From book series to our favorite TV shows, I have always found myself liking the vilest characters with the excuse of them being misunderstood. I started creating the habit of making excuses for those characters because they were so likable. Starting with our favorite upper east side star: Chuck Bass. Fans of the show would often forgive or even ignore his actions during the first season of “Gossip Girl.” The boy sexually harassed two girls in the time span of one episode. First, he tries seducing Serena Van Der Woodsen, even after she says no, Chuck keeps trying to kiss her. The day after that, we find the freshman Jenny Humphrey on the roof of a hotel during a party telling him “no” multiple times. He only stops after being punched in the face by her brother Dan, who found her just in time. His acts during this episode are totally forgiven and overshadowed by his strong and sassy personality. Nobody talked about it, and the show went on. The same thing happened with the Salvatore brothers in “The Vampire Diaries.” The list of things done by Damon is long, from sexually harassing Elena during season one to physically abusing Caroline while they were dating. Those actions were talked about in the show and by the fans. In this article, I want to point out two of our favorite characters who have done things that were not specifically talked about: The evil Katherine and the hero of the story, Stefan. It was always expected for Katherine to do something bad, but when she used Elena’s body to make out with Stefan, it was hard for me to watch. She used her body against her consent for her own sexual pleasure. Isn’t that the definition of rape? And while Stefan never physically abused Elena, he did it so psychologically. Think of it this way: He went on a murder spree- and don’t use Klaus’ compulsion as an excuse because he wasn’t compelled 100% of the time- while Elena ran around after him trying to convince him to be good again. Yes, she waited for him, and we all fawned over it. But if that happened to one of your friends, how toxic would you rate their relationship with a serial killer? To finish this off, I will point out the most obvious and recent one. The third season of “13 Reasons Why,” trying to make the audience feel bad for Bryce. Yes, Bryce Walker, the rapist. The last season revolved around how he was trying to change, and how he is a human too. While I will not deny that he is indeed a person, at least as far as we know, they should not have victimized his life and how hard it became after he was accused of rape. Bryce did not go to prison, and to be honest, people turning their backs on him was minimal punishment for what he did. Hollywood’s romanticization of character’s doing awful things with the excuse of them being hot, funny and “only bad boys/girls” is ridiculous. We all know the effect TV shows can bring, especially on young people. We all forget that things like the ones mentioned previously happen in real life, and normalizing such actions on TV might end up influencing other people as to how they react to abusive actions in their everyday life.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Indy chapter.