Fictional stories of villains may provide a safe haven for you to explore a darker side of your personality. This sense of safety may come from the fact that there is a psychological distancing between you and the villain.
Another way of looking at attraction toward evil characters is scientific. We are interested in "bad" because it is exciting and it instills fear. Elise Banfield, a Professor of Psychology, states that sometimes people confuse fear with attraction because they provoke the same rush of chemicals into our bodies.
Studies have proven that we are more likely to sympathize with characters who are similar to us. Good guys are often portrayed in movies as nearly perfect, and it's hard to relate to them. We all have our own imperfections and a dark side. So, villains are often more realistic than good guys are.
Villains show an excitement to a reader/viewer, they're the problem that heroes must overcome, and with that, they make anything more captivating. Villains make us think, they make us wonder, they make us question the writing.
They're unpredictable.
As we learned from Adelina, villains can change their mind in an instant – which makes things way more exciting. Instead of being predictable like superheroes, supervillains keep you on your toes.
Smiling makes you look more trustworthy, so what is the first thing people do when they're trying to con you? They smile. Many villains put on these deceptive smiles when they're trying to win support.
Even the grumpiest of villains have been known to crack a smile when they're feeling themselves (We're looking at you, Red Skull). Happiness is a side effect of confidence. Steppenwolf in DC's “Justice League” animated series shows that to us every time we see him on the silver screen.
Villains laugh not because they are happy, but because they want to appear happy. In reality, villains are afraid to be in touch with their innermost feelings. They are afraid to be overwhelmed by tender emotions.
In the latest issue of Batman, fans learn that even Batman's other villains are afraid of the Joker and his upcoming war against Gotham.
In today's psychological fiction and film, that dichotomous dynamic is much in evidence. As human beings, we respond to the tragic core even in villainous characters. It's in our very nature. The ability to go on loving someone even when that person has done something awful is one of the hallmarks of who we are.
By four, this mimicry can turn into rebellion, especially in kids with strong personalities. They start to relate to those who refuse to listen to the rules. Villains are a fantasy for powerless children, an outlet to make them feel less helpless.
So as long as we are aware of the actions of said characters and know between reality and fiction, we can like and enjoy any character for any reason and even have fun imaging what they would be like.
A snarl is an evil smile where the teeth are exposed, usually accompanied by an aggressive expression. A snarl can be used to intimidate or threaten the viewer.
With a hero, we know exactly how to obtain that goal, but a villain leaves us more clouded in mystery and has us thinking. This uncertainty leads to more thought drifting towards the villain of the story rather than the hero and can turn into a romantic appeal.
Evil laughter or maniacal laughter is manic laughter by a villain in fiction. The expression dates to at least 1860. "Wicked laugh" can be found even earlier, dating back to at least 1784. Another variant, the "sardonic laugh," shows up in 1714 and might date back even further.
As an actor, it's fun to play a villain. They're limitless in terms of interpretation, giving you a lot of room to try something new.
And while their actions may not always be admirable, they often have a certain charisma or charm that makes them compelling and even likable at times. In the end, movie villains are just as human as the rest of us, and their struggles and motivations can be something that we can all relate to on some level.
The truth is however awful — or just plain evil — they might be, we can't help but be drawn to these female villains. Why? Well, firstly, it flips the whole damsel-in-distress cliché on its head. We're so used to seeing women on screen as victims – helpless souls that need saving (usually by a guy).
More people often find themselves rooting for villains in movies or TV shows. NEW YORK — More than half (51%) Americans “always” or “often” root for the bad guy or gal when watching a movie or TV show. In a recent survey of 2,011 U.S. adults, three in five (60%) say they watch a series or movie just for the villain.
In addition to being beyond our understanding, a genuinely scary villain is often unpredictable. We can never quite anticipate what they will do next because their motivations and actions are so alien to us. Finally, a truly terrifying villain character is often unstoppable.
“Kids might be into scary movies because they enjoy the rush of adrenaline they feel, or because scary movies are a safe and manageable way to explore their fears, or because they're curious, or because they like the social bonding that comes along with scary experiences.
Mentally Ill or Deranged villains, are villains who are dangerously ill and have any type of psychological disorder and can be deemed as mentally unstable or villains suffering from mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or bipolar disorder, among others.
Villains often gain power over others because: Other characters have misplaced trust in them (Othello's mistaken trust in Iago in Shakespeare's play, for example) They use verbal and psychological manipulation (Captain Beatty, who manipulates people under his command by cherry-picking quotations from books)
This is a very common thing, with few exceptions. Now, here is where it gets interesting. The reason villains are ugly whilst heroes are usually attractive is because it was believed that evil corrupted a person, and this evil became visible on the person's face.