Essay Re-draft (Final)

Representations of heroes and villains in the crime/action genre

This essay will examine the representations and the exploration of heroes and villains in the action/crime genre, researching into what it takes for a character to receive their title as a hero or villain. This will also show the perception of central heroes and villains, or a protagonist and an antagonist showing how they are binary opposites along with exploring their similarities and differences.

Heroes and villains have always existed in storytelling and fiction, even before the invention of film and television. One example of this is shown through the use of heroes and villains in plays and novels written by William Shakespeare. In Shakespeare’s 'Othello', villainy is portrayed through the character of Iago who is the main antagonist of the play, Iago being one of Shakespeare’s most manipulative and sinister villains. Another of Shakespeare’s villains is the character Lady Macbeth from the play Macbeth, a character who stops at nothing to become queen. Along with these villains Shakespeare also has many heroic characters, one of which is Juliet Capulet from 'Romeo and Juliet'. Juliet is portrayed as a strong independent character who challenges her family’s beliefs. Although each of these plays seem to give the characters what they have wanted, they don’t necessarily end as expected. Each of these plays challenge the quote "Tales of heroes' end with bliss - Tanith Lee" [1], as instead they end in misery. Iago is punished for his actions, Lady Macbeth kills herself as she cannot live with the guilt, Juliet also killing herself when she realised her love Romeo had taken his own life. Although some plays and stories often followed along the heroes and villains theme, as film and television became available, characters and plots that followed heroism and villainy became far more developed.

"There is a right and a wrong in the universe and that distinction is not that hard to make" (Superman, Kingdom come - 1996 - Written by Mark Waid, Painted by Alex Ross) [2]. Along with generic hero vs villain films, novels and stories heroes and villains are clearly defined by common stereotypes, generally making the distinction and difference between both of these characters’ roles. In terms of hero stereotypes, the characters are commonly shown as brave and selfless individuals, who are often strong, independent and show aspects of having power. They are honest, kind and helpful to those who require their assistance. They are also commonly shown as courageous, are admired by many and are often portrayed as positive role models. By creating character types which follow general stereotypes in film and television, it gives the audience a sense of pleasure through comfortable reassurance - giving the audience what they want/are used to whilst changing up at the same time, this linking in with the components that would usually be associated with when it comes to heroes and villains.

On the other hand, villains have completely different stereotypes (binary opposites). Although villains are also strong and powerful, they are shown as cruel, devious and evil characters. They are often selfish and manipulative, showing aspects of being both unscrupulous and vindictive by not caring about doing something that is wrong. Along with these stereotypes, superheroes and supervillains show powers and abilities of which are unrealistic to reality. Another way in which typical representations of how heroism and villainy is shown is through Vladimir Propp’s Character theory. In this theory Propp focuses on the seven different character types including both the hero and villain. One example of how Propp’s theory is reinforced is though the film 'Big Hero 6', showing how the character types of The Hero, The Villain and The False hero are generally portrayed.

- The Villain: this tends to be a character who is locked in constant struggle with the hero. In Big Hero 6 this would feature as the character Professor Callaghan, who of which is out to seek revenge.

- The Hero: this tends to be the character who reacts to the donor and saves the princess. In Big Hero 6 this would be shown through the character Hiro.

- The False Hero: this is the character who appears to be good throughout the film but also has an ulterior motive, sometimes even resulting in taking credit for the heroes’ actions.

In Big Hero 6 this would be shown through the character Professor Callaghan, although at the start of the film he appears to be a good character, as the plot unfold we learn he isn’t necessarily who he appears to be, saving his own life through Hiro’s invention whilst also causing harm to the city and those around him as an act of revenge. 

The quote above can be shown through not only typical stereotyping, but also through the use of Vladimir Propp’s theory. For most films in the action/crime genre the distinction between right and wrong (hero and villain) is typically easy to make.

Despite the general stereotyping of heroes and villains showing which is right and wrong, a personal perspective has an effect on which they believe to be correct. In most hero vs villain films we are shown a story through the protagonist’s perspective (commonly through the hero’s point of view), clearly stating the difference between which side is good and which side is evil. One example of this is through the film 'Superman' (1978); where Superman is portrayed as the good guy and his enemy (the villain) is shown through the character Lex Luthor. In this film typical stereotyping is used in a way to see the film through the point of view of Superman, in this case the protagonist is good. The stereotypes associated with Superman are based around the appearance and actions that he has through the film. The film Superman lives up to the "hero" stereotype which is commonly used throughout most superhero films. Commonly superheroes are stereotypically represented through his appearance, this by being muscular, having super strength, strong, hidden identity along with such things as having a cape. Each of these are shown in the 1978 Superman, but more importantly so are the actions shown. Some examples of these which are portrayed are: having no disabilities, rescuing people in trouble, fighting for a cause, protection of human kind and battling for justice. The way that we see these representations is through the way films are constructed.

In films such as 'Wreck It Ralph' the audiences point of view is challenged as we are shown the film through the villain’s perspective. Towards the start of the film we are shown a clear difference between the binary opposites of good and bad, even when the film is shown through the protagonist (in this case the villain)’s perspective. Throughout the film the audience begins to learn that Wreck It Ralph is not as bad as he is made out to be, this is shown at the start of the film when he attends a support group for video-game antagonists, Ralph revealing his desires to stop being portrayed as the bad guy. Although his main purpose is to be a villain of the game, we uncover him to be the complete opposite. Towards the end of the film he works alongside the hero Fix-It Felix and puts his life on the line to help save the day. How the audiences see the film through their point of view can change their original thoughts and perspectives on whether a villain is all that bad. Once you get to know a character you learn about their actions through their perspective rather than your own. The film Wreck It Ralph reinforces the quote "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way" (Jessica Rabbit - 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' - 1988 - Gary K. Wolf) [3] in the case of the ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ approach, by a character initially appearing as the enemy, when really that’s the way in which we are expected to see the character. Our overall opinion of whether a character is actually as bad as they seem is chosen through the audience's placement. Another example of how this is shown is through the film "Despicable me". In this film we are shown the story through the perspective of the villain "Gru". Although he is portrayed to be a character who is doing evil, because of how the audience is placed we support his villainous actions by rooting for him throughout the film.

"To be a great villain, it's not enough just to be thoroughly evil - you have to be entertaining with it" (Kim Newton - 'The 10 best villains in literature' - 2011 - Flavorwire) [4]. As well as the generic stereotyping of what exactly it takes to be given the title of a villain, there are also many different variations of villain characteristics. Villains such as Joffrey Baratheon from 'Game of Thrones' are seen as just pure evil. Not only is he selfish is terms of getting what he wants, he also enjoys inflicting pain on others along with enforcing emotional abuse/manipulation. His main ambition is to have great power as he was taught from a young age to be the worst he could be. Throughout the seasons of 'Game of Thrones', we discover his childhood history, showing how he was insanely spoilt as a child by his mother Cersei, this contributing to his evil ambitions later in life. As he grew up with this power he could get away with anything that he wanted, this giving him the ambition to become king so he wouldn’t have to follow orders from anyone, instead he would have the most power.

On the other hand, villains such as Howard from '10 Cloverfield Lane' are psychopathic. Throughout the film of you experience mixed emotions and opinions towards the character of Howard, believing him to be both good and evil. Throughout the film you cannot tell whether he is being entirely truthful about the story that he is telling the other characters, but as the plot unfolds the audience’s opinions continue to change. In the film we uncover that he has unresolved issues with his daughter and sees Michelle as a substitute. We are also shown that his main intention is to be the alpha – the leader of the situation, attempting to act as a hero when nobody wants him to. Throughout things are said by Howard that the audience wouldn’t necessarily believe to be true, when he is indeed proven to be telling the truth, whereas we also uncover his psychopathic characteristics that make the audience question that truthfulness. In some ways, the representations of villainy used in '10 Cloverfield Lane' are shown to be quite unsatisfactory. This is because of the film's unanswered questions, instead there are a few parts in the film which are presumed and not actually proved. One example of this is shown when Michelle discovers the word "HELP" scratched onto a hatch. With so many inconsistencies throughout the film through the character of Howard, both Michelle, Emmett and the audience are left to presume the extent of Howard's villainy. By creating a character that shows aspects of both psychopathy and villainy, it gives the audience a sense of enjoyment and pleasure. The character of Howard gives a sense of pleasure to the audience by keeping the suspense of his next actions, and where or not he is indeed telling the truth.

Although both variations of villains are shown to be entertaining, they are entertaining in different aspects. Villains like Joffrey encourage the audience to show hatred towards the character, along with the excitement of not knowing what he is entirely capable of. This gives the audience pleasure, as it gives the audience a sense of escapism, allowing them to root for a villainous character and express emotions which they cannot usually show in the real world. Whereas villains such as Howard create a completely different effect on the audience. The audience are on edge throughout the film as we are left to guess what Howard's motives are, along with the prediction of what is going to happen and the excitement leading up to finding out what actually takes place. 

"The hero and the psychopath maybe twigs on the same generic branch" ('The antisocial personalities' - 1995 - David T. Lykken) [5]. This quote shows that not only do heroes and villains have their own personalities, some characteristics also overlap. Throughout the film 'No Country For Old Men' we are shown the story through the perspective of Llewelyn Moss. Although the character of Moss isn’t necessarily a hero, he is the protagonist of the film and is represented as the character who is good. In the film the plot follows the on-going chase between Moss and Chigurh over the money which Moss has found. Moss found the money whilst out hunting in the desert, rather than handing in the money he enjoyed the thrill of being chased and he kept the money for himself, essentially killing his wife. Although through this Moss shows psychopathic characteristics, he is portrayed as the hero throughout the film as he managed to keep the money away from the bad guy (Chigurh) as long as he could. Throughout the film we are shown Moss as the hero and Chigurh as the Villain, when really both characters are incredibly similar. They both show psychopathic characteristics, with only Moss showing slight heroic qualities. 'No Country For Old Men' reinforces this quote showing that the hero and psychopath can be a lot similar than originally anticipated.

An audience can respond in many ways, including a dominant response - where the audience member agrees with all parts of the message and bias attached to it, Oppositional - where the audience member disagrees with all parts of the message and the bias attached to it, and lastly Negotiated - where the audience member agrees with only the message or the bias. This response theory links well with one of my chosen films '10 Cloverfield Lane'. In this film we are shown the villainous character of Howard, who causes the audience to have a mixed response to what his motives actually are, and whether or not he is really the person he says he is. One way in which the audience may respond differently to the character Howard is through his actions. Throughout the film Howard displays some hero traits, this is shown through saving Michelle and Emmett, but you are negotiating this response to detract from elements of his character which undeniably villainous.

It is not always clear at whether a character is a hero or a villain, it can be down to audience interpretation and this is dependent upon a number of factors - who you are, how you consume the film, who you are with etc.

This essay has shown that there are various different characteristics between heroes and villains in the action/crime genre, not only do the typical stereotypes defy what it takes to be given this role, the central debate through audiences perspective can also affect how an audience responds.