The Dominator Play Style is for those who seek to assert influence over other people. This behavior can happen in several ways, ranging from brute physical strength to lightning-quick wit. It can be sneaky and manipulative or bold and in your face. Using their abilities, Dominators skillfully shape the behavior of the people around them.
Through the process of influencing others, Dominators seek in-the-moment thrill and excitement. It also reinforces a sense of personal autonomy. Fans of this Play Style are curious about what would happen if they break specific rules. They'll do whatever it takes to come out on top.
Movies, games, and TV that appeal to this Play Style tend to feature a lot of action, thrill, and excitement. There’s often conflict between people as well as a celebration of an individual or group’s ability to assert themselves over others. It can be easy to assume that these acts of dominance are always physical, but it’s just as often a demonstration of mental ability.
Marvel’s Daredevil presents rivaling, sometimes brutal, personalities in Hell’s Kitchen, which in its intense and gritty nature, is a character itself.
“The main characters... they're okay... but it's really that villain that really was the first eye-opener for me.”
Deadpool 2
Wonder Woman
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
American Gods
House of Cards
The Bachelor
Call of Duty
NBA 2K
Hearthstone
Behaviors such as trolling, harassing, and taunting all fit the Dominator's definition. But while it's easy to see this Play Style's dark side, more often than not, Dominators don’t intend to harm others. Usually, it's just playful banter in a competitive context. Fans use digital and social to further indulge in a more ambitious and action-packed entertainment experience.
Dominator fans live for the moments in movies, video games, and TV shows where a character completely crushes someone else, physically or otherwise. They seek out, rewatch and relive legendary moments over and over. Thanks to YouTube and other video streaming platforms, these are more easily captured and shared for all to enjoy.
Battlefield 1 presents players with an endless number of confrontational scenarios. Some players get exceptionally creative in the way they take others down in combat, like sneaking up on them unexpectedly or coming up on a horse from behind. While the in-the-moment experience is exhilarating for the Dominator, the real enjoyment comes from sharing captured footage of these moments online after the fact.
Much like many horror movies, It is full of jump scares and nerve-wracking fight scenes. Fans of the film flock to YouTube to share and rewatch the most shocking parts, but the fights between Pennywise and the kids are the most popular. Engaged fans will even timestamp their favorite moments within the video’s comments and have mini-discussions about them in-thread, allowing them to express their love for the moment.
The politically-themed HBO show Veep is full of sharp remarks and "got you" moments between its witty characters. Every insult is a highlight for Dominators who enjoy the aggressive act of one-upmanship. Fans of the show go to great lengths to collect and compile these moments into montage videos, which come in various “Volumes” and will sometimes garner hundreds of thousands of views.
Characters that demonstrate an assertive and commanding presence act as role models to Dominators. Fans seek to reflect the attitudes of these personalities to their social network. They accomplish this by creating and sharing content, often featuring quotes, mottos, or silent, yet commanding body language. These pieces of content signal to others that the Dominator values power and aspires to follow through like their favorite character.
In the Showtime series Billions, hedge fund king Bobby Axelrod is a big, formidable personality who wants to run the world. The actor brings this attitude to life through a series of consistently provocative quotes. Fans capture these soundbites for shareable meme-like posts using show imagery. This content offers a personal form of expression for Dominators who appreciate Bobby's attitude and want to bring it into their everyday life.
When the game For Honor was released, Dominators rejoiced. The title allows players to choose between historical warriors: Knights, Samurais, and Vikings. From there, the combatants enter various scenarios of all-out warfare and use their abilities to obliterate other warriors. The hostile tone of the game bleeds into online fan conversation, where Dominators post jokes like this one, boasting about destroying the game’s newbies.
Wonder Woman is a game-changing movie that provides both grown women and little girls around the world with a new, more badass role model. Fans have turned the hero character’s defiance into a symbol of pride, creating imagery that reflects her attitude towards all those that oppose her mission. When fans share these on their social profile, it communicates to friends and family that they too share this bold and in-your-face attitude.
If the Dominator has an imagination, it often comes through in their playful and competitive banter. Fans flock to forums and commenting systems to smack talk others, or characters from a story or game. Sometimes Dominators will even create original story-inspired memes and content to dramatize their point. There's a fine line between this behavior being hurtful or fun, but it's an undoubtedly prominent behavior for fans of this Play Style.
Reality TV show The Bachelor is about love, but Dominators are just as likely to hate the program’s contestants and enjoy watching them be humiliated. It's common to see fans trash talking specific contestants both around the water cooler and in online forums. In this case, owners of a local florist turned Becca's loss into a celebration, making light of her genuine disappointment to bring in business.
Basketball culture is known for its competitive banter and power plays. This behavior translates into the gaming community for NBA 2K, as people bash other players both in the game and in real life. On YouTube, many videos showcase game-related trash talk and the rivalries that are often made as a result. For Dominators, the competitive banter can often eclipse the game itself as the primary form of entertainment.
Infinity War's main villain was Thanos, a character on a quest to retrieve six Infinity Stones, which when put together make the most dominant weapon in the Avengers franchise. Members of the Avengers sub-Reddit banned together to pick on Thanos, making fun of his mission through a series of much-upvoted memes. This behavior isn't unusual for Marvel fans as they also pick on other characters. Captain America is one character that receives similar treatment.
Properties that engage fans of the Dominator Play Style are known for pushing the envelope and can be quite edgy. These properties understand the importance of establishing a competitive and exhilarating tone or posing a challenge to fans. Sometimes they even taunt or troll their audience a little, to provoke a reaction (respectfully, of course).
Netflix has done an excellent job extending House of Cards’ dark, dominating tone using simple social media content, like sinister quotes from Claire and Frank Underwood. They have also been incredibly opportunistic, jumping on political events like Inauguration Day and Sean Spicer's pin slip to publish controversial content, both trolling the administration and plugging the show. These provocative moves win Dominators’ admiration.
Marvel's Deadpool is raunchy and provocative. Fox has made their R-rated anti-hero a hit through innovative marketing and a focus on his sardonic wit. Fans have repeatedly been shocked by unexpected placements, such as this feature in Good Housekeeping, which is more than just a brand integration; it creates the impression that Deadpool is trolling the publication's audience, which in turn plays into the behaviors of the Dominator Play Style.
PlayStation exclusive God of War is a thrilling spectacle, and the epitome of killer action. Sony brought the game's over the top atmosphere to life by taking over Oakland's Oracle Arena and projecting an in-game scene across the entire basketball court. The massive display showed off the game's stunning visuals, but it also served as a nod to the home team, fostering pride and rallying the Warriors to dominate the second half of the game.
Blizzard has built an enormous community around its competitive online card game Hearthstone. The company launched a new expansion pack by hosting an immersive in-world party in Downtown Los Angeles and treated guests to a variety of experiences, both competitive and remarkable. Events and activities included interactive Shakespearean opera, disco dance-offs, and cutthroat life-sized chess battles. Everything was designed for an audience who was eager for action.
