I haven't seen Hit Man, but this column taps into some thoughts I've had about the set of anti-heroes in several popular TV shows: The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Deadwood, and Mad Men. I tapped out on all three shows because they depressed me. Sometimes I wonder if those TV bad-boys paved the way for the toxic masculinity we see on the rise in the U.S. and for a general breakdown of a sense of clear morality among the "elites" who watch those shows. (I put "elites" in quotation marks because I'm never sure who is in that category, but it seems useful here.)
I feel the same way. I tried to watch Breaking Bad and Mad Men, but I couldn't bear the ugly cynicism, and while I hung in there with the Sopranos, the final season, in which both Meadow and Anthony get sucked back in to the mafia after almost making their escapes, really soured me on the show. I don't think great works of art need to take this nasty, mean view of human nature. (In fact, one reason I give Hit Man a pass is that I think Richard Linklater's whole point is that Gary is not admirable.)
And yes, can we please get away from the idea that these antiheroes are attractive in any way? If we look at the actual world, instead of at propagandistic fictions in these series, we find that evil is cliched, repetitive, and boring, while goodness is interesting, creative, and appealing.
I haven't seen Hit Man, but this column taps into some thoughts I've had about the set of anti-heroes in several popular TV shows: The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Deadwood, and Mad Men. I tapped out on all three shows because they depressed me. Sometimes I wonder if those TV bad-boys paved the way for the toxic masculinity we see on the rise in the U.S. and for a general breakdown of a sense of clear morality among the "elites" who watch those shows. (I put "elites" in quotation marks because I'm never sure who is in that category, but it seems useful here.)
I feel the same way. I tried to watch Breaking Bad and Mad Men, but I couldn't bear the ugly cynicism, and while I hung in there with the Sopranos, the final season, in which both Meadow and Anthony get sucked back in to the mafia after almost making their escapes, really soured me on the show. I don't think great works of art need to take this nasty, mean view of human nature. (In fact, one reason I give Hit Man a pass is that I think Richard Linklater's whole point is that Gary is not admirable.)
And yes, can we please get away from the idea that these antiheroes are attractive in any way? If we look at the actual world, instead of at propagandistic fictions in these series, we find that evil is cliched, repetitive, and boring, while goodness is interesting, creative, and appealing.