Close Menu
Honi Soit
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • Akinola Davies Jr. on My Father’s Shadow, Namesakes, and Nostalgia: An Interview
    • Into the Blue: Underwater Robots Unveil the Secrets of Norfolk Island’s Deep
    • Ancient Reef Cores Reveal Fragile Future for the Great Barrier Reef
    • Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, and Rameau walk into the Oldest Sydney Church
    • The Raftsmen: An Interview with Dr. Chadden Hunter — Sydney Film Festival Exclusive
    • The Anarchy 1138-53: to play or to plunder?
    • The Wrong Gods Review: Sacred Soil and Shifting Futures
    • Romeo & Juliet Review: Where Love Lingers and Time Unfolds
    • About
    • Print Edition
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    • Writing Comp
    • Advertise
    • Locations
    • Contact
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok
    Honi SoitHoni Soit
    Friday, June 13
    • News
    • Analysis
    • Culture
    • Opinion
    • University
    • Features
    • Perspective
    • Investigation
    • Reviews
    • Comedy
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    Honi Soit
    Home»Culture

    Villainy thrives in the first dimension

    Bring back the archetypal, one-dimensional villain.
    By Marlow HurstFebruary 23, 2020 Culture 3 Mins Read
    Image from Pinterest
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    What makes a good villain? Is it a tragic backstory? Perhaps a sympathetic or noble aim? Surely it’s some quality which allows the audience to fleetingly connect with these purveyors of misery? It’s none of these. Not a single one. 

    According to the ever encroaching trend of sympathetic villainy, these are all admirable qualities to find in a villain. But this trend is simply wrong, and not just wrong in a factual sense, but also wrong in regards to basic social etiquette: this trend, to put it simply, breaches every clause of our most sacred social contract. 

    In the mind of this writer, this trend began with the movie Frozen. A good movie by all accounts, save one. Lurking at the very heart of this family friendly tale was an oozing wound of flawed storytelling: the villain. ‘Hans’ I hear you cry out in response. Nay, dear reader, tis not the Prince of the Southern Isles I refer to. Instead I refer to Princess/Queen Elsa herself. This spicy little number is an equally insidious variation of the trend of sympathetic villainy: the fake out villain. 

    Elsa was established to engage in all sorts of dastardly, no good, hand waving. But then the writers at good ol’ Walt Disney pulled the officially licensed Frozen merch rug out from under us and gave us some narrative fisticuffs. Elsa is redeemed, sweet Hans turns out to be the true villain, so on and so forth. 

    A similar crime against classic villainy is committed in the equally wonderful film Moana: Te Kā, the lava demon, turns out to be Tafiti, the lush-green goddess. 

    Villainy doesn’t have to entail a sneaky switcheroo every single time. You’re allowed, even encouraged, to have Te Kā the lava demon turn out to be…Te Kā the bloody lava demon. Otherwise once you go down that dark, dank alleyway of villainous redemption you’ll soon enough find yourself bleeding out on the street, robbed of your antagonist, and stumbling into traffic in search of medical (or more advisedly, narrative) attention.

    Where I ask, are my flamboyant, queer coded, scheming, conniving, impeccably dressed villains? Where is Jafar? Where is Ursula? Where is Cruella, Scar, the Evil Queen? They’re gone. Dragged into the darkest recesses of popular culture by the very institutions which first drew them into the light. They’ve been sacrificed at the altar of “complexity”, under the guise of creating more “well rounded” and “three dimensional” characters. 

    A cheap excuse for a cheap shot, because villainy thrives in the 1st dimension. Archetypes, tropes, and cliches are what make me empathise with a villain. I didn’t like Jafar because I approved of hypnosis or violent coups or forced marriages. I liked Jafar because he had a killer outfit and was probably gay. The very same goes for Ursula, Scar and the rest. 

    Villains shouldn’t go the way of the hero because they don’t need more than one dimension. The only thing a good villain needs is more eyeliner and additional layers of robage. So knock it off Disney, or else you’ll be in some elaborately planned, impeccably executed and aesthetically outstanding trouble before you can say “Prince Ali”.

    archetype moana villains

    Keep Reading

    Akinola Davies Jr. on My Father’s Shadow, Namesakes, and Nostalgia: An Interview

    The Anarchy 1138-53: to play or to plunder?

    Book review: The Homemade God

    Love in all its mortal precarity: Manon by the Australian Ballet

    ‘New Generation’ at Australian Fashion Week

    Things you can wish on.

    Just In

    Akinola Davies Jr. on My Father’s Shadow, Namesakes, and Nostalgia: An Interview

    June 11, 2025

    Into the Blue: Underwater Robots Unveil the Secrets of Norfolk Island’s Deep

    June 11, 2025

    Ancient Reef Cores Reveal Fragile Future for the Great Barrier Reef

    June 11, 2025

    Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, and Rameau walk into the Oldest Sydney Church

    June 11, 2025
    Editor's Picks

    Part One: The Tale of the Corporate University

    May 28, 2025

    “Thank you Conspiracy!” says Capitalism, as it survives another day

    May 21, 2025

    A meditation on God and the impossible pursuit of answers

    May 14, 2025

    We Will Be Remembered As More Than Administrative Errors

    May 7, 2025
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok

    From the mines

    • News
    • Analysis
    • Higher Education
    • Culture
    • Features
    • Investigation
    • Comedy
    • Editorials
    • Letters
    • Misc

     

    • Opinion
    • Perspective
    • Profiles
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Social
    • Sport
    • SRC Reports
    • Tech

    Admin

    • About
    • Editors
    • Send an Anonymous Tip
    • Write/Produce/Create For Us
    • Print Edition
    • Locations
    • Archive
    • Advertise in Honi Soit
    • Contact Us

    We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. The University of Sydney – where we write, publish and distribute Honi Soit – is on the sovereign land of these people. As students and journalists, we recognise our complicity in the ongoing colonisation of Indigenous land. In recognition of our privilege, we vow to not only include, but to prioritise and centre the experiences of Indigenous people, and to be reflective when we fail to be a counterpoint to the racism that plagues the mainstream media.

    © 2025 Honi Soit
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • Accessibility

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.