When I was a kid, I wondered if the kids that bullied me in school watched the same movies and TV shows I did, but rooted for the bullies in those stories.
As an adult, I watch The Handmaid’s Tale and wonder how many Americans watch it and root for Gilead.
The answer I came to as a kid is that bullies don’t see themselves as bullies, and so they root for the heroes in stories and root against the bullies.
I used to think the same about the kinds of adults that vote for Gilead-type policies and politicians: that they don’t believe they’re doing this (even though they are) and so they root against Gilead and the other “bad guys” in media. But I’m no longer so sure about this.
John Siracusa
Chris White finds this vexing
Chris Burrows