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Oct. 22, 2008
Of villains in stories
As my 234th post, I wanted to write something "of purpose," instead of just some random, boring comment. (You guys have seriously hung around for 234 posts? Amazing...)
I remember being a little kid watching Star Wars. Return of the Jedi, in fact. Darth Sidious (Darth Hideous, as we used to call him) intrigued me. I felt certain that if I could get into his mind, I could see the world from his point of view and decide whether he was actually evil or not. Because, obviously, he thought he was doing the right thing. I wanted to know what he saw in the Empire that was right and what about the Rebellion that was so wrong.
Lovely picture, no? Like I said: Darth Hideous.
Anyway, since then, I've always thought about "the other side" in stories. Why was the evil bad guy evil? Was the bad guy really the good guy, but we're only seeing it from the side of the "good guy" and therefore think like the good-but-really-evil person?
Has anyone else ever thought about this?
And another thing I've wondered:
Why is it that the bad guy often gets people to follow him because of lies and deception, instead of people willingly joining him because they believe what he believes? And why do the bad guys treat their allies and subordinates so badly, while the good guys are the exact opposite? Why does strife always accompany the hordes of the bad guys (see the orcs in the LOTR movies)?
This might just come down to this: We want our stories in black and white. Good vs. Evil to the death. Don't throw any gray matter in there that will cause us to use our own gray matter or we won't be happy.
I might be wrong (actually, I probably am wrong). Do any of you have ideas about this? I just thought I'd throw this out and see where it landed. If you have ever read (or written) a novel, I'd love to know what you think. ;-) |
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Posted by 
Oct. 22, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Here's MY problem: So what's the excuse in real life? Does prez candidate REALLY believe that far left socialism is TRULY the best way to run a democracy or is he just being a power-monger? I don't GET it. However, I suspect that Barak really DOES say and vote far left because he TRULY believes it is the right way. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but which leads to death." Since that is at the heart of who he is, then however he can make it sound palatable is OK in order to bring this about.
I wrote a bunch about Hitler but I just deleted it. It could have gone on and on.....I'd better stop now and go work on my new website I'm designing..... Much more fun than thinking about evil guys....