Cynical Bastards vs. Stereotypical Heroes

So, in literature, television shows, and pretty much everywhere, you'll come across the traditional "hero." You know, Superman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman... protectors of justice, incredibly powerful, morally infallible, etc. It gets a bit tiresome to see the same qualities in heroes, doesn't it? Same goes with happy endings. Cinderella lives a terrible life at home, finds her Prince Charming, and he chooses her out of her sisters and HAPPILY EVER AFTER lolz. In my opinion, I think it's quite boring and maybe after you read this, maybe you'll take things into consideration.

I like anti-heroes, antagonists, and villains. Contradictions of the stereotypes you find in most heroes, whether they're good or not. Some of my favorites: Gregory House, Invader Zim, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac (just for you Phoebe xD), a lot of people like Dr. Cox, Sherlock Holmes, Batman, Vegeta (xD), Uchiha Itachi, there's some other select characters I'd add as well. Now ,from all of their respective series, why are these characters so popular? Because you can have an average main character who really doesn't break the mold because they follow all the guidelines for "SuPR HeR0," so they're not really amazing. And then you can have some truly perplexing characters like House, Sherlock Holmes, Vegeta, and those are the ones who really stand out. But why the anti-heroes? Here's how I see it.

Dramas are imitations of what life really is. Anything can be a drama - a story, a television show, a comic series, they all count since they all imitate how life is, but simply in a different light. See, there's two different types of dramas: tragedies and comedies. Comedies are when the protagonist is successful in his goal, or there's a "happy ending." Tragedies are when the protagonist is NOT successful in his goal, or there's a "sad ending." At first, way back when, the mainstream audience preferred to see happy endings. They liked to see that, despite the worst hardships, things would always work out alright. Those kind of stories gave people hope, that maybe during their hardships, their lives would turn out better in the end. But that was in a different age.

Nowadays, we've become spoiled. The mainstream audeicen has changed. Most people who have the time to watch TV, read books whenever they like, want to see a different side of life. We've heard all the Cinderella stories, we've seen Superman save the city a thousand times, but now we're looking for something different. Back a few generations, say in the 50s-60s, that's when people were trying to make the American Dream. They wanted hope. But in this generation, we're pretty well-off in comparison. Concerning the "mainstream audience," our lives are pretty much a luxury. Sitting in class, that's a luxury. Before, it was hard to pay for school. Look now, how much we have to pay for tuition! So we've got what we want. But we want to see the other side of things. We want to see a different imitation of life.

That's where characters like Dr. House come in. He is the contradiction of everything most heroes and stereotypical protagonists are supposed to stand for. He is cynical, narcissistic, sarcastic, berating, hates becoming attached, and disregards all parameters concerning both medicine and morality. But, in the classic context of protagonists, you expect such anti-heroes to have their icy hearts melted by family, friends, and the love of their life. So, most people who watch House MD expect him to go on this "path of redemption," like so many stereotypical protagonists undergo. But people don't get that this guy isn't gonna change, and that's why people are so intrigued by him. He's a contradiction of our usual understanding of life. This guy's "icy heart" is never gonna be melting anytime soon, but so many people expect it. Take this exchange he had with a mother of a patient whose life he just saved. He also told the mother that her daughter was suicidal, and you think that maybe he might just change from showing this tiny speck of "humanity."

Mother: So, is it alright if I call you, in case anything comes up? If I have any questions.

And then, we see a strange expression on House's face. That he might just go on this path of redemption of becoming a human being.

House: ............ No. [House walks away]

This is why characters like House, Invader Zim, and dare I say, Vegeta, intrigue mainstream audiences. You expect them to have their time to shine, to redeem themselves and change their "evil ways," but deep down, they're never going to. They're a contradiction of our perception of the world, because now we've had everything handed to us and we want to see how the other side lives. But we'll never really understand, will we? It's all a mystery never to be solved, because we can never begin to fathom how "the other side lives," because we do not live "on the other side." But that's what keeps people interested.