It’s Not a Crime to be a Jerk

It’s not a crime, but — if you’ll permit me to use heavy-handed terminology — it’s immoral.

I like the kind of literary and dramatic_criticism that judges a story according to its ethical implications. The leading proponents of that approach are the literary critic Wayne Booth and the philosopher Martha Nussbaum. (See her photo.) While they call it “ethical” criticism, I would rather call it “ethical-emotional” criticism, since it often describes social situations that involve emotional incompetence more than actual wrong-doing.

The truth is, when we judge another person’s character, our verdict is always a moral opinion. But here morality has to be defined broadly as encompassing emotional conditions too. Even if the person is not violating any specific rule, we may consider her as seriously flawed if her emotional dispositions and sentiments are inappropriate. A “jerk” is socially off-putting just because her feelings simply don’t fit the situation. “Jerkhood” is a moral status. It’s low emotional intelligence, which disqualifies a person in many ways, whether or not she violates specific rules or laws.

There’s nothing illegal about any feeling. And we cannot (and probably should not) control our emotions all the time instead letting them come and go spontaneously. However, our emotions are determined by our thoughts and beliefs. If our feelings seem inappropriate, it’s because our ideas are inappropriate — which will certainly influence the way others regard us and treat us. We may not get invited to certain parties. If we apply for a job, we may not be hired. If we run for office, we may not get elected. (George W. Bush is an exception.)

The wonderful thing about drama is that it poses interesting predicaments that we may never encounter personally. A play demonstrates one or more ways of responding to such a predicament, and in doing so, it educates us about how we too should respond, if the occasion ever arises. A cautionary tale depicts someone making a poor choice, and then we observe the unfavorable consequences and learn what to avoid doing. But if the writer uses bad judgment in the story-telling, she may give us poor advice by, for instance, depicting the protagonist as a genuine jerk — but one who attains great success in the end. Or he may be worse than a jerk; he may be a real criminal for whom crime pays handsomely. There have been several such movie plots lately. Personally, I long for more movies that show characters addressing difficult issues well, and inspiring me to take on equal challenges myself. I need a motivational boost sometimes.

Entertainment is always more important than even entertainers like to suppose. Lots of screen writers say, “It’s just fiction. Don’t take it seriously.” But fiction can be immensely powerful — for good or ill. It’s a big factor in our social learning. We need to make better use of it.