Using either the concept of TEXT or AUDIENCE analyse one media text chosen from your own subject specialism. Your answer MUST draw upon ideas and approaches examined in lectures and also key and wider reading listed within the unit guide and discussed in seminars. Based off the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004) by Jeff Lindsey, Dexter is the hit TV show from the Showtime television network that follows the life of serial killer Dexter Morgan through the show’s 8 seasons. Although a pleasant character in the eyes of his friends and family and a regular employee at the Miami Police Department, Dexter has a darker side and spends his free time tracking and eventually murdering others using his unique methods. His victims, however, are those …show more content…
The Oxford English Dictionary describes an anti-hero as being “one who is the opposite or reverse of a hero; esp. a chief character in a poem, play, or story who is totally unlike a conventional hero”, and this can be seen in other many characters both good and bad such as Walter White from Breaking Bad (2008-2013. AMC.) and more notably Dexter Morgan. One reason for this surge in popularity, according to Lauren Martin from Elite Daily (2013) is due to the fact that these characters are strong despite their intentions. She argues that “[The anti-hero is] determined, not letting anything get in his way, which usually is what leads him to take the immoral path”. Although these characters are being put through situations that are normally out of the ordinary, they overcome obstacles and continue to stay capable and focused on their cause. This suggests that it’s not necessarily what they’re doing that keeps audiences engaged, but the fact that they stay bound to their actions and are almost seen as a role model in terms of their commitment to completing their …show more content…
[Online]. 1st ed. 1972. s.v. Anti-hero. [Accessed 14th October 2015]. Available from: http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/8637?redirectedFrom=anti-hero#eid I felt it important to include the regular definition of an anti-hero in order to introduce the character of Dexter and develop on the existing idea of who he really is. Martin, L. 2013. Villains Do It Better: Why This Generation Is Obsessed With The Anti-Hero. [Online]. [Accessed 16th October 2015]. Available from: http://elitedaily.com/life/villains-better-love-anti-hero/ I used this source because it made a valid point about the strength DePaulo, B. 2010. The Psychology of Dexter. [Online]. Smart Pop Books. [Accessed 10th October 2015]. Available from: https://books.google.co.uk/ Bentham, A. 2012. Dexter: Psychopathic Monster, or Rational Response to Bewildering Modernity? Salford Postgraduate Annual Research Conference 2012 Proceedings. The University of Salford, pg. 12. Further Reading While these sources were not mentioned in the essay directly, they played a role in assisting me in understanding more about certain themes relating to and around topic of