Now, who do we genuinely like better, a great hero or an evil villain? People tend to be fans of the villains when the heroes are the ones saving the day. What makes obsession with villains so prevalent in society? The answer is simple, really; it’s the writing of the villain’s character. There is trauma and drama that people love to hear about.
(1) Their character is constantly introduced by doing something dangerous, so it grabs your attention because we are curious about who this villain is and why they are doing this. (2) This character usually has a distinctive style, whether it is a particular shape of glasses or hairstyle so that the character is memorable. (3) The history: the villain will always have a backstory and a reason for their madness, and that story is something that either captures you entirely or makes you feel remorse. Audiences are so intrigued by their story that it shifts their focus to the villain.
The hero is just some person who normally saves people and problems… boring.
You’ve heard of the term protagonist, right? It’s defined as the main character. But what audiences are obsessed with today are the villain protagonists and anti-heroes. They’re either a bad person who makes bad decisions or a good person who makes bad decisions.
Audiences have had such a thing for the villains in films that now there are shows produced with the villain as the main character. This is where the term anti-hero comes into play. The storyline focuses on this character and their life. Of course, with the bad events, too, because that is what the audiences are here for. They want to see drama. They root for them even if they are still bad.
Iconic Anti-Heros/Villians:
- Homelander in “The Boys”
- Tommy Shelby in “The Peaky Blinders”
- The Joker from the Batman comics
- Harley Quinn from the Batman comics
- Patrick Batmen in American Psycho (2000)
- Cruella in Cruella (2021)
Sure, cancel me, but these characters are so perfectly evil (if that makes sense).
“There is no hero without a villain.”
Mark Pellegrino