Posted at the request of darth_eldritch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tihqERvvUE
Because I thought this was pretty awesome.
Also, on another note, managed to get around to watching "Front Runners" in Clone Wars.
( A long time ago in a galaxy far, far a -- spoilers! )
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I really wish they had gone with someone like Vaklu for the episode. Especially considering that Vaklu wasn't out for petty power or things like that; he (and Tobin) honestly thought that he was doing what was best for his homeplanet (which, of course...you're dealing with the Sith. What do you think is going to happen?). Honestly, I think if the king had allied himself with Dooku because he thought that Onderon had lost its past after it had blended into the Republic, because he wanted Onderon to take back what was theirs...not only would it be a nice callback to KOTOR II, it would be a hell of a lot more powerful. But nope -- we got Snidely Fucking Whiplash. Brilliant. /sarcasm.
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LOL!!
Evil for ebul's sake is too easy. There is a way to do it, but so few get it right.
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*Sighs*
But really, I agree. I mean, while EFES (Evil For Evil's Sake) villains can be done right, they're so often made one-dimensional. And maybe some people off-LJ are okay with one-dimensional villains (and I guess they may have their reasons), but I'm not. It's just not interesting and it's not good storytelling. In fact, I believe there's a quote somewhere from Dean Koontz that says a lot about how I feel about villains: "The best villains are those that evoke pity and sometimes even genuine sympathy as well as terror. Think of the pathetic aspect of the Frankenstein monster. Think of the poor werewolf, hating what he becomes in the light of the full moon, but incapable of resisting the lycanthropic tides in his own cells."
Okay, I first found it quoted in PLOT AND STRUCTURE by James Scott Bell (definitely give it a read, by the way! :D It's definitely helped me in my own writing), but yeah. You get the idea. :)
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And villains that seem absolutely evil, like Palpatine, or a ruthless killing machine, the Terminator, one is impelled to look further, dig deeper, to see what created such evil and why. And Karpyshin, for all his recent failures, did a good job with Darth Bane. Here's a guy who is heartlessly, implacably evil, but he has his justifications, and his background that shaped who he is.
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And definitely agreed regarding Bane. :)
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Exploring a villain, if done well- this is important- doesn't necessarily make them less scarier. In fact, in ways, it can make them more frightening.
You can also explore a villain, and still keep them mysterious, if that is an important factor.
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And yes, God, yes! So agreed! :D Honestly, I don't get why some think that exploring a villain makes them less intimidating. Hell, sometimes it can make them even more intimidating, or even frightening, because they're more real. I mean, look at Noatak and Tarrlok in THE LEGEND OF KORRA. Look at Khan. Look at Clu from TRON LEGACY, and Darth Vader, and the eponymous character from THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Honestly, I'd rather have a well-explored, supposedly "wimpy" villain than a villain with no backstory or redeeming qualities or even reasons for his actions. The former is better storytelling, and honestly? It's what most people are searching for nowadays.
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I'm not so familiar with the others, but I think those who saw the Prequels first in their Star Wars experience have the advantage of seeing Anakin as Lucas wants us to see him, with no pre-conception from the OT. Lucas knew what he was doing in making Anakin into someone who can be very sympathetic, yet, at the same time, a sulky, bratty teenager in the tradition of James Dean.
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Interesting about the Doctor and the MAster. But, yeah, in these days we want more substance, not just twist relationships or identities. I think the Revan revelation was the best and the final word on that.
Lucas made the Prequels to show what kind of person Anakin was, good and bad. So, to paraphrase an old saying, we have to take the good with the bad when it comes to Anakin. We have to understand that there is something worth saving in Anakin to begin with to redeem Vader. It reminds me of an old Catholic concept of grace, that no matter how evil someone is and how much humanity they lose, there is that part that God puts into every human that is good no matter how much they forget. It's not an easy concept to understand at times, but being a Jedi is not an easy thing- which is where I think Luke really did do a lot of good. I will, also, mention that how important this was to an old friend of ( ... )
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