Heroes and Anti-Heroes

We all know there are many types of heroes.  There are the inspirational heroes battling cancer or social inequality.  There are heroes who devote their lives to protecting others, like police and soldiers.  All good and worthy people, but not who I want to talk about.

The "hero" generally refers to the protagonist of a story.  The protagonist doesn't have to be male.  He or she doesn't even have to be a good guy.  But for this post, I'm looking at the four archetypes of male heroes common in film and books: Heroic Heroes, Anti Heroes, Alpha Male Heroes and Alternate Heroes.

Heroic Hero:

 

The Heroic Hero is the classic hero from the WWII era of comics.  Superman and Captain America were the two examples which leaped into my mind.

The Heroic Hero does what's right.  He is the good guy, he fights the bad guys, we all enjoy the thump when the bad guys hit the ground.  He may struggle with the scale of the challenge: volcano erupting, alien invasion.  But there is never any question of the necessity of the task or who the bad guys are. 

This is exactly the kind of person we want to have around when a school bus full of children is teetering precariously on a bridge.  Their costumes are bright and colourful, subconsciously suggesting optimism and possibilities.

Looking at the images, there is something that we rarely see in today's heroes: a smile. 

Neither Superman nor Captain America are overburdened with self-doubt.  They don't question their roles.  In a job satisfaction survey, if they had to rate themselves from 1 to 10, it would be an emphatic eleven.  It is a rare story that delves into their inner experiences.  Mostly, the stories are focused on the external challenges.  This can make them feel shallow to the modern reader.

I personally have a hard time getting into their stories now.  When I was a kid, I loved them.  The simplicity works when you're still in grade school.

It is interesting to note that there have been recent attempts to "darken" these shining beacons of goodness.   Captain America's prequel to The Avengers cast him more in the alpha male role.  Although he starts the film as a skinny, short man, after he takes the supersoldier serum, he smiles less and gets increasingly comfortable with issuing orders.  Compare the comic image with this movie poster:

Dark background, no smile, darkened colours.  Chin down, chest puffed, he's facing the audience (and challenge) squarely, suggesting he's entirely confident in his capability.

Anti Hero

The Anti-Hero is the antithesis of the Heroic Hero.  He's not fighting to do what is right.  He's fighting to stop the bad guys and doing it by descending to their level.  Often, like Batman, the Anti Hero has a line he will not cross but he's still willing to descend to places traditional heroes refuse to go.

I think the best description of antiheroes comes from The Chronicles of Riddick:

"In normal times, evil would be fought by good.  But in times like these, well, it should be fought by another kind of evil."

Superman doesn't torture bad guys to get information.  Anti-heroes do.  The characters are often fueled by their rage at injustice.  They justify their actions as "what needs to be done" and the audience backs them up.

The comic and movie The Watchmen does a brilliant job of unraveling the tolerance for the anti-hero by showing just how horrific some of their actions actually are.

These guys should be dark and terrifying for all rational individuals but not only do we love them, we also think they're sexy as hell.  Wolverine is my all-time favourite but even I have to admit, the man's entire purpose in life sometimes seems to be slice, dice and pulverize.

The Anti-Hero is the quintessential bad boy.  Men are attracted to the implied power of being able to break all the rules and get away with it.  (Women, too, if I'm honest.)  Women who are attracted to bad boys often cite their power and refusal to bow down to societal rules as the major part of the attraction.  Apparently, when the shit is going down, we all want someone who will get the job done, whatever it takes.

Alpha Male Hero

The Alpha Male Hero is the male protagonist in virtually all romantic fiction.  Although not in desperate need of therapy for violent tendencies, like the Anti-Hero, the Alpha Male is still a take charge, non-team player.  James Bond would be a classic Alpha Males or Man's Man.  He is the guy who is going to take a bullet for the girl and then yell at her for taking risks (before kissing her in his gratitude that she's safe).



Alpha Males aren't much on the talky-talky

emotion exchange.  They often show neither fear nor love (which can set up a great conflict where his romantic interest doesn't know how he feels, which usually leads to a dangerous situation where he can prove his emotions through actions rather than words).  They quip in the face of danger and smirk in the light of love.  They don't smile.

They are usually depicted as attractive but without paying overmuch attention to their appearance.  Day old stubble appears to be one of the preferred methods for showing this.
Alternate Hero

The Alternate Hero appears to be a relatively new player on the heroic stage.  Hugh Grant plays him constantly.

He's not competent when it comes to fighting.  (Music and Lyrics: I'm giving up ... my face is in the butter.)  In Notting Hill, he tries to defend Julia Roberts' character to a bunch of jerks in a restaurant but fails utterly.  She is the one who comes back and makes them feel their true jerkiness.

Time and time again, I ask myself why I like him so much.  He's certainly a far cry from Wolverine but maybe he is the answer for a new generation.  Again and again, he demonstrates two admirable qualities: his irrepressible wit and humour and his absolute loyalty.  He is invariably 100% behind his love interest, pushing her to do better and reach her full potential.  He is clearly not threatened by a woman with power.  In fact, most of his love interests could be seen as more powerful than him, which is not something I expect to see in a Wolverine film anytime soon.

Richard Castle from Castle is another great example.  Despite being the title character, he is clearly far behind his love interest, Detective Beckett, when it comes to the traditional heroic roles of shooting, chasing and putting oneself at risk.

He's funny, irreverent, and full of wild theories.  He can't shoot a gun and his bullet proof vest says "Writer" on it.  Tradition says he shouldn't be an attractive hero, but he is.

It's really great to see guys' roles branching out into new territory.  Part of Hugh Grant and Castle's appeal is their wittiness and emotional openness, two facets that have traditionally been restricted to female roles.

And you've got to love the smiles.