scum and villainy

This week Plugged In is running an article entitled "The Vanishing Villain." The point of the article is that there really hasn't been an "old-fashioned" (read: one-dimensional) villain in a Hollywood movie for a long time; The Dark Knight's Joker might be the one exception. The author's main concern is that movies with antagonists who are merely "misunderstood" or who have complex ulterior motives could desensitize us to real evil, so that we won't know what to do when confronted with it.

I think his concern is legitimate, but for some reason I can't bring myself to accept that villains must be entirely evil. For one thing, I don't think that's realistic. Antagonists who shoot minions dead for letting open umbrellas wave in the wind (a scenario which apparently occurs in The Losers) are frankly ridiculous and probably do more towards desensitizing us to real evil than having a "misunderstood" villain might. For another, I don't think it's good storytelling.

I think of The Iliad, one of the most enduring works of literature in all of history. I think what has helped to make it so enduring is that there isn't really a defined villain, not in Plugged In's sense of the word. There are noble characters, or at least decent ones, on both sides. Most of those decent characters have faults -- major faults. It's part of being human. No one wants to see Mary Sues or Gary Stus as protagonists. Why should they want to see the equivalent in a villain?

That brings me to my last point. I don't think it's "post-modern" to want to see a villain whose motives are a little unclear and who has the potential to come back to the "good side." I think there is something Christian in wanting to see a villain who is as human as the next man, and in hoping to see that villain redeemed. (Plugged In apparently doesn't think so; the article pleads "Are there still villains out there that can't be helped with a hug? Are there dragons too dangerous to tame?") A villain who resembles me, to some extent, reminds me that there but for the grace of God go I. And if that villain is redeemed in the end, it reminds me that Christ's salvation can extend to the worst of sinners.

I guess I find it a little disturbing that Plugged In's reviewer wishes we had more irredeemable villains on the movie screens. I want to see more Raskolnikovs or Severus Snapes onscreen than Colonel Quaritchs. I want to see a villain with the potential to be redeemed. It makes the story more interesting. It reflects the truth of Christianity a lot better.