Perceptions of media characters are important determinants of the enjoyment of media content, esp... more Perceptions of media characters are important determinants of the enjoyment of media content, especially with regard to narrative media forms. Affective disposition theory (ADT) states that "enjoyment of media content is a function of a viewer's affective disposition toward characters and the story line outcomes associated with those characters" (Raney, 2004, p.349). Currently, there is an evolution of characters in narrative media forms whereby formerly morally clear protagonists are increasingly becoming morally ambiguous characters. This evolution is particularly evident in television shows. Indeed, more and more morally ambiguous characters, whom viewers cannot identify as either purely good or purely bad (Krakowiak & Tsay Vogel, 2013), are becoming the central character in popular television shows, such as 24, Dexter, Breaking Bad, and American Horror Story. This new type of fictional characters is captivating the attention of scholars and media researchers. However, nearly all these previous research arrives at a similar conclusion that ambiguous characters are either “good guys” who behave badly or “bad guys” that behave well (Krakowiak & Tsay-Vogel, 2013). These definitions thus presume that these characters are good or bad at their heart, but that they provide mixed signals to the audience. For that reason, this paper's agenda attempts to provide a new definition of morally ambiguous characters. In doing so, the paper will point out shortcomings of previous work that focuses on categorizing morally ambiguous characters in terms of prototypical character roles. In addition, this paper discusses how enjoyment relates to ambiguous characters through an inseparable relation with narrative complexity, especially in television shows and feature films. Through those two goals, this paper attempts to explain why viewers may enjoy morally ambiguous characters more than clearly defined characters, and why viewers may enjoy narrative complexity more than narrative simplicity.
The first moment viewers are exposed to Walter White -the main character of Breaking Bad, we thou... more The first moment viewers are exposed to Walter White -the main character of Breaking Bad, we thought and presumed that he is such a miserable man. Viewers showed sympathy to him without acknowledging that through five magnificent seasons of Breaking Bad, show creator Vince Gilligan and his writer team will twist the whole idea of a simple "50-year-old man who makes a very modest middle-class income" (Romano, 2013) into a dark, violent and complex narrative journey arc of a master-mind criminal, Walter White. Undeniable, Walter White is an amazing, irrational and unconventional character in TV history. From the very infamous quote of Gilligan "turning Mr.Chipps into Scarface" from Cranston's statement "Never in television history" (Romano, 2013), we admit that exploring Mr.White's process of changing from a protagonist to an antagonist has been always an interesting case. Through a great number of interviews, reviews and critical essays on magazines and media, such "transformation of a hero into a villain" is treated as the central theme and topic. This show is not totally about chemicals or how to cook crystal methamphetamine; but it also embraces the question "What makes a man "bad" -his actions, his motives, or his conscious decision to be a bad person?" (Douthat, 2011). Interestingly, those questions also play an extremely crucial role in entertainment media study; and are used to evaluate and explain why viewers (in general term) and individuals (in specific term) reach highest enjoyment when they are exposed to morally ambiguous Dao Minh Nguyen Final Paper -Breaking Down "Breaking Bad" 2 2 characters narrative presentation, such as Walter While in Breaking Bad. For that reason, my agenda in this paper is suggesting a different way to examine the transformation of Walter White from a protagonist to an antagonist in which entertainment media theories, such as Affective Deposition theory (ADT) and Moral Disengagement (MD), can be applied to through a moral spectrum of Walter White, includes his motive, action and multiple conscious decisions.
Perceptions of media characters are important determinants of the enjoyment of media content, esp... more Perceptions of media characters are important determinants of the enjoyment of media content, especially with regard to narrative media forms. Affective disposition theory (ADT) states that "enjoyment of media content is a function of a viewer's affective disposition toward characters and the story line outcomes associated with those characters" (Raney, 2004, p.349). Currently, there is an evolution of characters in narrative media forms whereby formerly morally clear protagonists are increasingly becoming morally ambiguous characters. This evolution is particularly evident in television shows. Indeed, more and more morally ambiguous characters, whom viewers cannot identify as either purely good or purely bad (Krakowiak & Tsay Vogel, 2013), are becoming the central character in popular television shows, such as 24, Dexter, Breaking Bad, and American Horror Story. This new type of fictional characters is captivating the attention of scholars and media researchers. However, nearly all these previous research arrives at a similar conclusion that ambiguous characters are either “good guys” who behave badly or “bad guys” that behave well (Krakowiak & Tsay-Vogel, 2013). These definitions thus presume that these characters are good or bad at their heart, but that they provide mixed signals to the audience. For that reason, this paper's agenda attempts to provide a new definition of morally ambiguous characters. In doing so, the paper will point out shortcomings of previous work that focuses on categorizing morally ambiguous characters in terms of prototypical character roles. In addition, this paper discusses how enjoyment relates to ambiguous characters through an inseparable relation with narrative complexity, especially in television shows and feature films. Through those two goals, this paper attempts to explain why viewers may enjoy morally ambiguous characters more than clearly defined characters, and why viewers may enjoy narrative complexity more than narrative simplicity.
The first moment viewers are exposed to Walter White -the main character of Breaking Bad, we thou... more The first moment viewers are exposed to Walter White -the main character of Breaking Bad, we thought and presumed that he is such a miserable man. Viewers showed sympathy to him without acknowledging that through five magnificent seasons of Breaking Bad, show creator Vince Gilligan and his writer team will twist the whole idea of a simple "50-year-old man who makes a very modest middle-class income" (Romano, 2013) into a dark, violent and complex narrative journey arc of a master-mind criminal, Walter White. Undeniable, Walter White is an amazing, irrational and unconventional character in TV history. From the very infamous quote of Gilligan "turning Mr.Chipps into Scarface" from Cranston's statement "Never in television history" (Romano, 2013), we admit that exploring Mr.White's process of changing from a protagonist to an antagonist has been always an interesting case. Through a great number of interviews, reviews and critical essays on magazines and media, such "transformation of a hero into a villain" is treated as the central theme and topic. This show is not totally about chemicals or how to cook crystal methamphetamine; but it also embraces the question "What makes a man "bad" -his actions, his motives, or his conscious decision to be a bad person?" (Douthat, 2011). Interestingly, those questions also play an extremely crucial role in entertainment media study; and are used to evaluate and explain why viewers (in general term) and individuals (in specific term) reach highest enjoyment when they are exposed to morally ambiguous Dao Minh Nguyen Final Paper -Breaking Down "Breaking Bad" 2 2 characters narrative presentation, such as Walter While in Breaking Bad. For that reason, my agenda in this paper is suggesting a different way to examine the transformation of Walter White from a protagonist to an antagonist in which entertainment media theories, such as Affective Deposition theory (ADT) and Moral Disengagement (MD), can be applied to through a moral spectrum of Walter White, includes his motive, action and multiple conscious decisions.
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Currently, there is an evolution of characters in narrative media forms whereby formerly morally clear protagonists are increasingly becoming morally ambiguous characters. This evolution is particularly evident in television shows. Indeed, more and more morally ambiguous characters, whom viewers cannot identify as either purely good or purely bad (Krakowiak & Tsay Vogel, 2013), are becoming the central character in popular television shows, such as 24, Dexter, Breaking Bad, and American Horror Story. This new type of fictional characters is captivating the attention of scholars and media researchers. However, nearly all these previous research arrives at a similar conclusion that ambiguous characters are either “good guys” who behave badly or “bad guys” that behave well (Krakowiak & Tsay-Vogel, 2013). These definitions thus presume that these characters are good or bad at their heart, but that they provide mixed signals to the audience.
For that reason, this paper's agenda attempts to provide a new definition of morally ambiguous characters. In doing so, the paper will point out shortcomings of previous work that focuses on categorizing morally ambiguous characters in terms of prototypical character roles. In addition, this paper discusses how enjoyment relates to ambiguous characters through an inseparable relation with narrative complexity, especially in television shows and feature films. Through those two goals, this paper attempts to explain why viewers may enjoy morally ambiguous characters more than clearly defined characters, and why viewers may enjoy narrative complexity more than narrative simplicity.
Currently, there is an evolution of characters in narrative media forms whereby formerly morally clear protagonists are increasingly becoming morally ambiguous characters. This evolution is particularly evident in television shows. Indeed, more and more morally ambiguous characters, whom viewers cannot identify as either purely good or purely bad (Krakowiak & Tsay Vogel, 2013), are becoming the central character in popular television shows, such as 24, Dexter, Breaking Bad, and American Horror Story. This new type of fictional characters is captivating the attention of scholars and media researchers. However, nearly all these previous research arrives at a similar conclusion that ambiguous characters are either “good guys” who behave badly or “bad guys” that behave well (Krakowiak & Tsay-Vogel, 2013). These definitions thus presume that these characters are good or bad at their heart, but that they provide mixed signals to the audience.
For that reason, this paper's agenda attempts to provide a new definition of morally ambiguous characters. In doing so, the paper will point out shortcomings of previous work that focuses on categorizing morally ambiguous characters in terms of prototypical character roles. In addition, this paper discusses how enjoyment relates to ambiguous characters through an inseparable relation with narrative complexity, especially in television shows and feature films. Through those two goals, this paper attempts to explain why viewers may enjoy morally ambiguous characters more than clearly defined characters, and why viewers may enjoy narrative complexity more than narrative simplicity.