Confessions Of A Villain-Lover: Why Villains Are The Best

They cringe. They stare. They judge. “Are you sure?” they ask. Yes, I’m sure. I love that character the best. I am a villain-lover. And because I am sure I’m not the only one who has been called to the defense of these fantastic (if not exactly ‘good’) characters, here are a few reasons villains are the best

1. It’s about the POV

Often, the villain is the hero of the story in his or her own point of view. We only see them in an antagonistic light because we are viewing the story from the hero’s point of view. Take Erik Lehnsherr (AKA: Magneto) for example; he is motivated by his desire to protect mutant kind from the horrors non-mutant humans have unleashed on them. In his point of view, he is the hero.

 

Erik sees himself as a hero

2. Relatability is key

It’s more interesting to watch a character struggle with right and wrong rather than to watch a character who easily chooses right. We want to see characters that we – flawed, mixed-moraled human beings – can relate to. For example, watching Regina (AKA: the Evil Queen) struggle with her desires for vengeance and power on Once Upon a Time is far more entertaining than watching Charming save the day.

Regina is relatable

3. They have vision

(..and ambition and brains)

Villains are often working to bring about change, whether on a global or a local scale. They have a vision. Whereas the hero (generally speaking) is only working to prevent this vision from becoming reality. The hero is against change and has no vision of his or her own. For example, in the Avengers film, Loki envisioned a better world for the mortals of Earth under his rule, while Thor was only concerned with making sure that world never existed.

Loki has a vision

4. They are having fun

The villain revels in being who they are. They are free from the restraints of the law and social acceptability. They are enjoying life. And dang it, that is fun to watch. Look at the Joker, for example – he seems to enjoy life more than the perpetually scowling Batman does.

 

The Joker is having fun

All that being said, loving the villains does not mean we necessarily condone their actions. We simply love their relatable, ambitious, fun selves. And there is nothing wrong with that.

Are you a fellow villain-lover? Who is your favorite villain?

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Confessions of a Flabbergasted Gryffindor

The formative experience of every young wizard’s life is being sorted into their Hogwarts house. When I got into Harry Potter last year I knew that I needed to be sorted, so I signed up for Pottermore. I went through all the questions, soaking in the Pottermore aesthetic and feeling the magic in my bones. And I … was sorted into...

...wait for it…

...Gryffindor?!

I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was honestly shocked with this result. “I am not incredibly brave,” I said. “I am not impulsive,” I said. I, for all intents and purposes, just did not fit the classic Gryffindor stereotype.

I was puzzled. I was flabbergasted. Yet, in my opinion, Pottermore is as close to the Sorting Hat as we can possibly get.* Several people even confirmed Pottermore’s assertion. So… I supposed I was a Gryffindor.

* Caveat: Pottermore can be wrong, and in Harry Potter canon, the Sorting Hat takes your preferences into account, so there's some wiggle room!

I embraced my House tentatively at first; I had all the pride for my house but deep down I wondered if I was a fraud. Was I a Hufflepuff masquerading in Gryffindor clothing? What if Pottermore was wrong? (A real possibility.) What if I was wrong? (That would be embarrassing.) What if I was living a lie? (Yes, I take Hogwarts Houses very seriously.)

It isn’t until recently that I’ve realized Pottermore wasn’t wrong and I’m not living a lie. I’ve been a Gryffindor ever since I was little and dreamed of fighting sword battles and going on epic quests. I’m a Gryffindor when I wake up in the morning and decide to keep going, keep fighting, no matter what. (And I was especially Gryffindor when my mother and I made a reckless decision to cross a busy street and all I could do was laugh maniacally, high on adrenaline.)

But the best thing is that being a Gryffindor has, in fact, made me be more brave. If I am ever facing something scary, I remember my Gryffindor soul. I tell myself, “hey, you’re a Gryffindor, you can do this,” and I feel just a little bit braver. Even if I’m not actually a Gryffindor (the horror!), I’m becoming a bit more like one everyday.

Lesson learned #1: Your Hogwarts House is, in canon, based most on what traits you value, rather than what traits you may actually have. Ultimately, though, it can be whatever you want it to be.

Lesson learned #2:

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” - Nelson Mandela

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Confessions of a Disillusioned Android

This week, I achieved my lifelong childhood dream of becoming an android.

When I was younger, I looked up to Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. I related to the way he was confused about the world because I was too. As he learned about humanity, so did I—he helped me understand what on earth this whole life thing was about. Naturally, he was one of my childhood heroes.

Because I looked up to Data so much, I, of course, wanted to be like him. There were multiple ways I wanted to be like him—and many ways I felt I already was. However, one way in particular I wanted to be like him was how he wasn’t confined to such human inconveniences such as eating and sleeping, which left him a lot of time to do what he want to do. As a kid, I found that idea so enthralling. While I love food and sleep, sometimes they get in the way of reading books or writing stories or hanging out with people. And although I know sleeping and eating is the healthy thing to do, sometimes I get so distracted that I forget that I’m a human and need to take care of myself… thus, the perfectly rational desire to be an android so that I could just forego it altogether.

I have insomnia, so I’ve already got the not-sleeping thing down. However, I’ve still needed to eat (because it’s pretty necessary to live). Most of the time I do a pretty good job at it. However, this week I had a colonoscopy and upper endoscopy, which meant I had to fast for two and a half days.

And so it was that this week, I became my childhood hero, Data.

It was... terrible. Never become your heroes—it will only disappoint you in the end. Because my productivity wasn’t improved; I was just miserable. And once I wasn’t allowed to eat, all I wanted was a giant cheeseburger.

Lesson learned #1: being an android is overrated. I think I’ll stick to being a human from now on.

Lesson learned #2: I thought otherwise, but Data wasn’t done teaching me things. Thank you, my wonderful, quirky, robotic friend.

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