TV's dark heroes stretch moral boundaries
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If forced to debate his way of doing things, Shore says House would challenge the idea that he needs to recognize the humanity of his patients or get involved emotionally in their lives.
“He simply does the math, and does what he has to in order to arrive at a solution,” Shore says. “He ignores the rules, which can be dangerous in society, yet heroic at the same time. Probably that's the way more of us should act. Except sociopaths.”
Or psychopaths like Dexter Morgan, the Miami police department forensic specialist whose hobby involves sadistically eliminating evildoers. Producer Clyde Phillips believes Dexter lives by a stricter code of conduct than most people.
“We all have those shadow selves, the difference is that normal people don't act upon those darker impulses, but it makes for great drama,” Phillips says. “These are very complex and volatile heroes, and I think the audience is looking for these complex characters. The simple good guys from ‘Magnum P.I.’ or ‘Rockford Files’ just aren't enough for audiences now.”
While Dexter is at one extreme of the moral spectrum of “good guys,” at the other might be the ubiquitous voice of “Gossip Girl,” the prep-school texter who snoops and squeals on her classmates, who in turn often engage in questionable conduct.
“Gossip is a form of social power that doesn't require physical strength,” Vaisey says. “‘Gossip Girl’ controls the environment and has the power to ruin people's lives. That's very appealing, especially to young people.”
Although these characters stretch the bounds of what we believe to be morally and ethically correct behavior, in most cases Vaisey says it does no harm because in general, people have a strong sense of right and wrong behavior.
“In a world where people don't feel in control of their lives, television allows us to experience people who take control without experiencing the actual negative consequences of those acts,” Vaisey says. “You can enjoy the thrill of doing something bad without really doing it. There's a reason why we call these shows guilty pleasures.”
Susan C. Young is a writer in Northern California.
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