The Hero is Still Only a Sandwich

Why are we so in love with the bad guy?

Gratefully, my dad took me to see Star Wars in 1977 and I left the movie theater with a desire to be Darth Vader.  I loved Darth Vader.  Of my various Star Wars action figures, Darth Vader was my favorite.  I even had a Darth Vader belt buckle (which I still own today).  Looking back I can say with confidence that Darth Vader was a real dick.  But I still loved him.  Why?

Tony Soprano was a murderer, an adulterer, a terrible father, and a real dick.  But I loved him.  Why?

The Joker (as recently portrayed by the late Heath Ledger) was a psychotic mad man.  But I dare you to go to a Halloween party this year and not run into at least five of them.

And most recently, Don Draper.  Initially, I was captivated by the cool stylings of a sauve, swingin' 60's hipster like Draper.  But lately I'm feeling a Don Draper hangover.  Does television have a bigger douchebag?

Don't get me wrong, I love the show.  But cheese and crackers Don Draper is such a dick.  At this point I can't figure out if the show is trying to get me to feel sorry for him or cheer on his downward spiral.  Either way the character leaves a wake of hurt where ever he goes and we can't seem to get enough.  Why is that?

Are we at the zoo peering in on the strange man and his strange family?  Or are we in our bathrooms looking in the mirror?  Too many of us have felt the pain left behind by men like Don Draper.  In some form or another.

Or maybe it's a good sign, our morbid curiosity.  Maybe it means we're so fascinated by the dark, mean, evil spirits of these villains because it's so foreign and most of us are good, faithful people. Also, shows about an upstanding, faithful father is dullsville, man.