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James Presbitero's avatar

In rereading this story, I am reminded of people who would become "fans" of certain psychopaths upon watching their documentary.

I'm realizing that might be because of this antihero phenomena, where we start to sympathize with "villains" when things are told from their point of view because we recognize the nuance of life, and see that same sort of potential in ourselves. Just shows how complex human nature, and storytelling, by extension, really is.

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One Brilliant Arc (OBA)'s avatar

Ohhh, this is a really interesting point! Brilliant dots being connected here.

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@mindset&mythos's avatar

Yeah I think there is something to that. A psychopath could be someone who gave in to their dark urges, where antihero might be tempted but chooses to resist those urges. There may only be a couple of degrees of separation between the psycho and the antihero.

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@mindset&mythos's avatar

Provocative post.

There are a variety of antagonists in different media. The Man With No Name is a mysterious protagonist who is not that far removed from the villains he faces, and his mysterious persona doesn't shed light on his code. It's up to us to decide what he is.

And then there's Bodhi, who is a villain and antagonists, but he represents a mirror opposite of Johnny Utah, and he keeps pushing Utah's limits to break his principles.

And I could go on with other examples of complex and fascinating antagonists 😁

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One Brilliant Arc (OBA)'s avatar

Antiheroes are so fascinating—and they ARE everywhere! In fact, I think they are so fascinating because we feel like our own antiheroes. 🖤

Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts!

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@mindset&mythos's avatar

Yes! The best ones represent the mirror image of the hero, what the hero might become if he or she is tempted by their dark side.

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One Brilliant Arc (OBA)'s avatar

Very astute point! Those are the truly brilliant stories.

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Jessica Ann's avatar

Awww I’m so happy for you Jared and the OBA team! Love what you’re putting out into the world and am sooooo excited to read Jared’s novel!!🙌

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One Brilliant Arc (OBA)'s avatar

Thank you so much!! 😊

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@mindset&mythos's avatar

😎🙌🏾

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