弗兰克·安德伍德为什么看着我们?当代英雄提出小说移情概念化需要转向

IF 0.6 0 LITERARY THEORY & CRITICISM
M. Salgaro, B. V. Tourhout
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The distinction between empathy and sympathy is crucial in the study of immoral figures because, as research has shown, only sympathy involves a moral judgement. The concept of a hybrid hero pushes us to decouple the core of fictional empathy from moral impulses or prosocial actions because it demands a »suspension of moral judgement from its viewer« (cf. Vaage 2013). Some recent studies (cf. Happ/Melzer/Steffgen 2015) have found that empathic responses to videogames cause antisocial effects, while others report cases of »tactical empathy« (cf. Bubandt/Willerslev 2016) or »empathic sadism«, which allows the fiction reader to predict the feelings of the characters and to find enjoyment in this prediction, independently of the negative state and the pain of them (cf. Breithaupt 2016). 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引用次数: 6

摘要

摘要小说中的英雄人物长期以来一直吸引着观众和读者的注意力和情感。此外,这种持续的关注或情感参与往往采取认同的形式,甚至是同理心。然而,这篇文章表明,自9/11以来,出现了一种新的英雄主义循环,即混合英雄(参见Van Tourhout 2017;2018)。在后9/11时期,混合英雄变得越来越受欢迎,在好与坏、对与错的明确划分面临压力的困难时期,他们为观众提供了逃避现实和安慰。这些角色在道德和叙事层面上挑战观众和创作者,因为他们的英雄和邪恶特征是流动的共生体。我们在当代电视剧中发现了一些著名的例子,如《绝命毒师》、《纸牌屋》等。混合英雄正在寻找唤起观众的方法,并瞄准观众的同谋。这种同谋性质最引人注目的例子可以在电视剧《纸牌屋》中看到,弗兰克·安德伍德凝视着镜头向观众发表讲话。关于移情的传统心理学和美学理论受到混合英雄现象的挑战,因为移情通常是以亲社会的术语来构思的,目前的大多数研究都是针对移情的积极概念(参见Johnson 2012;Bal/Veltkamp 2013;Koopman/Hakemulder 2015)。此外,同情和同理心之间普遍存在混淆,这影响了我们对这些英雄的理解(参见Jolliffe/Farrington,2006年)。事实上,在文学接受研究中,移情的积极内涵占主导地位的原因之一是,移情被狭义地定义为“对不幸他人的同情和关心”(Bal/Veltkamp 2013,2)。同理心和同情之间的区别在研究不道德人物时至关重要,因为正如研究所表明的那样,只有同情才涉及道德判断。混合英雄的概念促使我们将虚构移情的核心与道德冲动或亲社会行为脱钩,因为它要求“暂停观众的道德判断”(参见Vaage 2013)。最近的一些研究(参见Happ/Melzer/Steffgen 2015)发现,对电子游戏的移情反应会产生反社会影响,而其他研究则报告了“战术移情”(参见Bubandt/Willerslev 2016)或“移情虐待狂”的案例,这使小说读者能够预测角色的感受,并在这种预测中找到乐趣,独立于消极状态和他们的痛苦(参见Breithaupt 2016)。我们认为,只有在媒体研究和美学理论中转向虚构移情的概念,才能将观众与可疑或混合英雄之间的情感纽带概念化。因此,本文的范围不仅是描述混合英雄的现象,而且是混合英雄概念所要求的移情和审美享受的具体概念,与目前的移情概念相比:(1)区分移情与同情,(2)将移情与道德脱钩,(3)考虑了与负面情绪和道德侵犯相关的审美享受。最后,我们认为,这种新的虚构移情概念应该被纳入新引入的艺术接受模型中,该模型将积极和消极情绪融入艺术成果中(参见Menninghaus等人,2017)。最近在经验美学和媒体心理学方面的研究似乎支持了这一观点,表明虚构故事中的道德侵犯会产生复杂的情绪和愉快的反应(参见McGraw/WWarren 2010)。混合型英雄的成功证实了混合型英雄等矛盾人物引发的积极、消极和混合情绪的互动,可以部分解释当代电视剧的巨大成功和更广泛的影响。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
Why Does Frank Underwood Look at Us? Contemporary Heroes Suggest the Need of a Turn in the Conceptualization of Fictional Empathy
Abstract Fictional heroes have long attracted the attention and emotions of their audiences and readers. Moreover, such sustained attention or emotional involvement has often taken the form of identification, even empathy. This essay suggests that since 9/11, however, a new cycle of heroism has emerged that has taken its place, namely the hybrid hero (cf. Van Tourhout 2017; 2018). Hybrid heroes have become increasingly popular during the post 9/11 period, offering escapism and reassurance to audiences in difficult times in which clear-cut divisions between good and bad, between right and wrong came under pressure. These characters challenge audiences and creators on moral and narrative levels because of their fluid symbiosis of heroic and villainous features. We find some well-known examples in contemporary TV-series such as Breaking Bad, House of Cards, etc. Hybrid heroes are looking for ways to arouse audiences and are aiming at the complicity of the audience. The most striking example of this complicit nature can be seen in the TV-series House of Cards when Frank Underwood addresses the audience by staring into the camera. Traditional psychological and aesthetic theories on empathy are challenged by the phenomenon of the hybrid hero because empathy is generally conceived in prosocial terms, with most of the current research being geared toward a positive notion of empathy (cf. Johnson 2012; Bal/Veltkamp 2013; Koopman/Hakemulder 2015). Additionally, there has been a prevalent confusion between sympathy and empathy that has impacted our understanding of the perception of such heroes (cf. Jolliffe/Farrington 2006). In fact, one of the reasons for the predominantly positive connotation of empathy in the study of literary reception is that empathy has been narrowly defined as »sympathy and concern for unfortunate others« (Bal/Veltkamp 2013, 2). The distinction between empathy and sympathy is crucial in the study of immoral figures because, as research has shown, only sympathy involves a moral judgement. The concept of a hybrid hero pushes us to decouple the core of fictional empathy from moral impulses or prosocial actions because it demands a »suspension of moral judgement from its viewer« (cf. Vaage 2013). Some recent studies (cf. Happ/Melzer/Steffgen 2015) have found that empathic responses to videogames cause antisocial effects, while others report cases of »tactical empathy« (cf. Bubandt/Willerslev 2016) or »empathic sadism«, which allows the fiction reader to predict the feelings of the characters and to find enjoyment in this prediction, independently of the negative state and the pain of them (cf. Breithaupt 2016). We believe that the conceptualisation of an emotional bond between the audience and questionable or hybrid heroes will only be permitted through a turn in the approach to the concept of fictional empathy in media studies and aesthetic theory. Thus, the scope of the present paper is not only to describe the phenomenon of the hybrid hero, but also the specific notion of empathy and aesthetic enjoyment that the concept of a hybrid hero demands, that, compared to the present concepts of empathy: (1) distinguishes empathy from sympathy, (2) decouples empathy from morality, (3) takes into account the aesthetic enjoyment associated with negative emotions and moral violations. Finally, we argue that this renewed concept of fictional empathy should be incorporated into newly introduced models of art reception, which integrate both positive and negative emotions in art fruition (cf. Menninghaus et al. 2017). Recent research in empirical aesthetics and media psychology seems to support this view in showing that a moral violation in fictional stories produces mixed emotional and enjoyable responses (cf. McGraw/Warren 2010). The success of the hybrid hero confirms that the interplays of positive, negative and mixed emotion elicited by ambivalent figures such as the hybrid hero can partially explain the massive success and broader impact of contemporary TV series.
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Journal of Literary Theory
Journal of Literary Theory LITERARY THEORY & CRITICISM-
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