Very Bad Wizards

Episode 55: Rooting for Evil (With Paul Bloom)

Oct 21, 2014
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
ANECDOTE

Shiva's Ritual Structure Aided Grief

  • Tamler describes his father's Orthodox Jewish Shiva as a meaningful non-theistic ritual for mourning.
  • He says Shiva's structured gathering provided comfort and communal remembrance after his father's death.
INSIGHT

Moral Simplicity Fuels Villain Appeal

  • Villains in fiction are often the most interesting because they provide clear moral contrasts and let us practice moral judgments.
  • Paul Bloom argues this moral 'junk food' simplifies complex real-life ambiguity and is pleasurable to evaluate.
INSIGHT

Perspective-Taking Makes Us Root For Villains

  • Presenting a villain from their own viewpoint draws empathy and can make viewers root for them.
  • Tamler Sommers notes repeated perspective-taking makes you take the character's side psychologically.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app