Have you ever noticed that sometimes, even though we know they’re the “bad guys”, we somehow find ourselves liking or understanding them? I think there are some reasons for this, and it has to do with how our minds work and how stories are told. Having watched some videos on the subject — and some related films — I would like to share my view.
Photo by Ryan Quintal on Unsplash
One of the big reasons we relate to villains is that they’re not always evil for the sake of being evil. They often have their own reasons for doing what they do, and those reasons can be somewhat understandable. Perhaps something sad or difficult happened to them in the past that made them do what they did. When we learn about these reasons, we start to see them as real people with their own struggles, even if we don’t agree with what they do. Remember in “The Lion King”, Scar wants to be king and he’s jealous of Mufasa. His jealousy and his feeling of being left out makes us understand why he turns to the dark side.
You might notice this when you watch some of these films and cartoons, but villains can also show us parts of ourselves that we might not always admit to. You know those feelings or thoughts you sometimes have that you don’t talk about? Well, villains sometimes act on those feelings in extreme ways. Seeing them do that can be like seeing a part of ourselves in a strange way, and it can be a little reassuring that we’re not alone in feeling that way. Like “Maleficent”, she feels betrayed and hurt, and those emotions make her do bad things. We’ve all felt hurt and angry.
Villains can also make us think about what’s right or wrong. They do things that we know are bad, but sometimes we understand why they’re doing them. It makes us question our own ideas of good and evil, and why we think the way we do. It’s like a puzzle for our minds, and it’s interesting to find out how we feel about their actions. Think of the Joker in “The Dark Knight”. He’s doing terrible things, but his twisted view of the world makes us wonder about justice and society.
Sometimes villains are like the underdogs of the story. They may have had a really hard life, or they may have been forced to do bad things. That can make us feel sorry for them, or hope that they’ll change their ways. We want them to be better, even if they’ve done bad things before. In “Despicable Me”, Gru starts out as a villain, but as we learn about his troubled past and see him bond with the kids, we want to see him become a better person.
Stories need villains to make them exciting. They’re like the opposite of the hero, and they give the story a twist. Their reasons for doing things can make us see the story from a different angle. Even if we don’t agree with them, understanding their side of things makes the story more fun to follow.
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