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In fiction, an antihero^[1] (sometimes antiheroine as the feminine) is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is contrary to that of the archetypal hero, yet typically retains many heroic qualities.^{[citation needed]} The term dates to 1714,^[2] although literary criticism identifies the term in earlier literature.^[3] In contrast, an antivillain is considered to be an antagonist who, in contrast to the archetypal villain, elicits considerable sympathy or admiration.^{[citation needed]}

History[link]

There is no definitive moment when the antihero came into existence as a literary trope. The antihero has evolved over time, changing as society's conceptions of the hero changed, from the Elizabethan times of Faust and William Shakespeare's Falstaff, to the darker-themed Victorian literature of the 19th century, such as John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, written in the mid-18th century, or as a timid, passive, indecisive man that contrasts sharply with other Greek heroes^[4] to Philip Meadows Taylor's Confessions of a Thug. The Byronic hero also sets a literary precedent for the modern concept of antiheroism.

Distinction from unlikely heroes[link]

The traditional hero type is classically depicted to possess an image that is larger than life. They are generally expected to be more physically attractive, stronger, braver, more clever or charismatic than the average everyman. Unlikely heroes are simply characters who may not be conspicuously flawed, but simply ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances.

Unlike traditional heroes, antiheroes are not as fabulous as the traditional ones. They are generally corrupt, oppressive, etc. They are not villains but not necessarily heroes. They may do bad things but are not evil. They usually fight villains, but not for the reason of justice, or if it is for the cause of justice will take an "ends justify the means" stance. Their actions are motivated by their own personal desires, such as revenge. For example, an antihero may steal, vandalize, and perform other "bad" acts but may do so for a good cause.

[edit] "O Malandro"

A typical kind of Brazilian stock character who is often portrayed as a trickster who lies, steals, and has little qualms about manipulating even his best friends. Despite this rather negative and villainous attitude, the malandro is often depicted as a hero because, in contrast to his methods, he does not use his cunningness for true harm and malice. Rather, he uses it to prevail against the adversity that surrounds the character, and his actions may actually have positive effects on the others, even if unintended, thus making him a sort of Lovable rogue.

Examples of antiheroes in popular culture[link]

• St. Jimmy
• Jack Bauer
• Anakin Skywalker
• Black Cat
• Catwoman
• Code Geass
• Deadpool
• Ghost Rider (comics)
• Don Draper
• Harry Paget Flashman
• Geralt of Rivia
• Kain Highwind
• Gregory House
• Julian
• King Kong
• Kratos
• Ichigo Kurosaki
• Lestat de Lioncourt
• Omar Little
• Vic Mackey
• Man with No Name
• Dexter Morgan
• Duke Nukem
• Max Payne (character)
• Punisher
• Rorschach
• Shadow the Hedgehog
• Snake Plissken
• Severus Snape
• Jack Sparrow
• Spawn
• Spike
• Sol Badguy
• The Authority
• V
• Vegeta
• Venom (comics)
• Shane Walsh
• Wario
• Wolverine

Examples of antivillains in popular culture[link]

• Magneto
• Mr. Freeze

See also[link]

• Antagonist
• Byronic hero
• Tragic flaw
• List of fictional antiheroes
• Tragic hero
• Vigilante
• Villains
• False hero
• False protagonist
• Archenemy

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up antihero in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Begley, Louis (May 15, 2000). l "Anti-heroes". Salon.com. http://archive.salon.com/books/bag/2000/05/15/begley/index.htm l. 
• The Gallery of Anti-heroes and Villains: What is an Anti-Hero?
• Simmons, David (2008). The Anti-Hero in the American Novel: From Heller to Vonnegut. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-230-60323-8. 
• The Gallery of Anti-heroes in Science Fiction Movies --- Explore-Science-Fiction-Movies.com

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (October 2011)

Mattafix are a UK duo, made up of Marlon Roudette and Preetesh Hirji. Their sound is a fusion of hip hop/rap, R&B, reggae, dancehall, blues, jazz, soul and world. They won the Sopot International Song Festival in 2006.

Biography[link]

Marlon Roudette was born in London and is the son of Cameron McVey, a British music producer,^[1] and Vonnie Roudette, a designer and artist from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.^[2] As a young child he moved with his mother and sister to St. Vincent, where he began his music career, and returned to London when he was 18.^[3] Preetesh Hirji was born in London of dual-Indian parentage and grew up in the heart of West London, where he started at Eastcote Studios on Kensal Road.

[edit] Signs of a Struggle (2005-2006)

Mattafix released their first single "11.30 (Dirtiest Trick in Town)" as a limited edition on Buddhist Punk Records on 13 January 2005. However, the song never charted.

Their second single, "Big City Life", was released by EMI on 8 August 2005. It was a considerable hit, managing a number 15 in the United Kingdom and a number 1 in Germany, Poland, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and New Zealand. It also had considerable success in other European countries where it reached the top 20. It can also be heard on the soundtrack to the hit video game FIFA World Cup Germany 2006, designed by EA Sports, and was included in the NOW! 62 UK compilation, the duo's first and only song to date, to be included in the series.

Signs of a Struggle received positive reviews and had success in Europe where the band toured extensively throughout 2006-2008. Signs of a Struggle was a Triple J feature album in April 2006.

The duo toured with the likes of Jem and Joss Stone on their UK tours to promote the album, and have also opened for Sting, in Milan, before a crowd of more than 100,000 people.

Their fourth single, "To & Fro", was released on 13 March 2006. The single was released as a download only in the United Kingdom.

[edit] Rhythm & Hymns (2007-2009)

On 7 September 2007, Mattafix released the first single, "Living Darfur", taken from their second album Rhythm & Hymns. It was available as a download only. The single was released physically on 22 October 2007. The video features Matt Damon in the intro. The track was featured as part of the Save Darfur Campaign. Working alongside humanitarian agencies operating in the region, the band filmed a video for the song in the refugee camps in the region. The video became extremely popular on YouTube and to date is the only music video by an international group to be filmed in a war zone.

Speaking in June 2008 to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul, Roudette explained the musical background to 'Rhythms & Hymns': "With this album I wanted to bring through more aspects of the live show, which is something maybe the first album lacked. You know, we do go out with a seven or eight-piece band, and that has become a big part of the Mattafix sound. So, in addition to keeping the hardcore element and programmed beats from last time round, with 'Rhythms & Hymns' we've also used a lot of live drums. Also, we've added quite a lot of influences that we got from the road. Particularly in places like Johannesburg, where we played a couple of great shows."^[4]

The album was released on 23 November 2007 in most European countries. In Australia, it was released on 17 November 2007.

Mattafix remixed Lady Gaga's song "Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)". Their remix appears on her iTunes Remix EP,^[5] however, not in the UK version.

Next album (2010-present)[link]

Mattafix are currently working on a new album. In April 2010, Marlon Roudette made a video appearance where he spoke about recording and making the record in his home based studio.^[6] However, via Facebook, it was announced that Roudette and Hirji had gone separate ways, due to their different new ideas for future projects. Marlon Roudette is now working on a solo project with the Universal label, apparently to be released in May 2011^{[dated info]}, which has brought abundant attention to fans. He is yet to come up with his new artist name; whether to stay with the name Mattafix, or choose a new stage name; perhaps his own. "Mattafix presents...Marlon..." was a quote from a late 2010 YouTube video, as an updated possibility for his album title and/or stage name. Marlon Roudette has confirmed that the new album is "not a radical shift but definitely different. More instrumentation and more in depth musical compositions." Marlon Roudette has stated that the album is pretty much completed, but the album is still being "fine tuned.". On 9 July 2011, Marlon Roudette confirmed that the name of the first single from the new album is "New Age", and the name of the album will be called "Matter Fixed".^[7] In September 2011, "New Age" reached number one in Germany.^[8]

On 13 September 2011, Marlon announced that he signed to Warner Music Group for the UK.^[9]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

References[link]

1. ^ "El Bosquejo: Arena Homme Plus: Buffalo Stance, part 1". Lbosquejo.blogspot.com. 22 May 2010. http://lbosquejo.blogspot.com/2010/05/arena-homme-plus-buffalo-stance-part-1.html. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
2. ^ "Mattafix: Marlon Roudette". Islandmix.com. http://www.islandmix.com/backchat/f6/mattafix-marlon-roudette-104115/index6.html#post1873589. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
3. ^ by joshua osoro pickering. "Mattafix: Brit hip hop in Darfur". Cafebabel.co.uk. http://www.cafebabel.co.uk/article/2802/mattafix-brit-hip-hop-in-darfur.html. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
4. ^ "Mattafix interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' July 2008". Bluesandsoul.com. http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/305/mattafix_no_problem/. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
5. ^ "Lady Gaga - Eh, Eh Remix EP". iTunes. 13 March 2009. http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=319676627&s=143442. Retrieved 2009-06-23. 
6. ^ Posted by Hot97 SVG on 12 April 2010 at 3:46am View Blog (12 April 2010). "Mattafix's Marlon speaks about working on new album - Hot97 Live". Hot97svg.com. http://www.hot97svg.com/profiles/blogs/mattafixs-marlon-speaks-about. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
7. ^ Name (required) (16 May 2011). "Attention all Mattafix fans! « Hairouna Across The Seas". Hairounaacrosstheseas.wordpress.com. http://hairounaacrosstheseas.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/attention-all-mattafix-fans/. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
8. ^ "Erstes Nummer-eins-Album für Lenny Kravitz - media control". Media-control.de. 30 August 2011. http://www.media-control.de/erstes-nummer-eins-album-fuer-lenny-kravitz.html/. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
9. ^ "Done! Signed to...". Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/marlonroudette/posts/271439816207811. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
10. ^ Steffen Hung (26 February 2006). "Mattafix". Australian Charts. http://australian-charts.com/search.asp?search=mattafix&cat=s. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
11. ^ Steffen Hung. "Austrian Charts - Mattafix". Austriancharts.at. http://austriancharts.at/search.asp?search=mattafix&cat=s. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
12. ^ Belgian Charts - Mattafix
13. ^ Steffen Hung. "French Charts - Mattafix". Lescharts.com. http://lescharts.com/search.asp?search=mattafix&cat=s. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
14. ^ "German Charts - Mattafix". Musicline.de. http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Mattafix/single. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
15. ^ Steffen Hung. "Mattafix". Italian Charts. http://italiancharts.com/search.asp?search=mattafix&cat=s. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
16. ^ Steffen Hung. "New Zealand Charts - Mattafix". Charts.org.nz. http://charts.org.nz/search.asp?search=mattafix&cat=s. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
17. ^ Steffen Hung. "Mattafix". Norwegian Charts. http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?search=mattafix&cat=s. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
18. ^ Steffen Hung (23 October 2005). "Swiss Charts - Mattafix". Hitparade.ch. http://hitparade.ch/search.asp?search=mattafix&cat=s. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
19. ^ "UK Charts > Mattafix". Official Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/mattafix/. 

External links[link]

• Official website
• Mattafix on Myspace

John Joseph Cardiel (born December 14, 1973 in San Jose, California) is a professional skateboarder who grew up in Half Moon Bay and Grass Valley, California^[1][2] and currently resides in Sacramento, California.

He started Anti Hero Skateboards on Deluxe Distribution along with Nick Perry in 1995.

His sponsors are Vans, Anti Hero, Spitfire, Independent Truck Company and Chrome Industries.

Accident[link]

In 2003, at the end of a 4 week road trip from Brisbane to Melbourne in Australia to film the skateboard movie Tent City, John Cardiel lost his footing while running alongside the van and was run over by its trailer.^[3] He injured his spinal cord and wasn't given any chance to ever walk again, but after five months of rehabilitation in the hospital and a few months in a wheel chair he was able to regain the use of his legs.

After a hiatus, he later emerged on two wheels instead of four being featured in the 2008 street fixed gear cycling film "Macaframa" directed by Colin Arlen and Colby Elrick. He attributes his recovery to his cycling, and continues to be an advocate of street fixed gear cycling.

A more recent interview with Cardiel explaining the accident and such can be found here: http://nephewmarcus.blogspot.com/2011/12/john-cardiel-interview.html

Awards[link]

• 1992 - Thrasher Magazine Skater of the Year

References[link]

Michael Mind (born Jens Kindervater, 1973) is a German music producer and house DJ.

Discography[link]

References[link]