When you are watching a movie, you can usually tell when someone is a bad guy. I know I personally can actually usually tell when someone is supposed to be a good guy but will betray the people and turn out to be a bad guy. The reason is because in movies and television shows you will see certain things that characters do that make them suspicious or force us to believe that a character is a terrible person. The idiom that describes the actions a character does just for the sake of showing how bad the character is was coined as "Kicking the Puppy" or "Kick The Dog" by tvtropes.org ("Kick the Dog" links to that page on TV Tropes.) Basically the idiom is talking about when a bad guy character does something so awful or evil that they just have to be bad, for example kicking or killing an innocent dog (the origin of this idiom of course). This is something that tells readers straight up that this character is a bad guy and that is all there is to it. However, I realized that some of the characters in the movies we see that are supposed to be pretty evil are not nearly as bad as they seem if you take out the "Kick the Dog" moment they experience. So here are the characters I chose:
(Character and Image © 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures)
Cal Hockley ~ "Titanic" (1997):
In James Cameron's 1997 Blockbuster hit "Titanic" (Based on the real Titanic minus Jack, Rose, Cal and Rose's mother). The tragedy of the RMS Titanic Cruise ship back in 1912 takes a backseat to a love triangle Plot-line. Rose DeWitt Bukater and her overbearing mother board the Titanic with Rose's Rich Obnoxious Conceited Jerk Fiance Caledon 'Cal' Hockley (Rose's mom hooked them up). After a night or two on the ship suddenly Rose can no longer handle being rich (Okay so she feels like a caged bird really and blah blah blah), and decides the best way to be free is to jump off the back of the boat and kill herself. Jack Dawson (A poor teenager who draws naked women and is really poor) sees her running and ends up talking her out of it resulting in an emotional affair, Cal figures it out thanks to his gun toting butler (basically) and keeps them apart so Rose gives Jack a dime to draw her naked to leave for Cal so that she can break up with him and be poor with Jack and spit and junk. They do it in a car, the titanic hits an ice burg, panic ensues, the couple end up in the water after the boat sinks, Most people die (including Jack), Rose survives and hides from Cal and her mother then goes on to be really old and screws over likely scarred-for-life Titanic Treasure hunters who listened to her talk about how she used to be attractive, young and naked for what I assume was hours considering how long the movie was versus her having to explain everything in detail.
Why We Think He is So bad:
From the time Cal appears on screen he is constantly talking down to our heroine Rose and patronizing her "intelligent thoughts". He is very controlling in everything he does, including Rose and when she stops doing what he says he pulls the reigns on her tighter and sends James "The Butler" Bond to spy on her through a lot of the movie. When he discovers that she stayed up drinking most of the night with Jack and the other 3rd Class people of the ship he has a hissy fit, tells her she is his and will obey her ("as a wife should obey her husband") and flips the table. After Jack draws Rose naked, Cal gets Butlerus Snape to plant an expensive necklace he gave to Rose on Jack and accuses him of stealing resulting in Jack being taken to the Master-At-Arms (The Cruise Ship Version of a Prison Warden). He pays a crew-member a ton of money to get a place on a life raft despite there still being plenty of children left on the boat. Then he tricks rose onto a life-raft to save her, but Rose jumps back onto the ship from a lifeboat to be with Jack, so Cal flips out and starts shooting at them with Butler Impossible's gun. Then when he goes to get on the lifeboat he had paid a ship crew-member to save a spot for him on, the crew-member throws his money back out at his face realizing that he was probably going to die and the money was useless to him anyway. In the end, Cal grabs a crying child, claims the child is his to get on a boat and survives. He apparently loses his fortune and then commits suicide at some point, karma is a bitch eh? The 2 times he gets ticked off and gets violent are his "Kick the Puppy" moments.
Why it is undeserved:
First of all, let's start with his "Kick the Puppy" moments. Both times he loses it and gets violent he is enraged that his fiance is apparently cheating on him and wants to leave him. There are a lot of times when people in the real world have killed for less than that, and this guy is incredibly proud and conceited so imagine being cheated on when you believe you are the hottest, richest and most awesome guy in the world. That is a pretty big fall to take. I am not excusing his actions by the way, but there is a disaster going around them and the guy has taken a pretty big fall from his pedestal so it actually makes sense for him to react the way he did given the circumstance. Also, in regards to his patronizing Rose, let's put this in perspective. The titanic disaster happened 101 years ago. The movie came out in the 90's, 85 years after the disaster. Back in 1912, women were still often thought of as accessories and not equal to men, and in some places women could not own land or vote. In fact, in America we did not get the right to vote on a national scale until the 20's. So his actions, while most likely exaggerated, could be considered a time period thing. In the 90's, there started to be a shift in gender roles with women going out to work while men were becoming stay-at-home dads. So seeing a character like Cal on the big screen then automatically labeled him as a jerk to independent women who were paving a way through a "man's world".
What people forget is how much difference there is between decades in views and beliefs, especially when there are 8 1/2 decades between the two eras. So what we saw as a jerk was often considered a real man 8 decades ago. So all of that is not quite as bad as we perceive it to be based on the time period the guy was supposed to be from. Also, the guy seemed to genuinely care for Rose at times. He brought her on a cruise, with her overbearing mother (and actually caters to her mother's wishes a few times). He bought her anything she wanted and more (Paintings that he particularly hated that she liked, a giant engagement ring and a necklace). He puts his jacket over her a few times when she is out on the boat during cold nights without a jacket, and despite her cheating on him and trying to leave him for Jack, he tries to save her by convincing her to get on a lifeboat. Yes the guy is an incredible douchebag, but it is more about his wealth status and the time period versus a more progressive time period that makes him seem that way than what his actions are (well, aside from that attempted murder part towards the end).
The X-Men (For those of you unfamiliar with the series) are a SuperTeam of mutants with various abilities who try and keep humans and mutants alike safe. Their mentor is Professor Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X, a bald older gentleman who can not walk and so uses a wheelchair to get around (sometimes one that hovers). He apparently started the school for gifted students (aka mutants) with his best friend Erik Lehnsherr back in the day. Erik Lensherr was originally Max Eisenhardt a Jewish boy growing up in Germany back before and during World War II. Of course he ended up in a concentration camp with his parents and eventually moved to America changing his name to Erik Lensherr before meeting Xavier and establishing the school (This of course changes depending on which show/movie/comic you read, but most generally use a variation on this plot line). Anyway, Xavier and Erik differ in opinion on humans and mutant roles so they split up and Erik becomes Magneto, who is the mentor to the "bad" mutants.
Why We think He is So Bad:
Well, the biggest reason he seems so bad is probably because he hates non-mutants and either wishes to enslave or destroy them in most of his plots. Since most of the readers are in fact non-mutants, that hits a bit of a sore spot(With the exception of the few non-mutants who developed Stockholm syndrome without actually being kidnapped by him and really love this character of course.). He also is quite a hypocrite at times. He is all about taking over the world with mutant control and saving mutants, and yet he has absolutely no problem with using a mutant to further the cause. When I say use, I do not just mean tricking them into doing something either. He will injure or kill a mutant if he thinks it will help his cause. So he thinks non-mutants are beneath them and does not care what happens to them, and will sacrifice his own kind without hesitation to further his goals. That sounds pretty bad right? Generally disregarding life is an evil thing, thus is his "Kick the Dog" aspect.
Why it's Undeserved:
His methods are ruthless, misguided, and hypocritical. So he is certainty not a good guy. However, his methods are often for what he thinks is a greater purpose for his people. The one thing he and Professor X have in common is their penchant for picking up strays as well. He will often pick up mutants who have no where to go and let them join him in his quest. So he shows a compassion at times that is on the same level as Professor X. The problem lies in his disregard for non-mutant life, and while he does show some compassion towards the mutants he wants to sacrifice sometimes, he still will use them to further his goals. But in order to understand why he is like this, you have to consider things from his perspective. The guy was a Jew from Germany during a time period when Jews were captured and sent to terrible prisons where they were tested on, gassed, and did not receive any food or care in any way. So the guy really seen the worst of how people can get when there is hatred towards a group of people. Then it turned out he was a mutant, and when mutants were being discovered by non-mutants, there were some that were imprisoning them and testing on them. So he had to deal with hatred and disregard for life from groups of people twice over. With the mutants, all of the imprisoning and testing continued on for many times longer than Hitler's Nazi regime and imprisoning the Jewish. So the guy knows how bad things can get and is full of vengeful thoughts and wanting to keep such things from happening to other people like him.
While the guy is completely misguided, he really does want to help and keep bad things from happening to more mutants. So the guy is not bad, but definitely not a good guy either.
(Character and Image © Walt Disney Productions)
Peter Pan follows Wendy Darling and her brothers as a sprite-like boy named Peter Pan takes them to a magical Place called Neverland. Neverland is home to a group of young boys who got lost and are led by Peter Pan, mermaids, a snooty and jealous fairy named Tinkerbell, and apparently a Native American Tribe of some sort. There Peter Pan has an evil nemesis by the name of Captain Hook who, with his pirate crew" live off the coast of Neverland on their pirate ship.
Why We Think He is So Bad:
First off, the guy is an adult and is constantly trying to capture and kill a young boy. He even uses underhanded means like bombs and guns to try to get the boy, as well as sending his crew after him. He tricks Tinkerbell into helping him, captures Wendy (plus her brothers, and the lost boys) and tries to kill Tinkerbell by using the words "I don't believe in fairies" which apparently is some kind of magic death spell for fairies. He also tries to feed them all to a crocodile by making them walk the plank. There is of course no Child Protective Services to take care of the guy (unless you count the ticking crocodile who apparently REALLY wants to eat Captain Hook even over the children which I would assume would make more food with how many of them there are versus one boney looking seadog). And this guy is really the only adult the lost boys have contact with (except for the Native American Tribe which kind of just ignores them for the most part except after Peter Pan saves the Chief's daughter Tiger Lilly).
Why it is Undeserved:
Captain Hook is really spineless and uses underhanded means to go after Peter Pan and the lost boys, and the fact that he is an adult who is trying to feed children to a crocodile, blow them up or shoot them does not help this villain's case. However, there is an important thing to note when you are considering whether they guy is really as bad as he seems. Before the time period of the film, Peter Pan cut off the guy's hand. That "innocent" little boy cut off a grown man's hand. AND he tries to feed Hook to the crocodile during the movie and it is implied he did it prior to the film's setting. Also, the boys keep stealing from the pirates, and here is a surprising note, Captain Hook is a pirate! Pirates are not known for their sympathy towards anyone but their own crew. Not to mention the fact that Peter Pan can fly due to pixie dust given to him from his magical fairy sidekick and often uses underhanded means himself.
Also, these pirates are stuck off the coast of Neverland apparently unable to leave the place and have to constantly fend off against little boys attacking their ship and a crocodile constantly trying to eat their captain. Such conditions would make anyone crazy and not think twice about killing the little brats that are lead by a demon who cuts off your hand and tries to feed your hand to a crocodile. Now in the lost boys defense, they are all young impressionable children who have no adult role models to tell them what is wrong and right, but to Hook who has obviously lost his mind due to being stuck in a magical place that constantly tries to kill him, and who is a pirate, it makes more sense to try and off the boys than to put them in time out.
(Character and Image © Walt Disney Productions)
Maleficent is the fairy/witch who was the only in the kingdom not invited to the celebration of Princess Aurora's birth. She was excluded which it has been decided is a form of bullying. So technically the King bullied her. People who are bullied will sometimes react in a violent way so in a sense her getting revenge on the king makes a lot of sense. Which is why I considered putting her on this list. While it is recommended that someone who is bullied not take things into their own hands and to talk to your parents, teachers, and counselors about being bullied and let them handle it. However, during the time period of "Sleeping Beauty" there wasn't really anything you could do about "bullying" other than taking care of things yourself and if the royals were involved you pretty much had to raise up an army in protest to behead the king. So really Maleficent was doing kind of a great thing by not only going up against the King who technically bullied her but doing it all on her own.
However, the problem with her actions, and the reason I did not add her to the list officially, is the innocent people who got involved in the revenge Maleficent decided to get. Really it was the King and Queen who technically bullied her, but her revenge actually hits everyone within the castle and the surrounding town. Also, she sets her sights on Princess Aurora to take her revenge in the first place. Maleficent tricks Aurora into pricking her finger causing her to fall to "eternal" sleep and the curse spreads out through the kingdom. So for what the King and Queen did, the princess and the rest of the kingdom had to suffer. If she had put the "eternal" sleep curse on just the people that were in that room (minus Princess Aurora), I would have put her on the list. However, cursing the innocent people involved in her vengeance makes her pretty bad and I really could not bring myself to put her on the list because of that reason.
Check out more articles at www.MyTwerkz.com.
~ Amanda ~
My Website: http://designfryk.wix.com/designfryk
Email Me: designfryk@yahoo.com
Why We Think He is So bad:
From the time Cal appears on screen he is constantly talking down to our heroine Rose and patronizing her "intelligent thoughts". He is very controlling in everything he does, including Rose and when she stops doing what he says he pulls the reigns on her tighter and sends James "The Butler" Bond to spy on her through a lot of the movie. When he discovers that she stayed up drinking most of the night with Jack and the other 3rd Class people of the ship he has a hissy fit, tells her she is his and will obey her ("as a wife should obey her husband") and flips the table. After Jack draws Rose naked, Cal gets Butlerus Snape to plant an expensive necklace he gave to Rose on Jack and accuses him of stealing resulting in Jack being taken to the Master-At-Arms (The Cruise Ship Version of a Prison Warden). He pays a crew-member a ton of money to get a place on a life raft despite there still being plenty of children left on the boat. Then he tricks rose onto a life-raft to save her, but Rose jumps back onto the ship from a lifeboat to be with Jack, so Cal flips out and starts shooting at them with Butler Impossible's gun. Then when he goes to get on the lifeboat he had paid a ship crew-member to save a spot for him on, the crew-member throws his money back out at his face realizing that he was probably going to die and the money was useless to him anyway. In the end, Cal grabs a crying child, claims the child is his to get on a boat and survives. He apparently loses his fortune and then commits suicide at some point, karma is a bitch eh? The 2 times he gets ticked off and gets violent are his "Kick the Puppy" moments.
Why it is undeserved:
First of all, let's start with his "Kick the Puppy" moments. Both times he loses it and gets violent he is enraged that his fiance is apparently cheating on him and wants to leave him. There are a lot of times when people in the real world have killed for less than that, and this guy is incredibly proud and conceited so imagine being cheated on when you believe you are the hottest, richest and most awesome guy in the world. That is a pretty big fall to take. I am not excusing his actions by the way, but there is a disaster going around them and the guy has taken a pretty big fall from his pedestal so it actually makes sense for him to react the way he did given the circumstance. Also, in regards to his patronizing Rose, let's put this in perspective. The titanic disaster happened 101 years ago. The movie came out in the 90's, 85 years after the disaster. Back in 1912, women were still often thought of as accessories and not equal to men, and in some places women could not own land or vote. In fact, in America we did not get the right to vote on a national scale until the 20's. So his actions, while most likely exaggerated, could be considered a time period thing. In the 90's, there started to be a shift in gender roles with women going out to work while men were becoming stay-at-home dads. So seeing a character like Cal on the big screen then automatically labeled him as a jerk to independent women who were paving a way through a "man's world".
What people forget is how much difference there is between decades in views and beliefs, especially when there are 8 1/2 decades between the two eras. So what we saw as a jerk was often considered a real man 8 decades ago. So all of that is not quite as bad as we perceive it to be based on the time period the guy was supposed to be from. Also, the guy seemed to genuinely care for Rose at times. He brought her on a cruise, with her overbearing mother (and actually caters to her mother's wishes a few times). He bought her anything she wanted and more (Paintings that he particularly hated that she liked, a giant engagement ring and a necklace). He puts his jacket over her a few times when she is out on the boat during cold nights without a jacket, and despite her cheating on him and trying to leave him for Jack, he tries to save her by convincing her to get on a lifeboat. Yes the guy is an incredible douchebag, but it is more about his wealth status and the time period versus a more progressive time period that makes him seem that way than what his actions are (well, aside from that attempted murder part towards the end).
(Character and Image © Marvel Comics)
Magneto (Max Eisenhardt/Erik Lehnsherr) ~ "X-Men" and related media:
The X-Men (For those of you unfamiliar with the series) are a SuperTeam of mutants with various abilities who try and keep humans and mutants alike safe. Their mentor is Professor Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X, a bald older gentleman who can not walk and so uses a wheelchair to get around (sometimes one that hovers). He apparently started the school for gifted students (aka mutants) with his best friend Erik Lehnsherr back in the day. Erik Lensherr was originally Max Eisenhardt a Jewish boy growing up in Germany back before and during World War II. Of course he ended up in a concentration camp with his parents and eventually moved to America changing his name to Erik Lensherr before meeting Xavier and establishing the school (This of course changes depending on which show/movie/comic you read, but most generally use a variation on this plot line). Anyway, Xavier and Erik differ in opinion on humans and mutant roles so they split up and Erik becomes Magneto, who is the mentor to the "bad" mutants.
Why We think He is So Bad:
Well, the biggest reason he seems so bad is probably because he hates non-mutants and either wishes to enslave or destroy them in most of his plots. Since most of the readers are in fact non-mutants, that hits a bit of a sore spot(With the exception of the few non-mutants who developed Stockholm syndrome without actually being kidnapped by him and really love this character of course.). He also is quite a hypocrite at times. He is all about taking over the world with mutant control and saving mutants, and yet he has absolutely no problem with using a mutant to further the cause. When I say use, I do not just mean tricking them into doing something either. He will injure or kill a mutant if he thinks it will help his cause. So he thinks non-mutants are beneath them and does not care what happens to them, and will sacrifice his own kind without hesitation to further his goals. That sounds pretty bad right? Generally disregarding life is an evil thing, thus is his "Kick the Dog" aspect.
Why it's Undeserved:
His methods are ruthless, misguided, and hypocritical. So he is certainty not a good guy. However, his methods are often for what he thinks is a greater purpose for his people. The one thing he and Professor X have in common is their penchant for picking up strays as well. He will often pick up mutants who have no where to go and let them join him in his quest. So he shows a compassion at times that is on the same level as Professor X. The problem lies in his disregard for non-mutant life, and while he does show some compassion towards the mutants he wants to sacrifice sometimes, he still will use them to further his goals. But in order to understand why he is like this, you have to consider things from his perspective. The guy was a Jew from Germany during a time period when Jews were captured and sent to terrible prisons where they were tested on, gassed, and did not receive any food or care in any way. So the guy really seen the worst of how people can get when there is hatred towards a group of people. Then it turned out he was a mutant, and when mutants were being discovered by non-mutants, there were some that were imprisoning them and testing on them. So he had to deal with hatred and disregard for life from groups of people twice over. With the mutants, all of the imprisoning and testing continued on for many times longer than Hitler's Nazi regime and imprisoning the Jewish. So the guy knows how bad things can get and is full of vengeful thoughts and wanting to keep such things from happening to other people like him.
While the guy is completely misguided, he really does want to help and keep bad things from happening to more mutants. So the guy is not bad, but definitely not a good guy either.
Captain (James) Hook ~
"Peter Pan" (1953):
"Peter Pan" (1953):
Peter Pan follows Wendy Darling and her brothers as a sprite-like boy named Peter Pan takes them to a magical Place called Neverland. Neverland is home to a group of young boys who got lost and are led by Peter Pan, mermaids, a snooty and jealous fairy named Tinkerbell, and apparently a Native American Tribe of some sort. There Peter Pan has an evil nemesis by the name of Captain Hook who, with his pirate crew" live off the coast of Neverland on their pirate ship.
Why We Think He is So Bad:
First off, the guy is an adult and is constantly trying to capture and kill a young boy. He even uses underhanded means like bombs and guns to try to get the boy, as well as sending his crew after him. He tricks Tinkerbell into helping him, captures Wendy (plus her brothers, and the lost boys) and tries to kill Tinkerbell by using the words "I don't believe in fairies" which apparently is some kind of magic death spell for fairies. He also tries to feed them all to a crocodile by making them walk the plank. There is of course no Child Protective Services to take care of the guy (unless you count the ticking crocodile who apparently REALLY wants to eat Captain Hook even over the children which I would assume would make more food with how many of them there are versus one boney looking seadog). And this guy is really the only adult the lost boys have contact with (except for the Native American Tribe which kind of just ignores them for the most part except after Peter Pan saves the Chief's daughter Tiger Lilly).
Why it is Undeserved:
Captain Hook is really spineless and uses underhanded means to go after Peter Pan and the lost boys, and the fact that he is an adult who is trying to feed children to a crocodile, blow them up or shoot them does not help this villain's case. However, there is an important thing to note when you are considering whether they guy is really as bad as he seems. Before the time period of the film, Peter Pan cut off the guy's hand. That "innocent" little boy cut off a grown man's hand. AND he tries to feed Hook to the crocodile during the movie and it is implied he did it prior to the film's setting. Also, the boys keep stealing from the pirates, and here is a surprising note, Captain Hook is a pirate! Pirates are not known for their sympathy towards anyone but their own crew. Not to mention the fact that Peter Pan can fly due to pixie dust given to him from his magical fairy sidekick and often uses underhanded means himself.
Also, these pirates are stuck off the coast of Neverland apparently unable to leave the place and have to constantly fend off against little boys attacking their ship and a crocodile constantly trying to eat their captain. Such conditions would make anyone crazy and not think twice about killing the little brats that are lead by a demon who cuts off your hand and tries to feed your hand to a crocodile. Now in the lost boys defense, they are all young impressionable children who have no adult role models to tell them what is wrong and right, but to Hook who has obviously lost his mind due to being stuck in a magical place that constantly tries to kill him, and who is a pirate, it makes more sense to try and off the boys than to put them in time out.
Honorable Mention: Maleficent ~ "Sleeping Beauty" (1959):
Maleficent is the fairy/witch who was the only in the kingdom not invited to the celebration of Princess Aurora's birth. She was excluded which it has been decided is a form of bullying. So technically the King bullied her. People who are bullied will sometimes react in a violent way so in a sense her getting revenge on the king makes a lot of sense. Which is why I considered putting her on this list. While it is recommended that someone who is bullied not take things into their own hands and to talk to your parents, teachers, and counselors about being bullied and let them handle it. However, during the time period of "Sleeping Beauty" there wasn't really anything you could do about "bullying" other than taking care of things yourself and if the royals were involved you pretty much had to raise up an army in protest to behead the king. So really Maleficent was doing kind of a great thing by not only going up against the King who technically bullied her but doing it all on her own.
However, the problem with her actions, and the reason I did not add her to the list officially, is the innocent people who got involved in the revenge Maleficent decided to get. Really it was the King and Queen who technically bullied her, but her revenge actually hits everyone within the castle and the surrounding town. Also, she sets her sights on Princess Aurora to take her revenge in the first place. Maleficent tricks Aurora into pricking her finger causing her to fall to "eternal" sleep and the curse spreads out through the kingdom. So for what the King and Queen did, the princess and the rest of the kingdom had to suffer. If she had put the "eternal" sleep curse on just the people that were in that room (minus Princess Aurora), I would have put her on the list. However, cursing the innocent people involved in her vengeance makes her pretty bad and I really could not bring myself to put her on the list because of that reason.
Check out more articles at www.MyTwerkz.com.
~ Amanda ~
My Website: http://designfryk.wix.com/designfryk
Email Me: designfryk@yahoo.com
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