Why People Like Villains More Than Heroes Nowadays
I was watching The Rock’s appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast recently.
I was surprised to see The Rock there.
For the past couple of years, Joe has been insinuating The Rock is on steroids.
And I thought The Rock would hear Joe’s criticisms from the grapevines and avoid the podcast for that reason.
Nope.
The people’s champ was in attendance.
Within the first 20 minutes, I noticed something…
The podcast was so boring.
I wanted to hear more about The Rock.
Especially because he doesn’t do that many interviews.
However, he kept deflecting to Joe.
He kept asking Joe Rogan questions and Joe kept talking.
I’m looking at The Rock’s body language.
It seemed like he had taken a blast to the past.
He was being so boring.
Rocky Mavia
When The Rock initially started his wrestling career, he was a babyface.
The babyface is the good wrestler, while the heel is the bad wrestler.
Hero vs villain.
The top executives wanted The Rock to be the next big babyface.
Their instruction to the Rock was:
‘You need to smile more. You want to be that character who is just happy to be here.’
The executives pushed The Rock to the audience.
They allowed him to win against the vets.
Soon, The Rock was given championships.
Rather than the audience cheering him, they booed him.
It was vicious boos too.
They didn’t like the Rock.
They thought he was fake.
After that, the executives were leaning towards firing The Rock.
Guess the next big baby face didn’t pan out the way they had imagined.
Before he was going to be let go, The Rock requested 1 thing…
- Allow him to speak from the heart.
After some thought, the executives agreed.
The next arc of The Rock’s character would be vastly different.
Die Rocky Die
When The Rock returned, he was different.
He entered the ring and said:
‘Die Rocky die! That’s what you ungrateful audience members said to me as I gave it my all.’
He began bashing the audience!
The same audience he was desperately trying to win the approval of was now the same audience that he was mocking.
In a logical world, the audience should have hated him, right?
Yes, in a logical world.
But we don’t live in a logical world.
The audience loved this unfiltered version of The Rock.
During that era, the audience loved the bad guys.
It was no longer cool for a wrestler to say, ‘stay in school and eat your vitamins.’
The cool wrestlers were the bad guys.
Aka: the villains.
The Rise of the Villains
I miss the badass Rock.
I get it though, he’s a big brand now.
It’s difficult to say anything unfiltered.
His appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast was lukewarm.
Many thought he was being fake.
The reason that people like villains more than heroes is because they seem more authentic.
But people don’t always like the villains more.
Don’t let today’s climate fool you into thinking villains will forever remain cool.
It depends on the climate.
If the majority are talking about drugs and killing people, then it feels like a breath of fresh air to see someone talking about uplifting positive stuff.
While on the other hand, if most of the stuff is positive and feel good, a villain seems like a breath of fresh air.
A villain reveals a lot about human nature.
When we understand the insights that bad guys provide, we will see why bad guys are making a comeback.
Joker
I see people who root for the Joker over Batman.
Huh?
But Batman is the good guy.
Why are they rooting for the Joker?
Because the Joker shows more flaws.
He’s a haunted man who is being tired of taken advantage of by the world.
So, he decides to fight back.
He is a rebel who flicks off the authority.
Where heroes appeal to our imagination, villains appeal to our heart.
I don’t see villains being more popular than heroes forever.
There are pendulum swings in the storytelling world.
Sometimes, we love the hero that allows us to imagine ourselves flying.
Other times, we love the villain that allows us to fight back against our oppressors.
Try This Exercise
Which hero is your favorite?
Which villain is your favorite?
For me, Spiderman is my favorite hero and Joker is my favorite villain.
The reason Spiderman is my favorite hero is because he is the underdog.
Most parts of my life included me being the underdog.
I see myself in him the most.
With Joker, I just find his plot to be the deepest of them all.
I can see a real-life Joker.
A madman who seems like a genius to the niches.
Identify who is your favorite hero and your favorite villain.
This exercise will shed a lot of insight into your inner world.
Can The Rock Return to Being the People’s Champ?
I’m still a big fan of The Rock.
He’s my favorite movie star.
I don’t expect a deep nuanced film from him.
I just know that he will entertain me.
He is a legend and I want to give him his props.
However, at this time, I want to learn about the real Rock.
It seems like he has the same 3-5 stories that he spits out in different ways every interview.
He seems too scripted nowadays.
The unique thing about being a legend is that it gives a person the freedom to be themselves.
Talk about the great parts, sure.
But talk about the dark parts that led to the great parts.
I’m sure The Rock is considered a villain in someone’s story.
We all are.
Share the villain sides more, Rock.
Give a peek into the darkness.
Then the next time you go on the Joe Rogan Experience, it’ll make for an entertaining episode.
