Is it healthy to have a stong dislike for TV show characters?

[Doppelgang]

I can fully understand and appreciate people who are passionate about the characters they like, and who like to embrace that to the exclusion of other things, but I can't quite understand why people would have a particular passionate hate for a character.

I don't even hate the bad guy characters such as Glory, the Mayor, Spike, Angelus except for at particular points, like Spike in parts of season 6 and specifically the rape incident and Angelus in Innocence and Passion, because I accept that this is part of the entertainment. I don't see them as a moral guide to my actions, they make their own mistakes and I don't judge them for it as I am focused on how to guide my own actions in my own life.

Surely, when you don't like something, as in real life, the way to deal with it is to move on and away from it and not focus on it, it's not to stay fixated on it? Thats the way I've always looked at it anyway, What do other people think?

 

[prophecygrrl]

Well, sometimes hating fictional characters is fun. 😀 😀 And a whole lot better than hating on real people.

 

[BuffyElevated]

People identify traits in TV and movie characters that they see in themselves and people they know. If someone likes or dislikes someone it's probably because they know someone like that character and they either like or dislike that person.
If you dislike the traits, that's fine, but o seriously hate the character I think is really stupid because they are fictional and do not exist. It would be as silly as proclaiming your hate for the Easter bunny and thinking up all these reasons why you hate that bunny.
If you want to hate someone for the way a character is or how they act, hate the writers and creators of the TV show or movie.

 

[Lyri]

I've never hated anyone from BtVS or AtS or anything like that. They are put there to be the bad guys, you know they're the bad guys and you know they're gonna cause some problems for the good guys and that makes a good story. But no, I've never hated anyone like that.

However...yeah, I'm gonna admit to it, because I don't care anymore.

I am a HUGE WWE fan. Seriously, been to Wrestlemania, stalked their tour buses, HUGE. And THOSE bad guys, I can HATE!

I don't know what makes it different, or why I get so involved in those storylines, because, really, it's no different to me watching BtVS every week, I know that. But I get SO upset, SO pissed off, SO ANGRY at the things some of the heels do, it makes me a little confused. And makes my mother laugh herself silly. (Yes, she's a fan, too)

Like, right now, Micheal Cole is driving me up the freaking wall with his double standards, cocky attitude, abusive behavior, and general all around meanness that if I saw him in the street, I might actually punch him.

My sister insists that we're right to be so mad at them, because they're doing their job, right? They are being paid to MAKE us hate them, and if we're getting so emotionally involved, it must mean they're doing a good job. Which I can understand.

I don't know if it's healthy or unhealthy to get so involved that you can actually hate a character, but all I do know is that I CANNOT WAIT for Cole to get his ass handed to him this Sunday by The King and JR!!

 

[Buffy Summers]

I think the unhealthy part about love OR hate for a character is when it is so blinding to someone that they get into fights with others about it. As beloved (or not) as they might be, they are still JUST a character and it shouldn't damage your interactions with others. lol.

 

[zobothehobo]

There is maybe one TV character I hate. It is not a Whedonverse character. When I say "I hate so and so" on this board, it's generally I dislike this character and generally it's just the direction the character was taken in. The only character I really hate is Lauren from Make it or Break it. She's a bad guy who always wins. It just makes me so sick to my stomach. I think it's a healthy hate because I can admit she's fictional and she doesn't come across my mind very often until I see someone who's like her or until I watch the show. I think it becomes unhealthy when you think about them constantly and your hate for the character burdens you.

Love is a different story entirely because some of the characters that I love, it hurts sometimes to think they're not real. I generally go for the characters who in the story are misunderstood/unpopular. I just want to pat so many of them on the back and say "it's ok. I love you." haha

 

[Buffy4ever]

The only person I really can't stand in the Buffyverse is Connor. Everything he does ANNOYS me to no end. I think the writers wanted to get that kind of response from the viewers with that character. I doubt they had it in mind when writing his part that people were gonna fall in love with him. It really just means that you're invested in the show. However, if you're obsessing with the hate on a certain character (like I've seen people do on Kennedy and Dawn and, to an extent, the actors), then you should get up from the couch and realize that this is a TV show.

The great thing about Buffy, though, is that I don't hate anyone-- even the bad guys. I absolutely think that season 3 Faith, Angelus, Glory, Drusilla, and the Mayor are awesome. That's the beauty of this show. You can fall in love with the so-called "evil" characters.

 

[Scarlett Blade]

I think that if you can hate a fictional character so much, then you probably have some deep seated hate in you that needs to get out. I supposed it could be a good thing, but would most likely not end up helping the situation. I don't know; I don't think it's a very healthy thing to get so obessed over a fictional character that you can say you "hate" them (or are in love with them either). Although I'm not one to judge; just making a point.

 

[Marisa]

I dislike some fictional characters but I can act like they don't exist at times lol. My only problem with my dislike for a character is I usually dislike the characters that have no point and don't grow at all. Luckily the btvs and ats didn't have any of those.

 

[faeriegrrl27]

It may not be healthy, but I think it is just as normal to hate characters as it is to love them. I know they're not "real," but isn't it a sign of a great show if the characters *seem* real? I don't understand why people can love characters without people thinking anything of it, but it's silly and stupid to hate characters. The feelings are both passionate and equally strong for some people. If there's enough character there to love, surely there's enough to hate as well. To me, at least, the characters in Buffy aren't just characters. They're people. And yeah, that may not be healthy, but if that's the argument someone wants to go with, my love for Willow is just as unhealthy as my hate for Kennedy. And for that matter, love for a whole show. The show isn't real; these things never happened, but I'm pretty sure we're all here because we love BtVS.

Bottom line: hating characters is just as healthy or unhealthy as loving them. And while I don't necessarily think strong passions for characters are "healthy," I think they're perfectly natural and normal.

 

[Connor Holtz]

I downright LOATHE with a fiery passion, Warren Mears! I hate him. I hate him. I hate him!!!!

Is it unhealthy? Perhaps. Is it going to change. Not in this lifetime.

 

[Gum Gnome33]

Honestly, I think it's healthy and normal to react passionately to something that is being presented on your TV screen. The better the show, the more passionate and varied the reactions.
I also think it's healthy to come to a place such as this and get into debates over characters. Yes, I feel strongly about a few of them, (which is obvious if you read my posts), but I am never offended when someone disagrees. I truly love getting into discussions, even when they become heated. When handled properly, (of course), discussions and debates can be truly enriching; being asked to stand behind your assertions can be an incredibly fun intellectual experience, and standing up for yourself is an invaluable skill to learn. Sounds healthy to me! 😉

 

[sk]

Not sure if it's healthy or not but as long as you can make a difference between the actor and the character I guess it's okay anyway.

But I must admit that I'm often suprised how strong feelings many seems to have for certain fictional characters.

If you want to hate someone for the way a character is or how they act, hate the writers and creators of the TV show or movie.

Yeah, I guess that's a easy thing to do. If someone, in your mind, has ruined your favorite character...
But somehow I don't think you should hate a writer for writing a story you don't like.

/SK

 

[Connor Holtz]

Not sure if it's healthy or not but as long as you can make a difference between the actor and the character I guess it's okay anyway.

But I must admit that I'm often suprised how strong feelings many seems to have for certain fictional characters.



Yeah, I guess that's a easy thing to do. If someone, in your mind, has ruined your favorite character...
But somehow I don't think you should hate a writer for writing a story you don't like.

/SK

You know, I used to think I hated Adam Busch but recently I saw a film with him in it where not only was I able to forget I loathed his very existence as Warren but I even began to root for his character. Yay me! 😀

 

[Kean]

As someone who hates Spike I'm going to say it isn't healthy at all. I'd much prefer to be "meh" about him to be honest. But I can't seem to do that.

But yeah, I wouldn't call disliking a character this much, all that fun at all.

 

[Tranquillity]

The only time I have had an obsessive 'hate' of a fictional thing was not a character but the entire book of Breaking Dawn - I completely loathed it, would rant to anyone who would listen (or were too polite to tell me to shut up) about its faults and flaws and I just could not let it go. So I rewrote the final book in the series to my liking and once it was done my wrath at the book dissipated almost completely (I still hate it but don't ever give it a thought these days). So yeah, I can understand the venting and fury that goes along with hating a particular character even if I don't always agree...

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

I don't hate a lot of characters.. the ones I do, I ignore. But I hate Jenny from GG.. I can't stand her. I started to rewind her scenes in my recent rewatching. I can't see Taylor Momsem because she reminds me of her.

 

[Doppelgang]

I've noticed some people feel that its probably equally unhealthy to strongly like a tv show character, and in one sense I think this is true because you can become obsessive and blind to other things, arguments, characters and points of view, but then in another sense I feel like embracing a character you really like is better for you than dwelling on a character you really dislike. As when you have hatred and anger in my experience of it, it drains energy out of you, whilst when you love or like something alot its as if it gives you a boost of energy just thinking about it.

I know, it's not always possible to like and love things, and sometimes it feels necessary to hate or dislike, in order to release some bottled up emotion, but I do think whereever possible its better to try and find the angle from where you can like something. I say this because I have a past experience of always getting very angry about a lot of things, its probably one of the reasons I only joined this forum recently even though I've been a Buffy fan for a long time, as the past me would have ended up bickering with others and getting hung up on things I dislike. These days I try to realise that in so far as there is something I don't like in my life it is me who needs to change something, there is no point blaming other people for it or projecting it on to something else for you then make yourself a victim of this projection, and then it just becomes an excuse not to change.

Thats my view anyway, but its probably influenced by my anger issues of the past, other people may find they can control and use their anger in a more constructive way.

 

[zobothehobo]

If you want to hate someone for the way a character is or how they act, hate the writers and creators of the TV show or movie.

I hate it when people do that. I'm a writer, I write short stories, movies, I've written a novel, and I've got several episodes of one of the shows I'd like to create written. I want to be a showrunner. It's one of my biggest dreams. I write things I don't like, I write characters I don't like. I write characters who do things that other people are not going to like... because they have depth. Even the characters I write that I adore, I write them to be flawed and mess up and do things wrong because if they didn't they'd be boring and fake and awful. I know it comes with the gig and it will all be worth it to do something and have people get mad at me that a character did *this* instead of *that*... But I hate it when people say "this character did something I don't like... SHOWRUNNER, YOU SUCK!" If you don't like the direction the character was taken in, the showrunner can be blamed... but not if you don't like the specific actions of the character.

---------- Post added at 09:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:25 AM ----------

Doppelgang agrees: You should rewrite the story for yourself if you don't like the direction its taken in like Tranquility did with Breaking Dawn

I know, and I do. But there are some characters I've written who are douche bags but they're supposed to be. Even the characters I love and are very lovable IMO and who are supposed to be do things that suck sometimes. Because I write my characters to be real. If I wrote a perfect character I loved all the time and never did anything wrong ever it'd be pretty darn boring and awful.

 

[KellGreen]

I think it's good to love or hate or characters, but best when they simply make you think or challenge ideas you've held of morality, etc.
I disliked Faith quite a bit initially, because I resented first that she did whatever she wanted and then that she got to make all these (huge) mistakes and still be given the opportunity for redemption. My conscience and anxiety don't allow me to feel able to do what is not "right."
I think relating to characters, either positively or negatively, provides psychological benefits most of the time (as long you are able to remember they are fictional). I tend to hate characters more for what they represent (mysogyny in Buffy - warren and caleb) than what they are/do (except Kennedy - she's just way too annoying and conceited).
I really, though, don't hate any Buffy characters, with the above exception.