Are Villains Born Evil?

 

Are Villains Born Evil?

How often do you sympathise over the loss of the villain in any movie or TV series that you have watched? Have you ever considered the villain to have a shred of humanity? The immediate reply would be a ‘No’, and to a certain extent this is implied with the viciousness and the desire of the villain's attempt to make life miserable for the other characters that appear alongside. Irrespective of the genre and the variations in the plot, a majority of the movies has a hero and a villain developed under different circumstances. Though much is spoken of the protagonist, it is the villain that intensifies the action and suspense that captures the audience. In fact, they set the grounds for the hero to develop and to gain the glory in the scene. However, the initial thought that comes to our mind when we hear the term villain is everything associated with hatred and evilness. They are shown as the cause for the chaos and destruction, and as the potential threat to the hero of the story and those around. This makes it difficult for the audience to find a sense of humanity within the antagonist, and hence would prefer the hero over the villain. Despite of the callousness displayed, have it ever occurred to you that it is the villain that highlights the hero? If the villain, or the ‘bad guy ’was not strongly constructed, there will be no opportunity for the protagonist, or the ‘good guy’, to play hero. We are left with the assumption that many of these characters who play evil, are inherently nasty and miserable. However, if we analyse such characters in depth, we realise that most of them had been forces of good before they were surrendered to a life of crime and murder. The series of events that capture the development of the protagonist is more often unfolded in movies than that of the antagonist. However, this untold chapter of the ‘bad guys’ in are revealed at some point in the story line.  Like for instance, in Harry Potter, a fantasy series written by J.K. Rowling, the true character of Professor Snape is exposed at the end of the series, in the final movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – part two. It takes only a minor cause to trigger the callousness in the hearts of the villain, and each of these characters will have a different history that obliged them to be immoral.  However, they all have been psychologically and socially reprimanded for their choices, and repeatedly secluded from society.  Take a look at these examples drawn from two popular movies, where it brings into light that the characters identified as the villain or the 'monster', were once humans with empathy and a sense of humanity. We all recognize Lord Voldermort as the villain in Harry Potter, but we are also made aware that as a child, then called as Tom Riddle, he was well mannered and fascinated all teachers with his talents. He was not brutal and cold hearted as how we attribute him. Gradually, we realise that it was his hatred towards his father, that turned him to be the most powerful and dangerous character of the wizarding world, where the name itself caused terror in people. Also, in the DC’s Batman movies, we identify the Joker, as the all-time villain, given his unstable state of mind that led to behaviours of total insanity. However, his life prior to these events was not that of evil; it was a deal he made with the mob in order to care for his wife, that got himself involve in illegal breakings. It happened to be a chemical company, where his mission was not executed as planned. In order to escape form Batman, he jumped in to a pool of chemicals, which resulted in disfigurement, and it made him mentally unstable, and thereafter with his appearance, was called the Joker. Ever since then he is recognized as the potential threat to Batman, and the audience praises the actions of the hero over the failures of the villain. The list goes on where villains are not born evil as they are perceived to be, and we can outline similar circumstances in other fields of work such as in tv series, novels, plays, etc. The degree of success in any production, depends on the contribution of the characters, which relies on how well the scripts are written. As critiques write, “Villains are the heroes worst enemy, and the screenwriter’s best friend”, conveys that the villain should be powerful and convincing as the protagonist of the plot.  All things considered, would you not agree that just as much we have a high regard for the hero, we have a secret admiration towards the villain, but would rather vouch otherwise?   Give it a thought the next time you sit to watch a movie. Comment on what other characters you came across who are portrayed evil, however were people with good intentions prior to their episodes of darkness.     HS/TE18/0004