—What makes a Villain—
There is a saying that goes, "A story is only good as the bad guy is bad."I could not agree more with this statement and I've created this blog to prove it to you. Villains are important. They create conflict(they are conflict in character form) and with out conflict, what is the purpose of the story?
I thought that to better understand villains and what makes them great, I would write up a "referral sheet". This is a list I've compiled of what makes a villain.
•Motive: WHY the villain is doing what said villain is doing. Whether it be to prove themselves, vengeance, or to satisfy their own blood lust, etc, etc, etc.
•Back story: Usually villains have a harrowing back story which can contribute or tie in to their motive. A back story adds depth to our villain and could serve to induce pity or even have readers and viewers feeling like they could relate. There are villains that had once been the "good guy".
•Mental traits: Such as intelligence, curiosity, cruelty, manipulation, calculation, etc, etc, etc.
•Scheming and Plotting: I decided to put this in a category of its own. Everyone loves a good, organized villain that either keeps having everything go wrong for them or keeps coming out one step ahead.
•Emotional traits: These are obvious ones. Jealousy, rage, anger, sorrow, etc, etc, etc. Then some not so obvious ones. Regret, pity, helplessness...
•Appearance: This one is tricky. Villains appear in all different forms, some can even be very attractive. Though when it comes to the "stereotypical villain" these appearance traits come to mind. A dark figure, hump back, physical defects, pale, grimy/greasy.
Popular Villain colors: Black, red, green, purple...
•Justification: Many villains believe that what they are doing IS right and that they are justified in doing it which gives them just as much drive as the protagonist/hero/heroine.
•Ambition: Think Machiavelli's "The Prince". (See here: http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/prince/) Sometimes a villain is just trying to make his way up in the world, and doing so ruthlessly, not caring how many people they step on(or kill).
•Insanity: In some cases, a villain is just completely nuts and that's why they are the way they are. Other times, a villain is only a little "off" and this can contribute to what makes them interesting.
•Victims and/or hero/heroine/protagonist: A villain is nothing without victims. A hero/heroine is nothing without a villain.
And lastly...
•Doing a lot of bad deeds/ being up to no good/ Cruel intentions: This goes with out saying but I jot it down anyway! For lack of a better word, well, duh!
Now that I have created this list to refer to as I blog about villains, I want to hear from you. What do you think makes a villain? Tell me about your favorite villains in literature, movies and TV. What makes them so great?
Leave me a comment below!