Abstract
The thirst for vengeance is a timeless subject in popular entertainment. One need only think of Old Testament scripture; Shakespeare's Hamlet; Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill or the TV series Revenge, and we immediately conjure up images of a protagonist striving to seek justice to avenge a heinous wrong committed against them. These texts, and others like it, speak to that which is ingrained in our human spirit about not only holding others responsible for their actions, but also about retaliation as payback. This article seeks to problematise the way the popular revenge narrative effectively constructs the vendetta as a guilty pleasure through which the audience can vicariously gain satisfaction, while at the same time perpetuates law's rhetoric that personal desires for vengeance are to be repressed and denied. In particular, the article will demonstrate the way such popular revenge narratives contribute to the pathologising of human desire for payback.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the editors and the anonymous reviewers whose suggestions have enriched my arguments. I also acknowledge the support of the Legal Intersections Research Centre (LIRC), UOW of which I am a member.
Notes
1
Revenge (ABC productions, 2011–2015).
2For an example of biblical revenge see the story of Samson in the Old Testament: Judges 13–16.
3Indeed, the revenge quest of Emily as described in the vignette, is reminiscent of several intelligent and quick-witted protagonists on the small screen who experienced significant personal tragedy at the hands of others. For example, the characters of Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars, UPN/CW, 2004–2007), Patrick Jayne (The Mentalist, CBS, 2008–2015) and Oliver Queen (Arrow, CW 2012–present), have each been enormously popular because they displayed a shrewd intellect, sharp tongue and a retributive way of approaching matters, motivated by the vengeful desires that haunt them.
7In contemporary society, the interest and popularity in Emily Thorne's quest for revenge becomes all the more understandable when considered within a context where there is enormous resentment for the wealthy among us who seem to be able to ‘buy’ justice in this particularly catastrophic economy. See for example the review of Stanley (Citation2011), which elaborates on this.
14This evokes a Kantian philosophy: ‘He must first be found to be deserving of punishment before any consideration is given to the utility of this punishment for himself or for his fellow citizens’ (Kant Citation1965).
18Nozick (Citation1981). Interestingly, Miller suggests that this explanation of revenge by Nozick ‘turns revenge by definitional fiat into a pathology’ and is ‘representative of the general anti-revenge tradition of political, moral, and legal philosophy’: Miller (Citation2000), p 163. The inspiration for the major argument of this article in relation to the pathologising of revenge, was due in part, to this thread in Miller's work.
22‘Revenge by nature need set no limits, although the revenger may limit what he inflicts for external reasons.’ Nozick (Citation1981), p 367.
25Unemotional bureaucratic implementation of punishment looks much like law according to Kafka: Miller (Citation1998), p 74; see also Miller (Citation2000), p 164.
31Sherwin has demonstrated the ‘highly porous’ nature of the boundaries between law, culture and images and I have consistently argued that popular stories help individuals to frame and contextualise normative expectations of the legal system: Sherwin (Citation2014), p xxxv; Sharp (Citation2011), pp 33–51; Sharp (Citation2005), p 233.
33Bartsch (Citation2012), p 294.
[E]ntertainment research has accumulated an impressive body of evidence supporting the assumption that affective experiences can be gratifying for media users, including both the immediate gratification derived from rewarding feelings, and the more indirect but not less significant role of affect in the gratification of social and cognitive needs. (Bartsch (Citation2012), p 273)
38Berkowitz argues that ‘revenge has been neutered’ and is no longer seen as ‘wild justice’ or ‘law's other’ in the ‘mild fare of Hollywood blockbusters’ (Berkowitz (Citation2005), p 280) however this supports my thesis that the contemporary revenge story in pop culture cultivates revenge as a pathology by presenting vengeance as palatable and desirable, yet ultimately producing destructive consequences. See further discussion in the section titled Revenge as Pathology in this article.
39One online reviewer of Revenge commented: ‘We are invested in seeing if she gets [her revenge]’, and ‘I'll admit, I enjoy seeing the Graysons’ squirming’: Martina Boone (2011).
40See for example this comment from a viewer: ‘I understand that Emily is not entirely innocent but the Grayson's murdered her father as well as a plane load of people. I think that gives her plenty of leeway to do whatever she wants’: Public comment by Mysterv on Jan 13, 2014 in response to Thomas, (Citation2014).
47Public comment by Ghenet Myrthil in response to Boone (2011).
52Research has shown that people often equate punishment with justice. Welsh et al, (Citation2011), p 460.
56As one viewer stated: ‘I loved this episode … . Emily is most interesting when she is 100% revenge focused’: Public comment by QMargo on Jan 13, 2014 in response to: Thomas (Citation2014).
58Tager and Matthee (Citation2014), p 21, use this description for the character of Dexter Morgan in the tv series Dexter. They argue that he is a character ‘who incorporates the emotionless, clinical actions of a psychopath into the day-to-day actions of a normal person’: p 21.
61Episode 13, Season 3, first aired on ABC, 12 Jan, 2014.
62In this episode, once she learns of her tragic loss, she says to Aiden: ‘I found out I can't have children. They took my father, my mother, my best friend, and now this’. Emily Thorne, Series 3, Episode 13, Endurance.
63Public comment by QMargo on Jan 13, 2014 in response to Thomas (Citation2014).
64Liebes and Katz (1993), p 100.
66Liebes and Katz (1993), p 103.
67Public comment by Run4Nova on Jan 13, 2014 in response to Thomas (Citation2014).
68Tager and Matthee (Citation2014), deploy this argument in relation to Dexter's voice-overs in the TV series Dexter: p 21.
70Tim Peters identifies the use of estrangement as a mode of cultural legal studies – such that ‘making strange’ traditional concepts and meaning about law, is another form of cultural legal studies reading: Peters (Citation2015).
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