What Does Dexter And Green Arrow Mean

Dexter and Green Arrow
In the essay “The Thematic Paradigm, “Robert B. Ray discusses how American films have traditionally reflected fundamental patterns and contradictions in the myths and values of society. Americans are drawn to characters that possess two traits within in one character: the official hero and the outlaw hero. While the characters and story lines differ in movies or television shows, there are three types of characteristics that define the outlaw and official hero type.
The first characteristic is aging: The outlaw heroes portray childlike qualities. They are more emotional, lack responsibility, freedom, trusting and naïve. In opposition, the official heroes embody adulthood characteristics: sound reasoning and judgment,

wisdom from experience, responsibility, less freedom and tend to be indecisive. The second characteristic is society and women: The outlaw hero distrust civilization and is typically represented by women and marriage. The outlaw hero is unsettled and unmarried. The official hero is worldly, settled in society and has either a girlfriend or is married. The third characteristic is politics and law: The outlaw hero’s motto is “I don’t know what the law says, but I do know what’s right and wrong.” In contrast, the official hero’s motto is “We are a nation of laws not men” or “No man can place himself above the law” (Ray 450-454).
There are two characters from two different television shows that follow this theory of split hero personalities in one character. Dexter Morgan, from the HBO series “Dexter” and Oliver Queen also known as Green Arrow, from the television series “Arrow.” While the story lines are very different they both follow the pattern and traits of the official and outlaw heroes.
Although Dexter does possess some of the qualities of Ray’s theory, he is not a perfect fit.

Dexter Morgan is a Forensic Expert who specializes in blood splatter analysis working for the Miami Police Department. He was adopted at a young age by Harry Morgan, who was a detective, and his wife. When Dexter is in his teens, Harry discovers that Dexter is killing animals and tries to help him stop this behavior. After a period of time Harry realizes that Dexter is unable to suppress these urges so he provides Dexter with some structure, a code to follow. He trains Dexter how to hunt murderers without being caught. This is where the vigilante, outlaw hero personality evolves for Dexter. The “code of Harry” is what Dexter refers to throughout the series. He only kills serial killers that fall through the system. The code is that he also has to be certain the killer is guilty and leave no evidence behind, do not get caught. Dexter is a sociopath and is unique compared to most hero types. While he does lead a respectable, responsible life as Forensic Expert, his official hero role is forced and fabricated since he is unable to have the normal feelings that people have in relationships. He is liked by his friends and coworkers, respected in his field at work, at one point has a wife and family and follows the law in his daily life. As the outlaw hero, Dexter works alone and takes the law into his own hands by tracking the serial killer himself and once captured, he confronts them

about what they have done and usually kills them in a setting or manner that coincides with the way they had killed their victims. This is justice in his mind and also fulfills his sociopathic urge. He is calculated and very thorough not to leave any evidence behind. He respected Harry as a father and by living by “Harry’s Code” he feels he is making his father proud, this represents the childlike side of the outlaw hero.
Unlike Dexter, Oliver Queen fit’s the hero role in Ray’s theory.

Oliver, a billionaire, living in Starling City is also the vigilante, Green Arrow. Both have the same goal, to right the wrongs of his family and restore Starling City to its former state. The series begins when Oliver, presumed to be deceased, returns home after being shipwrecked on a remote island for five years. During his time on the island, he was trained to fight and hunt. Upon his return home, he finds a book of his deceased father’s, which contains a conspiracy to take out a section of the city known as the Glades. He makes a vow to right the wrongs of his family and becomes the vigilante, Green Arrow. He protects his identity by wearing a hood and hiding his in the darkness. Along with his bodyguard and chauffeur Diggle he creates a headquarters for his operations in the lower level of his home and begins to take the law into his own hands by tracking and capturing criminals. This represents the outlaw hero side of this

character.
Prior to the accident Oliver, a selfish playboy , made poor choices. After he returns home, he adapts back into his life and takes on an adult, responsible role as part of the family business. He has close relations with women and eventually becomes engaged to Felicity, who is part of his vigilante team. He runs for Mayor an effort to keep his vow to restore the city against an opponent who is part of the criminal world. Oliver represents the official hero as he is abiding by the law, he is responsible and respected by the community.
Both of these characters have similarities. They are upstanding citizens in society, have families and relationships with women, strive for justice and betterment of the cities in which they live. These traits represent their official hero persona in the series. In regards to the outlaw hero, both individuals have a secret life in which they still strive for justice and the betterment of their cities, however, they are vigilantes taking the law into their own hands They take risks and make decisions based on the what they think is best not what’s necessarily the responsible or law abiding methods. Dexter works alone, however, Arrow does eventually work with several others who keep his identity a secret and support his vigilante efforts. Dexter, a sociopath, adds another level or persona to these characters. This is not a hero persona, but the fact that he follows the “code of Harry” allows him to be considered as a character in this comparison.