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Why We Love Sociopaths: A Guide To Late Capitalist Television Paperback – April 16, 2012

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 30 ratings
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Sociopaths are pervasive in contemporary television, from high-brow drama all the way down to cartoons -- and of course the news as well. From the scheming Eric Cartman of South Parkto the seductive imposter Don Draper of Mad Men, cold and ruthless characters captivate us, making us wish that we could be so effective and successful. Yet why should we admire characters who get ahead by being amoral and uncaring? In his follow-up to Awkwardness, Adam Kotsko argues that the popularity of the ruthless sociopath reflects our dissatisfaction with a failed social contract, showing that we believe that the world rewards the evil and uncaring rather than the good. By analyzing characters like the serial killer star of Dexter and the cynical Dr. House, Kotsko shows that the fantasy of the sociopath distracts us from our real problems -- but that we still might benefit from being a little more sociopathic.
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  1. Print length
    107 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Zero Books
  4. Publication date
    April 16, 2012
  5. Dimensions
    5.55 x 0.27 x 8.66 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    178099091X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1780990910
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
30 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Bob
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2013
Verified Purchase
This is great. I don't have nearly enough cultural and philosophical context to put this in its appropriate place, but I can tell you that I like it, and how I came to it. And, maybe that will help you decide if it's something you want to buy.

A couple months ago I was reading TheLastPsychiatrist, who I love (though of course not unblinkingly), and decided I didn't have enough of that kind of stuff in my life. So I asked a friend of mine from college (the person I know whose most likely to know about that kind of thing) what else I should be reading. He pointed me to a few things, including An und für sich (a blog). From there I read a few posts, and was curious about what the site was about, clicked the "our books" link, and was sent here. The title looked interesting, and the cover was handsome and spare, and so I clicked again and started reading.

Does that sound like something you might do? Maybe you should buy this. Afterwards you can send it to your smart friends who like good TV shows and talk about it. That's another good thing you can do with this.
3 people found this helpful
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Scott Berkun
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and insightful dissection of our most popular television
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2013
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At 100 pages this easy and fast read covers a wide range of ideas, questions and criticisms of modern television, a second cousin to Postman's classic Amusing Ourselves to Death. While I'm a fan of the high quality of television we've seen in the last decade, perhaps the highest of all time, I'm often bothered by how horrible the lead characters are as people. The author runs through The Sopranos, The Simpsons, The Wire, Mad Men and even South Park, asking questions and framing observations about why we're drawn to these show's central characters.

I didn't agree with all of his analysis, but that's part of the fun. What do I believe? His take was consistently interesting enough to provoke me into deeper thought, a compliment for any book.

If you've never seen The Wire, House, The Simpsons, Dexter, Breaking Bad or the shows I've mentioned above, it'd be worth watching an episode to familiarize yourself with their man character and theme, as when he references shows I didn't know it was harder to follow.
4 people found this helpful
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Samantha C
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting idea, too much detail and little insight in the conclusions though
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2013
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Interesting idea, but not the deepest book in the world though. Unfortunately it gets a bit lost in details. I feel it dissects the shows in too much detail only to underutilize that when it comes to drawing some really insightful or valuable conclusions.
One person found this helpful
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Stephen Keating
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun read that is deceptively profound
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2013
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This is an enjoyable essay that examines the figure of the sociopath in contemporary TV. Kotsko shows how these characters allow us to fantasize about our social relationships. We enjoy the scheming and deceiving of these characters because we are unsatisfied with the structure of our late capitalist society, which puts undue pressure on the individual to succeed in impossible situations. I'm scheming a plot to give this to my conservative friends and family who like shows such as Mad Men, Dexter, and House.
3 people found this helpful
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Regina Ilusiva
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2015
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Good product and good service.
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Matheus Pacini
4.0 out of 5 stars It came as described
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2014
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It is quite nice to read a but like this one. It talks about some topic not treated frequently. Try it
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salaryman
5.0 out of 5 stars Vicarious sociopathy from the comfort of your own chair
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2012
First off, let me forewarn that my review is based upon a long excerpt (the first chapter I believe) that I was lucky enough to stumble upon and read. And re-read. I would read the entire book, but at this time it's still a few weeks from being published. What I was lucky enough to read laid out a clear and easy to understand (without being overly simplistic) argument for the reason behind our current love of sociopaths. Using pop-culture references (specifically television) Adam Kotsko explains the psychological reasons why the individual would feel this rather counter-intuitive desire to be the sociopath (in the safety of fantasy) and also the deeper underlining reasons why the society as a whole would be producing this desire.
4 people found this helpful
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Superperplex
2.0 out of 5 stars Great premise, disappointing book
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2016
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Really disappointing. With such a great title and such a promising premise, the book began to disappoint after the first chapter. It would have been a great long article, but as a book the premise proves too threadbare for this author to sustain. It's redundant, repetitive, circuitous, and redundant! In media criticism the biggest sin is to be boring. This author has much to atone for.
6 people found this helpful
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Silvia
5.0 out of 5 stars Interessante
Reviewed in Italy on January 12, 2020
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Un libro interessante, molto piccolo ma complesso (senza essere proibitivo) che parla dei più celebri sociopatici o simili tali della tv moderna.
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Leslie Gardner
5.0 out of 5 stars witty and insightful analysis
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2012
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having been caught myself wondering why i love Dr House, or Dexter - this book goes toward investigating just why - and, yet, it does not make me feel either bad about myself or that i am being brownbeaten. i have a hunch that it is all a bit too easy, but, then, even formulating the question about why such 'evil' figures who really, he contends, are just rebellious people with hearts of gold (and so, they are outsiders society requires to let off steam and to right systemic or intractable wrongs) and their ideological fit into a commodified culture - is refreshing.sorry for that mouthful, but it is a tiny taste of how some of the qualifiers in this packed book read. thoroughly mind-boggling and greatly entertaining.
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holden
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2013
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Not Dan Brown and not suitable for use as toilet paper, which is a difficult thing to say these days. Excellent book, I found myself wishing for another 100 pages.
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