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Laura Bennett's Against Antiheroes

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In Laura Bennett’s essay, “Against Antiheroes” Bennett exemplifies the common trend of anti heroism, in popular mainstream TV shows and movies. She states that an anti hero is a protagonist that we all love, but is lacking heroic qualities. An anti hero, however, is a typical person all people are, with each one having skeletons hidden in their closets. The most quintessential character cannot exist, due to the abstract of different personalities and various life situations and that is how we see so many antiheroes every time we watch something new. The anti hero character is overused in modern TV shows and films. Firstly, Donald Draper from “Mad Men” is the perfect anti hero, that fits the term perfectly. Always love seeking Hank Moody from “Californication” in addition has similar attributes to the anti hero definition. Lastly, Draco Malfoy from the “Harry Potter” series is the example of anti heroes in movies. The difference between and anti hero and a hero is that an anti hero unfortunately is one of us and is a common man/woman, and we see too many of anti heroes in mainstream entertainment.

From the AMC hit series “Mad Men” the main character Donald Draper fits the definition of an anti hero the best. There is a reason viewers love him, he is charismatic, sexy, witty, and chic. He is the creme de la creme of all anti …show more content…

Draco Malfoy from “Harry Potter” is the antagonist viewers love that gives Malfoy the label of being an anti hero. Throughout the movies viewers see his character as malicious and cruel, however, no one really hates Malfoy. He is the biggest anti hero in “Harry Potter” because even in the end he befriends Harry and he turns into a protagonist. Even though in movies there are just protagonists and antagonists, the trend of anti heroes appearing in movies has been very common. Just like in TV shows there are now too many anti heroes in

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In the article, “Against Antiheroes”, Laura Bennett demonstrates the characterizations of an antihero, while providing information that allows the antihero to be depicted as prevalent. An antihero is defined as a person that does not possess heroic attributes, and may be seen as selfish, corrupt, or sullen. Antiheroes usually tend to acquire the sympathy of another individual, causing them to become relatable, as seen as Bennett writes, “‘Antihero’ implies that a character encourages a conflicted sympathy; Walt forfeited our sympathy long ago” (472). Bennett’s characterization of an antihero demonstrates a sense of an internal struggle on behalf of the audience and the hero. An antihero may appear to be haunted by a tragic past, encounters

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