The First Fictional Atheist Action Hero
Offline So I don't know if any of you watch the show Dexter on Showtime, but I highly recommend it. Dexter is a head of blood spatter analysis in the Miami Metro PD. Basically any killers/murders who "get away" with their acts are tracked down and meticulously murdered by Dexter. He is the protagonist, and one of the most liked characters on any show right now (That is, anyone who watches the show loves the character). He's also undoubtedly agnostic and probably atheist. He subtly talks about his religious beliefs in certain monologues that I haven't been able to track down, but distinctly remember. One that I was able to locate:
"If I believed in God - If I believed in sin - this is the place where I'd be sucked straight to Hell... if I believed in Hell."
I just think it's funny and pretty awesome that Dexter Morgan (Played by Michael C. Hall: Best Actor in this years Golden Globes for a TV Drama) is loved by the general public and is an atheist.
First time this has happened?
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Batman is an atheist. So atheists get the best hero, in my opinion.
Dr. Gregory House is also an atheist, and well loved by audiences. Kind of a "super hero", with super diagnostic powers and such. As much so as the character mentioned, anyway.
Batman is a lapsed catholic, I believe. Whether he is deist, though, is uncertain as far as I have seen.
What is with the human fascination of "taking the law into one's own hands"?
How about an atheist character as a cop or a doctor who obeys the law and catches the bad guy above board? I'd rather see that.
The motif of "revenge" is not new to humanity and is a natural emotion, but one IN REALITY, outside of fiction, should not be promoted.
Heros are a stupid motif and are a mere reflection of our own human narcissism.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
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Lots of atheism in the Marvel universe....
Yes, I am a comic book geek...
www.RichWoodsBlog.com
Let's rewrite your sentence. "I just think it's funny and pretty awesome that Dexter Morgan (...) is loved by the general public and is a sociopathic serial killer." What exactly is awesome about a serial killer being portrayed as an atheist? I like the show and the character (though I think he was better characterized in the books, the writers of the show have him all over the place), but I just don't see why an atheist should be excited that a fictional serial killer is also being portrayed as an atheist. Regardless of whether he's loved by an audience or not. I understand the draw of being able to say, "yay, one of my favorite TV characters is an atheist too." But he also kills people. For pleasure. We can certainly do better.
And as others have mentioned, he isn't the first. And I'll add Hannibal Lecter to the list. If Dexter's an "action hero," then so is Lecter.
Rill
... im still stuck on how a sociopathic serial "SERIAL" killer that kills for his own personal pleasure, in particularly painful, gory, and gruesome ways... is a HERO
Im mean... come on, hes a villian, a represt minority, give credit where its due!
What Would Kharn Do?
which is funny, since the marvel universe has widely confirmed "Gods"
/end nerdism
What Would Kharn Do?
Let's leave my sentence alone? I'm not saying we should all align behind dexter morgan as our poster boy. It's a TV show. And he isn't being "portrayed" as an atheist. He drops subtle lines at most. I guarantee you that any casual viewer of the show would not be able to discern his religious beliefs. The fact that I take an active interest in his religion is the reason I have ruled him an atheist. He never actually says it.
Lighten up, The Boondock Saints were huge Catholics... did it necessarily matter? Did anyone walk away from the movie thinking, "Wow, these guys are catholics and serial killers, therefore catholics are bad."? You may think that already, but I doubt a fictional TV Show/Movie is going to sway your belief system. If it does to some people, they are morons who probably blindly follow religion/stereotypes anyway.
And I guess any press is good press right?
Touche... but despite the hedonism he is still idolized by viewers the show. Some villains can be heroes I guess. A bit oxymoronic, but I think it is a matter of circumstance.
Don't worry, I'm quite light, so no need to get touchy. Leaving your sentence alone, why is it that you find it pretty awesome that Dexter is loved by the general public and an atheist? I personally don't care if Dexter is religious or not. I just don't see why it's pretty awesome that he's loved and an atheist, because he's also loved and a serial killer. You'll have to explain to me why it's awesome, cause I'm missing it.
I also wouldn't call Dexter a hero. I'd label him an anti-hero though, rather than a true villain, because he's the protagonist and the writers have coerced us to root for him (we're so easy to sway). Anti-heroes are very popular these days.
Rill
After rereading my last post i do want to apologize for being a little touchy/dickheaded.
I was just going along the lines of atheists being the "most hated minority" in america. So along those lines, I think it's cool that he is so well liked in the show despite his... affliction? Is that how other people might view it?
Either way your point is taken... I get your line of thinking
He is also possessed by Moloch. So even if he says that he is an atheist, he must have certain knowledge of what he denies the existence of.
Just saying...
Yes. Stan Lee is at least agnostic. See our sister site celebatheists.com
Also, here is a link that I found on google:
http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/comic_book_religion.html
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And I get yours. I can certainly see how his being loved might give us all a Sally Fields moment. And no need to apologize. I did rain on your parade after all (although not with the intention of pissing you off).
Rill
(I remember seeing this thread a while back, but didn't feel like responding at the time... in case anyone was wondering.)
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
Seemed like Riddick was an atheist or "agnostic" maybe I'm wrong though.
"It's not that I believe in God, just that I hate the fucker." -Vin Diesel a la Riddick, Pitch Black
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
Yea I liked his bad guy god guy character.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
Riddick is one of the more thrilling examples of villain-turned-antihero out there in scifi...
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however I fucked up the quote. It actually goes "It's not that I don't believe in God, just that I hate the fucker."
Ah, well... nobody gets it right the first time.
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
Well, if you want nerdy, I will point out that Gene Roddenberry was an atheist and by extension, all of his characters apart from Captain Kirk were as well. OK, Kirk too, I suppose. Even so, he did tell Commander Kang to “go to the devil” in episode 62. To which the reply came:
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The "hue-mahns" of Classic ST are little more than Humanistic Deists on crack - and if you read any of the 70's nerdy star-trek related literature and technical reference books, there is a clear idea of "God" presiding over the existence of everything, including Earth and its history. Ironically, in one of the TOS episodes, there is a clearly defined trio of extra-terrestials who, evidently lived amongst simpler-but-intelligent species across the stars as... Gods.
And then, there is even the elite squad of genetically engineered tyrants themselves;
(shouting) "We offered the world *ORDER*!!"
(ecoming calm again, after realizing his frustrated response was intentionally provoked by Kirk and officers.) "I see..."
"On Earth... (grinning wrily) 200 years ago... I was a prince, with POWER AND *MILLIONS*!"
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
On Dexter:
In the books his "dark passenger" is actually (implied) a supernatural "demon" type of thing. In essence the character has been hijacked by showtime people. I actually prefer the current model, but just an FYI.
"So we'll integrate non-progressional evolution theory with God's creation of Eden. Eleven inherent metaphoric parallels already there. Eleven. Important number. Prime number. One goes into the house of eleven eleven times, but always comes out one. Noah's ark is a problem." River
I've read the 1st 3 books and just recently picked up "Dexter by Design." In "Dexter in the Dark" it alludes to the passenger being something like a demon but that is a human description. IT is also called a god as are IT's offspring. IT is clearly something else. I also enjoy ShowTime's Dexter as well which clearly can't go the route of the books with Astor & Cody.
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"I guess it's time to ask if you live under high voltage power transmission lines which have been shown to cause stimulation of the fantasy centers of the brain due to electromagnetic waves?" - Me
"God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, - it says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks please. Cash and in small bills." - Robert A Heinlein.