Anti-hero

In 1991, Anthony Hopkins’ portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs introduced the character to the big screen and turned him into a worldwide phenomenon. In 2013, Bryan Fuller revived the franchise with a completely new perspective, bringing Hannibal Lecter into the spotlight once again. Since then Mads Mikkelsen’s performance as Hannibal has fascinated and captivated the audience, as he successfully carries Hopkins’ legacy forward. Although Hannibal Lecter is a cannibal serial killer, the audience does not seem to care about this fact in the show; IMDB reviews show that the majority of the audience likes him no matter what he does. He manipulates, cheats, kills and eats people, yet somehow he still manages to earn respect, and perhaps even admiration from the audience. Due to the exploration of certain concepts such as the antihero and postmodern villains in modern stories, the line between good and evil has become blurrier than ever. Citing these concepts and linking them with Hannibal will be the first step of this study. Secondly, analyzing the promos, the scenes, and the dialogues will provide some evidence about the true nature of Hannibal in the show. Within the scope of this study the main questions to be asked will be “Is he really a villainous character as he is considered to be?” and “If Hannibal Lecter is such a villainous character, why does the audience like him?”. Finally, the reasons why the audience likes him will be determined and revealed.

Keywords: Hannibal Lecter, Serial Killer, Antiheroes, Cannibal, Villain

My final dissertation as part of my Bachelor's Degree in Lingue e Culture Europee, Euroamericane ed Orientali with 110/110 e lode (magna cum laude), Università degli studi di Catania. The present dissertation is mainly focused on the Old English poem Beowulf and, in particular, on the relationship between the Geatish warrior, Beowulf, and the Danish þyle, Unferþ. In fact, the encounter between the two characters reveals a specific pattern based on the contrast between protagonist and antagonist. Indeed, this pattern is reiterated throughout the text, mainly when Beowulf proves his valour and his strength on his path towards glory by fighting all the monsters he meets. However, what is really interesting is that, before the vassal of King Hroþgar, that is Unferþ, physical opposition becomes verbal, contributing to the construction of a real verbal duel made up of insults and rhetorical leaps, known as flyting.  In order to analyse both pattern and relationship, I organised the present study around two main thematic axes, which are, the critical interpretation of Unferþ as (anti)-hero and the contextualisation and the description of flyting within the poem's textual reality, the Germanic culture and the broader group of verbal duelling.

Bu çalışmada, Şahsiyet (2018) dizisi bağlamında polisiye türünde anti
kahraman karakterlerin temsil biçimlerinin araştırılması amaçlanmaktadır. Şahsiyet dizisi, polisiyede bir alt tür olan seri katil polisiye dizisidir. Birden fazla işlenen cinayetlere dayanan öyküsüyle, cinayetlerin işlenme biçimi kadar, polis/dedektif karakterlerin katilin
kimliğini ortaya çıkarma çabaları, ipuçlarının takip edilmesi ve katilin
seri cinayetleri işlemesinin arkasındaki gizem gibi unsurlar bu dizi
bağlamında ele alınacaktır. Şahsiyet dizisinde tipikleşmiş polisiye
anlatısı, “dedektif/polis, katil, kurban” üçgenine göre çözümlenecektir.
Dizide ana karakter olan seri katil Agâh Beyoğlu, kendi adaletini
kendisi sağlama amacıyla suça bulaşmış anti kahraman karakterdir. Bu
çerçevede, Agâh Beyoğlu karakteri üzerinden, polisiye türünde anti
kahraman karakter modelinin izleri irdelenecektir....

This paper is a critical reading of Angela Carter’s The Passion of New Eve and the major concern of this paper is the projection of Evelyn as a subversive Anti-hero. The researcher claims that, Evelyn is portrayed as a subversive Anti-hero because he acts as a misogynist, immoral and unethical man. Furthermore, the researcher adds that- the depiction of Evelyn as an egoistic male chauvinist is enough to show subversive anti-hero elements. To support the claim, the researcher draws some theoretical insights drawn by Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with Thousand Faces, which will be the foundation to analyze, examine and evaluate the text.

The real events that make up the plot of the first two seasons of Narcos (Dynamo, Netflix, 2015–2016) and Fariña (Atresmedia/Bambú, Netflix, 2018)—the establishment of the Medellin Cartel in Antioquia, Colombia, with Pablo Escobar as the main figure and the introduction of cocaine into Europe by the La Ros clan led by the Galician Sito Miñanco, respectively—reinforce the cultural character of these two hit TV series. This metaphorical turn can only be understood by the adoption of a myth-based perspective, because, as stated by Eliade: “myth always refers back to realities” (1968, 19). In this case, the criminal nature of these realities represented by myth should not seem strange, as this is part of the history of both regions. Despite how “heinous, instinctive and monstrous” the historical facts may be, they lose that unbearable quality, “to reveal themselves as cultural events” (Eliade 1968, 16).

L’anti-eroe dai mille volti.
La migrazione di un dispositivo narrativo dalla letteratura alla serialità televisiva.

Andrea Bernardelli


L’intervento intende sottolineare l’importanza della figura dell’antieroe nella costruzione di testi parodici o satirici. L’antieroe è di fatto un dispositivo narrativo fondamentale per costruire ogni forma di anti-narrazione, quest’ultima intesa come il rovesciamento di una sequenza narrativa stereotipata fondata sulla centralità di un protagonista carico di ogni tipo di caratterizzazione positiva (“l’eroe senza macchia e senza paura”).
Una sommaria definizione dell’antieroe – da non confondere con il semplice oppositore o antagonista dell’eroe -, consiste nella rappresentazione di una figura investita di caratteristiche che siano in tutto o in parte il rovesciamento dei caratteri positivi dell’eroe. Al protagonista bidimensionale (il tradizionale personaggio eroico “piatto”) si contrappone quindi una figura dotata di complessità e di profondità (il personaggio “tondo” di Forster 1927), un protagonista del racconto caratterizzato da luci ed ombre.
Esiste una ampia tradizione di antieroi nella storia letteraria, in particolare nel romanzo. Di fatto il primo uso del termine è in Memorie del sottosuolo di Dostoevskij (1864), ma sembra che la stessa tradizione della forma romanzo sia legata a questa costruzione “al negativo” della figura del protagonista, basti ricordare, risalendo ad alcune opere ritenute all’origine del genere romanzo, la figura di Don Chisciotte o le protagoniste “negative” di Defoe, Moll Flanders e Roxana.
A partire dagli esempi letterari è possibile ricostruire una tipologia o fenomenologia dell’antieroe, caratterizzazioni che hanno avuto un’ampia fortuna anche in altre forme di espressione narrativa. In particolare la figura dell’antieroe è stata ampiamente utilizzata nel cinema e nel fumetto, soprattutto quando queste forme narrative hanno raggiunto una certa maturità espressiva.
L’ultima “migrazione narrativa” del dispositivo dell’antieroe consiste nel suo utilizzo nella più recente serialità televisiva (quella post-Sopranos, 1999), in cui il protagonista antieroico è diventato un fondamentale strumento per mettere in discussione non solo stereotipi narrativi televisivi consolidati (dr. Kildare vs. dr. House), ma anche per riflettere, attraverso la parodia o la satira, sulla rappresentazione di modelli culturali altrimenti semplicemente rispecchiati senza profondità (vedi il caso della serie italiana L’ispettore Coliandro).

Esta investigación tiene como objetivo analizar la figura del villano en el cine español entre 1982 y 2015. Se seleccionan las películas más taquilleras de cada década, y se lleva a cabo un análisis textual de estos personajes teniendo en cuenta su evolución, valores, objetivos y relación con el protagonista. Se demostrará que la figura del villano ha experimentado cambios importantes en cada etapa analizada y que estos cambios están influidos por la situación social y cultural del país.

Sadallah Wannous (1941-1997), the leading Syrian dramatist, reflected in his plays the condition of the downtrodden fellow-countrymen. He captured the essence of the average Syrian citizen, not as an innately timid soul, but as one cowed by political and economic oppression. This paper provides a case study of two anti-heroes; Hanzala in Hazala's Journey from Unawareness to awakening (1978) and Farouk in A Day of Our Time (1993), who go on two journeys of discovery of the roots of their problems. The journeys in both cases lead to awakening and protest. This study attempts at analyzing the significance of the underdog figure in the light of dramatic and textual analysis and Wannous's own views communicated in his non dramatic writings and the interviews he gave in his lifetime. As a result, the author of this paper concludes that Wannous' anti-heroes delineate the collective psyche of the oppressed civilians. The awakening process delineated in the said plays is an attempt to raise political awareness in the masses of Wannous's audience.

Resumen. Clint Eastwood es todo un icono del Séptimo Arte, identificado fácilmente como el actor que interpretó a unos personajes característicos, polémicos y legendarios, como El hombre sin nombre en los años 60 o el inspector de la Policía de San Francisco Harry Callahan en los años 70 y 80. Pero en nuestros días se ha superado con creces este reconocimiento, y se destaca sobre todo su faceta de director con unos cuarenta años de experiencia, siendo considerado uno de los últimos clásicos y un ejemplo paradigmático de cómo compaginar dirección e interpretación de forma exitosa. Gran Torino (2008) es probablemente su film más personal, una especie de homenaje a sus grandes personajes, y también una reflexión sobre grandes temas que ha planteado en sus filmes, como la madurez, la soledad, el concepto de antihéroe frente al héroe clásico, las dudas sobre la naturaleza de la ley frente a una correcta diferenciación entre el bien y el mal y una crítica al fin del sueño americano. Además de ser el mayor éxito de taquilla de su carrera tras las cámaras hasta el momento, es su más que probable último papel protagonista, convirtiéndose así, a la vez, en un verdadero epitafio interpretativo y en una especie de resumen de sus inquietudes como director a lo largo de su carrera.
Palabras clave. Interpretación, dirección, racismo, cosmopolitismo, madurez, antihéroe, ley, violencia, sueño americano, hmong.

Abstract. Clint Eastwood is such an icon of the Seventh Art, easily typecasted as the actor who played the role of so many troubled and legendary characters. Worthy of mention are movies like The man with no name dated from the 1960s or his play of SFPD inspector Harry Callahan during the 1970s and 1980s. Nowadays his recognition increased even more and is due mainly to his long carrer of director of almost forty years. Public acknowledgement is based on his merits as one of the great classic actors and a paradigmatic example of acting and directing in a successful way. Gran Torino (2008) is probably his most personal film, a sort of homage to the great characters he played throughout his remarkable carrer and also a dissertation upon the great issues discussed in his films, like maturity, solitude, the concept of anti-hero instead of classic hero, the doubt about the nature of law, the right demarcation between the good and evil and a critical attitude towards the end of the American dream. Despite this film being the major box-office success of his career, probably will be his last role as protagonist, converting this production in a true interpretive testament of his main dilemmas as movie director.
Palabras clave. Acting, direction, racism, cosmopolitanism, maturity, anti-hero, law, violence, American dream, Hmong.