Hero versus AntiHero

Started by Incinermyn April 11th, 2014 4:24 PM
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  • 3 replies

Incinermyn

The Abomination Lives!!!

Age 37
Male
Wisconsin, USA
Seen July 29th, 2018
Posted May 21st, 2016
646 posts
15.8 Years
A somewhat sensitive topic, I know, but something I've been experimenting with on-and-off for the past several years.

The prospect of the protagonist isn't always to play the role of a proverbial "good guy." In many cases, there are stories where the protagonist is actually the villain in the form of an antihero. Not all anti-hero are total "bad guys," in fact many are generally characters with personality flaws or goals that are less than benevolent. Typically, an antihero has his own agenda that causes problems for other characters he/she gets involved with, as opposed to a 'hero' who generally has people's best interests at heart (not always the case, but heroes tend to fall in line with good deeds at some point in a story). Unlike the hero, an antihero can actually be anybody ranging from misguided individuals out for personal gain to the ultimate villain out do conquer (or even destroy) the world. From my personal experience in reading and writing, I've found that the "ultimate bad guy" sort of antihero is actually kind of rare, while the generic "always saves the day" hero is unbearably common. I've actually think it's rather odd that antiheroes aren't more popular than they actually are, especially when they don't actually have to accomplish their goals. The amount of characterization that could go into creating a good antihero than in creating a stereotypical hero. As such, I have to question why more people aren't so gutsy to take on the task? Do they merely think it's too hard, or is there more reasoning behind why people don't write more about "bad guys" than "good guys?"

Fernbutter

Murder is the way.

Male
The depths of the internet
Seen June 10th, 2017
Posted June 2nd, 2014
821 posts
9.4 Years
I can only imagine why people wouldn't write about a anti-hero, the reason most people choose on writing about a normal stereotype of a hero, is because everyone does it, and can make a good story because of all the examples and ideas everyone creates of the pre-existing story lines and topics, since it is also more popular to do so, even when someone decides on doing something like that, writing about a anti-hero, it often goes unnoticed and gets lost in the noise of popular stories depicting heroes. If someone actually made a really good story about this, I bet that others would do the same, but it seems it is very rare for anyone regardless.

There should be a signature here somewhere.
I wonder where it's gone.

Nolafus

Aspiring something

Age 27
Male
Lost in thought... again
Seen March 3rd, 2018
Posted March 11th, 2017
5,722 posts
10.9 Years
I think it's just the difficulty difference. With the hero, it's a lot easier to make a likable character that people really want to read about, since the good morals are already built in. Plus, you can make the hero save lives, do amazing things to help everyone, and it's just easier to make a character like that easy to digest for the readers.

With the anti-hero, it's a lot harder. Now we're playing with a character without some of these good morals, and we have to make the bad decisions come across in a way that won't turn off the reader. It's hard to do, so people opt for the hero.
PairPC sister
Seen February 26th, 2015
Posted February 8th, 2015
1,908 posts
10.3 Years
The anti-hero is not a concept many people dwell in often because of the sheer popularity of the 'good guy'. A hero, unless heavily based on the common stereotype, can often turn an interesting tale into a dedicated storyline. Much of the great movies, books etc. are a good example of this. The main core law is that the hero should be imperfect in his/her own ways, but have an inherent desire to fight something evil. At the end, the hero shall improve upon character as a gradual change. That's something people love to see, unless it's too obvious or something.

An anti-hero is not very uncommon, but it is unexplored, and the change is that he will have a general desire to do something evil. It's up to you to use the hero or anti-hero, but the anti-hero would require stronger plots and/or major character development.

The more easier (and popular) anti-hero could be the one with a desire to do something good, only to achieve it through wrong means. Something like Robin Hood, steal but for a good cause. This makes sure the anti-hero is actually a hero and gives a very entertaining storyline.
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