Humanity has always had a perverse curiosity about the evil, horrible and disgusting, particularly when it comes to the characters presented in art. In recent years there has been a surge in audiences’ love for villains, with popular TV series such as You, Hannibal and Killing Eve inviting audiences to be taken in by the charm of psychopaths and killers. But is this morally dangerous? Not necessarily, argues Dr Panos Paris as he delves into the ethics and aesthetics of our attraction to immoral characters and why it can be a good thing.
What if I told you I’m a murderer who carefully stages his crimes and then arranges his victims’ bodies in sculpture-like poses? Or that I’m a psychopathic hitman, happily employed killing strangers? Some of you may be scandalised, and send a letter of complaint to the editors. But many, I suspect, will eagerly read on. We seem to be curious and perversely fascinated by the evil, horrible, and disgusting, as philosophers since Plato have been aware of.
This feature of our psychology is harnessed by artists to create characters and narratives that seem deeply immoral, but that we are invited to find attractive, root for, and even become enamoured with. Why is that? After all, if you met someone who told you they’d done such things in real life, you’d want to steer clear of them and would likely feel repulsed. And yet, if you’re anything like me, you look forward to getting home from work, sitting back, and tuning into series like Hannibal, Killing Eve, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, or The Wire.
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