No matter the hero,
No matter the place:
The villain is what creates memories.
Of course, a 'villain' can be any number of things in any context- it may be a maniacal genius driven to the domination of the globe, a deadly assassin driven to eliminate the protagonist with destruction in their wake, or even the rain stopping you from going outside for a leisurely stroll. All these things are villains in their own particular contexts and stories- a force of any kind one could describe as 'evil'.
My argument for my opening statement is, admittedly, purely from a personal standpoint: I have no doubt that it is a small minority attending the showing of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2' that are rooting for Voldemort to succeed at its climax. It is merely that I have noticed recently that any book I read, game I play or film I see sticks in my mind for a simple reason- an engaging, interesting antagonist. I have no doubt a list will follow at some point in these postings in the near future. A villain is a character, faction or other force within the media that is an acting antagonist within their plot- often one without the morals of the protagonists, a lack of inhibitions and with clear goals and motivations- it is also these qualities that make a villain so compelling.
The 'usual suspects' of any list one would care to create naming the 'Top X Greatest Villains of all Time', there will always be something in common between the plethora of wrong-doers: we want more of them. We want to read more, see more and play through more of their exploits- we want the next twist and turn they conjure up, the next plot twist and their next plan. A fact that, unfortunately, is so rarely said of an antagonist's counterpart.
A conclusion to this slow ramble?
Great stories don't force a great protagonist upon an audience, they allow a great antagonist to thrive within them.
"Macbeth" for example, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, without a villain,the hero would have no reason to exist. Like you said, we don't want to see what the protagonist does next, we want to see the antagonist's next ploy, so that we can see the hero thwart it.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe.
yes, the hero only "survives" or is necessary through his antipode or the anti-hero i.e. the villan - even in the Bible - if there weren´t any bad people doing bad things then there would be no need for good people to do good things.
ReplyDeleteit would be interesting to see when these first anti-poles first appeared: in greek drama? or mesopotamian stories or even even older? the villan always has something very "sexy" about him too - a kind of fatal attraction - but i must admit, i think Lady Macbeth is one of the best - until her conscience catches up with her ;)
I'm personally a great fan of Hannibal Lecter myself, or Richard III (even though the Shakespeare play is merely Tudor propaganda!) ;-)
ReplyDelete