I saw Thor 2 last weekend with Jeffrey and Mark. The plot was typical and the bad guy was boring, but Jane was played by Natalie Portman so DUH she was good, and Thor was pretty great, but Loki totally stole the show. And I couldn't figure out what it is about him that makes him so likable, despite him being a villain, till I read an article that described him as a mixture of villain and victim.
And the idea of that combination has captured me.
Draco Malfoy is like that in Harry Potter 6. Snape could be viewed as something like that once you've seen "the Prince's Tale." And Gollum. Possibly Nickabrick - probably would have been if he'd been around long enough to develop. Who else is like this? Tell me in the comments.
Villains with hearts are so much more interesting. Just as heroes with vulnerabilities are. And when you pit a flawed hero and a villain with whom we can sympathize against each other - well, what could be more exciting?
This understanding adds to the fabric of my book. I've got to have a villain whom we will all understand. In fact, do I really want any villains whom we don't understand? I mean, a hero fighting a cardboard evil doesn't bring up the questions that are worth considering.
So I think of my bad guy, Siritus, and wonder how I could weave him into the fabric of this story so that he's as inseparable from the beauty and horror as Loki?
I think the different kinds of villains are so interesting.
There are the sympathetic villains.
Draco - a schoolboy bully who morphs into a young man presented with more danger and responsibility than he can handle. He's an arrogant, egotistical copy of his father, and when it comes down to it, he's selfish, but he loves his family.
In Lord of the Rings, Sauron does not provide much more than a background evil driven by who knows what. Gollum is our axis, our good/evil, our tortured soul. He is the one who wrestles with himself and gives voice to our inner struggles.
Loki, who does not see himself as evil, but simply wants what is his, what is his "right," as he sees it. A charming, would-be dictator, someone who wants love yet commands 'mere mortals' to KNEEL!!!
Narcissa Malfoy, whose love for Draco wins out over her love for any dictator.
And there are those who do not struggle, at least, not at the point we see them in their stories.
Voldemort. Ego and selfishness. But without love. Without love complicating things and making him pitiable. In fact, he's all the more pitiable for being simply a wasted specimen of a human being. Nothing he does is out of love.
The White Witch. Egotistical to the core. Everything is about her, her, her.
Bellatrix, obsessed. She's evil but doesn't know it, driven by the twisted love in her heart, love for Voldemort. Her evil is really a desire to be praised and to be loved. Good instincts gone bad.
So much about villains starts with how they see things. With how they think.
How we think changes everything. Our actions are the symptoms of our thoughts. An evil person must be taught to think rightly before they act rightly.
I definitely want to write more on this. Exploring characters is something I love. I've got a devotional on fantasy characters planned for someday. Maybe I'll start by blogging about some. :)
And the idea of that combination has captured me.
Draco Malfoy is like that in Harry Potter 6. Snape could be viewed as something like that once you've seen "the Prince's Tale." And Gollum. Possibly Nickabrick - probably would have been if he'd been around long enough to develop. Who else is like this? Tell me in the comments.
Villains with hearts are so much more interesting. Just as heroes with vulnerabilities are. And when you pit a flawed hero and a villain with whom we can sympathize against each other - well, what could be more exciting?
This understanding adds to the fabric of my book. I've got to have a villain whom we will all understand. In fact, do I really want any villains whom we don't understand? I mean, a hero fighting a cardboard evil doesn't bring up the questions that are worth considering.
So I think of my bad guy, Siritus, and wonder how I could weave him into the fabric of this story so that he's as inseparable from the beauty and horror as Loki?
I think the different kinds of villains are so interesting.
There are the sympathetic villains.
Draco - a schoolboy bully who morphs into a young man presented with more danger and responsibility than he can handle. He's an arrogant, egotistical copy of his father, and when it comes down to it, he's selfish, but he loves his family.
In Lord of the Rings, Sauron does not provide much more than a background evil driven by who knows what. Gollum is our axis, our good/evil, our tortured soul. He is the one who wrestles with himself and gives voice to our inner struggles.
Loki, who does not see himself as evil, but simply wants what is his, what is his "right," as he sees it. A charming, would-be dictator, someone who wants love yet commands 'mere mortals' to KNEEL!!!
Narcissa Malfoy, whose love for Draco wins out over her love for any dictator.
And there are those who do not struggle, at least, not at the point we see them in their stories.
Voldemort. Ego and selfishness. But without love. Without love complicating things and making him pitiable. In fact, he's all the more pitiable for being simply a wasted specimen of a human being. Nothing he does is out of love.
The White Witch. Egotistical to the core. Everything is about her, her, her.
Bellatrix, obsessed. She's evil but doesn't know it, driven by the twisted love in her heart, love for Voldemort. Her evil is really a desire to be praised and to be loved. Good instincts gone bad.
So much about villains starts with how they see things. With how they think.
How we think changes everything. Our actions are the symptoms of our thoughts. An evil person must be taught to think rightly before they act rightly.
I definitely want to write more on this. Exploring characters is something I love. I've got a devotional on fantasy characters planned for someday. Maybe I'll start by blogging about some. :)