Is it just me, or has there been an influx of stories and movies that don't have a predominante "villain" or opposing force in them?
I don't actually have anything to base this off of, but it just sort of feels like we aren't putting a face to the villain anymore, or maybe we're moving away from that type of story, making a larger force the villain instead. Or in some cases, there isn't a villain at all, but rather the main character is struggling with something inside of themselves.

Or that the ultimate goal isn't to defeat that Super Evil Villain, but rather that the villain is simply one obstacle to achieveing what might be considered a less climatic goal?

I think I need to put some more thought into this.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

ruaki
2006-05-12 01:09 am UTC (link)

A lot of fiction/media tends to reflect current values and trends in society at large; a lot of the work in the older days tended to have occurred during a time when there WAS a face to 'villainy' (even if it wasn't a single person) and so, subconsciously or not, the media would play off these fears.

I think nowadays, with big corporate and government corruption, villainy has moved away from a single face to a big, unknown force that may or may not be hard to face.

As for the evil within oneself, I think that has always been a common theme since the beginning of time. Even religion has addressed it from its onset, no matter what religion.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

sefeiren
2006-05-12 01:28 pm UTC (link)

You bring up some interesting points about reflecting current day values through media..

So now that makes me wonder if the stories that reflect our current values are more well received than those that don't.. or if it makes any difference at all, or if it all just boils down to personal likes and dislikes. Do people tend to enjoy or embrace a story that's closer in relation to what's happening in their world at the time more so than others? Hmmm..

(Reply to this)(Parent)

(Read comments) -