People keep asking me “Why do you like the bad guys so much?”, “Besides the prettiness and handsomeness, what’s to like about those antagonists?”. I just simply replied without revealing too much, “There are more than the fancy surface.” Inside, I asked them back the same question “What’s to like about those protagonists?”
Really, what's to like about those good guys? Because they are the main characters? Then some antagonists have their own shows too, like Walter White in Breaking Bad or any leading characters in Martin Scorsese's movies. Because they present righteousness and goodness in the world? Well, then I must say that not all movies are about that. Then simply because they represent the good side of the story? Yes, of course, we are told from the protagonist's viewpoint, other people in the story will appear, obviously, not good enough, let alone the villain. Then why? Why do you like the protagonists? Enlighten me, I'm all ears!
While we waiting for the answers from "The Good Guys" club, let me tell you my reasons. Well, since they are MY reasons, they may be biased in some ways.
Firstly, antagonists are free. According to Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries "When people see good, they expect good. I don't want to live up to anyone's expectation." Don't we all? How can we be ourselves while trying constantly to live up to other people's expectations? Antagonists are just the reflections and reminders of ourselves that some of us may want to live independently of others' painted visions for us that the way we achieve the dream life can be a bit extreme. The freedom of being unbothered by what people think or conceive is one thing that hardly any hero can have, they have the reputation to preserve, for God's sake :)))
Secondly, antagonists are unpredictable, a small side effect of the first one. If it was a hero, it would be expected for the hero to do the right thing. That rule is not applied to the opposite side. The antagonist of the story can act independently, they have more liberty to choose how they will react, whether it's good or bad, more relatable to us, the audience.
Speaking of relatable, yes, we more relate to the bad guys since they represent our dark sides. Let's be honest, we cannot be as benevolent as the protagonists, we cannot be all good with the soul of an angel and clear conscious, we are all bad, in some ways, and doesn't that make us human?
Moreover, each antagonist is the protagonist in their stories. We are the main character in our life's movie, aren't we? Therefore, we are the antagonist in someone else's stories. We all do bad things then justify those terrible actions as for a good cause because we think we are right and doing the right thing. Another thing that makes us human.
It's acceptable for the "Good Guys Club" fan to enjoy, love, and support your protagonists, we are all protagonists in our stories too and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But when you sympathize with an antagonist, you are accepting your dark side, your flaws and imperfection, therefore, enjoy the freedom of zero f*** given to whatever other people think. That's a new level of heroism, not for anyone, but yourself.
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