Shafer, D.M. and Raney, A.A. (2013) ‘ Exploring How We Enjoy Antihero Narratives ‘, Journal of Communication, Volume 62, Issue 6, December 2012, Pages 1028–1046. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01682.x.
This research investigates how audiences enjoy narratives featuring morally ambiguous or flawed protagonists, known as antiheroes. While traditional Affective Disposition Theory (ADT) posits that enjoyment stems from positive moral evaluations of characters, it falls short in explaining the appeal of antiheroes whose actions often violate moral standards. It argues that for antihero narratives, enjoyment is facilitated not through moral monitoring as per classic ADT, but through schema-driven moral disengagement. This process allows audiences to separate their liking for a character from their moral evaluation of their actions. The findings suggest that ADT remains a valid framework but requires integration with schema theory and the concept of moral disengagement to fully account for the enjoyment of complex, morally ambiguous protagonists. Future research should focus on directly measuring these schemas and exploring their potential long-term effects on viewers’ real-world moral reasoning.