Those of you that follow my blog know that I posted a survey last week. You also probably know that I got next to no responses. (Thanks, TKDanny, for being the exception!) So, I posted one of the questions on Facebook, and got a a few responses.
How do you like your villains?
1. Pure evil
2. Bad but redeemable
3. Fighting for a cause you don't believe in
4. Other
And the survey says ...!
A few people couldn't narrow down their choice to only one answer. I counted both of their responses, The final results surprised me.
Four people like their villains pure evil. Think Snidely Whiplash from the cartoon series Rocky and Bullwinkle. Granted, he wasn't a very smart villain, but I don't remember him every doing anything nice.
Another four people chose bad but redeemable. Think Dirty Dancing and Grease. Even Fonzie in Happy Days carried the bad boy vibe although he wasn't actually bad. (And Jessica Rabbit wasn't bad, she was just drawn that way.) Although I haven't read or watched the Fifty Shades series, I suspect Christian Grey fits in this category.
Last but not least. three people picked fighting for a cause. There are plenty of stories in history to look at for these characters. Abraham Lincoln was a hero to many and a villain to others. Same with George Washington and Che Guevara. It all depends upon which side you were on.
Feel free to tell me about your favorite villain in the comments. And now I'm off to find out the results of the other authors' polls.
January 29, 2018 – Share your survey results.
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As I said to Patti, I think readers answer questions more readily if it's not related to our books.
ReplyDeleteSo many come to mind recently via television series. Breaking Bad - Walt was a villian in a way, doing something bad but for a very noble reason. Dexter - Serial Killer, but only killing those that manipulate the system or fall through the legal cracks. Even the Sopranos - Tony Soprano was a mobster, but he had feelings and a family. I guess this means I can handle a villian if he has a noble reason or proves he has feelings and is working toward a cause.
ReplyDeleteAs one person said when answering my poll, they like their villains to be complex.
DeleteVillains definitely need to be as complex as the hero. It just makes for a more entertaining story.
ReplyDelete