6 Comments
User's avatar
Daniel Crandall's avatar

An interesting question … Why are the villains more compelling than the heroes? Villains are more compelling so as to help us be more healthy, balanced human. I'm reminded of what Jordan Peterson, channeling Carl Jung, has said in regard to coming to terms with the darkness, the shadow, within ourselves. In my therapeutic work, clients who seem to struggle the most are those who work very hard at denying any darkness within them. Accept your shadow side and you can be on your way to a healthy psyche. Accept that side so as to understand oneself, not to dwell in & relish the darkness. It's easy to think of oneself as the hero. Even easier to fall into the trap of being the victim. A compelling villain can remind us … 'Oh, yeah … I could be guy". Then may we know how hard we have to work, how far we may have to go, to be the hero we'd like to be.

Expand full comment
Sam Pakan's avatar

I love these insights. As a Christian novelist, I am frequently called on the carpet for the loathsome instincts of my protagonist. Just know that you shall be quoted.

Expand full comment
Average joe's avatar

Humanity feels the need to keep moving towards something hence the word progressive (the glib word for virtue) because it implies progression from bad to good unfortunately progression like Thelma & Louise driving off a cliff until the brakes need to be applied !

Like toleration (such a nice word isn’t it ) then when you finally look up at the tolerances of movements that want to tolerate “minor attraction “ just the phrase is designed to be more tolerant to the people it involves…….why ?

For we are in an era of deceit . Those like the marquee de Sade who lurk on the fringes of society tempt with the “grass is greener” route. Tapping into that natural curiosity that kills the cat . We need to learn even now what progression leads to death outside the garden of Eden of Christianity and the Friedrich Nietzsche, Freudian, Marquis de Sade, Foucault & LGBTQ “grass is greener”

Tolerance of everything is the value of nothing

Expand full comment
Tedward S.'s avatar

George MacDonald's "Lilith: A Romance" (1895) contains a more developed Adam. Adam struggles against his lust, personified as the demon Lilith, who demands that the price of Adam's lust is the blood of his children. It is a novel that should be more read. Adam is depicted as both the creation of God, from the perfect spirit of God, but also polluted because he wants progeny, his own creation.

This is a novel that should be more read by Christians.

Expand full comment
Glen Vinet's avatar

Well said, Andrew. Thank you.

Expand full comment
Dave's avatar

I thought the Bob Hoskins Super Mario Bros film was vastly underrated. "Sir. The Goombas are dancing again."

Expand full comment