Heroes have existed since the beginning of time. The existence of heroes brings people a sense of safety and inspiration. We’ve all got heroes we look up to. But the one thing that brings meaning and purpose to a hero's life is not their cause, but a villain. Villains are as important in our lives as heroes, seeing a character actually do the bad things we wonder about in our deepest darkest fantasies is an outlet that should not be looked over. As I came across the recently launched trailer of Marvel’s “Agatha All Along”, I began to ponder why we so love a female villain. At first I thought it’s just the contradiction that attracts people. Watching women who are stereotypically deemed to be caring, delicate, empathetic commit some really heinous crimes is unexpected and refreshing. But it’s not really anything new, is it? Female villains have existed on and off screen since forever. And yet, they still hold a special place in our hearts and watchlists.
We love having our ethics challenged. There’s an appeal to seeing characters do something questionable or outright wicked and ask ourselves if we would ever do such a thing, how would we have done it differently. And since female villains tend to use more of their cerebral power, wit and cleverness in contrast with a lot of male villains who use aggression and brute force, it makes the whole process even more fun to indulge in.
Historically, there has been a lack of complex female villains. Their actions just like any other villain and their motivations uninspired. Disney was one of the biggest so-to-say manufacturers of the one dimensional female villain.
With characters like the Mother Gothel (Tangled, 2010), Ursula (The Little Mermaid, 1989), the OG Cruella De Ville (101 Dalmatians,1961) and the OG Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty, 1959), they formed a template of sorts for their female villains. An unmarried, vain, unconventional woman whose motivations were always materialistic.
Any woman who didn’t fit the cookie-cutter image of conventionally pretty and docile was the go-to for Disney to antagonise. And even though that’s a whole separate topic to dissect, at least they didn’t shy away from making those characters fundamentally evil. Not some misunderstood, victimised anti-hero to sympathise with. Whereas, all the newer adaptations and new female villains such as the live action Cruella (Cruella, 2001), Maleficent (Maleficent, 2014) have completely new storylines where more often than not they lose their original personality. They seem to have overcorrected in their approach to appeal to a modern audience. While it’s important to have a complex, layered female villain, it feels like they cannot completely commit to making a woman evil, which is an issue on its own.
So what makes for a good female villain? An evil mind. I’m aware, it sounds obvious. But, a huge chunk of writers and makers started focusing on the layers whereas what makes them enjoyable is knowing that at their core, they are bad people. That no matter how many chances they get, they will always make the unethical choice, be the rotten apple. We come bearing good news too. A fan favourite trope definitely can’t become a favourite without brilliant examples. So here’s a list of our picks if you wish to embrace your villain-girl era.
- Jennifer’s ghost in Jennifer’s Body
- Villanelle in Killing Eve
- Cruella in 101 Dalmatians, 1961
- Cerci Lannister in Game of Thrones
- Agatha Harkness in Wanda Vision
- Dhankor Baa in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela
- Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, 1959
- Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 2007
- Hella in Thor: Ragnarok, 2017
- Amy Dunne in Gone Girl
- Sonia Roy in Aitraaz
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