Media Odd how lots of people seem very happy with fairly plain villains in entertainment

[Hoppipolla]

Like in Stranger Things or much of Doctor Who... the villains are quite... simple. Kind of brutish. There's not much in the way of uniqueness or high concept ideas it's just "big scary spider" or whatever.

I tend to prefer villains that have a unique idea behind them. A famous example is in Blink with the weeping angels.

Or even in Bond a lot of the villains have depth and personality.

But yeah a lot of people don't seem to care much about that kind of thing.

 

[Belowthesalt]

The average normie does not care about plot, for them movies are something that plays in the background while they socialise.

 

[remorsefulbreather]

I really fucking hate the standards, and it’s even worse when the villain is conventionally attractive so nobody really gives a fuck (especially if it’s a woman). Though there are some villain gems like in Jojo.

 

[turbocuckcel_7000]

Stranger Caca

 

[The Scarlet Prince]

Wow I'm retarded. I kept reading that as 'village' and was confused why you were talking about 'plain villages.'

 

[zangano1]

Depends on the context, sometimes I like villains who are just evil for the sake of it.

 

[The Scarlet Prince]

I really love villains. They're by far my favorite part of any story, even though I couldn't quite tell you why. I sincerely wish there were more stories that focused on the villains being the main characters.

However, I think that you're being too harsh on villains of the kind you're describing. A plain villain doesn't have to necessarily be a shallow one. Sometimes the villain's surface-level reasoning behind his actions being 'I am evil and loathe this world for no particular reason' is more than adequate—at least, for me. I can't really think of too many notable examples, but something like a 'cruel and enigmatic god who actively sinks the world into a frozen hell' doesn't sound all that bad in my opinion. There doesn't have to be much of a reasoning or motive behind it for me to find the story intriguing.

That is all to say, sometimes the villain having an unknown reasoning behind his evil actions is infinitely more interesting than the usual 'anti-hero' slop that every author tries to dilute his story with. People try too hard to make the villains 'complex and deep' now-a-days and it reflects in their garbage story-telling.

It might just depend on how good your story is in general. If it's inherently juvenile and ridiculous, it's likely going to reflect in your villain too. But then again, I might not even really be the most qualified person to be speaking on this—I suppose I haven't quite consumed enough entertainment to really speak on what makes a 'good story...'

 

[Hoppipolla]

Wow I'm retarded. I kept reading that as 'village' and was confused why you were talking about 'plain villages.'

Maybe the villages are plain too idk. lol

I really love villains. They're by far my favorite part of any story, even though I couldn't quite tell you why. I sincerely wish there were more stories that focused on the villains being the main characters.

However, I think that you're being too harsh on villains of the kind you're describing. A plain villain doesn't have to necessarily be a shallow one. Sometimes the villain's surface-level reasoning behind his actions being 'I am evil and loathe this world for no particular reason' is more than adequate—at least, for me. I can't really think of too many notable examples, but something like a 'cruel and enigmatic god who actively sinks the world into a frozen hell' doesn't sound all that bad in my opinion. There doesn't have to be much of a reasoning or motive behind it for me to find the story intriguing.

That is all to say, sometimes the villain having an unknown reasoning behind his evil actions is infinitely more interesting than the usual 'anti-hero' slop that every author tries to dilute his story with. People try too hard to make the villains 'complex and deep' now-a-days and it reflects in their garbage story-telling.

It might just depend on how good your story is in general. If it's inherently juvenile and ridiculous, it's likely going to reflect in your villain too. But then again, I might not even really be the most qualified person to be speaking on this—I suppose I haven't quite consumed enough entertainment to really speak on what makes a 'good story...'

I guess simple motives can be fine but it's nice when there's something at least a bit unique about them.

Like in A Quiet Place where they can only detect you if you make noise.