Dear Steemit,
Heroes and Villains are a thing of the past. With anti-heroes on the rise and lovable villains, the black and white aspect characters in stories had is morphing into a more realistic grey area. There are no good or bad guys, and that is being reflected in media now too.
Anti heroes are defined as heroes who lack the common hero traits. Han Solo, The Punisher, Daryl, even Snape has been considered one. They aren't perfect, they aren't always 'good' in a conventional sense. Sherlock (BBC) is a high functioning sociopath. His faithful sidekick John points out his lack of empathy at times. He's the protagonist, but the good he does has been explained as something he gets off on. It's less of a sacrificial, save the world mindset you think heroes would have.
Lovable villains are even better. Loki, Moriarty, The Joker, and Darth Vader. They are antagonists, we know they're 'bad' but don't care. We can look past the wrong they do and see the good also. In lots of cases, villains have a backstory that makes you pity them. Since it's almost Christmas, I'll use the Grinch as an example. He hates Christmas and ruins it for who Whos whenever he has the chance. Then we look back at his childhood, where he never liked it but because he was bullied and tormented by the other kids he turned against it for good. He left the town and lived in a mountain and became and even more bitter person. Eventually a little girl comes along, notices the good in him, and accepts him. His heart grows and he leaves the villain life behind.
I don't know about you, but I think that's beautiful. He was hurt and that's why he hurt others, but when shown love he didn't want to. It's a kids book and movie but I think that's some powerful stuff right there. Not all lovable villains turn 'good' but we still feel sympathy for them because we know they are a product of their environment. They didn't just choose to be bad one day, nor were they born that way, society created them. Give someone love and support and watch them flourish.
This is something that holds true in everyday life, because so many people are hurting. We label people good and bad too. Look at prison, it's full of the bad. It's where we send the worst of society to go in order to not cause more damage than they have. They're dangerous people. Evil even. But, then their sentence is over. They're rehabilitated into society. Given a second chance. They aren't villains, they are people who've made mistakes.
Heroes and Villains are getting boring because it's so artificial. People aren't good or evil. Take it from Sirius Black, who said, "We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are."
People are complex and can't be squeezed into boxes.
