What happens when you wipe out the Mercury Man, Darth Vader, The Joker or even the malicious mother-in-law, friend,step-mother that you see in movies? Would the movies with these characters still have had the same impact without them; more importantly would the characters set up just to triumph against these baddies be looked at with the same admiration if it wasn't for these characters? The role that villains play in movies is often one that is under-estimated, yet one that on hind side would convince anyone of their worth.
A villain need not only conform to the stereotype of being physically intimidating, sociologists define anyone who violates certain norms to elicit negative reactions from others as one worthy of being labelled a deviant,or in more informal terms, a villain. Aware of the conventional modes of behavior, they seek to thwart the balance and order of the society.
The first and most conspicuous exception to the stereotype that villains are physically dominant,ruthless characters capable of overpowering hundreds of people would have to be The Joker. Lacking the combat skills or the physical strength to face off with his nemesis, the Batman; how is it that he was always a thorn to Batman's attempts to clean up Gotham City? The Joker is renowned for his evil schemes that challenge the very foundations on which Gotham society is established and question the role that each individual has to play in order for the society to remain stable. Time and again, the element common to most of his plots is one where you would have to question your beliefs and decide against what would suit you personally and what would suit the society as a whole. Yet, what would a society without someone like The Joker present to an audience? Even six years after its release, the Dark Knight is fondly remembered for the brilliant ways in which the Joker was portrayed, with his character influencing some people to such an unfortunate extent that they decided to emulate his deviant, evil nature.
Unlike most aspects of movies, villains cut across gender discrimination and there have been several women villains that have enthralled us with their devious thoughts over the years. Imagine this scenario: a middle aged woman living on her own, with a keen admiration for a particular writer. Doesn't really add up to the traits of a villain right?Think again. It was this very role of Annie Wilkes played by Kathy Bates that won her applause from critics and moviegoers for the movie Misery. The idea of watching an entire movie about an over-possessive, psychotic fan seems quite disturbing but it was pretty much the main reason Misery was a success.
Villains have always established tremendous support from audiences. The most obvious reason for this is the good vs evil philosophy that societies around the world are made to learn right from a young age. The delight we get on seeing a villain ultimately fail at the hands of the hero is irrepressible, it reinforces our belief that deviance is always going to come to an end in our world, where order and stability as suggested by the Functionalist Theory are paramount. As long as our world leans towards these two factors, the space for those few individuals aiming to destroy it will always be noticed.
Here is a video of Annie Wilkes' mean streak as seen in the movie Misery:
The links below list some of the prominent villains of Hollywood till date :
http://blog.koldcast.tv/2010/koldcast-news/10-female-villains-we-love-to-hate/
http://www.hollywood.com/static/top-10-all-time-best-villains
A villain need not only conform to the stereotype of being physically intimidating, sociologists define anyone who violates certain norms to elicit negative reactions from others as one worthy of being labelled a deviant,or in more informal terms, a villain. Aware of the conventional modes of behavior, they seek to thwart the balance and order of the society.
The first and most conspicuous exception to the stereotype that villains are physically dominant,ruthless characters capable of overpowering hundreds of people would have to be The Joker. Lacking the combat skills or the physical strength to face off with his nemesis, the Batman; how is it that he was always a thorn to Batman's attempts to clean up Gotham City? The Joker is renowned for his evil schemes that challenge the very foundations on which Gotham society is established and question the role that each individual has to play in order for the society to remain stable. Time and again, the element common to most of his plots is one where you would have to question your beliefs and decide against what would suit you personally and what would suit the society as a whole. Yet, what would a society without someone like The Joker present to an audience? Even six years after its release, the Dark Knight is fondly remembered for the brilliant ways in which the Joker was portrayed, with his character influencing some people to such an unfortunate extent that they decided to emulate his deviant, evil nature.
Unlike most aspects of movies, villains cut across gender discrimination and there have been several women villains that have enthralled us with their devious thoughts over the years. Imagine this scenario: a middle aged woman living on her own, with a keen admiration for a particular writer. Doesn't really add up to the traits of a villain right?Think again. It was this very role of Annie Wilkes played by Kathy Bates that won her applause from critics and moviegoers for the movie Misery. The idea of watching an entire movie about an over-possessive, psychotic fan seems quite disturbing but it was pretty much the main reason Misery was a success.
Villains have always established tremendous support from audiences. The most obvious reason for this is the good vs evil philosophy that societies around the world are made to learn right from a young age. The delight we get on seeing a villain ultimately fail at the hands of the hero is irrepressible, it reinforces our belief that deviance is always going to come to an end in our world, where order and stability as suggested by the Functionalist Theory are paramount. As long as our world leans towards these two factors, the space for those few individuals aiming to destroy it will always be noticed.
Here is a video of Annie Wilkes' mean streak as seen in the movie Misery:
http://blog.koldcast.tv/2010/koldcast-news/10-female-villains-we-love-to-hate/
http://www.hollywood.com/static/top-10-all-time-best-villains
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