Wrapping up the core theme for the week! And as promised I'm going to talk about why I identify more with the villains than I do the princesses.
There are a few parts to it. First off as someone who thought for a few years that they wanted to act, villains always have the better parts. They get the better lines. They get the more dramatic scenes. They are just more entertaining. Check off one for the villain.
On the flip side of that heroes tend to be boring. Or at least traditional tales of them are. Part of that is that we hold our good guys to rigid roles. First off, most of the time, good guys are guys. The heroes. If we do make a woman the hero we are being "edgy" or in today's parlance "woke." So male for the hero. I'm out. But also we force them to be perfect. If they have any failings at all we strike them from the hero book. Nuance isn't strong with the hero story. Not if you start there.
You can be a villain and have a redemptive arc and become a hero. People love that shit.
But if you are a hero most likely people are going to dig around until they find something awful about you so they can turn you into a villain.
Watch the way the internet works. It's just this dynamic on fast forward. WE love you! Oh my gosh you're the greatest! (dig, dig, dig) OH MY GOD! IN THIRD GRADE HE RUBBED A BOOGER ON AN AMERICAN FLAG! BURN HIM!!! And done.
But if you started out knowing that in third grade he was a booger rubber and now he's Captain America? What an arc! Even though it's the same fucking story.
Villains get more leeway. Check another one off for the villain.
Of course that only matters if you want to become the hero. I never have. I mean, I want to make sure I'm helping those that need help. People I went to high school with (when I was at my meanest and scariest) will tell you I was a pretty strong proponent for the underdog. If you were a bully you were in my sights. I have never been a believer that if you ignore a bully they will stop. All that happens if you are ignoring the bully is you get hit on your blind side. And I also don't think you should always stand up to the bully. Remember when I talked earlier about being hit in the face? Bullies will hit you in the face. If you aren't able to take that hit, and to hit them back, then you need to either walk away or find yourself a villain.
Ta Da!
I'm also not nonviolent at all. A seemingly big requirement for heroes. If they are violent it's a last resort and causes them great concern. Hmm...well...I've talked about this before. I think there are people who could use a good ass kicking, or more.
I don't believe in the death penalty only because the State gets it wrong more times than it should. Zero being the correct number of times you should get that sentencing wrong. It also becomes State sanctioned premeditated murder. I'm not in favor of it. I don't think people who did not intend on ever killing someone should be tasked with the process. I think the weight that executioners have to bear is too much. Unless they enjoy it and then it's a different problem.
But not being in favor of the death penalty doesn't mean that I don't think some people should die. If there was a way to make sure it wasn't abused, some way to take the other side of the human toll out of the procedure, then I would say for sure we should have a death penalty. And I would expand who all it would pertain to. The recidivism on child molesters makes it very difficult for me to believe in rehabilitation in that instance so if we could know for sure who would reoffend and could not put the burden of their death on someone else then death penalty for sure.
But there isn't a way to do that so I say lock up certain people for the duration of their lives and call it a day.
Check another one off for the villain.
And as most of you know I have a particular affinity for Maleficent. I mean, how can you not like her? She's a gardener, she's an animal lover, she's got a great fashion sense. I was already a fan when I met someone with a gorgeous Maleficent tattoo. I commented on it and she said Mal was her favorite because unlike other villains with convoluted stories Maleficent just wanted to be invited to the party. She said once people heard her reasoning she was always invited to every party.
Check another one off for the villain, I mean, that's a great line.
Of course I don't want to be invited to the party. Or well, I do. I just don't want to actually go. So it's a good reason to add to my list.
But if you look at my other reasons look at Aurora. She falls in love with the first dude she meets (common in the princess oeuvre), she is has no agency at all, and she can't even get a good nap in without someone disturbing her rest. She's boring.
Maleficent? Not boring. She can turn into a dragon after all. And she's strong enough that the curse she lays on the family can't be lifted, it can only be modified and she still just bided her time knowing that they wouldn't bother actually keeping an eye on the princess for the one day in her life they needed to. I mean, honestly, you lock her away in the woods for 16 years but bring her back and don't watch her on the day the curse is supposed to be activated? What?
The new movies bug me. At least the first one. One of the things I like the best about the original cartoon it's that there is no back story. Maleficent is named MALEFICENT for goodness sake. She didn't need a reason to become "evil" or mad at the fucking King. She is who she is and should be dealt with accordingly. I hate stories where there has to be a rape (or rape analogy) to turn a woman into a villain. There are so many shitty things that can happen to someone that it's just lazy story telling and reductive to women in general.
But it's not just Maleficent. When we watch TV the number of times Brent shakes his head and says, "Is it bad that she reminds me of you?" is very high. Alice in the Luther series was one that he thought should probably really worry him more than it did. We agree that I deserve credit for every time I don't go on a psychotic rampage and burn down the world. The times I use my powers for good instead of evil.
And that's really it.
I get painted as the bad guy by a large number of people because I don't follow the traditional rule book they would like me to. I don't believe in your god or your religion (any of them), I don't believe in your limitations and rules (I'll follow a rule if I see it as reasonable, but I'm not a rule follower by nature), and the piece that gets me called a lot of names; I am not quiet. I speak my mind. I don't just hope for the best. And if someone needs popped in the mouth I'm okay doing it. Actually popping them in the mouth or more often doing it verbally. I will shut your shit down.
I'm a bad guy...duh.
And I'm really comfortable with this.
This morning a friend of mine commented on a blog from earlier this week and it reinforced that she gets it. She sees me. She is one of those that I've let in more than others. We don't stand in the same place in the world but we stand in the same way, if that makes sense. If she hears you are struggling she doesn't send thoughts and prayers; she'll pray for you and buy you a hot meal. One of those Christians who actually follow their own rulebook. I have a few of them in my life. I think if your religion makes you a better person and motivates you to do good things it's a good choice. It's not the choice for me but it works for her and for others around me.
Today this is what she told me:
"Warriors don’t spread peace, love and light along the way. You, my friend, are a warrior. You don’t back down from a fight and you don’t compromise. I LOVE that about you. We don’t always agree 100% but you are one of the few people whose perspective and opinions matter to me, even when I have the “yeah, buts…”
Standing firm for what you believe in does not mean you are evil. It doesn’t make you a villain. Our society has forgotten that submitting and compromising doesn’t create lasting peace - some times peace can only come on the blade of warrior’s sword.
And I will take this opportunity to recall that the Biblical analogy to the sword was the word."
I am comfortable being the villain, but I agree that being the villain doesn't always equate to being evil.
But sometimes it helps.
Kidding.Maybe.
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