Tall, painfully handsome and overwhelmingly charming. These are the words most fans of the movie Scream, directed by the iconic Wes Craven, would use to describe the character Billy Loomis. I know that I personally was attracted to him, even more so when I grew suspicious of him. But why?
A psychopath is defined as a person suffering from a chronic mental disorder, which includes abnormal or violent social behaviour. So why, oh why, has this mental illness become, well, a fetish?
I think the representation of psychopathy in media is definitely a factor. Unfortunately, the main idea of a psychopath in media is a "crazy" person who goes on killing sprees, seduces other people and lies to the police. While yes, these traits are commonly found in psychopaths, what people fail to realise is how fond we have grown of the good old fashioned psychopath.
For me, the first film psychopath that I found beautifully evil was Mickey Knox, from Natural Born Killers, played by Woody Harrelson. I knew that the film was based on a true story and that it was essentially there to discuss the promotion of violence in media and yet I decided to focus on the allure of Woody Harrelson's character. Strange, considering he was a truly horrible human being.
Psychopaths are usually portrayed as hunks with floppy hair and piercing eyes and are mostly always male. However, in Basic Instinct, the gorgeous Sharon Stone played Catherine Trammel, a crime novelist who used her sexuality to get away with murder.
The next character to be listed, is one of my favourite fictional characters of all time - Kevin Khatchadourian - portrayed in the movie by the wonderful Ezra Miller in the movie based on the book by Lionel Shriver, We Need To Talk About Kevin. The wonderful thing about this character is that he is so complex and ambiguous, in the sense that we know his personality was likely shaped by his mother's negligence. But, it stirs up again the question of nature versus nurture.
The common denominator between Billy, Mickey, Catherine and Kevin is that they were all portrayed by very attractive people. It is often easier for the human psyche to like someone, when they are conventionally attractive.
The romanticising of psychopathy is caused by the fact that psychopaths are beautiful, they are charming, they are sexy, they are, well, perfect - except for the fact that they do not feel human emotion.
It is a flaw in our human character that we overlook people's misdeeds because of what they look like but even I admit, that "bad boys" in movies are always better, in my opinion. Whether it's my favourite character of all time, Darth Vader or the less obvious Lex Luther, bad is always better.
Psychopaths' detachment from life, reality and love is refreshingly attractive when portrayed by a good looking actor. We make psychopaths out to be wonderful creations because they make us lust over them. And that is a human fault, beauty has always driven us to do very questionable things.
I suppose, in conclusion, that mental illness has become a desirable trait because well, all of our favourite movie characters suffer from at least one form of mental illness. It's easier to romanticise sadness when Cassie from Skins suffers from depression. Because she is relatable to the population, so her mental illness is relatable.
Now, do not get me wrong, dear readers, I am not saying "mental illness should not be taken seriously". I believe mental illness is a serious topic that needs to be normalised and discussed, free from stigma. And that stigma remains there when people on Instagram romanticise the Joker's psychological problems as it invalidates the real victims of mental illness.
So, next time, you watch Scream, ask yourself, "why do I like Billy?". Your answer may surprise you.
-Mila Brkic
