Sympathizing with the "New Villain": morally ambiguous characters representation and audience perceptions

Abstract EN

Moral ambiguity has become an aspect of modern drama characters.

protagonists in modern movies were yesterday's antagonists, yet with detailed background to trigger empathy.

they are not purely bad and can do both good and bad things.

a scholarly interest can be detected in recent studies to analyze the shift from the traditional narrative to a more progressive and complicated one, from a clear-cut between good and evil, to a context that presents the evil personality as complicated and not simple, providing character background and encouraging people not to rush judging them, and even sympathizing with them.

therefore, audience perception of the villain characters, anti-heroes, and morally ambiguous characters has changed correspondingly.

the disposition theory explains the moral judgment of the characters through their actions; accordingly, the audience will form favorable or unfavorable attitudes towards them.

the relationship between character morality and audience liking is another raised issue due to the subversions of the character behavior.

the expectancy violation theory EVT explained this perspective as the audience may positively perceive the villain character, if he behaved in a more moral way than what was expected from him.

perceived realism, character liking, and enjoyment are also related to character moral evaluation.

the current study aims to examine the representation of the villain in modern drama, what can be called the “new villain”, especially in movie sequels and serial dramas, in which these characters became more complex, humanified and relatable.

a qualitative approach through a focus group discussion is conducted to investigate audience perception of the evil characters, if they really sympathize with them, why and in which context.