Villain Hero Movies
Tabita Knezevic
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes & Villains is a list of the one hundred greatest screen characters (fifty each in the hero and villain categories) as chosen by the American Film Institute in June 2003. It is part of the AFI 100 Years... series. The list was first presented in a CBS special hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The presentation program was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Special.[1]
The AFI defines a hero as "a character(s) who prevails in extreme circumstances and dramatizes a sense of morality, courage and purpose. Though they may be ambiguous or flawed, they often sacrifice themselves to show humanity at its best."[2]
The AFI defines a Villain as "a character(s) whose wickedness of mind, selfishness of character and will to power are sometimes masked by beauty and nobility, while others may rage unmasked. They can be horribly evil or grandiosely funny but are ultimately tragic."[2]
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A good action movie or a novel generally has these roles. The villian is the dark and scheming character who is struggling to get what he wants in an unscrupulous way. The hero is the character who is on the right side of things. The hero struggles with the villain and his schemes and works hard to make things right.
The hero in this situation convinces themselves that the other person, the villain, is broken, weird, evil, twisted, crazy, or just wrong. This gives the hero the license to do whatever they want. The hero feeds off of competition, power and control. The hero is always right. They have to be at the front. They have convinced themselves that the villain is so messed up they can treat them in a way that can be cruel, unfair, and disrespectful. Or they see the villain as competition. The hero can distort the facts so they feel like they have to do take care of things. The hero has convinced themselves that the villain is so messed up that all regular conventions do no apply. They have free rein to do whatever they want. And its their job as the hero to jump in and make it right.
And so it goes. The discouraging thing is that once the roles are set the hero rarely changes. They continue to see the world as though they are the only person who is equipped to handle things properly. This sounds as though they are well equipped, right? No. The truth is the hero is actually very insecure. They see the world as a stage and they need to have everything looking good. Any opportunity that could make them look bad is intolerable. The hero must continue to be the hero and will fight for it at all costs.
Remember that different is good! And just because someone is different than you does not give you a blank check. If you are inherently competitive or have an issue with control you may need to do some self-examination of your real motives. The villain is not broken. They are just different than you. And you need to give them some space!
At Super Hero High School, well-known DC heroes, both male and female, attend challenging classes and deal with all the awkwardness of growing up with the added stress of having unique superpowers. After a mysterious school opens across the street, the students of Super Hero High find themselves up against a new threat. Now, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl and the rest of the DC Super Hero Girls not only have to worry about the well-being of their grades, but the safety and security of friends, family and the rest of civilization. The girls must figure out how to put a stop to this evil, new cross-town rival and save the world once again!
This recipe is super easy to make. Just simply scoop out the measured ingredients and add them in a bowl and give them a good mix. My rule was do not just pick out all the chocolate candy, eat everything! This recipe makes enough for 5 servings which is just enough to enjoy while watching this fun movie!
The LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain High Movie can be purchased for approximately $10.00. Have your kids watched any of the LEGO DC Super Hero Girls movies? Grab your copy today and make it a summer fun movie day!
Now I'm fairly certain I've been saying that line for at least ten years, don't know where I heard it, but now someone pointed out I was referencing The Dark Knight and I honestly couldn't believe it when I googled the phrase and found nothing but Dark Knight sites.
It's highly likely that the quote originated from The Dark Knight movie. Apparently, Batman (and other super-heroes) was inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher. A lot of aspects of Batman are inspired by Nietzsche's beliefs which would explain why the movies seem very philosophical at times.
Along with the fact that there seem to be no references to this quote prior to the movie release (or any variation of it), I conclude that it did in fact originate (at least main stream) from the movie.
This quote does originally come from the film. Harvey coins the phrase (no pun intended) in response to Rachel's comment abot Caesar. He isn't using a common expression, but it does come off quite eloquently. Still it is very similar to the philosophy of Michael Foucault who criticized political and social figures who turn to abusing power for indulgent convenience.
Another example of a phrase that everyone uses but which came from a modern day movie: "bucket list" from the film The Bucket List (2007). Nobody had ever used that phrase before the film was produced.
As shown in The Godfather, the Star Wars franchise, and even a Batman movie, good guys going evil may be just as exciting as their redemption arcs. There are innumerable instances in movies where people who are initially portrayed as villains turn out to be heroes. For the viewer, these character arcs may be incredibly touching and fulfilling. But what transpires whenever the hero catastrophically turns into the villain and that story cycle is reversed?
When done correctly, these arcs may be heartbreaking even though people watching can sometimes predict them. It's difficult to dispute, though, that it provides quite a gripping tale. Anyone watching warms up to these heroes and supports them, really just to witness them turn to darkness and embrace their innate villain. Following are 14 instances from movies when the hero was actually the villain.
A great deal of individuals continues to consider The Godfather to be the best film ever made. The movie depicts the tale of Michael, a notorious criminal leader's son who had avoided getting involved in the family business until his father's near assassination. While Michael originally just has the best interests of his family in mind, he quickly establishes himself as an even more brutal and harsher leader than his dad had previously ever been. The path of Michael Corleone is commonly used as an example in tales of heroes who turn into villains.
Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is an ordinary individual at the start of The Shining, who is attempting to support his family while suffering as a writer. At first, Jack appears like a decent family man, but after spending the winter locked up at the Overlook Motel, Jack begins to feel overpowered by the sinister energy of the location. This man breaking and using an ax to attack his own loved ones is part of what makes the movie such a terrifying masterpiece.
In Fight Club, neither the protagonist nor the viewer are aware that the main character is also the story's antagonist. Edward Norton plays The Narrator in the movie, recounting his life's events, including the monotony of working in an office. He also describes his first meeting with the affable Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). The two establish a clandestine fight club where the local males may confront their poisonous masculinity in vicious brawls. Tyler Durden, however, also intends to use terrorism to overthrow the system of capitalism. In the end, The Narrator discovers that he has been Tyler the entire time and has been hallucinating his fictional counterpart.
Numerous of Christopher Nolan's films include character arcs that go from heroic to villainous, suggesting that he likes this trope as much as we do. A guy with a temporary impairment of his memory is attempting to track down the person who murdered his wife in the mind-bending movie, Memento, which is portrayed in reverse. The viewers are quickly engaged with this man's quest for vengeance, especially given that he is battling his crippling illness. Once the truth is exposed at the end of the film, which is really the beginning, he makes a shocking choice that shows he is a lot darker of a character than he first appeared to be at first sight.
This is one of those instances where the transformation into a villain was not unexpected to numerous individuals, but affected plenty of fans on a deeper level of emotion. Anakin Skywalker was just a little child when the prequel trilogy started, plucked from his existence as an underling with the intent to train as a Jedi. Everyone was aware that this was the tale of how the young boy evolved into Darth Vader and how his metamorphosis was finalized in Revenge of the Sith. The fact that Anakin had built himself as a hero in the previous films while knowing it would occur makes it much more difficult to see his degradation. And given his bond with Obi-Wan, it is extremely heartbreaking.
In The Prestige, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale play two competitive magicians whose rivalry turns deadly over time. The more sympathetic of the two is initially Angier, played by Jackman. He is a performer seeking retribution from his adversary for a terrible setback. He quickly succumbs to his ambition for theatrical success and his need for vengeance, though. This causes him to act inexcusably and change into a more darkened image of himself.
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