Morality Predicts Enjoyment But Not Appreciation of Morally Ambiguous Characters

Eden, Allison; Daalmans, Serena; Johnson, Benjamin K.

doi:10.1080/15213269.2016.1182030

Cited by 52 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 55 publications

(131 reference statements)

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“…There is a growing focus within narrative research on MACs, such as antiheroes (see Eden, Daalmans, & Johnson, 2016; Eden, Grizzard, & Lewis, 2011; Janicke & Raney, 2015; Krakowiak & Oliver, 2012; Krakowiak & Tsay-Vogel, 2013, 2015; Raney & Janicke, 2013). A combination of our approach with this past work might yield novel predictions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensing Heroes and Villains: Character-Schema and the Disposition Formation Process

Grizzard

Huang

Fitzgerald

et al. 2017

Communication Research

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Character morality is an integral variable within disposition theories. Zillmann proposed that moral judgments of characters result from a viewer monitoring and approving/disapproving of a character's behaviors. Raney proposed a schemabased theoretical expansion of this model, wherein moral judgments of characters and disposition formation-facilitated by the activation of character-schema (e.g., hero/villain)-might occur prior to the observation of behavior. Three experimental studies were conducted to test Raney's hypotheses and to integrate them into Zillmann's original models. Study 1 indicates that visual cues associated with heroes and villains evoke character-consistent moral judgments absent character behaviors. Study 2 demonstrates that character-schema activation is magnified by the presence of an opposing character. Finally, Study 3 demonstrates that schema-based moral judgments can bias approbation of behaviors and subsequent moral judgments of characters. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensing Heroes and Villains: Character-Schema and the Disposition Formation Process

Grizzard

Huang

Fitzgerald

et al. 2017

Communication Research

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“…Turiel (1983) described viewers as moral scientists who construct and simulate social experience to develop their ideas about right and wrong. The diverse moral casting might-through mechanisms such as narrative transportation, identification, empathy and temporary expansion of the self (Eden, Daalmans, & Johnson, 2015;Lewis, Tamborini, & Weber, 2014;Shedlosky-Shoemaker, Costabile, & Arkin, 2014;Slater, Johnson, Cohen, Comello, & Ewoldsen, 2014)-function as a moral laboratory (Ricoeur, 1984) or moral playground (Vorderer, Klimmt, & Ritterfeld, 2004). In this moral laboratory, viewers are prompted by the behavior of characters both virtuous and not so virtuous to explore, reflect upon and deliberate about moral issues without facing the consequences of actually making those moral decisions in real life (Krijnen, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Good to Bad and Everything in Between: An Analysis of Genre Differences in the Representation of Moral Nature

Daalmans

Hijmans

Wester

2017

Journal of Media Ethics

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This study explores the presence of different moral natures-neutral, good, bad, ambivalent-and its association with sociodemographic characteristics in 3 television genres, through content analysis (N = 3,993). Results show that morally ambivalent characters dominate the cast of fiction, whereas neutral characters form a majority in news and information programming. In all genres, morally ambivalent characters are typed by social and professional transgression, while morally bad characters are typed by transgressions of the law. Although two thirds of all transgressions are punished, morally bad characters are always punished, whereas morally ambivalent characters more often get away without consequences. ARTICLE HISTORY

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“…It is my experience that hybrid heroes trigger moral reflection more easily than clean and exemplary heroes and since I believe that the arts can play a social, political, and thus moral role, I choose figures that will have as much impact as possible (see also Eden & Daalmans, 2016; Eden, Kleemans, & Daalmans, 2017).…”

Section: Hybrid Heroes As Counterexamplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Hybrid Hero: A Contagious Counterexample

Tourhout

2017

Journal of Humanistic Psychology

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Fictional heroes have been considered as moral exemplars and as entertaining and soothing characters. Their creators, however, do not work in a vacuum. Therefore, the emergence of heroic narratives is closely connected to a specific space and time context. In this article, I propose a heroic cycle which consist of three different heroic types creators use to cope with events in reality. This cycle consists of the classic hero, the flawed hero, and the contemporary (post 9/11) type of hero which will be defined and described as a hybrid hero. This hybrid hero became very popular in recent years and just as its counterpart, the franchised hero tries with a specific set of characteristics and moral frameworks, to provide a jouissance for audiences (Barthes, 1975). By doing so, these heroes try to sooth, entertain, or challenge their audiences. Both the hybrid and the franchised hero focus on the reception by audiences although their means and behavior differ on many levels. Although the research and development of the hybrid hero is still at its initial stage, this article elaborates on its construction and conceptualizations as fictional character and as moral challenger in today’s fiction. The hybrid hero challenges both audience and creators on empathic, moral, and narrative levels and is a contemporary symbiosis of heroic and villainous features. The text consists of two parts: first, background and contextualization and second, a description of a case study (The Borgia Trilogy, a theatre performance which Van Tourhout created) to clarify the empathic and narrative features of hybrid heroes.

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Morality Predicts Enjoyment But Not Appreciation of Morally Ambiguous Characters

Cited by 52 publications

References 55 publications

Sensing Heroes and Villains: Character-Schema and the Disposition Formation Process

Sensing Heroes and Villains: Character-Schema and the Disposition Formation Process

From Good to Bad and Everything in Between: An Analysis of Genre Differences in the Representation of Moral Nature

The Hybrid Hero: A Contagious Counterexample

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