second season of House of Cards. I called it quits on that show and this new sub genre of television that has become so popular these days. The psychopathic antihero and his willing enablers, who we are suppose to love and support and root for, because there is always worst out there. My dislike of this type of television started a few years back when I got into an argument with some one for not wanting to watch Dexter. Her declaration that he only kills bad people, sounded ridiculous to me. Yet she was not the last person to explain that little fact to me about Dexter and why I should like him. Yes, a protagonist who quenches his homicidal urges on people apparently worst than him.

 

With so many popular shows like Dexter, Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Hannibal, The Shield, Tyrant, The Blacklist, Rush. Trying to give us a version of the hooker with a heart of gold. Only this trope version has become the murderous homicidal maniac with a heart of gold. Has made so many dramas out there just unwatchable for me. I do not mind flawed people as heroes it is reality. But serial killers, drug kingpins, international death brokers, drug addicted doctors, majorly corrupt politicians and law enforcement as heroes.

 

When did this trend start? I do not know, but the landscape of television is littered with shows like this. Where the protagonist is not just an antihero but an outright full blown major psychopath. Seeing how psychiatry has redefined sociopaths as just a degree psychopathology. I made sure to modify psychopath with full blown major, to make sure everyone knows how bad these humans are. Why are writers trying to get us to embrace and champion these people? Like many people out there I am out right rejecting these characters and shows. I am rejecting the Dick—ChenBushing of America.

 

I am rejecting:

Breaking Bad
The Shield
Sons of Anarchy
Dexter
Tyrant
House of Cards
Hannibal
The Blacklist

 

I will not root for characters who live by this meme.

[Sandman87]

I blame Seinfeld for all of it. While the characters weren't as bad as the ones in those other shows, it's probably the first show to achieve popularity that had a cast of sympathetic jerks. Assuming a sufficiently vague definition for "sympathetic."

I am rejecting the Dick—ChenBushing of America.

I recommend not dragging politics into non-political discussions. It usually ends badly.

[ParadoxLost]

 

I blame Seinfeld for all of it. While the characters weren't as bad as the ones in those other shows, it's probably the first show to achieve popularity that had a cast of sympathetic jerks. Assuming a sufficiently vague definition for "sympathetic."

 

This.  I remember the exact moment when Seinfeld went too far for me.  It was George and friends reaction when his fiancée died licking stamps for their wedding.  There were a few years there where I was just frustrated that there was no character that was root able anywhere on TV.    Roswell sucked hard because Max sucked harder.  Buffy went to a very dark place with Spike/Buffy's relationship..Paul thought about cheating on Jamie on Mad About You.  I remember raging that even comedies weren't immune to every character being hateful.

 

While I agree Seinfeld cracked the window, I think the Sopranos threw the door wide open to the psychopath as the protagonist that the audience is supposed to get behind.

[Watcher0363]

This.  I remember the exact moment when Seinfeld went too far for me.  It was George and friends reaction when his fiancée died licking stamps for their wedding.  There were a few years there where I was just frustrated that there was no character that was root able anywhere on TV.    Roswell sucked hard because Max sucked harder.  Buffy went to a very dark place with Spike/Buffy's relationship..Paul thought about cheating on Jamie on Mad About You.  I remember raging that even comedies weren't immune to every character being hateful.

 

While I agree Seinfeld cracked the window, I think the Sopranos threw the door wide open to the psychopath as the protagonist that the audience is supposed to get behind.

Let me say up front I love Seinfeld. I still think it was and is a brilliant show. But I truly thought the show would not catch on because they were a group of the most selfish friends I had ever seen portryed on TV. That first sesaon when Elaine wanted to move into the apartment above Jerry. And George, Jerry and Kramer all conspired to keep her from getting it. I said to myself, these are some very not nice people. Paradoxlost count me as one of the people that could not believe those episodes about the death of George's fiance. The fact that George could barely contain his glee at her death in the hospital and much later with her parents really shocked me.

 

I had forgotten about the Sopranos. I watched the first season on dvd. Then none after. I guess even then my hate for psychopaths as the protagonist was manifesting itself and I just did not notice. I should add the Sopranos's to the list

[Sandman87]

Here's a few TVTopes articles (with links to other articles) that might be useful in this discussion. Obligatory warning - TVTropes is an infinite time sink if you allow it to be:

 

The Sociopath

Narcissist

Villain Protagonist

Sociopathic Hero

 

 

Edit to add: Watcher, I took your meme and added another meme to make it twice as meme-ey!

Edited August 28, 2014 by Sandman87

[peggy06]

Breaking Bad is an interesting case. Most people I know felt sympathy for Walt in Season 1, because of his situation and his general air of defeat. As time went on, though, and more of his background was revealed, he became less an object of sympathy. By the last season, most basically loathed him. I found myself alternating between loathing, and my heart being in my mouth whenever he was on the verge of being exposed. I would say his was a complicated character, revealing unexpected glimmers of humanity amidst the ruthlessness and egotism. I am not sure how the show itself regarded him. There are elements in the finale that hint at sympathy, or at least redemption.

 

You didn't mention House, but that was another early show with an antihero hero. I wouldn't call him a psychopath, but he was definitely a very negative character for the lead on a network show. After House became a hit, it seemed like edgy protagonists started popping up all over the place.

 

The only other show on your list that I watch is House of Cards. I don't root for Francis and Claire; it's more a case of wondering how long they can get away with it, and who will bring them down.

[ramble]

Such an interesting topic. They are so many characters on TV that if given much thought are truly evil. It's difficult not to be drawn in at times. I think it's human nature to be intrigued & I know for me personally I walk a fine line with that. I used to love Criminal Minds but after a few episodes that left me feeling slightly ill & uncomfortable with the fact I viewed them I quit that show. I've never watched one episode of any of these shows:

Breaking Bad

The Shield

Sons of Anarchy

Dexter

Tyrant

House of Cards

Hannibal

The Blacklist

Maybe I just instinctively was repelled by the topics. After having personally been involved with a charismatic psychopath I try to not get sucked into shows that glorify the horrific crazy. So many people in my ex's life think he is wonderful & kind because they haven't been exposed to his evil side. While he isn't a murderer, he is abusive & enjoys inflicting cruelty & watching it as well. If I hadn't lived through several years of fear I wonder if I would be more interested in watching some of these type of shows.

[Sandman87]

I just realized that the first thing that should have popped into my mind when I saw this topic is every cartoon that's produced by Seth MacFarlane. Family Guy, American Dad!, The Cleveland Show, they're all populated entirely by jerks. You might occasionally see someone being nice to someone else on these shows in a very general "I love you but I don't really care about you" kind of way, but that usually just leaves the impression that the writers needed to fulfill a "nice" quota for the show so they could get back to having the characters lie to, cheat, and physically abuse each other.

 

It's telling that for me the two best moments on Family Guy are a rant where Quagmire tells Brian just a few of the reasons that Brian sucks as a person, and a scene where Meg calls everyone else in the family on their BS.

Edited September 1, 2014 by Sandman87

[walnutqueen]

I have no problem watching "bad" people on TV.  I've had so much personal experience with REAL bad that the TV tropism is just that - fiction that barely scratches the surface of the complexities of the "psycho".  Anti-heroes are my specialty.  :-)

 

I, on the other hand, reject any notion of protagonist/sympathetic hero treacley good guy; that kind of shit makes me wanna vomit (and change the channel).   :-)

[Watcher0363]

I did not add House to the list because I only watched House when it went into syndication. As much of an ass that House was, at leasted he helped people mostly out of ego of course. House also showed that he cared for some people. Only smart people but at least he cared. Most of the shows I listed had or have characters who are doing evil day in and day out that cost people their lives. With House of Cards after that 8th episode of season 2 I decided that there was not one decent character on that show. No one at all, they were just all different levels of slime.

 

In my early days of watching TV we had Dallas, Falcon Crest, Dynasty, all with bad guys. But we did not root for them to succeed, we hoped that their evil plans would fail and they would get what was coming to them. But now they want you to root for the serial killer over the child molester. Some choice. I must be getting old because I want a little more black and white to my heroes and villians.

[EtheltoTillie]

For me it's Curb Your Enthusiasm.  I originally watched Seinfeld, but often squirmed.  Curb became Seinfeld on steroids.  At first I found it fascinating the way he came up with clever plots, but finally I just couldn't take it anymore.

 

But I don't mind crime shows such as Breaking Bad and even Ray Donovan.

 

Where I have had to draw the line is Criminal Minds.  That is true psychopathology/sickie woman torture porn. 

[Watcher0363]

Here's a few TVTopes articles (with links to other articles) that might be useful in this discussion. Obligatory warning - TVTropes is an infinite time sink if you allow it to be:

 

The Sociopath

Narcissist

Villain Protagonist

Sociopathic Hero

 

 

Edit to add: Watcher, I took your meme and added another meme to make it twice as meme-ey!

I shyed away from diving into more tropes. Because I just recently emerged from the internet rabbit hole know as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Memes are made to be expanded on.

 

Where I have had to draw the line is Criminal Minds.  That is true psychopathology/sickie woman torture porn. 

That is how I view Law and Order: SVU. I am still not sure why women love LaO:SVU so much, but they do.

[EtheltoTillie]

I shyed away from diving into more tropes. Because I just recently emerged from the internet rabbit hole know as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Memes are made to be expanded on.

That is how I view Law and Order: SVU. I am still not sure why women love LaO:SVU so much, but they do.

I hate to say it, but I do watch Law and Order: SVU, but that's because it's a NY show, and sometimes I have to turn it off.  The pursuit of Olivia by that sicko all last year was just too much.  Isn't it interesting that the actor that plays him, Pablo Schreiber, is the half brother of Liev (Ray Donovan) Schreiber!

[Actionmage]

Usually, I am not big on the villainous protagonist, but I have watched episodes of The Shield and The Blacklist. I also find myself a fan of Hannibal, which surprises me to no end.

 

While I will probably dive into the coming season of Hannibal, the reason I do is that the show totally sides with the FBI and Will Graham & Co. that Hannibal needs to be stopped. For all the fan enthusiasm, the not-so-good doctor is clearly monstrous. I trust the show's PTB aren't going to whitewash Lecter's crimes. The show is about Graham and the FBI's intro to the cases ( S1) and setting up their realization of how dangerous he really is (S2) and how they capture him.  For me, the protagonist is Will Graham and the antagonist is Hannibal Lecter.

 

I watched episodes of the other two shows due to curiosity. I ended up liking some of the acting on The Shield ( CCH Pounder in particular, but most of the regular cast and some nice guest roles.) I couldn't stick with it due to the lead characters. The Blacklist just lured me in with Spader and I caught some of the episodes on-line. I jumped around and landed on eps with either guest stars I liked or stories that could be intriguing.  I just can't with the show because Red is by all rights a comic-book super-villain. Contingencies, secrets, contacts and stories from every place on the globe, and the ability to make everyone in the FBI look stoopid.

 

I, on the other hand, reject any notion of protagonist/sympathetic hero treacley good guy;

 

walnutqueen, I think that kind of character is a failure on the writer's part; as summed up on TV Tropes, Good Is Not Dumb/Soft. I feel like TV writers think that you have to be stupid or a sucker to be a good guy, so those roles are unappealing to most folks, which comes through the screen to the audience.

 

I do think there can be obviously villainous protagonists, but there has to be an end date.  Part of the audience may really need the closure of the villain protagonist paying for their crimes; this being fiction, it should be able to happen. That if you are going to watch a pretend person commit pretend crimes, they should pay in their pretend world. I mostly fall into that category. If the villain gets away with a lot of stuff over several seasons, it starts to feel a bit like "Okay, we get it. Your a bad-ass villain who can outwit everyone. Again, some more."  Yet, once in a while, I'm okay with the occasional villain getting away from the justice system. Sometimes because the way either the character or the story is set-up, I can buy that ending.

 

I believe that TV has always had asshole protagonists, but it's a cyclical thing. This cycle, the asshole protagonists were villains and had better writers, as well as PR proclaiming the new Golden Age of TV. From there it's the crappy imitators of the tightly-written, thoughtful, thought-provoking shows that wear the audience down.

[ennui]

While I agree Seinfeld cracked the window, I think the Sopranos threw the door wide open to the psychopath as the protagonist that the audience is supposed to get behind.

 

Maybe it was The Godfather. The idea is nothing new. People loved John Dillinger. "During the 1930s Depression, many Americans, nearly helpless against forces they didn’t understand, made heroes of outlaws who took what they wanted at gunpoint." So, I'm guessing there are deeper psychological forces at work.

[Watcher0363]

I know during tough times ordinary people tend to live through the exploits of the outlaw. However it is fair to say that even though some may cheer for the outlaw they also lived in fear of encountering them. That is why in private they were pulling for them, but in public they were screaming for law enforcement to do their job. To be clear, law enforcement did their jobs and the reigns of the likes of Bonnie an Clyde, John Dillinger were very short lived.

 

My problem is how the fictional bad guys, who are more on par with Nazi concentration commanders, are being made to seem as if they are just misunderstood people. People who you would really like if you just shared a beer or two with them. Then you would understand their pain and help facilitate their need to alleviate that pain through murder and murderous torture. So many of these fictional psychopaths have such willing enablers that enable their psychopathic acts and aide them in escaping punishment. That it drives me crazy. For once I would like to see one of these characters meet an end like Bonnie and Clyde or Jeffery Dahmer or Ariel Castro.