This comment by SpyralBound on the post Cheering on the Bully and the Killer: Is That Entertainment?
My guess is this: In an environment soaked with scandal, the popularity of shows and characters like this reflects a general paranoia among the viewing public. Every day we have headlines about some public figure being disgraced; I think this has made us wary of our fellow human, believing anyone could be the next Anthony Weiner, Oscar Pistorius, Lance Armstrong or A-Rod (and I’m going to apologize now that all the examples I’m naming are men, these are just the names that come to mind). Nowadays, you can’t talk about the virtues of Ghandi, MLK or Nelson Mandela for two minutes before someone in the crowd says “But wait! He wasn’t so great, because X, Y, Z.”
It just seems to me that we’ve become collectively obsessed with the skeletons in everyone’s closets. The more virtuous you are, especially in public, the more sins you must be hiding. I’m not sure if this is a new phenomenon, I’ve only been around for 26 years myself, but it’s definitely something I’ve noticed.
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Question of the Day:
Should media and entertainment explore all aspects of life, including the horrific dark side, with or without consequences to the perpetrator?
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Humans are very complicated with a substantial and intricate mind that entertains many thought that may or may not lead to actions. Exploring everything, dark and light, good and evil, accepted and abhorrent in a fictional creative way helps deal with all those things as they happen in real life. That is separate from the unhealthy need to delve into other people’s private lives whether or not they are famous for good reason or not. Fame, like power, can corrupt and destroy and does not have many redeeming values, except its use to do good.