Jasmine Brewton
ENC 1102
Fitzgerald
12 March 2013

Why People Love the Villain: A Synthesis Essay

The Joker, Batman's nemesis, is far from a golden example of good. In fact, he's more of a madman out to watch the world burn as he causes chaos, which he calls “justice”. And even though he is evil and madness incarnate, there's still a place for him in people's minds under the category of awesome. From the show Supernatural, the fallen angel, Lucifer enjoys torturing, killing and bringing on the apocalypse. Nonetheless, he's a major character and has a beloved place within the heart of the fandom. Both the Joker and Lucifer are villains that enjoy causing havoc. Yet fans still love them regardless of their evil ways. But why do …show more content…

And that’s why some people love them. They live by their own rules and take what they want when they want. Most of us are constrained by rules and moral/ethical codes; villains aren't. Travis Langley wrote an article, “Why Do Super Villains Fascinate Us? A Psychological Perspective”, in which he said:
Sigmund Freud viewed human nature as inherently antisocial, biologically driven by the undisciplined id’s pleasure principle to get what we want when we want it - born to be bad but held back by society. Even if the psyche fully develops its ego (source of self-control) and superego (conscience), Freudians say the id still dwells underneath, and it wishes for many selfish things - so it would love to be super villainous;... (Langley)
In short, we’re jealous of the freedom that the villain wields. The villain acts out his deepest, dark desired ways. He’s rude, crude and gets what he wants done his way. One example of such a person is the wrestler, CM Punk. The guy is a total jerk and does whatever he pleases. Just recently he stole an urn with the ashes of the Pallbearer, who is another wrestler. No matter how much America hates him for the way he acts, bad guy or not, he is still a favorite.“When people look at fictional villains, they see versions of themselves gone wrong. Maybe these bad guys were once just as innocent as anyone else. Maybe they were turned by one regrettable choice, or were in the wrong place at the wrong time”