The following is something I wrote for my final in Analysis of Discourse my sophomore year of college. I re-wrote it recently for my Senior Seminar portfolio this past spring.
For our final, my teacher presented us with a variety of books, most of them children's books, to analyze and write an essay on in the course of two hours. I selected a children's coloring book focusing on Disney villains.
Even though this essay is written on the analysis of a coloring book, the Disney villains are an important part of film history so I felt like it would be alright to post it on here. Plus, I make many references to other films and the concept of a film villain throughout the essay.
I wrote this essay really fast and just had fun with it. With that said, I still really enjoy reading it. I enjoyed it enough to put it in my Senior Seminar, which was supposed to demonstrate my strength and variety as a writer.
I hope you all enjoy the essay below.
*Please note: This essay was written in December of 2007. This was before Heath Ledger's death or The Dark Knight was released*
Villains Need Color Too
An Essay By
Wesley Caldwell
Everyone loves a good villain. But why do we? In most classical Disney stories, good is set against evil. Whether it is Aladdin against Jafar or Simba against Scar, these films and their stories usually set out to tell a tale of morality and how good overcomes evil. But what’s a good versus evil story without a good villain? Whether we like to admit it or not, we all love a good villain. We all love someone to hate. The best seem to be the ones that are the most colorful or sinister in nature. But these aren’t just limited to Disney movies. They can come from all kinds of cinema or literature, whether it’s the boogieman-like Michael Myers from Halloween, the hideous yet sympathetic Frankenstein monster, the giant, fire-breathing, Japanese rubber suit that is Godzilla, or even the psychotic hit man Chigur from the recent Coen Brother’s film No Country for Old Men. When the movie is over, the thing that usually stands out in our minds is the villain.
Exiting the theater, we’ll stand outside with our friends and we’ll say: “Yeah, the movie was great and all… but how cool was that villain?”
Most people get excited when a new villain is announced for a new comic book movie such as Spider-man 3 or the upcoming The Dark Knight. When it comes to these comic book movies, the villain is everything. Who’s playing him? What’s he going to look like? A buzz shot through the Internet like an out of control rocket when it was announced that fan favorite villain Venom would be appearing in Spider-man 3 last summer. As he was cast and pictures of him leaked online, fans critiqued every delicate aspect of the character. Was he too small? How big was his tongue? What was his voice going to sound like? How much screen time was he going to get? The same thing is happening now for The Dark Knight, which is the sequel to Christopher Nolan’s much acclaimed Batman Begins. As soon as Heath Ledger was announced as the infamous villain the Joker, people started critiquing. Was he going to be able to capture the essence of this iconic Batman villain? How was this going to work? It just shows how much the villain matters to people. In the end, the villain has to be perfect. He is just as important, if not more, than the good guy we’re supposed to be rooting for.
Villains are so important that they get their own coloring book. If I’m not mistaken, it probably sells even more than the book featuring the heroes on the cover. But should kids be coloring a book that is dedicated to famous Disney villains? Is there any harm in this?
As one goes through the book, they find a small section dedicated to each of the famous Disney villains. Each section follows the villain around as they do the advertised “diabolical deeds.” The section on Captain Hook follows him kidnap and capture Tiger Lilly, Wendy, and Tinker Bell. At the end of this section, he battles Peter Pan and then is left to be eaten by the giant, monstrous crocodile. In this section, the book follows the classical good versus evil standard, with the good guy triumphing over evil. As the kids color on, they will find their dastardly villain Hook paying for his crimes at the teeth of a vicious, hungry crocodile. Nothing wrong with that. If they are looking for a good message, it is all there for the picking. However, this is not the case for all the sections of villains. The section on Scar, the villain from The Lion King, has him intimidating a young Simba and taking up his evil reign over the land. In a disturbing last picture to color, Scar’s face takes up the page with an evil smile. The words under his image simply say: “It’s good to be king.” This section advocates evil triumphing over good, which is presented as weak and easily defeated. Of course, in the complete story of The Lion King, Simba goes away to grow strong and comes back to defeat Scar, retaining order in his kingdom. However, this is not presented in this way in the coloring book. This time, the bad guy wins.
In a strikingly different section, the story of Prince John, the villain of Robin Hood, is presented. Here, Prince John is shown being robbed by Robin Hood and unmasking the hero with a sword. The last two pictures to color show him demanding gold and sitting on a throne of wealth. There is no defeat from Robin Hood and no victory for him. However, something much more disturbing is presented. In the last two pictures, Prince John is presented as a slave to his own greed and wealth. In the end, it is he himself that is his own opponent. The last picture shows him sitting on his throne, a look of menace on his face as gold surrounds him. A fire blazes in the background. It is his fire of greed. It is still burning strong. The text under the picture states: “Gold and power— the sweet life for a sourpuss.” In the end, it is the gold that is the real villain.
So, in the end, what does this coloring book really say about villains in pop culture and the kids that buy it? According to the sections in the book, it is not always a certainty on who will be the victor. The good guy is not always going to win. However, it never shows the villain as the one in the right. Despite the villain sometimes winning, they are not necessarily portrayed as being happy or living productively. Just look at the case of Prince John. As portrayed in the coloring book, he just as a slave to his own greed. He is not happy. As it turns out, the villains have their own problems as well. Maybe this just adds to why we love them so much.
As one goes through the book, they find a small section dedicated to each of the famous Disney villains. Each section follows the villain around as they do the advertised “diabolical deeds.” The section on Captain Hook follows him kidnap and capture Tiger Lilly, Wendy, and Tinker Bell. At the end of this section, he battles Peter Pan and then is left to be eaten by the giant, monstrous crocodile. In this section, the book follows the classical good versus evil standard, with the good guy triumphing over evil. As the kids color on, they will find their dastardly villain Hook paying for his crimes at the teeth of a vicious, hungry crocodile. Nothing wrong with that. If they are looking for a good message, it is all there for the picking. However, this is not the case for all the sections of villains. The section on Scar, the villain from The Lion King, has him intimidating a young Simba and taking up his evil reign over the land. In a disturbing last picture to color, Scar’s face takes up the page with an evil smile. The words under his image simply say: “It’s good to be king.” This section advocates evil triumphing over good, which is presented as weak and easily defeated. Of course, in the complete story of The Lion King, Simba goes away to grow strong and comes back to defeat Scar, retaining order in his kingdom. However, this is not presented in this way in the coloring book. This time, the bad guy wins.
In a strikingly different section, the story of Prince John, the villain of Robin Hood, is presented. Here, Prince John is shown being robbed by Robin Hood and unmasking the hero with a sword. The last two pictures to color show him demanding gold and sitting on a throne of wealth. There is no defeat from Robin Hood and no victory for him. However, something much more disturbing is presented. In the last two pictures, Prince John is presented as a slave to his own greed and wealth. In the end, it is he himself that is his own opponent. The last picture shows him sitting on his throne, a look of menace on his face as gold surrounds him. A fire blazes in the background. It is his fire of greed. It is still burning strong. The text under the picture states: “Gold and power— the sweet life for a sourpuss.” In the end, it is the gold that is the real villain.
So, in the end, what does this coloring book really say about villains in pop culture and the kids that buy it? According to the sections in the book, it is not always a certainty on who will be the victor. The good guy is not always going to win. However, it never shows the villain as the one in the right. Despite the villain sometimes winning, they are not necessarily portrayed as being happy or living productively. Just look at the case of Prince John. As portrayed in the coloring book, he just as a slave to his own greed. He is not happy. As it turns out, the villains have their own problems as well. Maybe this just adds to why we love them so much.
But we’re thinking too much aren’t we? The fact is this: villains will always be cool. No matter what they do, who beats them, or how much we hate them, they’ll always hold a place in our hearts. Kids will always want to color them in coloring books, draw them in class when they are supposed to be paying attention, or play them in video games. The bad guy represents something out of the ordinary. The villain can break all the rules and live outside of the law. There’s something deep down that is attractive about that. They usually represent everything we’re not.
So, the next time you are in Wal-Mart looking at coloring books, feel free to pick up your kids a coloring book dedicated to villains. They will probably think it’s cooler than the one dedicated to the heroes. Sure, the good guy may not always win in it but the kids probably are not looking for messages anyway. If they are, however, they will see that the villain does not really have it good either.
Just remember— villains need color too. After all, the more colorful they are, the more memorable they will be.
So, the next time you are in Wal-Mart looking at coloring books, feel free to pick up your kids a coloring book dedicated to villains. They will probably think it’s cooler than the one dedicated to the heroes. Sure, the good guy may not always win in it but the kids probably are not looking for messages anyway. If they are, however, they will see that the villain does not really have it good either.
Just remember— villains need color too. After all, the more colorful they are, the more memorable they will be.
2 comments:
Clever. I liked that a lot. You should do posts like this more often. Really a fun read.
Thank you. I'll try.
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