Antiheroes In Present Television p.

1
Zach Denault
UWRT 1103-021
October 20th, 2014

Zach Denault 10/23/14 10:28 AM

Comment [1]: I thought your whole
introduction section was awesome. I am
not familiar with the show, but the
amount of descriptive detail that you
included in your introduction I felt like I
knew what was going on. I feel like I am
already rooting for Walter White like you
mentioned most viewers do.
Zach Denault 10/23/14 10:28 AM

Introduction/Background
An RV lies with its front end in a ditch, engine smoking. Outside stands Walter White
wearing a gas mask, no pants, and frantically recording his final farewell to his family and
children. Inside are two men; both on the floor, one dead and the other barely clinging to life,
with liquefied lungs and still twitching slightly from cardiac arrest, due to the deadly phosphine
gas that Walt exposed them to. Sirens are heard in the distance, seemingly coming closer and
closer with every passing second. Walt steps into the road with his pistol and video camera in
hand, waiting to accept his fate as a failure, murder and drug manufacturer. This is the closest
to being apprehended that Walt will ever be and he is only three weeks into his drug career.
This situation is terrible. Walt has already killed men in his first three weeks of drug
manufacturing and selling. If we followed the traditional thought process, this man is a villain, a
murder and evil. So why do we rejoice when the source of the sirens; a police cruiser, drives by
him and he is not caught for his heinous crimes? This celebration when villains win is
representative of a change in the public thinking of heroes and villains and how heroes are
always good, and villains are always bad. This is also expressed through other television
shows, such as Dexter, The Americans and most importantly, The Sopranos. Vince Gilligan
created Walter White in 2005. The script for the first episode is dated 5/27/05, and it was not
produced and aired until early 2008. This was by no means the first series that used the idea of
an anti-hero as the protagonist of the show though. Throughout this paper, we will investigate
why, as viewers, we think this way. Where in history did this change occur and why did it
happen in the first place?

Comment [2]: Your introduction was

very strong and you added just the right
amount of detail, it wasnt too wordy, but
it also wasnt too vague. I could picture
the scene happening when I read your
introduction, it was very enjoyable to
read. Your intro gave me the right
background information that I need...to[1]

Zach Denault 10/25/14 4:06 PM

Comment [3]: Your introduction was
very riveting. It hooked me and grabbed
my attention right away. Especially at the
end when you said this was only his third
week into his drug career. I would have
thought it was years or something. It
shows how dangerous the situation is.
... [2]
Zach Denault 10/25/14 4:03 PM
Comment [4]: I really like the first
paragraph in your introduction section. Its
pretty creepy and a little disturbing to me
(especially with the two bodies on the
floor) but I think this would make your
readers hooked to your paper. The rest of
your introduction was really well-written
... [3]
Zach Denault 10/25/14 4:07 PM
Comment [5]: It was really interesting
how you pointed out the fact that the
audience of this show is wanting the bad
guy to win. How you connect that the
villain is actually the good guy in a way.
Its all about perception and you did an
awesome job explaining that.
... [4]
Zach Denault 10/23/14 10:24 AM
Comment [6]: I really love the topic of
what pushes a good guy to become bad?
This is a great topic question, whenever I
think about movies or shows with villains I
never think about why they came to be
that way, in my mind they were always just
bad. It is interesting the way you include
... [5]
Zach Denault 10/23/14 10:28 AM
Comment [7]: In the introduction
when you are introducing your topic
about how peoples view are changing
on villains and heroes, I understand the
point you are trying to make however,
the way it is worded was slightly
confusing to me the first time i read...it.[6]I

Antiheroes In Present Television p. 2

I must admit I am biased on this subject because ever since I was a child, I loved rooting
for the bad guys and I was ecstatic whenever they won. I like where television is going in the
21st century and believe we needed a change. When the good guy somehow manages to
overcome infinite odds and beat the bad guys in every movie you see, it gets old pretty quickly.
Therefore, this new breed of television is really appealing due to how different it is. I also should
mention that Breaking Bad was one of my favorite shows ever.

Literature Review
Walter White, Tony Soprano and Dexter all have a few things in common. They are the
characters that helped to change the public opinion on anti-heroes. These men all share the
characteristics that make up a villain in the late 20th, and early 21st century. These are
characteristics such as, being deceptive and violent, committing illegal activities, lying, and
usually involve drugs and sex (Bone, 2014). These characters definitely do all possess the
required traits to fulfill the definition of a villain, so how are they (anti) heroes? Grace Torcasio
describes an anti-hero as somebody, usually a male, who is powerful, and respected who has
distorted rationale, believing that what they are doing is for the greater good. They also usually
have a motivation behind why they started doing what they are doing that is outside of their
control (Torcasio, 2014).
What forces an average man to become a killer and involved in drugs? What is that one
event that pushes him over the edge? For Walt, it was getting his cancer diagnosis, for Tony, it
was being born into a mob family where these types of activities were normal. Behind every
villain is a single event that made them they way they are. One could argue that this is their
motivation. Walt does not let his diagnosis control him. Instead of sitting back and waiting to die,
he decides to make good use of his remaining months and leave his family a better life (Lewis,
2012). Walt accomplishes his financial goal very rapidly and despite that, he continues cooking
meth and being a part of that dangerous world. He begins to enjoy it, to bask in the sunlight of

Zach Denault 10/25/14 4:04 PM

Comment [8]: For your personal
relationship part in your introduction, you
could talk about exactly your history with
the show Breaking Bad since that is the
show you used as your figured world in
Assignment One. It can be like a brief
description about when you started
watching the show, what got you hooked
to this show, or if you relate to any of the
characters in the show and why. I think
this could help your readers a little more
on why this is your favorite show.

Antiheroes In Present Television p. 3

his position of power as the infamous Heisenberg. It is not about My family needs this money to
survive once I am gone anymore; it is I need power (Liddy-Judge, 2014). He does not want to
stop because if he does, he will have to reflect on the terrible things he has done during his time
in the drug industry, and he does not want to admit to himself that he has done those things.
Therefore, he continues cooking, saying that he is still doing it for his family, just to avoid facing
the reality of what he has turned into.
Finally, why do we like these anti-heroes so much? I believe we like them so much
because we can see a glimmer of ourselves in them. We could see ourselves receiving a phone
call saying that we have cancer and have 90 days to live, or growing up in a family of mobsters
from birth. We can imagine ourselves in their situation because we all crave a life of excitement,
but do not want the consequences that come with one. For example, Walt ends up divorced,
hated by his son, on the DEAs most wanted list, and eventually; dead at the end of Breaking
Bad. Nobody wants that happening to them, they just want the money and the power and the
respect that come with it. One could almost say that we are living out our fantasies through
these television series (NPR Staff, 2013).

Entering the Conversation

In television prior to approximately 2000, heroes or protagonists were always thought of
as people who possess characteristics such as, courage, honor, integrity, leadership,
selflessness, determination, decisiveness, honesty and tenacity. In television since around
2000, there has been a shift in the characteristics required to be a hero in a show. Two shows
have really embraced this idea and implemented it into their series. The first show to fully
implement this bad-guys-acting-as-good-guys idea was HBOs The Sopranos which aired from
1999-2007. The protagonist in this series is Tony Soprano, an Italian mobster. Now comes
AMCs Breaking Bad premiering in 2008 and running through 2013. Walter White is the
protagonist of Breaking Bad, a high school chemistry teacher who receives news that he has

Zach Denault 10/23/14 10:30 AM

Comment [9]: I also noticed in the
Entering the Conversation section that a
majority of your paragraphs were not
indented. I would just be sure to double
check that. You dont want to get points
taken off for something so small.

Zach Denault 10/23/14 10:29 AM

Comment [10]: In the very first
sentence of the Entering the
Conversation piece of the writing,
instead of saying In television prior to
approximately 2000 i would say In
television prior to the year 2000 I was
kind of confused as to what the 2000
was referring to. I think if you change
the wording just a little bit, what you are
saying will be easier to understand.
Zach Denault 10/23/14 10:26 AM
Comment [11]: In your Entering the
Conversation section you open with a list
of character traits that superheroes are
often described by. Although I loved your
list of traits and I agree with all of them, I
would like to see an example of a
character that exhibits these traits. By
giving an example I would have been able
to connect the way you describe a
character that is a hero, to the characters
you describe later in your paragraph that
were the bad-guys-acting-as-good-guys. If
you include an example of a character with
heroic traits the reader would be able to
see the differences between the hero and
the characters in Breaking bad and The
Sopranos.
Zach Denault 10/23/14 10:29 AM
Comment [12]: I liked how you included
the names of other shows that have
similar themes embedded in them. From
my knowledge, shows such as the
Sopranos are easily relatable to the
Breaking Bad series. I think its important
to include comparable works because I
might not be familiar with Breaking Bad,
but I am familiar with some of the other
shows you listed, therefore it made it
easier for me to comprehend the ideas
you were adding about the roles of heroes
and villains.

Antiheroes In Present Television p. 4

cancer and has only months to live. Upon learning this and going on a ride-along with his DEA
brother-in-law, Hank, on a meth house bust, Walt decides to get into the drug world to make
money to leave for his family when he is gone. Do we only like these characters because they
are a change from the traditional thinking in television, or is there some other, maybe more
sinister reason?
I believe that television has had this shift because viewers feel a deep connection with
these villainous protagonists. This connection, I believe, is beyond a conscious decision, and is
something rooted far inside of people. There has been a continuous debate for decades about
whether or not humans are truly evil or not inside. Meaning, if there were no outside influences,
would we do the right (morally correct) thing, or would we take as many shortcuts as possible
just to complete the assigned task (morally wrong)? To me, the answer is blatantly obvious; we
see examples of it every day. People are evil. If they werent why would teachers have to say,
Keep your eyes on your own paper before handing out an exam? Why does everything have
to be locked up in order to be considered safe? Why does crime exist? All of these things are
the way they are because of how people act, and good people do not cheat on exams, or steal
things, or kill other people.
Some people will say that the majority of people do not act in these ways, but to them I
say; one bad egg spoils the whole carton. For example, as humans, we see sharks as
dangerous fish that can, and have, killed humans. But you cannot tell me truthfully that every
single shark is just looking for humans to kill. We have a preconceived notion that sharks are
extremely dangerous because of the acts of only a miniscule percentage of their population.
Only 5 people die per year due to shark attacks. 92 people die daily in car accidents; that is
almost 31,000 per year. Do sharks really seem so dangerous now? It seems as though humans
are the real human killers. So as previously stated, one bad egg spoils the whole carton.
Now, let us compare this shift in television with significant political and social events. In
2001, the worst terrorist attack ever on U.S. soil occurred. 4 planes were hi-jacked and 2 were

Zach Denault 10/25/14 4:08 PM

Comment [13]: The first question you
proposed in your Entering the
Conversation section could be probably
worded differently. Just the last part
maybe more sinister reason? sounds a
little funny. However that is a great
question to prose to your audience.
Zach Denault 10/25/14 4:09 PM
Comment [14]: I really like your
paragraph about how one spoiled eggs
ruins the rest of them but Im just not sure
how it relates to your paper and its
relevance. Especially since you have like
three great sentences in the middle of the
paragraph but then the first and last
sentences are pretty much the same.
Maybe you can fit that idea into a different
paragraph or just shape it up and put more
detail into that paragraph.
Zach Denault 10/25/14 4:05 PM
Comment [15]: The paragraph where
you talked about sharks and how humans
sees them as dangerous, I like the little
data you added about how 5 people die
per year in shark attacks while 92 people
die daily from car accidents. That is
something I didnt know about. I like that
you added that in this paragraph to let
your readers understand that we humans
are the cause of the majority killings of the
human population, not just by shark
attacks.
Zach Denault 10/25/14 4:04 PM
Comment [16]: Out of all 4 sections in
your paper, I was really hooked to your
Entering the Conversation section. What
really caught my interest is the paragraph
that mentions the September 11 attacks. I
never knew that there could be someone
who would think that having a villain as a
protagonist and hero would make views be
opposed to that idea. However, could you
elaborate on that a little because Im a little
confused? Like, why would one person
think that viewers would oppose that idea
after that tragic event?

Antiheroes In Present Television p. 5

flown into the World Trade Center buildings and almost 3,000 people were killed. One would
think that this event would make viewers extremely opposed to having villains as heroes and
protagonists in shows, but it did not. For some reason, The Sopranos got even more popular
that year, than the year before. A similar event occurred during the first seasons of Breaking
Bad as well, a shooting at Northern Illinois University, leaving 6 dead and 18 injured, a shooting
at Atlantis Plastics where an employee shot and killed five people, and ten coordinated attacks
by terrorists kill 164 and injure 250 people in India. Throughout this time of terrorist attacks and
school shootings, people continued to watch Breaking Bad, and season 2, which occurred
during 2008-2009, received an 85 out of 100 based off of 19 critics reviews according to
metacritic.com, compared to a 74 for season 1. Somehow there managed to be an 11-point
jump in ratings even during a time of world violence.
Villains in several highly successful shows and movies since 2000 have been defined as
people who act in ways that traditionally would have been considered good. What this means
is that a police officer that is trying to catch a criminal in a 1970s film would usually be
considered as a good person and somebody we have admiration for. They are doing the morally
correct thing by stopping the criminal from doing what they are doing. But now, a police officer
trying to stop Walt from cooking meth, we look upon as somebody we do not like, simply for
doing the morally correct thing. This is because we have positive feelings for the real villain
(Walt) who is acting as the protagonist in the series. Producers have done an astounding job at
manipulating their viewers feelings in recent years. They somehow have managed to convince
us into thinking that Walt is the good guy even though he is making a drug that is ranked in the
top 3 of most of the worst/most addictive drug lists out there.

Conclusion/So-What?
So why, in fact, have viewers changed their opinions on heroes? There has been a slow
shift since approximately 2000 all the way through today, where viewers are more and more

Antiheroes In Present Television p. 6

accepting of villains as the protagonist hero of a series. I believe this shift is due to the fact that
people feel a connection to these types of characters. Whether it be because we are evil inside,
or because we live our fantasies through them, or some other reason not mentioned above, it is
definitely true. This is also true because this type of television is very different from the
traditional heroes-always-win story and people like change over time. Why is this important you
may ask? It is important because this is an area that is now accessible for other premium
television services to take advantage of and satisfy the viewers cravings for more, now that
Breaking Bad has stopped airing. Also, it signifies viewers acceptance of violence and
questionable morals in a television show.
One should care about this shift, as it may lead to shifts in thinking on other topics, such
as marijuana legalization, gay marriage, and other controversial topics. If these topics matter to
someone, they should care about things, such as shows, that can influence how people feel
about these topics. Also, producers know that this type of influence exists, and sometimes will
be paid by companies to put their products in the show, or have an ad for their product on a TV

Zach Denault 10/25/14 4:05 PM

Comment [17]: In your conclusion
section, I like where you mentioned about
how viewers are accepting villains as
heroes or protagonists and the reasons
why they are (e.g. people feeling a
connection to the character). I would
suggest maybe adding an example to this.
Like do you have any experience where
there was a villain, as a hero or
protagonist, that you felt a connection to?
If you do, you should incorporate that, but
you dont have to if you never had felt a
connection to a villain
Zach Denault 10/23/14 10:27 AM
Comment [18]: In your conclusion
you show some examples of ways we
as viewers can relate to bad guys taking
on the lead roles in shows and movies;
however, you dont give much detail as
to how we relate to the bad guys in
shows and movies. How do we are evil
inside, what do you mean by we live
our fantasies through the characters?
The paragraph is really well written and I
see your ideas, just give some
examples of how the character may
directly relate to the person watching the
show.

playing in the background of a scene, or some type of subtle advertising like that. This could be
affecting you, and you might not even know it. Another reason to care about this is that it is the
type of television that seems like it will be emerging as the most popular, so more companies
will be switching over to writing at least one show about it, so if you enjoy this, be excited,
because more is definitely on the way. Finally, there are still questions to be answered, such as
what will the future of television look like once this type of television is the one being replaced?
Or will the next transition occur simply because people are tired of it again, or will it be because
the influence the show is having will need to be controlled to maintain order? Maybe if more
research is done on the human brain, we can figure out what associates viewers liking these
shows with the shows themselves.

Zach Denault 10/23/14 10:27 AM

Comment [19]: I think that you chose
a really interesting idea of further
looking at the human brain to see why it
is we like those shows so much in your
conclusion. It is a clever idea that
presents many possibilities for future
research. I like the way the statement
isn't too broad and could have many
possible outcomes for future research,
you make a good point that it could be
something within the human brain that
causes our attraction to the bad guy in
a movie or show.

Antiheroes In Present Television p. 7

References
Bone, Kristen L. "Dark Side of a Hero: The Villain in the Role of the Protagonist."
http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/at-the-interface/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Kristinwebpaper.pdf.

Holmes, Linda. "Death and Walter White." NPR.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2013/08/03/208599847/death-and-walter-white.

Lewis, Mark A. "From Victim to Victor." Springer Link.

Liddy-Judge, Chloe. "The Television Anti-Hero." Mary Immaculate College.

http://hdl.handle.net/10395/1987.

NPR. "A Deeper Dive Into Television's 'Difficult Men'."

http://www.npr.org/2013/06/30/197229894/the-difficult-men-who-propel-serial-tv.

Shimick, Scott. "Heisenberg's Uncertainty: An Analysis of Criminal Tax Pretextual Prosecutions

in the Context of Breaking Bad's Notorious Anti-Hero." Social Science Research Network.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2465997.

Torcasio, Grace. "Complex masculinities and complex narratives: the era of the male (anti) hero
as quality television." http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/critical-issues/wpcontent/uploads/2014/04/torcasiofempaper.pdf.

Zach Denault 10/25/14 4:08 PM

Comment [20]: Your in-text citations and
parenthetical citations are correct. That is
really good so you would be considered
for predgerrism. You used a good amount
or your sources which is good also
because a lot of other people might have
used their sources but didnt cite them.

Antiheroes In Present Television p. 8

White, Jeremy W. "The anti-hero as social critic: Two original scripts." Texas Tech University.
http://repositories.tdl.org/ttu-ir/handle/2346/58442.