Why do men love trashy TV series “The Boys” and “Preacher” so much?

Your boyfriend, your brother, your father, your male colleagues, friends of friends, and maybe even your boss; they all profess their love for trashy TV shows like The Boys, Preacher and the like. At least that’s what they look like from the outside. And of course, to understand the male psyche, you turned on these TV shows in the hope of getting to the truth and understanding exactly what drives them to greedily absorb episode after episode. Yes, there is a lot of violence, eroticism and strange humor on the screen, but let’s try to look at them without judgment and find obvious advantages.

There are no morals and ideals

We have all encountered gender stereotypes to some degree. Girls, on the other hand, always feel like victims of an unfair system. We are told that we must be sweet, gentle, feminine, patient, self-sacrificing, a good mother, a wonderful lover, the most beautiful and also successful. But there is a problem: it is almost impossible to combine all the qualities at the same time. As Gloria in the Barbie movie says: “It’s too hard, too controversial, and no one gives you a medal and thanks you. But in reality, not only are you doing everything wrong, you are also to blame for everything.” In pursuit of the ideal, we lose our individuality – as a result, tension and dissatisfaction with ourselves accumulate, which leads to a nervous breakdown.

Like the Barbie doll, comic book superheroes are too perfect to be true. But this is exactly the image created by society. Men also desire love and recognition and therefore try to adapt themselves to the imposed standards: to be a protector, a successful boss, a faithful husband, an excellent lover, a muscular, handsome man, a brave gentleman. And if something goes wrong, a person develops an inferiority complex. What do we see in the TV series “The Boys”?

This is a world where superheroes live among humans and naturally feel better than others. They perform heroic deeds on camera, but in closed clubs they allow themselves to lead immoral lives and do dirty deeds. They are ready to crush like an ant anyone who threatens their reputation. So what should an ordinary person who falls victim to do? And in “The Boys,” some pretty ordinary guys come forward and decide to expose them. They need to collect evidence to show their idols to society in their true form, and it is not that easy. Now let’s remember the first episodes of the series, where ordinary equipment salesman Hughie Campbell managed to destroy a superhero with impenetrable skin. Where many others have failed, he has succeeded only because of his creativity. He also caught the attention of the superhero Starlight without her knowing his true identity.

You can imagine how this inspires men who are familiar with fear, the pain of humiliation by their superiors and rejection from the girl. The message is that it’s okay to be ordinary and that seemingly ideal people are real monsters. The “Men” team doesn’t look pathetic, unlike the Seven Ugly Superheroes.

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In fact, The Boys and Preacher have more in common than it seems. Both series are based on Garth Ennis’ comics of the same name published under the Vertigo imprint. It was here that writers could experiment completely freely, without regard to censorship and canon. Therefore, all the works were unique and innovative in subject and style, as well as quite scandalous. Unlike other comics, it was not aimed at children. Writers may tell dirty jokes, make fun of religion and politics, and display absurdity, farce, violence, and sex.

It is enough to remember how in the first episode of “The Boys” the cowardly Hughie held in his hands the severed hands of a newly deceased girl during a kiss, the superhero Express rushed at full speed and transformed a living person. It turned into a bloody mess. The situation is so absurd that I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. There’s even a character in Preacher who has an anus instead of a mouth. And the main character, priest Jesse Custer, along with his vampire partner Cassidy and ex-girlfriend Tulip, constantly argue, solve problems over alcohol and become instigators of mass murders.

Honesty and individuality of characters

Perhaps the main reason for success is not compromising. These are uncensored worlds where anything is possible. A superhero dystopia mired in depravity and a Godless world. In Preacher, the main character, Jesse Carter, acts like an ordinary person in many ways, despite being the host of a creature called Genesis, born from the union of an angel and a demon. He is sarcastic but still reaches God. He cannot be called a role model, but he evokes sympathy with his sincerity. Jesse cannot establish a relationship with the girl he loves due to the psychological trauma he has experienced since childhood. His nominally religious family forced him to be honest, but in reality they made his life hell. It is impossible not to admire the hero’s character, even in moments of weakness.

The same can be said about “The Boys”, where heroes in tights turn into villains, and simple and even rude people make you fall in love with their humanity, their black humor, their lack of hypocrisy and hypocrisy. Maybe the audience, as always, loves individuals with their pros and cons, but they are alive and humane and not empty ideals.