Why We Love Sociopaths: A Guide To Late Capitalist Television Book

Contents

Acknowledgments....................vi
Introduction: On the desire to be a sociopath....................1
Sociopathy as reverse awkwardness....................4
Love and other market forces....................9
The varieties of sociopathic experience....................14
Chapter 1: The Schemers....................19
The decline of the lovable scamp....................21
Enabling mothers, MILFs, and negative feminism....................27
A show about nihilism....................32
Childish games: Adult edition....................38
Chapter 2: The Climbers....................42
From reality television to "realism"....................45
The paradoxes of sociopathic social climbing....................49
The perils of changing "the game"....................58
Chapter 3: The Enforcers....................65
The lawless lawman....................69
Serial murder as community service....................78
The inhuman humanitarian....................84
Conclusion: Redeeming the fantasy sociopath....................94