The advent of a new subgenre in TV crime series has witnessed the shift from the traditional dichotomy of good vs evil to a new vision where the lines between the two is much more blurred and the viewer often finds himself to sympathazie with and relate to the “bad guy”. Such a transformation has led some to express concern over the consequences that this may have on society and have brought some to claim that the emergence of the new genre is actually dangerous in that it incites episodes of violence and emulation of deviant behaviour.
The emergence of the anti hero as the main character
Traditional crime stories see the presence of two opposing poles. On the one hand there is evil represented by the criminal, embodiment of lawlessness, violence and deviance. On the other hand the good takes the form of a brave, idealist and valiant hero moved by the pursuit of justice and the restoration of harmony. The struggle between the opposite forces always sees the prevalence of the good with the brave police officer successfully restoring harmony and order. This traditional narrative, with the eternal representation of the hero/ good versus the villain/evil has recently been deemed as an inadequate representation of reality. The traditional moralist narrative of the good triumphing on evil has become a naive perspective which has resulted in a shift where the “bad guy” has become the protagonist, no longer a villain to be defeated but a deeper and more relatable character that have viewers sympathise and root for him. This is the birth of the anti hero.
The new anti hero: a fascinating, disturbed and relatable character:
Although recent trends on crime shows have seen the emergence of the figure of the anti hero as the main character, the popularity of its role dates back in 19th century literature portraying criminal justice issues and acting as an archetype of “social criticism” and reflecting society’s ambivalence and confusion over morality (see for example Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky).
Anti heros are traditionally depicted as non conformists who are willing to use unorthodox methods to achieve their aims regardless of the conventional norms and values. Similarly, in television the anti hero narrative seems to distance itself from a simple entertainment purpose and to favour a critical examination of the construction of the criminal justice system in relation to the dominant culture and the impact that it may have on the majority of the population. Therefore, in crime stories the role of the anti hero is often use to shed a light on the dominant normative expectations of the Neoliberal-capitalist culture where the commitment of an offence is often made in the name of profit and survival thus showing how the current system incentivise crime and the retributive system of punishment often fails in its purpose of crime prevention.
The anti hero’s depiction and characteristics are in themselves very discordant. On the one hand we have a man that values his family and upholds a code of honour but on the other can explode in anger whenever things are not under his control. Such a tension makes him flawed in comparison to the traditional hero but at the same time he results to be unmistakably human, showing his struggle to find his place in the world, to make sense of his existence and to deal and overcome his failures. Consequently, the character is not the extraordinary, heroic and valorous but rather reveals the personality of the common man.
This in turn, is also the difficulty faced by the contemporary man who is obsessed with his identity and struggles to understand the role he has in a society gradually transformed by technological advances who brings him to completely abandon the disenchantment and existentialist nihilism of the post war years.
The historical events and transformations of the 21st century bring humanity to replace old values and believes. The 20th century hero and his ultimate aim of achieving justice and triumph of the good has gradually left place to a narrative that is no longer escapist in nature, where the viewer can refuge himself to escape from the struggles of life, but rather it forces him to face the moral decline of the current society, the feelings of helplessness in front of the prevision of evilness and the growing lack of faith in societal structures and values.
The protagonists of the new crime shows (Dexter, Breaking Bad, Gomorra etc..) by embodying the anti hero generate an interest in the viewers who soon find themselves eager to understand the how and the why of their actions. They root for the “bad guy” because similarly to them they relate to that hostile and cruel reality that that never leaves them completely satisfied and where their desires seems constantly out of reach. The viewers, week after week, develops a sense of solidarity and empathy towards the protagonist.
Fear of emulation:
The depiction of the anti-hero protagonist as a violent yet attractive and fascinating character has raised the issue that its image can lure the viewer into perceiving the criminal world as tempting and desirable and to develop a desire to emulate the actions seen in the screen. In particular, by referring to Gomorra, the tv crime series portraying the internal dynamics of the Neapolitan crime organisation Camorra which has gained worldwide recognition, Santino claimed that “the way in which evil is represented becomes attractive and fascinating. The good, on the other hand, appears boring, meaningless. There is a risk in celebrating the offender which can attract people and push them to act like those tv characters”.
The impact that media violence has on viewers has been an interest of Criminology for a long time, however researches have always failed to demonstrate a significant connection between the two. When attempting to find a causal relationship between media violence and violent thoughts and behaviour, stimulus response on children are usually employed. Although these studies have shown that subjects that are exposed to some aggressive stimulus within a controlled setting are more likely to adopt similar behaviours, these practices are criticised for being limitative and not accurately depicting the behaviour in real life. Furthermore, the impact of the anti hero narrative on people has not yet been object of research, thus leaving us unable to effectively determine whether the new genres of crime tv shows actually lead to the risk of emulation.
Nevertheless it is possible to argue that the captivating and intriguing representation of criminal organisations – such as in the case of Mafia and Camorra – can actually lure real life affiliates and members to adopt behaviours similar to those seen in the movies. According to Buonanno, the cinematographic representation of the criminal underworld has a significant influence to the various levels of the mafia hierarchy who try to emulate the actions and behaviours of the actors. Members of the Mafia, for instance, have modified their actions by finding inspiration in movies and tv series about their organisation. Although not strictly related to tv crime shows, significant in this context is the movie The Godfather in which the new ways to kill presented were soon been adopted by real life mobsters.
The risk of emulation of what is seen in crime series is therefore more evident in places where crime organisations are deeply entrenched in the community. In Naples, for example, kids simulate playing with guns by using the same techniques as shown in the crime series Gomorra and middle class teenagers – with no apparent ties to the criminal syndicate – have reportedly been adopting the same dress code, language and attitude of Gomorra’s main character to dominate and bully their peers.
When considering the impact that this new media representation has on individuals – moving away from members of crime organisations – there are very few cases to suggest a risk of emulation and in such instances the viewers/offenders were mentally disturbed individuals with prior records of violent tendencies. Significant in this context is 17 year – old Andrew Conley who after strangling his little brother, wrapping his head in a plastic bag and leaving him in the bonnet of his car confessed t to have been inspired by an episode of the crime show Dexter. However, a broader analysis of the case reveals that the teenager showed since a very young age sadistic and psychopathic tendencies and it would be wrong to assume that the result of his actions were solely attributable to the influence that a tv series had on him.
thecriminologist.law.blog 