Characters with risky and glamorous lifestyles are constantly being depicted in Hollywood films. These risk-taking and high-flying characters thrill and mesmerize audiences and are represented over and over again as captivating archetypes for our entertainment. We know we love to see them, but why exactly are the risk-taking characters peppered throughout Hollywood films so entertaining?
While not every movie has a character who loves adrenaline and lives life on the edge, maybe every second one does. From high-flying and fast-talking stock market manipulators and conmen to daring thieves and adrenaline-seeking racing drivers, Hollywood movies are crammed full of characters who enjoy taking risks and rolling the dice on big rewards. For the audience, it often doesn’t matter if they succeed or not; watching them take the risks and live lives at a speed most of us can only dream of is enough. In fact, sometimes seeing them come to a spectacular end is the entire point of the film.
It’s clear that we love these archetypal characters, but why? While some characters might inspire us to live different lives, it’s unlikely that watching a movie about a gambling tycoon will make anyone look for online casino platforms to join now and start playing pokies instantly, more likely you’ll play a couple of games of poker with your friends and make some references to the movie. Through this article, we will look at why exactly we love watching risk takers so much, even when we aren’t risk takers ourselves.
Escapism into Spectacle is What Audiences Love
We can’t say for certain for everyone, but for us and for many other people, movies are an escape. They let us live vicariously through characters and experience situations and feelings we would never normally experience. Watching a character manipulate others and dive into a world of excess and danger is thrilling, especially when we know that there is some kernel of truth to the story and that there are people who have, or who do, live that way.
Just like ancient Greek theatre, the seeds of the character’s eventual fall from grace are baked in from the very beginning. We know that the fast-talker is going to eventually run out of words, and their lies will catch up with them. We know the getaway driver will run afoul of the cops, or worse, nefarious colleagues they’ve been forced to work with. This fall from grace, this tumble off the razor’s edge of adrenaline that the character lives on, it’s all part of the magic.
When we watch characters living risky lives, anticipation and tension build as we see the widening pit opening ahead of their feet. The character might not know it, but the audience can see that they are racing towards a fall, and that tension makes for exciting viewing!
A Vicarious Fantasy Fulfilment
Once again, we definitely can’t speak for everyone, but many high-flying, risk-taking characters serve as an excellent way to vicariously live out fantasies. While we hope no one is idolizing the lifestyles of the droogs, people definitely like to imagine themselves driving fast cars and traveling the globe like the crew from the Fast & Furious franchise.
As these risk-taking characters rise up and acquire power, fame, wealth or sometimes revenge, people can see a mirror of their own desires being fulfilled. Getting to see the apex of lavish luxury being lived by someone who fought to get there, even if it’s only briefly, is very satisfying. We can picture ourselves in those situations, drinking fine alcohol, kissing beautiful people and driving fast cars.
Part of the fantasy fulfilment is often partly due to these risk-takers also being rule-breakers. We like to imagine ourselves stepping to the side of society, shortcutting all the long, tedious roads towards success and advancement, and instead leapfrogging our way straight into luxury and opulence.
The Tantalizing Power of Hubris in Action
We mentioned earlier that ancient Greek theatre often featured characters who would fall from grace. These characters would often rise to a giddy height through daring deeds, only to become overconfident and, through that overconfidence, then plunge down into depths deeper than those they originally climbed from. Hollywood loves to show characters who take a similar path.
While we don’t want to suggest that Hollywood is filling its films with moral messages, showing us characters who are clearly overconfident and assured of their own invincibility, and having them come crashing back to reality, sometimes dying unexpectedly, makes for compelling watching. This archetypal story is fertile ground for moral messages, yes, but it is equally fertile for building tension and having a rising dramatic payoff. Showing the risks of ambition and overconfidence is a popular story because it resonates so well with so many people.
Success Without Risk is Boring
Another great reason why we love to watch characters who take risks is, it’s simply entertaining! Even when the character does end up on top and doesn’t take a hubristic tumble from grace, the tension in the journey is why it’s entertaining. Can you imagine a movie where the character takes no risks and simply gets promoted in their job by being efficient? Sounds lovely, I’m sure, but it also sounds boring.
All of the best films are ones where the stakes are high and the characters push through and either fall or rise, but always, the risks are taken. Seeing a character take risks and come out on top is satisfying; we can imagine ourselves doing the same, even if we never do.
Why Do We Keep Coming Back?
At this point, you might be thinking, “If it’s just the same story over and over again, why do they keep making new movies, and why do we keep coming back?” The answer is pretty simple. We find these characters and the stories of their lives utterly compelling. Most of us can’t live like them; we might even think what they do is morally wrong or stupid, yet we cannot look away.
Vicariously experiencing the rise and fall of risky characters’ lives is emotionally rewarding and thoroughly entertaining. Getting to see our desires and hopes writ large and dialled up to 11 is great fun, and we’re sure we’ll keep going back to see more.