THE ONE WHO KNOCKS: THE HERO AS VILLAIN IN CONTEMPORARY TELEVISED NARRATIVES Maria João Brasão Marques Dissertação de Mestrado em Línguas, Literaturas e Culturas Estudos Ingleses e Norte-Americanos Março de 2016 Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Línguas, Literaturas e Culturas – Estudos Ingleses e Norte-Americanos realizada sob a orientação científica da Professora Doutora Isabel Oliveira Martins. Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy. F. Scott Fitzgerald AGRADECIMENTOS À minha orientadora, a Professora Doutora Isabel Oliveira Martins, pela confiança e pelo carinho nesta jornada e fora dela, por me fazer amar e odiar os Estados Unidos da América em igual medida (promessa feita no primeiro ano da faculdade), por me ensinar a ser cúmplice de Twain, Fitzgerald, Melville, McCarthy, Whitman, Carver, tantos outros. Agradeço principalmente a sua generosidade maior e uma paixão que contagia. Às Professoras Iolanda Ramos e Teresa Botelho, por encorajarem o meu investimento académico e por me facultarem materiais indispensáveis nesta dissertação, ao mesmo tempo que contribuíram para o meu gosto pela cultura inglesa e norte-americana. À professora Júlia Cardoso, por acreditar nesta demanda comigo e me fazer persistir até chegar a bom porto. Ao Professor João Maria Mendes, para sempre responsável pela minha paixão pelas narrativas, pelos heróis, pelo prazer de contar histórias que se mostram, pelo gosto de construir personagens que falham constantemente e que constantemente se reerguem. Aos meus pais, por me deixarem continuar a estudar. THE ONE WHO KNOCKS: THE HERO AS VILLAIN IN CONTEMPORARY TELEVISED NARRATIVES MARIA JOÃO BRASÃO MARQUES RESUMO PALAVRAS-CHAVE: herói, anti-herói, protagonista, storytelling televisivo, revolução criativa, paradigma do herói, vilão. Esta dissertação pretende analisar o storytelling televisivo contemporâneo norte-americano, considerando os eventos históricos e políticos que conduziram a uma aparente revolução criativa no final do século XX. Esta evolução na programação televisiva de qualidade ficou conhecida como a terceira “Golden Age” da televisão americana, cujo centro passou a estar ocupado por um novo tipo de protagonista, sugerindo uma mudança no arquétipo do herói. Através de exemplos significativos de algumas séries de televisão, tais como Oz (1997-2003), The Sopranos (1999-2007), The Wire (2002-2008), Dexter (2006-2013) e House of Cards (2013-presente), e analisando as características dos vilões, serial killers, cowboys e gangsters, assim como a sua relevância na criação da figura do herói nas narrativas contemporâneas, esta dissertação tentará demonstrar que heróis, anti-heróis e vilões partilham traços cada vez mais comuns e diferenças cada vez mais ténues. A personagem de Walter White, protagonista da série Breaking Bad (2008-2013), simultaneamente herói e vilão numa América desencantada, foi o exemplo escolhido para aprofundar o que torna este tipo de personagem tão complexa e cativante. Através desta personagem, cuja jornada reflecte a criação de um vilão, um dos principais objectivos desta dissertação é o de demonstrar o modo como as fronteiras do paradigma do herói foram sendo redefinidas para englobar medos, inquietações e realidades contemporâneas. THE ONE WHO KNOCKS: THE HERO AS VILLAIN IN CONTEMPORARY TELEVISED NARRATIVES MARIA JOÃO BRASÃO MARQUES ABSTRACT KEYWORDS: hero, anti-hero, protagonist, television storytelling, creative revolution, hero paradigm, villain. This dissertation intends to analyse the shift in North-American television storytelling by considering the historical and political events that laid the groundwork for a creative revolution at the end of the 20th century. This boom in quality television programming became known as the third “Golden Age” of American television, whose centre became populated by a new type of protagonist, suggesting a shift in the archetype of the hero. Through significant examples of American television series, such as Oz (1997-2003), The Sopranos (1999-2007), The Wire (2002-2008), Dexter (2006- 2013) and House of Cards (2013-present), and analysing the characteristics of villains, serial killers, cowboys and gangsters as well as their significance in the creation of the hero figure in contemporary narratives, this dissertation will attempt to show how heroes, anti-heroes and villains all share ever more common traits and ever more tenuous differences. The protagonist Walter White from the series Breaking Bad (2008-2013), both hero and villain in a disenchanted America, was the example chosen to delve into what makes this type of character so enticing and complex. Focusing on this protagonist, whose journey reflects the making of a villain, one of the main objectives of this dissertation will be to demonstrate how the boundaries of the hero paradigm have been redefined to encompass contemporary fears, concerns and realities. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1. Television: In the Driver’s Seat of a Revolution ............................... 4 Chapter 2. Enter the Men ................................................................................. 24 2. 1. The Sopranos: Coming in at the End ............................................... 24 2. 2. The Wire: This Is America. ............................................................... 35 2. 3. Dexter: Born in Blood ....................................................................... 39 2. 4. House of Cards: Achilles Is Only as Strong as His Heel ................... 50 Chapter 3. Breaking Bad: Growth, Decay, Transformation. .......................... 54 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 77 Bibliography ...................................................................................................... 80 Filmography ..................................................................................................... 82 INTRODUCTION By the end of the twentieth century there is an apparent shift in television storytelling, bringing the inner fantasies of the human psyche into the proscenium of the ego. Long gone are the days of leaving the obscene (= off stage) images behind the curtain to spare the audience a shocking experience. Violence and sex have always been present in storytelling in varying degrees, but the collective fantasy state that allows the proliferation of these images and stories with dubious moral standards is the result of a revolution in moral and social attitudes regarding the way stories are told. Examples such as D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1928) in literature and Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) in cinema have pushed the boundaries of acceptance and proved groundbreaking in the establishment of what seems to be a new moral view. Today, television has taken centre stage in redefining the breaking of taboos and collective fears. Not only has there been a technological revolution allowing the medium to develop in a way that would reach people’s homes in a massified way, but also television storytelling has become more thought-provoking. Writing for the small screen in a long narrative form has become an enticing way to develop character arcs and keep playing with audience expectations. The beginning of the twenty first century witnessed a boom in quality television production in what became known as the third “Golden Age” of American television, signalling a creative revolution. Premium cable companies, such as HBO, AMC, Showtime and FX have been carrying the banner of this qualitative leap. Because of their being broadcasted on paid cable television and their very specific production values, this new era brought about series aimed at relatively narrow target audiences. Nevertheless, the controversial themes explored and the niches granting them the epithet of cult series established these innovative narratives as determinant in the shaping of new paradigms. Shows such as Oz (1997-2003), The Sopranos (1999-2007) and The Wire (2002-2008), Dexter (2006-2013), Breaking Bad (2008-2013) or House of Cards (2013-present) paved the way for a whole new way of telling stories. Common to all of these series (and many others) is the type of protagonist. Extremely egotistical, volatile, obsessive and violent men (there are some exceptions, but the great majority 1 are men), often without any loveable sides to their characters or any redemptive qualities, deeply flawed and immoral, they flaunt their own codes of conduct in what can better be described as a sociopathy consequential of the bleak, hopeless and unstable reality of the world today. Detached, narcissistic and even violent protagonists are not new. They have been occupying the centre stage of cinema screens since the aftermath of the Second World War. The new element in contemporary televised narratives is the shift in the archetype of the hero as well as the revolution in television storytelling: the role of heroes today has been taken over by villains. Psychopaths and serial killers infiltrate television screens forcing audiences to rethink human nature and its role in the shaping of current values and morals. Protagonists such as Walter White from Breaking Bad, unimaginably cruel but also painfully human, redefine the boundaries of the hero paradigm. Thus, one of the main objectives of this dissertation will be to demonstrate the paradigm