ABSTRACT
Facial disfigurement in US-American television often appears to denote either heroism or villainy. It may mark characters as physically capable fighters or as experienced and villainous. On the other hand, heroes’ and villains’ sidekicks and female supporting characters are often disfigured to denote their victimhood. This chapter shows how masculinity is constructed through the display of facial disfigurement, both permanent and temporary, and will draw parallels across different shows and characters. To do this, the hard body will be contrasted with the soft body, and different types of facial disfigurement of male and female characters in contemporary US-American television will be examined. With various examples, this chapter will identify what kinds of meaning television shows transport with facial disfigurement and why it is still such a widespread marker of distinction or exceptionalism, especially among male heroes and villains.
