We all know I do. If not the blatant bad guy, then at least the man with major issues. Snape, Sylar, Dr. Horrible, Howl, Folken, the list goes on and on. Anyway. The point is, I was discussing this with some friends.
Through trying to defend my love of bad guys in fiction I said that often they are the ones who get more character development. We see more of their good qualities, and their bad. We often see how they became the way they are (at least in well done fiction).
The good guys don't always have as much shown, it is rather assumed that unless something tragic occurs in life we will turn out well. But obviously this isn't true. There is many a person who has had tragedy in their life, but have turned out well. Why a person chooses to act virtuously can be just as fascinating as why others choose poorly.
Besides, it is the humanity of a person we fall in love with, not just their perfection. This is also why I don't really fear that I will fall for a bad boy in real life. Because the good guys have just as much character even though it doesn't always translate to their fictional counterparts (once again, that is what good fiction does).
True, so true. Bad guys are wonderful. I do like some of the bad guys in my shows too, although the good guys that kill the bad guys are sometimes fun also!
ReplyDeleteI like this idea. But I wonder..is Darcy "bad"? ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to say at the beginning he is. Kind of a jerk to the whole town. Darcy counts!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Howl!! Yay!
ReplyDeleteAnd my FIL has a theory which I whole-heartedly agree with, that the most (possibly only?) interesting bad guys in fiction are the ones who you can still see good qualities in--that are complex, not the ones who are constantly going, "Muahaha" and whatnot. I love that you think this, too.