If an evil person was walking on the other side of the road, would you be able to recognize them? spot that they are truly evil? What would an evil person look like?
My thought is that most of the really evil people would be smooth talking very popular and loved. Think of that handsome smooth talking politician who everybody loves. They would charm the population into following them, and then use their power of persuasion to get the dirty work done in the background. Because of their mind set, they would use the rules against society to gain the system. That handsome, finely dressed politician with the winning smile, could be the evil one. In most movies, the evil person is exceedingly well dress for the time.
ON the other hand, The good, would likely follow the rules, They would not be as successful, possibly not work for their own gain, or if they did, they would push to help others, "giving the shirt off their back." That bum on the other side of the street might be the good person.
posted
Yeah. real evil would not advertise. Not until they are in complete control.
Now that could be control like a politician becoming dictator-for-life. Even then he might still pull on the mask of goodness occasionally. The drug lord would be the same but on a lower level of control -- just over his territory.
Evil seems to want control. He's always happy when things go HIS way. Or, HERS.
Secret control works, too. Let someone else front and draw the heat.
posted
Exactly. Most people don't recognize "evil" until it's too late.
However, I'm assuming we're still talking somewhat metaphorically. I mean, "evil" comes in all shapes and sizes--the bureaucrat who says your form isn't complete and says, "Next!" to Ted Bundy going completely nuts in Florida after escaping prison.
posted
To a degree, I thinkg that's a little cliche. The smooth-talking con-man villian can certainly be done right (Hannibal Lecter). But the villian can just as easily be the social outcast who wants to bring down the society that has rejected him. Or any of a number of other descriptions.
The bum could be a great guy who is a bum because he's given away everything that he's ever had, the wandering paladin. He could also be the villian who wants to drag down the whole system that has taken away everything he's ever had. And I think that might be more interesting.
posted
Then there are those people you meet that just give you a bad vibe. You know they are bad people even if they don't show it immediately. How truly evil they are is hard to say but there are some people you know are shady off the bat.
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quote:I doubt that "evil" is something that's going to show up on somebody's face that easily.
I've met a few--a very few--that gave me that cold chill. Only one comes to mind. It's different than people you just don't get along with. I've met a few of those, too. I know they're decent people and I just don't want to be around them. We're like oil and water. But that cold chill that something just isn't right is different.
However, I agree that that is a very rare phenomenon. Most evil people probably wouldn't give off that vibe. In fact, the scariest probably wouldn't. It's not the one you know to watch that's likely to get you.
posted
The best example of a villian that's invisible to most of the populous in a work of fiction that I can think of would be Nicolae Carpathia in LEFT BEHIND. Only a handful of people figure out that he's the antichrist. To everyone else he's the greatest leader the world could have. He would also be one of my most favorite villians in a fictional work.
And to reply to the original post for this thread: I doubt if you could label anyone evil at a glance unless such a person want's everyone to know it. I'd say you would have to associate with this person before you can decide if he's (she's?) good or evil. You know... never judge a book by it's cover.
posted
This is why we teach our children not to talk to strangers, instead of just telling them to stay away from the bad ones. Evil is not easily identifiable by appearance (unless the portrait he keeps hidden at home has been destroyed).
In fiction, the evil person is often made to look more attractive in order to confuse others (including the reader), and fend off the revulsion we should have of what they really are.
posted
The most effective evil, or villains, are not an individual out doing mayhem. A psycho might be a threat to and individual or groups of individual, but they will have their limits. No one is going to follow them so they are limited to their own ability,
Effective evil tend to have either the ability to get people to follow them, a leader, or someone who has powerful influence on the leader (a worm tongue).
Generally, though, the evil one would be the leader as it is a place where one's power is not filtered through a dupe. There is an advantage to be in the background. The evil one can operate on many fronts without any "finger prints" on the actions. While the evil one in actual charge makes for real, unadulterated power, being in the background diffuses the resistance of the leadership.
Use our government for example. The president could be the evil one out to rule the world, but he would have to deal with the house, the senate, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, the states and the people. He would not be able to use dictatorial power to do anything. Now consider if evil is someone who is not an elected person. The evil one might control the staff of the elected officials and direct how laws need to be worded. The evil one might direct the top people in the bureaucracy. he might control the political party in power, not as a named person as they take the heat when things go wrong, but tell the party leadership what to do. The evil one is likely to influence those in power, even though the is not the one in actual power.
On the street, the evil one would, by nature of his influence, be well dressed and likely have well tended hair, simply because he has influenced people to provide him with the funds to do so.
posted
Why do I always find characters who are evil and have an ambition for power? Must an evil character automatically want to rule the world?
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If you saw someone walking down the street in the regalia of certain street gangs, for example, he/she could be the worst apple in the whole barrel--a barrel that's generally bad to begin with. You wouldn't be certain but the odds stack notably in a certain direction.
In general though, I'd say no. An evil person could run the gammut of appearance from rich/smooth/handsome, through Joe/Jane Average, to destitute, to angelic, to downright sinister, and all points between. So could a "good" person for that matter.
What's the best way to do it in a story? Any could work.
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Ya' never know. You might be making a judgment call without enough information. The guy in gang threads could be an undercover cop.
I remember the movie Rio Bravo, an old favorite. You have John Wayne as the sheriff locked into a bad situation because he's arrested the brother of a rich and powerful man in town. You might say that man is a villain---but what's his motive in acting as he does? His brother might be no good but he's still his brother (more or less how John Wayne put it), so the guy's acting out of family loyalty. You see the movie from John Wayne's side, but if his opponent was the focus of the action, the movie might look different.
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Robert, Rio Bravo is a prime example of where the bad guy's motives are understandable and even possibly admirable. Do the movie from the other point of view, and you have a guy who's brother was arrested by a sheriff on trumped up charges. He has to get him out of the jail before a Kangaroo court hangs him.
Think of this when it comes to leaders. Every person who runs for president or prime minister or country despot, believes they are the best person to run the part of the world they gain. In America, theoretically, The president is the only person who can legally order a person to be killed. They can send soldiers into war or order an assassination of a leader. Think of the kind of people that would want that kind of power. You think that they would not want to rule the world, as well as their own country?
I live in a Condo complex and know several people who have lived in larger condos over the years. Every despot and idiot that could ever be in government or running a world, are on the condo boards. They are the same kind of people in city, state, and federal government. They just don't have the power to do more than make a few hundred people miserable.
The leader of a gang is usually not the baddest one, but usually the smartest one. He is a natural leader. As mentioned before, unless it is a lone psychopath, I would automatically expect the evil one to be a leader of some kind. As a leader, they would want to apply influence with others. Locally, the evil one might try to be the head or at least in influence of a business organization. The higher they go, the more they would want to apply influence.
Of course, I remember seeing bits of a cartoon where he was the evil dictator, except he was in the body of a baby and could do nothing.
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