I was browsing on my phone last night, watching in awe as flocks of women rushed—almost tripping over one another—into a Target store to grab five Stanley tumblers branded under the new Wicked movie. It was the epitome of a stampede, à la Jingle All the Way. The reason why each of them grabbed only 5 tumblers is because that is the maximum limit imposed by the store. As I scrolled past the video, I was met with another ad showcasing sparkling Wicked smartphone cases. While I thought the products were pretty cute, I couldn’t help but notice that there were just as many, if not more, green versions of the ‘Wicked’ products flying off the shelf as there were the pink versions. Wait a minute—are we supposed to like Elphaba Elphaba Thropp, A.K.A. the Wicked Witch of the West over Glinda?
I then thought about my son, who is way more fascinated with antagonists like Darth Vader and Venom than conventional protagonists Luke Skywalker and Spiderman. His infatuation with the antagonists is starting to trigger worry in me, and I found myself hesitating to get him villain toys for birthdays and Christmas. Am I overthinking this? He hasn’t exhibited any villainous tendencies or worrisome traits. He’s one of the kindest, most sociable, and most empathetic people I know. Will he start to change as he divulges deeper into his love of villains and anit-heroes? When we were kids, we were taught the difference between good and bad in the same sense that we should like Cinderella and should dislike the Evil Queen.
Things have changed quite a bit in the past few decades, with anti-hero franchises’ resurgence with widely beloved characters like Harley Quinn and Loki. The antagonists are made into complex, troubled characters with their own stories. These stories arouse empathy and reliability in these characters – turning them into underdogs. Couple this with the fact that they act on their own accord, without caring about anybody else’s expectations or being limited by them. This pushes up the coolness factor, also taking them away from psychopathic characteristics and closer to sociopathic tendencies.
Some characters are anti-heroes but are clear protagonists in the story, like Frodo Baggins, Jack Sparrow, and even Harry Potter. People are drawn to the complexity that comes with a layered character who is flawed and conflicted. Nevertheless, these characters are fundamentally good and have consistently exhibited kindness throughout their stories.
Coming from the entertainment industry, I understand the attraction to the thrill and bravery of going against the norm and pushing boundaries. I am just not quite sure I want to encourage my kid’s fascination with these “cool villains”. We will need to continuously find that delicate balance between entertainment, creative perspective, and reality.
What about you? Are your kids super into horror characters and/or villains? What’s your take?
