There are really several different phenomena going on here.
The author/filmmaker has created a character that he THINKS is a hero and that he EXPECTS you to root for… but some people believe the hero is actually repulsive.
Examples? Well, a lot of modern day liberals may look at an old John Wayne Western and HATE the Duke, even though he’s clearly supposed to be the hero.
The author/filmmaker has created a lead character who’s SUPPOSED to be repulsive and unlikable, but who’s interesting and compelling enough to keep you reading/watching, and that you find yourself liking and rooting for in SPITE of yourself.
Examples abound. Tony Soprano and Dr. House, for instance.
The author has created a complicated lead character, one with a lot of repulsive characteristics, one we’re not SUPPOSED to embrace- but large numbers of readers and viewers misinterpret the author’s intent, assume the lead character is SUPPOSED to be a hero, and either
a) wrongly condemn the artist for glorifying a bad person , or
b) wrongly embrace and love the bad character (Becky Sharp in “Vanity Fair” is an evil witch, but some fans, and one recent movie adaptation, regard her as a heroine).
4) The author creates a character that he regards as evil that he WANTS the audience to hate… but to his chagrin, he finds that audiences largely like and root for his villain!
I think Norman Lear was bothered by the fact that audiences LIKED Archie Bunker.
I’m seeing examples of all four categorites in this thread.
And then there’s the Puffy Shirt. Yeah, Jerry was a dick about it in his Today Show interview. But you know what, it was an ugly shirt. And he was still nice enough to wear it on national TV even after seeing just how ugly it was. I suppose you could make the argument that he “agreed” to wear it when Kramer’s girlfriend asked him about it. But that was only because she was a low talker and he couldn’t hear a word she was saying and was just nodding to be polite whenever she spoke.
Miles is certainly a flawed character, but I think it’s ridiculous to say he has no redeeming qualities.
On top of that, he explains why he doesn’t want to drink Merlot or Chardonnay. He doesn’t dislike the grape, just the way many American winemakers treat it.
Henry Miller. It’s hard not to think of him as the ultimate ego maniac (and a self-admitted asshole) when almost everything he wrote was autobiographical. Though I don’t particularly like the man (as self-portrayed), I enjoy his stuff immensely, and can open just about any of his books at random and happily immerse myself.
Another one that might fall in this category is the early James Bond, who is often an asshole. In Dr. No, for example, Bond shoots and kills one of No’s henchmen after he knows the guy is out of bullets and has the drop on him, even though he could easily have brought him in for interrogation.
Would you care list some of his redeeming qualities, it’s been awhile since I saw the movie so I can’t think of any of the top of my head. And his quote was “I’m not drinking any fucking merlot” not “I’m not drinking any fucking American merlot!”
He explains later in the movie that he likes all varietals.
He’s a man who is trying to get his life back on track, and who has a great deal riding on the success of a book into which he has poured a great deal if sweat. He’s passionate about writing and wine, and really regrets the way things turned out with his first wife.
Really, the attempt to paint him as a flawed individual was pretty ham-fisted (I’ve heard the book is much better in this respect), as he spends the vast majority of the movie acting like a decent guy who is drinking too much and who is a little down on his luck. But the ending leaves you with the impression that his kids will get better, rather than spiral out of control.
I wouldn’t say he has no redeeming qualities. He’s certainly more intelligent than average, even if his intelligence doesn’t live up to his pretensions. And who knows what the average person would do if stuck in his plight. In fact, the only major character I can’t muster up sympathy for is Quilty, who seems to be completely in control of his actions but likes to play with people’s minds.
Now Ada, on the other hand, I can get behind. It seems that when Nabokov created the world, one of the rules was that no one would behave at all sympathetically. Even the narrators don’t manage to draw themselves in a good light: while they are magnitudes more intelligent than Humbert, they, like Quilty, also derive pleasure from messing around with people. (But of course, many of us would, too, if we were in their circumstances.) About the only characters I could feel sympathy for in that novel were the victims in the floramors, and they were pretty minor.
Yeah, I love rooting for Walt, even while I’m screaming at him to tell the truth about something once in a while!
Another show with almost an entire cast of people I hate: Weeds. I laugh half the time and rage the other half. (Celia, who once sent her daughter to school with a bellyful of chocolate Ex-Lax, is now one of the more sympathetic characters!)
Ok I admit that saying he has no redeeming qualities might be a bit of hyperbole ( I assume he’s biodegradable, so he’s got that going for him :D) but that’s just arguing semantics. For myself, and obviously for others who agreed with me further upthread, he’s not a very likeable character, and certainly fits the OP
You may be right about how the rest of the people involved were portrayed; my wife and I only managed to watch for about 45 minutes before we turned it off out of sheer boredom and rabid hatred for Zuckerberg.
Bobby was probably the most decent character on the show, known for being the only member of the crew not to cheat on his wife. Seemed like a pretty nice guy overall.
Is the ending of the show completely unspoiled for you? Please consider posting your thoughts when you get to it. Reactions at the time were… mixed.
Yes…but…the way he got back on the horse after his wife’s death was to go and threaten a union rep. That was the thing that shook him out of his depression. We might take a holiday, take up a sport. Bobby threatens to blow a guy’s head off and suddenly he feels better. So yes, pretty nice but for a given value of “pretty nice” and only in context of the other grotesque characters.
As for the ending, yes it is completely unspoiled as far as I know. Some cultural leakage may have occurred and come the end I may think"Oh hang on, this seems familiar".
I just hope it isn’t a cop-out. Someone has already mentioned it is a dark ending and that feels right to me. I don’t see how anyone gets out of it unscathed and to have a happy-ending would just seem out of keeping.
Anyway, I will report back when I get there (probably in a week or two). I shall keep clear of this thread until then just in case I pick up subliminal spoilers.
You’ve already used the past tense for Bobby so my radar is already twitching. (but you can mean that in so many different ways so no problems there)
