SYMPATHY FOR THE BOND VILLAIN

Perilagu_Khan

pachazo wrote:

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

Or to "humanize" him. It's all part of the dreadful fallacy that no villain is so vile that he must be destroyed. Rather, we must "understand" him and attempt to "rehabilitate" him. Bollocks. Pernicious bollocks.

I really haven't got that impression from any of the Bond films except maybe TWINE. They usually do a good job of helping us to understand a character's motivations without trying to make us feel sorry for him/her.

Agreed. Bond villains are generally portrayed as purely evil, and little sympathy is generated for them.

Dragonpol

retrokitty wrote:

I think giving the character bits and pieces that bring us close to sympathizing with them is smart... But only bringing us close to sympathy. Once we sympathize with them, we lose a bit of the tension. It's that feeling of discomfort we need, Knowing they are bad but feeling close to understanding can make us feel sick and wonder how close anyone is to cracking... That is scary. But once we cross that line and feel sympathy, we move into a caring or even care giving feeling that loses the anxiety and fear.

LeChiffre was a great example. Sure, we think "Oh no!" when things go wrong for him but we know he got himself into this. And though he bleeds from his eye, there is something attractive about him... again, putting us off balance. It works great here.

I noticed that in a few of the villains actually. The more attractive they are, the scarier it can be. That may be the way the character is written and portrayed, sure, but I think there is something relating to our general acceptance of good looking people.

Prince Kamal Khan from Octopussy is one Bond villain example of this.

Perilagu_Khan

retrokitty wrote:

Actually, in TWINE, I felt more for Renard than Electra. Electra seemed too much the entitled princess for me to feel sorry for her. For some reason, Renard's disability for feeling pain - or pleasure - tugged more at my heart strings.

The same. Electra was perhaps the most despicable Bond villain of them all. I was actually disgusted with Bond for showing any compassion and affection towards her.

retrokitty

Don't get me started on Prince Kamal Khan.... Oooh, that Louis Jourdan... Yes...

And maybe I'm coming at this from a gender-specific perspective. But feeling even slightly attracted to a villain adds to the fear we feel. It might be that it puts us closer to them and that is scary. I don't really know. But I do know that those villain who have been sexy in some way (even the chicks - Fiona) have seemed more menacing.

Take GF and TB.... Auric was not at all scary to me but Largo was. And yes, there was something about Emilio that wasn't there for Auric (if you like that Mediterranean rich guy look). :P

And the same for Zorin, Le Chiffre and even Scaramanga.

Ludovico

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

retrokitty wrote:

I think giving the character bits and pieces that bring us close to sympathizing with them is smart... But only bringing us close to sympathy. Once we sympathize with them, we lose a bit of the tension. It's that feeling of discomfort we need, Knowing they are bad but feeling close to understanding can make us feel sick and wonder how close anyone is to cracking... That is scary. But once we cross that line and feel sympathy, we move into a caring or even care giving feeling that loses the anxiety and fear.

LeChiffre was a great example. Sure, we think "Oh no!" when things go wrong for him but we know he got himself into this. And though he bleeds from his eye, there is something attractive about him... again, putting us off balance. It works great here.

I noticed that in a few of the villains actually. The more attractive they are, the scarier it can be. That may be the way the character is written and portrayed, sure, but I think there is something relating to our general acceptance of good looking people.

An interesting post.

Rather than sympathy, I think one feels empathy for them: we want them to lose, but in the end, because we are fascinated by their villainy and their twisted genius. That said, I do feel sympathy for some of the low level henchmen, the inept ones that are killed by the villains.

retrokitty

I really think the movies don't explore the villains enough. It's inspired me to hit the books again.

For example, though I'm not attracted to Stromberg, his speech sort of touched me. As someone who struggles with the sadness of the world, I empathized with his point about today's civilization. I'm interested in seeing how far Fleming took some of their motives and goals.


"By creating a world. A new beautiful world beneath the sea. Today's civilization, as we know it, is corrupt and decadent. Inevitably it'll destroy itself. I'm merely accelerating the process."

Sometimes I too wish humans would destroy themselves finally so that the rest of the creatures and earth could heal.

RogueAgent

Although he was ruthless! I felt a little for Renard! I would sooner die quick than a long slow death!

StirredNotShaken

I want to say I felt bad for Krest, but I didn't. He deserved getting blown up IMO.

actonsteve

Sanchez was strangely sympathetic

Placing far too much trust on loyalty while Bond set up his employees to betray him. You could see the suspicion in his eyes.

Perilagu_Khan

Sanchez was the most charismatic Bond villain probably. And he had a sense of honor that was somewhat appealing. But ultimately he was a vicious brute and I was happy to see him go up in smoke.

Ludovico

Perilagu_Khan wrote:

Sanchez was the most charismatic Bond villain probably. And he had a sense of honor that was somewhat appealing. But ultimately he was a vicious brute and I was happy to see him go up in smoke.

Yes. It's not like one could feel sorry for what happened to him. He was rich, powerful, vicious, not exactly someone one can feel sorry for. Same with Elektra: who would feel sorry for a poor rich girl?