A Merry Band of Thieves: Media-Induced Complicity With Antiheroes

• In Event: Narrative and Media Entertainment

Abstract

An online experiment was conducted to examine the influence a televised anti-hero’s direct address to the audience on viewers’ ultimate liking of the character. Four versions of scenes taken from the political drama House of Cards were created: one featuring the anti-hero bodily and verbally addressing the audience, one featuring only the voice of the anti-hero (without bodily address), one providing information regarding the anti-hero’s thoughts, and a control. The results showed that bodily/verbal direct address was associated with heightened feelings of complicity with the anti-hero – feeling like one was conspiring in his evil deeds. In turn, complicity was associated with perceptions of the character as more moral and with greater liking of the character. These results are interpreted as suggesting an additional media-related variable (direct address) and resultant perception (complicity) that may play consequential roles in viewers’ attachment with anti-heroes.

Authors

• Mary Beth Oliver, Pennsylvania State U

• Drew D. Shade, Penn State U

• Arienne Ferchaud, Pennsylvania State U

• Erica Bailey, Pennsylvania State University

• Chun Yang, Washington State U

• Helena Bilandzic, Augsburg U

• Jonathan Cohen, U of Haifa