April 7, 2019
THE CULTURE WARS ARE A ROUT (profanity alert):
Why Are So Many Bisexuals On TV Also Sociopaths?: Villanelle in Killing Eve is the latest in a long line of bisexual characters for whom lust and bloodlust go hand in hand. (Hannah Harris Green, April 5, 2019, Buzzfeed)
Amoral, deeply disturbed bisexual characters have become so common that GLAAD has repeatedly noted the trope in its "Where We Are on TV" surveys. Other leading bisexual characters who are way too comfortable with manipulation and murder include Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), who does both these things to gain the presidency on Netflix's House of Cards, and Annalise Keating (Viola Davis), who goes far beyond her duties as a defense lawyer when it comes to protecting known killers on ABC's How to Get Away With Murder. All three characters are obsessed with control; they are pathological liars, they are unfaithful, and, without giving away too much, they're all at best blasé if their "loved" ones end up dead. Given the growing -- but still small -- number of bisexual characters onscreen, viewers might not be able to avoid internalizing the idea that bisexual lust and bloodlust go hand in hand.Annalise, Frank, and Villanelle not only embody these characteristics to a T they are such well-known and prominent characters that they have the potential to become iconic. Together they create a kind of new archetype for sociopathic bisexual characters. Their sexuality is explicit, not implied -- setting them apart from many queer villains past. Not only are they amoral but they arrogantly prescribe different sets of rules for themselves -- think of Frank Underwood justifying puppy murder to the camera in the first scene of House of Cards. They are unable to control their appetite -- for food (Villanelle is obsessed with sweets, Annalise drinks vodka and can't get enough ice cream, Frank eats ribs for breakfast), sex, or control.
Posted by Orrin Judd at April 7, 2019 12:37 PM
