A psychologist explains why series like Wednesday and Dexter are accurate in portraying sociopaths. Wednesday is a Netflix series that delves further into the тιтular dour teenager who originated from The Addams Family. The show stars Jenna Ortega in the lead role with a supporting cast that includes Emma Myers, Hunter Doohan, Joy Sunday, and Moosa Mostafa. Another popular sociopath-like character is Dexter Morgan, a serial killer from the Showtime series Dexter. The character is currently featured in the prequel series Dexter: Original Sin, which follows the character’s early days.
In an interview with Insider, psychologist Patric Gagne explains how Dexter and Wednesday are less negative portrayals of sociopaths. Gagne begins by explaining that “sociopathy is just a personality disorder” that should be understood and represented. She uses Netflix’s version of Wednesday Addams as an example of a character who exhibits tendencies of sociopathy but is still shown as a smart character capable of feeling deeply. She also brings up Dexter Morgan from Dexter and Elphaba from Wicked as additional strong examples. Check out her full quote below:
In fact, sociopathy is just a personality disorder. And it deserves to be understood beyond the sensational, one-dimensional characterizations that it’s become largely known for. You know, you’re showing these people as being singulalry bad with no ability to feel, period. And that’s not accurate. And when you are someone who sees themsevles in a sociopathic checklist, but everywhere you look the sociopath is portrayed as someone horrible, why on earth would you ever admit to that? It makes it more difficult for people like me to speak up. And even as a child, I understood. Kids who say they don’t feel remorse are blackballed, and cast aside, and not involved in things they should be involved in. If people understood that sociopathy is so much more than these extreme characterizations, there would be more compᴀssion, and there would be more treatment.
Wednesday Addams is sociopathic. She meets most of the criteria. She’s criminally versatile, she has trouble making and forming bonds, she has a low affect, she is manipulative, she’s cunning, she’s extremely charming. And yet I believe that Wednesday Addams offers a much more complete version of the sociopathic profile. Because in addition to all of those quote on quote ‘bad things,’ she’s also capable of experiencing grief. She struggles to form bonds, but she can do it. She’s very loyal to her friends. She’s very loving to her family members. And that piece of the puzzle is largely missing in the overall understanding of sociopathy. You see that she can feel, she feels deeply. She feels differently than a neurotypical person does. But that doesn’t mean her feelings don’t count. And I’ve found that parents who watch that show with their children who resonate with my story, it opens up a narrative for them that goes beyond that monster stereotype. And it’s nice for these kids to see themselves represented by something other than a dangerous criminal. I enjoyed seeing all the Wednesdays knocking on my door for Halloween. And not just in her costume, but they were mimicking her flat affect, they weren’t smiling when smiled at, and I thought that was so liberating not just for me, but for them. I wanted to say ‘I bet it feels good to you know, to be bad little Wednesday.’ You aren’t doing anything overtly cruel or bad, but you don’t have to play by the rules, if only for tonight. Giving these kids the space to say ‘I actually don’t feel much, and that’s okay.’ They’re allowed to have a different emotional experience than you. And they should be allowed to be honest about their experience. I was able to talk to my kids about that personality through the Wednesday lens. And it could not have come at a better time for me to have that conversation.
It’s not just Wednesday, though. There are so many characters, fictional characters that are sociopathic that I think the general public takes for granted. They don’t realize that they’re rooting for the sociopathic character. Elphaba. I remember reaidng Wicked, the book, and really resonating with that. With this character who is believed to be bad just because she has a different experience with the world.
I actually really appreciated the Dexter character. Because I saw myself in that strategy. Obviously I wasn’t murdering people. But what he was doing was he was experiencing a need to act out, and he decided to channel that need into essentially being a vigilante that shed more light on a fuller composite. This is someone who is capable of having a relationship. He’s capable of love. He loves his sister. He cares for his wife. He cared for his kids. Perhaps not in the way a neurotypical person does, but he was capable of leading a high-functioning life. So I appreciated that they, that it wasn’t a bloodlust story. It wasn’t someone who was getting off on hurting people for hurting people’s sake.
What This Means For Shows Like Wednesday & Dexter
They Offer Nuanced Protagonists
Gagne’s breakdown of Wednesday is particularly powerful, offering a layered interpretation of the character. There have been other interpretations on how Wednesday and Enid may stand in for neurodivergence in Wednesday. To read Wednesday as a sociopathic character is another form of reading neurodivergence into this role. Based on Gagne’s take, Wednesday treats this mental condition with great care, elevating the show.
Dexter is perhaps the more surprising example of a positive representation of sociopathy. There are ways in which Dexter Morgan falls more in line with the “monster“-like sociopathy portrayal that falls in line with what Gagne wishes movies and television would avoid. However, it still sounds like Dexter exhibits enough positive qualities, such as love and empathy, that make him a well-rounded person, even if extremely troubled to the point of murder.
Our Take On The Psychology Of Wednesday And Dexter
There Are Too Many Negative Depictions Of Mental Health
There are far too many negative interpretations of mental health conditions and personality disorders in the media. This includes, for example, M. Night Shyamalan’s Split, where a man with Dissociative Idenтιтy Disorder transforms into a literal monster. Because of all this negativity, it is good to see some psychologist-approved, thoughtful renditions of sociopathy in the media, like Wednesday and Dexter. They may still be complicated characters with some problematic traits, but at the end of the day, these roles are fuller depictions of human beings.
Source: Insider
