Why movies need villains

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

Identifying the social status of consumers to know their buying decision : a useful tool used by designers

I live in the households of college students. I am cool, trendy and minimalistic. Students find me stylish and friendly. They love spending time with me and look up to me for ideas. Students say to me that the greyish silver suit, which I wear usually to university, looks good and matches with my personality. It makes me look handsome, honorable and slim.

I am also a best partner for all the design professionals. My compatibility and hardworking ability inspires them. I allow them to multi-task and give them a clear view of the latest up to date information. They consider me crisp and clean.

For many businessmen, I speak of elegance, efficiency and intelligence. I am a commodity that is most sought after. Therefore, I keep working hard to keep up with the pace and inform them about the latest and upcoming trends.”  Mr. Mac Book Pro.

This was an exercise that we did in our graphic design class in order to identify the target audience behind a product. It was important to analyze what our consumers wanted, observing what social status they belonged too, and then start an advertising campaign for it. When I chose Mac Book Pro as my object of study, I described its character that fits to certain groups of people who have similar social status. Social status is the recognition attached to one’s position in society. It can be either ascribed or achieved. Ascribed statuses are those that are inherited at birth like gender, age and ethnic identity. While as achieved status is earned by living in the society. Like for example name, profession, income, education, civil and marital status are terms that we accomplish from our surroundings. I began by analyzing three target audiences: college students, design professionals and businessmen - and took their specific qualities to see how this object, defined as a character, socializes with them.

Furthermore, I interviewed some college students, design professionals and businessmen to see how their master status (dominant position) plays an intense role in their parts of life. By viewing the consumer’s characteristics, like their opinions, attitudes, interests, hobbies, needs, values and lifestyle I could easily motivate consumers to be friends with my character Mr. Mac Book Pro. This exercise helped me in designing an advertising campaign that was persuasive and targeted my audience. 

Similarly, with Nescafé, (my second object of study for the same exercise) I suggested a different name to my character according to its unique personality that targets a certain audience.

A slim young women with dirty blonde hair and a great athlete, Nariana knows how to take care of her physique. She is a health and fitness advisor, who not only conducts morning shows, (being a morning person) where she teaches exercises but also answers calls and gives the viewers beauty tips according to their skin type. In one of her interviews Nariana says " In order to live longer one should wake up early, do yoga, train and after taking a shower treat yourself to some healthy food." I think this best describes her true personality because she is always so active, full of energy, fresh and smells beautiful. Wearing a pure golden ring on her finger with fully manicured nails, Nariana looks fabulous. 

In this exercise, I had given Nescafé a different name and a character so that she could easily mingle with a young and active age group. This group believes in waking up early in the morning, starting fresh with their daily chores and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. 

These exercises not only helped me design an effective campaign but also enhanced my power of observation and understanding of different social statuses that reflects on the consumer’s buying decisions. It also made me see how sociologists can divide people in groups according to specific social statuses, and see the buying power towards a particular product or brand. In sociology there have been a lot of discussions and in depth case studies on the social status of a person to identify their buying decision. Below here is a video that will further help to define my point of view to you.