Why We Love Anti-heroes 我们为何喜爱反英雄

Cruella1， Loki， Boba Fett2， the Suicide Squad—what do they all have in common， aside from excellent fashion taste？ They’re all anti-heroes3， not-quite-good-guys， grabbing the spotlight in 2021. In fact， we’re seeing a staggering amount of these characters leading projects—whether in movies or TV series.

库伊拉、洛基、波巴·费特与自杀小队除了都有出色的时尚品味外，还有什么共同之处？他们都是反英雄人物，都不算什么好人，都在2021年出尽风头。事实上，数量惊人的反英雄角色正成为影视剧作品的主角。

But what makes us love them so much？ Why do we want to watch the origins of a puppy killer4？ Or bat for5 Batman’s nemesis？ Let’s find out about our ongoing love-affair with the outlaw.

但我们为何如此喜爱这些反英雄？为何想了解小狗杀手库伊拉的成长史？又为何想支持蝙蝠侠的劲敌？让我们看看为何人们一直钟情于叛逆者。

What is an anti-hero？

什么是反英雄？

“Anti-heroes are， technically， characters who occupy the structural position of protagonist but tend to be morally compromised or， occasionally， are outright immoral in their interests and actions，” Dr. Aaron Taylor， Associate Professor in the Drama Department at the University of Lethbridge， explains. Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey is a good example—unlike traditional heroes， she thinks nothing of6 lobbing grenades and cracking skulls， yet Harley’s positioned as the protagonist.

“严格来讲，反英雄角色在故事结构上占据主角位置，但往往道德立场有问题或爱好和行为有时完全背德。”莱斯布里奇大学戏剧系副教授阿伦·泰勒博士解释道。电影《猛禽小队》里的哈莉·奎因就是个很好的例子——与传统英雄角色不同，哈莉的设定虽然是主人公，但她却没把扔手榴弹和弄碎头骨当回事儿。

What differentiates an anti-hero against a villain， then？ “The villain should be considered as the character whose function is to interfere with the goals of the protagonist，” Dr. Taylor says. Basically， anti-heroes are main characters， and the villains are whoever is trying to stop them， no matter how good or bad either are.

那么，反英雄与反派之间又有什么区别？“反派的作用是干扰主角达成目标。”泰勒博士说。大体上看，反英雄是主要角色，凡是跟他们作对的人都是反派，不管这两种角色有多好或多坏。

The age of anti-heroes

反英雄的时代

Movies and TV shows about morally dubious protagonists are more frequent now than ever. In 2021 alone， we had Emma Stone as the dastardly Cruella， Loki headlining his own Disney Plus7 series， Boba Fett blasting back onto the small screen8 in December， Harley Quinn returning in The Suicide Squad， and Eddie Brock’s symbiote leading Venom 2. Even the man who broke the Avengers， Zemo， has become an unexpected fan-favorite thanks to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

以有道德缺陷的人物为主人公的影视作品比以往更频繁地出现，仅2021年就有不少：艾玛·斯通扮演了恶毒的库伊拉，洛基有了以他为主角的独立Disney+剧集，波巴·费特在12月强势回归电视荧屏，哈莉·奎因在《自杀小队》中再次现身，艾迪·布洛克的共生体是《毒液2》的主角。就连瓦解了复仇者联盟的泽莫男爵也因《猎鹰与冬兵》的播出而意外受到粉丝们的喜爱。

The anti-hero has long been a staple of on-screen entertainment—Dr. Taylor points to shows like Breaking Bad and The Sopranos as earlier examples of this kind of character—yet they paved the way for the current influx.

反英雄早就成了影视娱乐作品的主要素材——泰勒博士指出，《绝命毒师》和《黑道家族》这类早期反英雄剧集为当前该类题材的涌现创造了条件。

What’s also noticeable is the bad batch are primarily returning baddies9 who fans already know and… love.

同样值得注意的是，这一批反英雄大多是复出的角色，粉丝们此前已经了解并喜爱他们。

“We may be ‘attracted’ to a villain or anti-hero， but that doesn’t mean we want them to succeed or support their values， beliefs， and/or actions，” Dr. Taylor explains. “Attraction is taken to serve as a kind of fascination， and this captivation can be directed to any number of10 qualities： their exoticism， charisma or dynamism， sense of humour， diabolical11 intelligence， or other ‘non-moral’ traits—including the skill or craft by which an actor brings to the stylistic expression of their behaviour.”

“被反派或反英雄‘吸引’不意味着我们希望他们得逞，或认同他们的价值观、信仰和/或行为。”泰勒博士解释，“喜爱可看作是一种迷恋，而这种吸引力可能来自许多品质：角色的异国风情、人格魅力、活力、幽默感、邪恶智慧以及其他‘与道德无关’的特质——演员对角色行为进行风格化诠释时所使用的技巧或手法也包括在内。”

If you find yourself a fan of an unscrupulous character， then， it’s probably not because you agree with them and more likely that you find them interesting or love the actor’s performance.

如果你发现自己喜爱上了无道德原则的角色，这份喜爱也许不源于你对角色的认同，更可能是因为你认为角色充满趣味，或是欣赏演员的演技。

I’m the baaaaaaad guy， duh

嘿，我就是大反派

Dr. Taylor also explains that sometimes the story itself is set up to explain or justify the anti-hero’s behavior， meaning “even if we don’t outright sympathize completely with a scummy protagonist， the idea is that we may better understand their actions， or perhaps even empathize with them （i.e.， imagine feeling the way they do or holding the values they hold）.” Cruella， for instance， clashes with Emma Thompson’s Baroness， and their relationship goes some way to justify Estella-turned-Cruella’s inevitably immoral actions. Or look at Breaking Bad and the countless times Walter White’s outrageous behavior was rationalized.

泰勒博士也说明，有时剧情本身的作用，就是为反英雄的行为进行辩解或正名，“虽然我们无法做到完全同情一个卑鄙的主角，但剧情这样安排的初衷是我们能更好理解反英雄人物的行为，或是对他们产生同理心（即想象角色是什么样的感受或与他们持有的价值观相同）”。例如，在电影《黑白魔女库伊拉》中，库伊拉与艾玛·汤普森扮演的伯爵夫人间存在冲突，二者的关系在一定程度上成为库伊拉黑化（艾斯黛拉变为库伊拉后必然要做坏事）的正当理由。或者看看《绝命毒师》里的沃尔特·怀特，他的无耻行为被无数次地合理化。

Dr. Taylor points out that feeling “sympathy， empathy， fascination， or a blend of these things” for an anti-hero makes us feel good， which can make the character more likeable. “Whether or not these pleasurable feelings can or do override our moral judgment （i.e.， we overlook， make excuses for， or more fully understand their ‘bad’ behaviour） is a very old philosophical debate，” he says. “But antiheroic narratives deliberately mobilize or dramatize this dilemma！”