People in emotional crisis will sometimes project
all their problems in a certain area onto another person or group who become
the symbol of everything they hate and fear in themselves. In war and propaganda,
the enemy becomes the inhuman devil, the "Dark Shadow" of the righteous,
angelic image we are trying to maintain for ourselves. The Devil himself is
God's shadow (opposite) a projection of all the negative and rejected potential
of the Supreme Being.
Villains can be looked at as the hero's Shadow in
human form. No matter how alien the villain's values, in some way they are the
dark reflection of the hero's own desires, magnified and distorted, her
greatest fears come to life.
So, how can you make your own villain appear the
complete opposite of your hero? Think of physical attributes as well as
emotional, mental, and ethical reasoning.
Who
are some of your favorite villains?
14 comments:
Intriguing analysis.
I actually try to avoid demonizing my villains too much. They want different end results than the protagonist and so they are certainly a point of conflict but I try not to associate them --at least in my head --with thoughts like "evil" or "demonic". What the protagonist thinks of the villain on the other hand is outside of my control . . .
You hit the nail on the head, psychologically speaking. :)
I never considered villains being the character opposite of heroes. I thought that vilains were evil in their own right. I find your thesis interesting. I like your blog.
My favorite villains are the ones that aren't total opposites. It's so much more gripping when the bad guy isn't totally bad.
Demonization-love the word! I agree that they can be viewed as the hero's Shadow. "the dark reflection of the hero's own desires, magnified and distorted, her greatest fears come to life." How TWISTED and awesome!
I love the psychological take on this. It's a great way to look at it! It also makes total sense, and is a fantastic way to create a villain. Thank you!!
I love the analysis. I like how you've taken metaphors and explored them. The Dracula hating sunlight bit.
The 2 AM Writer
Sylvia, Your posts are always so helpful. I'm sure you are a great teacher. Thanks, Maria from Delight Directed Living
First top in my head Lex Luthor. One of my faves, The Wicked Witch of the West. A villain I think is the opposite of my 'hero' would be Brandon in my w.i.p. Shade Me. He is confident and open about himself while my protagonist hides her true form and is unsure of herself.
At the minute I'm loving Thor's brother as a villain! Though when writing, I tend to make them a little less villainous, more believable I suppose. But when you're writing for The avengers, you can write what you want! :)
Just stopping by from the A to Z challenge. Have a great month!
You hit it on the nail when you concluded " villain's values are the dark reflection of the hero's own desires".
Poor hero sometimes is caught in the public image and deep inside crave for wrong doings in sub-conscious way.
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I never though it that way. Wonderful thoughts. Thanks for stopping by my blog :)
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I never though it that way. Wonderful thoughts. Thanks for stopping by my blog :)
#AtoZChallenge
I have always loved exploring the dark and light aspects of characters, and appreciate your insights!
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