Has recent media's features of more villains and inconspicuous antiheroes caused a lack of sensitivity to crime? And does the villainous characters’ appearance contribute to this? As of late, a number of antagonistic characters have garnered a strong fanbase due to peoples’ attraction to them. Are we witnessing mass attraction to specific actors, or is it much, much more than that, closer to a romanticization of psychopathic characters?

The romanticization of a person is the idea that if you romanticize someone, you think or talk of them in a way that isn’t very realistic, and which makes them seem better than how they are in reality. In terms of movie characters, this looks like depicting them to be more glamorous in appearance or personality, often in a superficial manner.

Often, villains on tv are played by attractive actors – potentially done by the casting directors with the intention of increasing viewership with this method. However, this choice in cast also means that people, particularly young and impressionable teenagers, can end up glamorizing or idolizing such characters due to their appearances.

An example of a villainous character that was glamorized in the media is Joe Goldberg from the Netflix thriller ‘You’. Played by Penn Badgley, Joe is the protagonist of the series, and behind his charming demeanour hides his true identity of a sociopath, stalker, and murderer. When Badgley was cast, it was partially because of his ability to exude qualities desirable in a romantic partner.

Through the editing of the show, viewers are able to see Joe the way he sees himself – a man who’s simply fallen victim to difficult circumstances – helping them to unconsciously sympathise with his dangerous logic. Despite him going to extreme lengths to manipulate an ideal romantic relationship for himself, a chunk of the show's audience found themselves enticed by his character, his physical appearance contributing to his glamorization.

This extends to characters and actors appealing to a younger demographic as well, as seen in the romanticization of Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter Series – particularly that of his on-screen actor, Tom Felton. The author of Harry Potter, JK Rowling describes Draco to be a person of ‘dubious morality” but nevertheless that “Draco has all the glamour of the anti-hero”, leading to his character being romanticized. Malfoy is consistently egotistical and a school bully who ostracises those who he doesn’t hold respect for, yet, similarly to Goldberg’s character, has garnered a large fanbase of people who overlook his negative characteristics.

So, why are people able to overlook negative character traits of antagonists in films solely because of their appearances? If many of these characters existed in real life, one would assume that the natural instinct would be to steer away from them in disapproval or fear. Some research shows that the reason behind peoples’ attraction towards malicious tv characters is that it allows people to “explore (their) personality’s darker side” keeping in mind that these ideas remain on screen and detached from their regular moral beliefs. Supposedly, the study described that people tend to favour characters whose traits are similar to ours – whether they are protagonists or antagonists. When it comes to looking at characters such as Goldberg or Malfoy, this can arise concern in that it suggests people may find themselves relating to their behaviours. When asked about the attraction to his character, Penn Badgley told Insider, "It says something about how much we are willing to be patient and forgive someone who inhabits a body that looks something like mine, the colour of my skin, my gender, these sorts of things, these sorts of privileges."

Ideas have arisen that Goldberg’s admirers may be conditioned to find stalker-ish behaviour not only acceptable but endearing. ‘The thrill of the chase’ is seen to be exciting in both films, but also can be seen in the psychological aspects of romance and dating in real life, too. This could be observed in you, in that the female lead being actively seeked out by her love interest until she complies is viewed as exhilarating rather than worrying. Regardless of whether this is the true intention of the show, or the psychological cause for attraction to movie villains, it's undeniable that pop culture has somewhat desensitized our reactions to crime, with the aid of strategic casting choices.

More scientifically, it's important to note that the crimes and “bad” behaviours we see in film could be viewed as exciting, in its instilling fear. Hence, research shows that psychologically, people confuse fear with attraction, due to the same rush of chemicals experienced. This mistaken feeling of arousal may be an explanation as to why evil characters are favoured.

So, why is it necessarily a bad thing that audiences find themselves glamorizing dangerous characters solely in the media? Encouraging this romanticization can be particularly harmful for teens as they are impressionable and subconsciously, they are learning that such behaviour can be excused or even glamorized. This can be potentially dangerous in the idea that if they can romanticize Joe Goldberg as an ideal partner, they’d also be able to apply this to their own lives and look past toxic behaviours for the sake of attraction.

Recent pieces of media have seen an increase in antiheroes and toxicity in relationships – creating a normalisation and obsession within viewers. Some find themselves believing that “good” relationships are uninteresting and prefer the pull towards other romantic cliches. While within films and series, indulging in such characters seems harmless, it’s good to delve into peoples’ glamorization of villainous characters, and take note of the psychology behind our thoughts.

The Romanticization of Psychopaths in Film

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