The Hollywood Sign

    Superheroes are out, antiheroes are here! While the concept of antiheroes is timeless, the actual term was created through the realm of modern cinema. There's a diverse number of characters passing through the decades that fit the criteria, however I will focus primarily on the Jim Carrey Grinch from 2000’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

    The Grinch is described as hating any sort of happiness. He is very mean, selfish, sly, cunning and manipulative. Among his long list of things he hates are children, feasts, toys, and all forms of noise. On paper this is an extremely unlikable individual, yet for some reason we root for him while following his story which begs the question why. Antiheroes are flawed as are we, their moral complexity mirrors our own and just like us they are learning and growing as they move along the path of life, their mistakes make us think of our mistakes and perhaps the reason we root for their redemption is the reflection of ourselves rooting for our own.
So you might be curious about the contrast between the antihero and the villain. One we embrace and relate to while the other we despise and detach from. Both are driven by selfish motivations, yet our emotional response differs between them. The reason for this, while not necessarily obvious, is a relatively simple formula - the antihero must have a glimmer of humanity alongside a noticeable vulnerability. This is what allows the viewer to truly connect with a character. It allows us to forgive them when they are unethical, but admire them when they are noble. It allows them to be angry, cowardly and greedy, but also cheerful, brave and empathetic. In Grinch's case, the true reason behind his wrathful nature was due to being bullied by other kids for his appearance. As a child, he was an outcast at school and was bullied by his classmates and the horrible treatment is what drove him off the edge to become the Christmas-hating person he was known. Despite his flaws, the Grinch is somewhat insecure as he thinks of himself as nothing but a monster to be hated because of his appearance and nature.

    Unlike the clean-cut one-dimensional hero of mainstream culture, an antihero is not only more realistic, but far more likely to resonate with a viewer. It may resemble ourselves and remind us not only of the ambiguous morality of existence but also the possibility of redemptive change.