Sympathy for the Villain.

The ancient Chinese believed in the philosophical concept of yin and yang, two opposing forces that complement and complete each other. Yin and yang are most often represented with this symbol. Taijitu, although the light and dark sides challenge each other, each contains a part of the other fundamentally. Embedded together, the opposing forces exist in a state of balance. There are numerous examples of yin and yang in nature, such as the brightest light creating the harshest shadows, but perhaps the most fascinating application of yin and yang exists in the realm of relationship fiction. between heroes and

villain

s we all grow up hearing the same type of story a brave hero overcomes the odds to defeat a despicable

villain

we learn to see heroes and villains as part of a binary system we root for the good guys and we root for the bad guys Guys, it's a principle that practically defines the essence of the narrative.

When we are children, we see this as an unbreakable law, but as we grow up, something very mysterious happens. The line between heroes and villains begins to blur. Suddenly, the heroes start seeing each other a lot more. boring, while villains become even more attractive if you look at the word villain in the dictionary, almost every definition you will find will mention the word evil, but what exactly is evil? Well, in most cultures, the concept of good and evil is tied to our premise. of Morality Our morality is often determined by whatever religious or spiritual code we grew up with.

Religions around the world embody evil through the image of the devil as the face of evil for the world's most popular religion. Satan is probably the most infamous villain in human history. Most religions portray me as the embodiment of evil, meaning my actions literally define what it is to be immoral. It's hard to get more evil than that. In fact, it is impossible. Each version of the devil shares similar traits, but none are identical. There is no definitive answer. What constitutes an evil action? Well, I see I'll have to teach them how to be villains. The notion of evil is an abstraction and can be modified depending on the society and place that surrounds us.

Evil assumes the purpose of a general term attributed to people who cause us negative results. Morality is one of the most difficult concepts for the human mind to understand. Everyone has their own set of complex needs and motivations. It is much easier to simply look at the source of all your suffering and calling him evil its much easier to write a story and have the antagonists do bad things because they are evil, unfortunately evil villains also tend to be forgettable villains, I mean does anyone really remember Maleficent? Her name is a literal synonym for evil. The problem with evil characters is that we have a hard time relating to them, contrary to what the media will tell you, the average person doesn't tend to enjoy doing malicious things to create a truly memorable villain.

You have to connect them with the audience in a meaningful way, one of the most common and effective ways. The methods to achieve this is to establish a transformation from friend to demon. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the force. The best-known example of this transformation is the character of Darth Vader into a new hope. Vader is presented more or less as a standard formidable bad guy without much character depth, we're told he was once good, but we don't actually get to see this dimension of Vader until The Empire Strikes Back, where we first get a glimpse of what he looks like.

Beneath the Mask is a shot that only lasts a few seconds but profoundly influences our perception of Vader's character. the film reveals that he was involved in some sort of horrific incident that left him permanently disfigured and scarred. Scars are a powerful visual and metaphorical tool to humanize a villain, they represent significant traits of trauma and vulnerability, unlike anything we have seen in Vader before that moment. One of the most iconic scars in fiction belongs to Prince Zuko from Avatar. I have always had to fight and fight, which has made me strong. The series begins with Zuko as the heroes' only antagonist;

However, as the story progresses the much more brutal framework surrounding him is revealed, we eventually learn about his tragic origin and discover that it was not nature but nurture that turned Zuko into the villain he is. Driven not by an evil plan but by the desire to redeem himself in the eyes of his father and his nation, Zuko becomes identifiable as a very flawed character symbolized by his most striking physical characteristic, despite his immense dedication and willpower. , leaves a legacy. of failure there's no doubt zuko suffers more than any other character in the series after a while you forget he's the bad guy and just want to see him happy ironically zuko's villainous path is only forged through his obsession with being a hero for the fire nation, at the end of the day, zuko only seeks what we all want, belonging and acceptance from his peers, his scar is a physical sign that represents the insurmountable divide between him and his ideal self, he sacrifices a lot trying to overcome it, but the scar as if the past can never be erased, it is only when zuko learns to accept his difficulties that he truly becomes the person he was meant to be.

I used to think that this scar marked me, the mark of the banished prince, cursed to haunt the avatar forever, but lately. I have realized that I am free to determine my own destiny even if I will never be free of my mark. In the end he fulfills his destiny as a hero but not in the same way he imagined. Zuko is a memorable villain because he is one of the most human villains ever written, but what about a villain who is the opposite of human? I don't know what the hell is in there, but he's weird and angry.

Whatever it is, science fiction is no stranger to presenting antagonists of a more cosmological style. origin this halloween i talked about john carpenter's 1982 horror film the thing a story featuring a shape-shifting alien that serves as an allegory of mistrust and paranoia the thing monster is similar to the works of hp lovecraft and the premise of cosmic horror the idea that human beings are insignificant compared to the unfathomable immensity of the universe Lovecraftian monsters defy understanding transcend our narrow realm of morality and evil these antagonists frighten us on a more primal level represent a manifestation of the most fundamental adversarial nature of humanity there is no greater threat to human progress than the forces of nature and there is no greater threat to nature than human progress thanks to our technological advances man sits at the top of the animal kingdom monsters Indisputable fictitious things like this thing remind us of a time when that was not the case a time When we were not predators but prey, no one on Earth can literally remember being chased by a saber cat, but the impression lingers like a built-in integral phobia. to our evolutionary programming.

Now that no other animal can challenge us, it is up to our imagination to create something that Perhaps our ultimate downfall comes not from nature, but from the very technology we use to conquer it. I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me and I'm afraid that's something I can't allow to happen. 2001 was the first notable film. present artificial intelligence as a major antagonist the premise of a rogue AI takes the relationship between man and nature and inverts it just as humans are a product of nature machines are a product of humanity characters like hal 9000 invert our perspective of a creation surpassing its creator perhaps we like nature before us we simply exist as the next step in the progression of intelligent life and we like nature we are doomed to be conquered by whatever comes next, at least for now the Technological takeover remains in the realm of fiction, but rogue AI and other intelligent monsters provide us with a unique conflict, they don't operate within trivial human desire.

Godzilla won't stop destroying the city because of any moralistic epiphany. The scariest part about antagonists like these isn't that we can't understand them. but that they cannot understand us to them, all our petty rules and emotions have no meaning if the rule you followed presupposed this of what use was the rule somewhere between the monster and the man you will find a character like anton Shiger in 2014, a A team of Belgian psychiatrists analyzed more than 400 film villains and found that Chagura was the most realistic representation of a psychopath. His complete emotional disconnect from the murder was similar to that of many real-life hitmen investigators interviewed.

Chigurh is a deeply strange character. The background of the origin and general reasons are unknown. He is described as a kind of ghost. Many have analyzed the character as a rhetorical link between man and God, more specifically as an agent of destiny for chigurh. Human beings are no different than cattle waiting to be slaughtered. A perspective. Harshly illustrated through the means of execution, human life is completely expendable, but despite savagely murdering a dozen people in the film, it is difficult to describe Chigurh's motivation as malicious. Is it malicious? When a tornado demolishes a Midwestern house, the film portrays Chigurh as an unstoppable force.

It is said that no one who sees it lives, but that is not entirely true. The most intriguing insights into Chigurh's character occur not when he kills but when he chooses not to kill. Of course, if you asked him, he'd probably tell you there never was. really any choice in the matter shigeru's actions are dictated by a strict code of personal conduct that is never fully explained all of his murders have a consistent logic most of the victims were simply sent as an easy means to complete his primary objective. It is only through ambiguous situations that we get a glimpse of Chigger's philosophy in the iconic gas station scene, he contemplates killing the clerk but offers him a way out in the form of a coin toss.

Pragmatically speaking, the coin toss is a meaningless gesture, but within Sugar's inner principles it allows him to act independently of his conscience. The nature of Chagar's character is deterministic in acting as the hand of fate relinquishes his own agency in situations in which it operates automatically without ever deviating from the most efficient path towards its end result the idea of ​​people weakly trying to exert control over their destiny confuses him and disputes whether mercy exists in Sugar's universe can only be found in something so brutally random like the toss of a coin it has been traveling 22 years to get here and now it is here and it is heads or tails it is for this Reason why some people have defined Chigurh as the embodiment of chaos.

The character's relative unpredictability creates the surprising tension for which the film is so celebrated. However, Chagur is, paradoxically, the most calculated, meticulous and orderly character in history, if we all knew what he knew. all their actions would make perfect sense such is the confusing nature of a psychopath they exist in the uncanny valley although they look like us on a physical level we will never understand them on a mental level they represent a different type of human being those who cultivate Order out of chaos do they represent a different type of human being those who cultivate Order out of chaos?

Do you have any idea how crazy you are? Madness is a truly terrifying concept that is ultimately governed by the same principles as a currency. Flip the coin. I have nothing to say. It's only you. I got here the same way. Coin did it at the end of the day, it's not our feudal attempts at brave reasoning or law enforcement that stop Chigurh. His justice can only be served by fate itself. Sometimes it's more than destiny that gets in the way of our ultimate goal. There are not two. English words are more harmful than good work in the pursuit of perfection we can find ourselves in the essential conflict between student and teacher this conflict is intimately explored in the 2014 film Whiplash terence fletcher is the consummate stalwart of success andrew nieman is chasing the success but her desire to impress Fletcher transforms her passion into an obsession.

Neiman is forced to endure a torturous ordeal of emotional and physical trauma that has inspired many to label Fletcher one of cinema's cruelest villains. He is a relentless critic who focuses on imperfections that are indistinguishable. To the average listener, he demolishes his students' confidence by setting the bar for excellence insurmountably high. Fletcher's methods are almost sadistic; However, the more he insults Neiman, the more Neiman refuses to give in despite their bitter adversarial relationship. Both characters are ultimately working toward the same goal. bridge the gap between competence and mastery that separates greatness fromMediocrity maybe it's practice, dedication, raw talent or bad luck, well, according to the movie, greatness is rooted deep within us and it's up to antagonists like Fletcher to draw out our potential throughout the movie.

Neiman is not. By simply fighting Fletcher, he is also fighting himself. Fletcher's character is largely a manifestation of our ability to improve as individuals, although Neiman wants more than anything to surpass Fletcher. He can't help but find himself forming a mutual respect for the man like Fletcher Hammers. He, with a ruthless perfectionism, Neiman becomes more ruthless as he gets closer to perfection, in the end, he gives up everything, his friends' family romance, health and dignity, all to pursue mastery of the craft. of the. Fletcher reduced Neiman to nothing and then resurrected him in his own image.

Most of us remember Fletcher as a cruel teacher who demanded excellence no matter the cost, an archetype not uncommon in many competitive professions, yet the character He should also be recognized as an excellent example of a villain converging with the hero to truly defeat Fletcher. to become fletcher look, now you respect me because I'm a threat, but how about a case where instead of transforming you into the villain, the hero creates the villain to find this, you don't have to look further than the relationship between the syndrome and Mr. Incredible, the story of a hero's biggest fan who becomes his greatest nemesis, unlike the case of whiplash syndrome, the obsessive twist of whiplash syndrome arises from the negligence of his former idol the incredibles is a film that looks at the anatomy of heroes and villains when boiled down to how do we really define heroic action?

In his analysis of the film, YouTube reviewer The Real Gems made the intriguing point that in other Pixar films, Buddy is the protagonist, the struggling underdog who is told by the world around him that he's not good enough. , where the character deviates from the archetype in his misplaced priorities and what it means to be a hero, The Incredibles subverts the spirit of Pixar's prototypical formula by examining how the underdog story could corrupt someone who takes it Too seriously the syndrome gets caught up more in the fanfare of heroic acts than in the true moral significance. Its name may well be a reference to hero syndrome, the term used to describe the phenomenon of firefighters who intentionally committed acts of arson from the release of the film, this circumstance has become even more appropriate due to the rise of social media.

We now live in a world where anyone can receive public adoration for their sanctimonious theatrics and with everyone's super, no one will be the same. the case of the omnidroid fighting syndrome many of our most adored heroes may be completely artificial the incredibles suggests that we choose our heroes carefully because the most sinister villains can be hiding in plain sight, sometimes the people we end up hating the most are The ones we trick ourselves into loving despite everything you've done for them will eventually hate you. You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain.

We tend to use the terms villain and antagonist interchangeably, but are they really? the same in a literary sense the antagonist is simply the character who prevents the protagonist's goals and the protagonist is simply the main character of the story contrary to popular belief villains and protagonists are not mutually exclusive rarely will you see a villain as famous characters that require their own story, so what happens when a villain becomes the protagonist? Well, you end up with a character like the wild card. Hello, The Joker is possibly the most iconic villain in all of popular culture as a nemesis of Batman, one of the most recognizable superheroes, The Joker exploded in popularity after his legendary performance in the 2008 film The Dark Knight, The Untimely Death.

Heath Ledger's infused an era of mysticism into acting and the character, the dark knight's wild card, has been described by many as one of the most likable villains of all time. He is the consummate bad guy, a glorious amalgam of all the villains he has ever known. i listed so far he has tragic scars like zuko his motives transcend our understanding like hal 9000 he is a measured psychopath like chigurh much like fletcher his actions are corrupt and transform a hero in his own image and, like the syndrome, he was created to Starting from a disillusionment with his former idol eleven years after The Dark Knight, we have to see the Joker star in his own independent film, but in the months leading up to the film's release something very strange began to happen, the mainstream media began to publish article after article, fearing that the new Joker movie would inspire acts of violence.

Director Todd Phillips and lead actor Joaquin Phoenix were repeatedly questioned about his role in creating such irresponsible glorification of murder. This was a movie. which came out the same year as John Wick 3, a 143-minute montage of Keanu Reeves gallantly executing over 160 people and a film that received no such concerns about violence from the media, so why was Joker so examined at the time of its release? It immediately became obvious why out-of-touch media elites weren't exactly enthusiastic about the film in a result that was precisely in line with the film's themes. The Joker was despised by the establishment and loved by the masses.

It is a film that highlights the most prominent conflict of our time man versus society it is a film that for many of us speaks directly from the heart if it were me dying on the sidewalk you would step over me some like to say joaquin phoenix She was not acting when she gave birth. This line is a reference to the real-life death of her brother River, who died of a drug overdose on the sidewalk outside a Hollywood nightclub. Society is a cruel, unforgiving place that spits out mentally ill loners like the joker every day. The media that criticizes this movie for glorifying violence does the same thing every time one of these people takes a photo.

We all like to fetishize the results of these massacres while completely ignoring the journey. The Joker shows us that journey, placing us inside the mind of the madman and suggesting that we are all complicit in the bloodshed. John Wick could massacre a million soldiers in his crazy world of assassins, but nothing he does will have the same impact than the Joker firing a single bullet through Murray Franklin's skull. The Joker doesn't terrify us. because he kills people, but because it makes us enjoy watching him kill people. No other media outlet in recent memory has made more people question his idea of ​​morality.

There is a little part of the joker in all of us. This is why many find the characters so sympathetic. and identifiable was the justified prankster in killing Murray. Everything we've been taught in our entire lives would tell us no, but many of us would be lying if we said that scene wasn't at least a little cathartic, of course, the movie never inspired. There is no violence in real life, but it had a tremendous impact on popular culture for many. It perfectly captured the zeitgeist of growing discontent in an increasingly chaotic world. The spirit of the film has only grown in a year that was marked by massive political unrest and growing frustration with social institutions.

The Joker is one of the most memorable villains because he is frighteningly close to reality and the new installment of the character only adds to it. to the legacy of fiction's most popular wisecracking villain is deeply uncomfortable and eternally controversial, it forces us to confront the ugliest. parts of the human condition at the end of the day is that not the end point of a villain I don't want to kill you what would I do without you no no you complete me fiction helps us mentally process conflict in reality When we grow up, we are taught about good and evil as a way to avoid discussing the true complexities of real problems;

When we get older, we begin to realize that the world is not as black and white as we were led to believe. No matter how much we hate them, villains are a necessary evil, they take us to our absolute limit, they motivate us to aspire to something greater, without villains to defeat the role of hero, it makes no sense, each person is the protagonist of their own story and we are free to choose. to our antagonists based on our own beliefs and attitudes towards the world. From a certain point of view, anyone can feel delighted or vilified, so be careful who you call bad because one day you might end up feeling

sympathy

for the villain, but also. on board the ship is the commander captain nefarious I am a bad guy an admiral bone to choose from but they don't mention them