{"id":155131,"date":"2021-05-31T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=155131"},"modified":"2021-05-28T14:50:49","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T19:50:49","slug":"rise-of-the-anti-anti-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/rise-of-the-anti-anti-hero\/","title":{"rendered":"Are We About to See the Rise of the Anti-Anti-Hero?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Is this new age of anti-anti-heroes a real trend? Or is it just a lost mirage of a darker turn for those favorite heroes we love to hate?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Why do we love heroes that we love to hate? The trend for some time now in film and television has been to tell the stories of complicated, compromised, and sometimes downright awful characters. And, for the most part, we as filmmakers and the consuming public have been eating it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is this just the world we live in? Do we want<\/em> our lead characters and blockbuster heroes to be objectively terrible people, or do we simply want them to be complex and reflective of society? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe these questions will never have answers. However, it’s worth noting that after years of getting darker and darker anti-heroes in film and television, there may be a new ray of hope for our leading characters. There are glimmers of a new dawn for the anti-anti-hero, a lead character full of altruism and good-naturedness.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s explore this new age of anti-anti-heroes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What Is an Anti-Hero?<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"There<\/a>
P.T. Anderson<\/a> directing Daniel Day-Lewis<\/a> in his portrayal of the infamous anti-hero Daniel Plainview in<\/em> There Will Be Blood<\/a>. Image via Paramount Pictures<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, before we dive in further, let\u2019s define an anti-hero first. Unlike traditional heroes of film, literature, and myth, an anti-hero is any hero or lead character who lacks conventional heroic qualities. According to wikipedia<\/a>, these include attributes such as \u201cidealism, courage, and morality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it might seem strange at first to have heroes who aren\u2019t always morally correct, in many ways anti-heroes are a more truthful representation of actual humans. We might all strive to be perfect, but more often than not, we act out of self-interest or in other ways that go against these classic heroic ideals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve seen these anti-heroes throughout history, but they\u2019ve been particularly notable in film and television in recent years. Modern anti-heroes include examples like Don Draper (Mad Men<\/em><\/a>), Walter White (Breaking Bad<\/em><\/a>), Daniel Plainview (There Will Be Blood<\/em>), and Lorraine Broughton (Atomic Blonde<\/em><\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, if you\u2019d like to focus on anti-heroes for your films, here\u2019s everything you need to know about how to develop an anti-hero for a project of your own<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Heroes Throughout Cinema History<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Star<\/a>
Luke Skywalker is the perfect example of a classic hero built on Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey formula. Image via 20th Century Fox<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, while it may seem that every character you see in film and on television these days is an anti-hero, it\u2019s also important to note that this wasn\u2019t always the case. The history of the hero\u2014or the protagonist\u2014in a film is usually closely tied with the hero\u2019s journey<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you aren\u2019t familiar with Joseph Campbell<\/a>, his concept of the monomyth, and The Hero with a Thousand Faces<\/em><\/a>, then you should absolutely read up on it. His work in the 1940s studying myths and heroes has pretty much informed every story and film since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, as the hero is defined in the hero\u2019s journey, our protagonist is meant to face challenges, overcome obstacles, and objectively grow as they complete their quest or travels. However, over the years filmmakers and show creators challenged elements of the growth and goodness of these heroes. In many ways, these challenges turn the myth on its head by making characters worse versions of themselves by the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Response to Anti-Heroes<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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