posted
I've just been watching some films that do a brilliant job of blurring the line between protagonist and antagonist, and sometimes between good and evil. I love it when stories can really do this effectively, and still make you care about the characters. Here are some examples:
This is a terrific indie film that came out a couple years ago telling the true story of Stephen Glass, one of the reporters who got caught inventing stories for a national publication. One reason I love this movie is the way they tell the story. Glass is set up as a traditional charismatic hero, the story being told largely from his point of view, with a traditional antagonist in the form of his hard-nosed and unpopular editor. But slowly over the course of the film it becomes evident that Stephen is the villain and the editor is the hero. Without changing patterns of action, motivation or character, it gradually becomes apparent that the person you've been rooting for is a sick person doing terrible things, and the person you've been hating is the only one taking responsibility for them. Great twist, even if you see it coming, and a brilliant way of telling the story.
An amazing movie full of characters that you care about, but none that you can fully either love or hate. Possibly the best thing about this movie is how they put you on both sides of some fierce conflicts, making you empathize with all the characters, even if you don't really respect any of them.
Maybe not as profound as some others, but I liked how they made the audience root for Magneto and his gang even though we knew how dangerous he was. Particularly the ambivalence they set up for the prison break was a step up from what you'd traditionally see in a hollywood superhero movie.
Warren spent the entire season doing bad things, first amusing but increasingly horrible. By the end of the season he needed to be stopped as surely as any of the other villains in the series. But the way they had Willow execute his punishment was truly disturbing, and raised some serious questions about the entire format of the show. It wasn't just about a good character turning evil. It was the fact that she was turned evil through the pursuit of what was, by the standards of the Buffy story (and most others like it), a just and morally defensible goal. The moment that Warren died gave me intensely conflicting feelings like I'd never felt from a television teen drama before. It was a bold move, and they really pulled it off.
---***E*N*D***S*P*O*I*L*E*R*S***---
I really like stories like these. Anyone else know of any that I've missed? I know I've only listed movies and TV shows, but feel free to add books, graphic novels, concept albums, or any other form of tale that is able to twist the traditional notion of good and evil in a clever way.
posted
Insomnia (the original 1997 Norwegian version, not the American remake) is the first thing to come to mind, for some reaosn. Books I'll have to think about.
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posted
spoilers for Pride and Prejudice and the Haunting of Hill House
I think this is a huge factor in the Severus Snape character. Pride and Prejudice also has this in buckets: about half way through you realize that Elizabeth is being really, really judgmental and missing Darcy's true character entirely.
I think the best example, though, by far, is the Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. The main pov character goes slowly nuts and kills herself at the end. The transition takes place so slowly that you don't know what's coming until the last scene.
I remember it vividly, and I find I've been thinking about it over and over and noticing things I didn't quite notice when I first saw it. From the premise, I went in expecting it to be merely a reversal, like the real story of the three little pigs (as told by the wolf). I saw Galinda and expected her to be merely the ditzy, bitchy blonde. I expected a story about how Elphaba turned evil because everyone was so crappy to her, with a morally cynical p.o.v. that everyone was basically low, or at best a story of how Elphaba was a nice victim of nasty people.
Instead, it became more complex than this, as Elphaba and Galinda became unlikely friends. This made it better, I think, as we got to see them make hard choices and deal with the consequences of them. I didn't see Elphaba and Glinda as the main foils, though arguably they were foils. Instead, I saw Madam Morrible as the main foil for Elphaba, because she was equally single-minded, but for selfish causes, and I saw the Wizard as Glinda's foil, in that they were equally wishy-washy, and could justify anything in their need to be loved and popular (with the difference being that Glinda eventually figured out and came to regret the cost of her decisions, and act to ameliorate them). I saw Glinda and the Wizard as moral relativists, and the play did not glorify relativism like I thought it might.
(moral complexity != moral relativism)
And I like how at the end, Elphaba and Glinda each see their own decisions in a new light, and come to respect the decisions the other has made. Elphaba sees that her stridency and single-mindedness has made her impotent to bring about change, and that she's "limited," especially compared to Glinda "the Good" who can mold public opinion. Glinda realizes that the acclaim she craved is ultimately all a sham. She is the one people think is good, but she knows she has done things that weren't, and been on the wrong side. Even her love is a sham, while Elphaba's is the real deal. And so she resolves to use her influence for (true) good at the end--and the fact that it is she who tells us this whole story, which is ultimately unflattering to her, with the potential to cost her some of the acclaim she so craves, is evidence of her moral growth.
The fact that the writers made them be friends made this complexity possible, and made this show so much more than the gimmicky but fun one I expected to see.
I can't conceive of how it did not win the Best Musical Tony. It was robbed. It has great songs, with clever lyrics and unbelievable harmonies, and it is the most morally complex musical I have ever seen.
posted
I just found an interview online with Marc Platt, the producer of the touring show, and he talks about how Elphaba only wants to be loved. But see, that's the difference though (to me): she does not want this at any cost. She won't compromise in order to be loved. It is the wizard and Galinda who really only want to be loved, and they will compromise in order to believe they have achieved this.
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posted
Oh, that reminded me of another one. Neil Gaiman's Snow Glass Apples, in which the story of Snow White is told from the point of view of the wicked stepmother. You only gradually realize it as the story is being told, and it gave me chills. It's a masterfully told story itself, but when I realized what it was, I was shocked. I remember reading it as a profound, creepy and amazing experience, and it's still my favorite Gaiman story.
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