'The Heel'

In professional wrestling, the ‘heel’ plays an essential role. The heel is the villain—the character the audience is meant to dislike and root against, in contrast to the hero. Although the heel and the hero cooperate behind the scenes to put on the match, the audience is expected to see them as genuine adversaries. The heel's job is twofold. First, he must make the audience despise him. The louder the boos and jeers, the more effectively he is performing his role. Second, he must make the audience love the hero. The more passionately the crowd cheers for the hero, the more successful the heel has been. In what ways is American politics like professional wrestling? Join the conversation and get answers to this question and more on According2Sam episode #422. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.according2sam.com