#writing #maleficent #storytelling
This editorial comes from a suggestion from @ripplegibson who responded to a plea for post ideas:
Which is something I've thought about in the past. In planning a teen trilogy a few years ago, I thought up a race of baddies which I insisted must be bad. Y'know, bad baddies, like the good old days, when everyone who wasn't good was evil and everyone who wasn't human was a monster.
But along came the paranormal romance and changed all that. You could argue that it started long ago with things like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, but Twilight really propelled the idea of a 'good' vampire and hugable werewolf. Now even the fairy tales aren't safe and movies like Maleficent take the idea of the 'Mistress of All Evil' and giving her a backstory so we see the soft side of her. This isn't a new idea of course, as hit musical/book Wicked takes the green-skinned Wicked Witch of the West and gives her a bunch of teen angst to wrestle with. Other case studies? Norman in Bates Hotel. Hannibal in Lector. You get the idea...
I think the obsession with giving baddies backstories stems from our belief in Freud and psychotherapy - the assertion that all bad deeds can be traced back to a childhood trauma. As writers, we love that stuff and can't resist applying it to all characters. The most recent Willy Wonka film has Tim Burton explaining away the titular character's obsession with sweets through his childhood relationship with his father. If you're going to create a bad character, and you want the writing to be fully rounded, you need to have that landmark in their timeline to explain away the crazy.
Of course, to create a truly bad character, one that is uniquely flawed and really flippin' terrifying, all the writer needs to do is have them perform a wicked act for absolutely no reason whatsoever...
This editorial comes from a suggestion from @ripplegibson who responded to a plea for post ideas:
...how about 'When did baddies started having such sad background stories we fall for...?
Which is something I've thought about in the past. In planning a teen trilogy a few years ago, I thought up a race of baddies which I insisted must be bad. Y'know, bad baddies, like the good old days, when everyone who wasn't good was evil and everyone who wasn't human was a monster.
But along came the paranormal romance and changed all that. You could argue that it started long ago with things like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, but Twilight really propelled the idea of a 'good' vampire and hugable werewolf. Now even the fairy tales aren't safe and movies like Maleficent take the idea of the 'Mistress of All Evil' and giving her a backstory so we see the soft side of her. This isn't a new idea of course, as hit musical/book Wicked takes the green-skinned Wicked Witch of the West and gives her a bunch of teen angst to wrestle with. Other case studies? Norman in Bates Hotel. Hannibal in Lector. You get the idea...
I think the obsession with giving baddies backstories stems from our belief in Freud and psychotherapy - the assertion that all bad deeds can be traced back to a childhood trauma. As writers, we love that stuff and can't resist applying it to all characters. The most recent Willy Wonka film has Tim Burton explaining away the titular character's obsession with sweets through his childhood relationship with his father. If you're going to create a bad character, and you want the writing to be fully rounded, you need to have that landmark in their timeline to explain away the crazy.
Of course, to create a truly bad character, one that is uniquely flawed and really flippin' terrifying, all the writer needs to do is have them perform a wicked act for absolutely no reason whatsoever...
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