Talk:Rooting for the Enemy (song)/@comment-26423071-20161026144024

Where the villains of a series become more popular than the good guys. The heroes start to rub the fans the wrong way, and a notable proportion of the fandom now dislikes and actively bashes the main characters. For these fans they can almost become a Hatedom, yet they call themselves fans and continue to read/watch/play the source material because they like the bad guys. Rooting for the Empire is fairly common in a story with a Villain Protagonist, due to the natural tendency for audiences to bond with the viewpoint character of any story: but there are many other reasons for this attitude to take hold. Having their conflict be against other (sometimes even worse) bad guys rather than heroic antagonists tends to cause either this or Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy. It also often happens in works with a Designated Hero and/or Designated Villain.

There's usually a turning point in canon that leads to this, sometimes irrational and sometimes rational:

Irrational reasons for this include: fans becoming too willing to Cry for the Devil. The villain getting a subplot that's more interesting than what the main cast is doing. The villains are considered cooler than the heroes. The villain is so incompetent that the fans think they should win just for once. The villains attacked The Scrappy and/or Creator's Pet. The fans want to be on the strongest side, for once. The series runs on White and Grey Morality, and the viewers may tire of having a hero never able to make a tough decision and revels in rooting for someone who does.

Rational reasons include: the evilness of the villains being an Informed Attribute, while the "heroes" repeatedly Kick the Dog and act unpleasant. The villain constantly makes good points. The series uses Grey and Gray Morality or Black and Gray Morality so Rooting For The Empire is an Intended Audience Reaction.

Tends to occur when the source material has jumped the shark and started to lose its focus, but sometimes Just for Fun or for reasons of the fans' own. It can also be a response to Writer Revolt or a perceived slight to the fans. Jerkass Dissonance often plays a part. Unlike the Misaimed Fandom, the character roles are working out as they're supposed to, but the audience willingly cheers on the enemy. Hate toward the actor can also be involved in this, when the hated actor is playing a good guy.

Some sociologists have pointed out that, as irrational as it sounds, many people, both when it comes to fiction and real life, will root for whichever side reminds them the most of themselves, even when that side is thoroughly immoral, totally unlikable or both. As simple as it is to always want to see people of your own ethnic group, religion, or social or political class - or who simply have the same goals or aspirations as yourself - triumph, it is understandable, because it's easy to convince yourself that if they lose, you will lose too."