The Villain

 

Villains come in all shapes and sizes,

but in popular art there are a few sure fire

methods to help people identify who the enemy is.

Looking at Disney villains, a number of characteristics stand out:

 

  

 

Chernobog, god of evil, from Fantasia displays three key features:

first, the fang shape, repeated in the wings, horns, shapes of eyebrows and

eyes, the ears, and the fingers; second, he is bigger than us, and towering

over us; third, he has scowling brows – and usually mouth,

too. Even when he is happy, the narrow eyes

convey that it is not to be trusted.

 

  

 

With the wicked Queen from Snow White,

again we see the fang shape in the collar of the cloak,

and the narrowed, tricky eyes. The mouth too reveals constant displeasure.

The heart shape of the face does not relieve the feeling of malevolence.

And when she turns into the witch, a new set of

characteristics come into play:

 

  

 

The eyes this time are large,

but the irises and pupils are lost in them,

appearing small, and giving the cue that you are not

liked. Fang shapes appear in the way her hair hangs in tufts,

 in her nails, and in rounded form in the nose, mouth

and chin. Angry brows are often present.

The sideways look also makes her

look shifty. The ugly gaps in

her dentition and the

wart

on her nose

add little to the appeal,

indeed, they constitute another sentic form –

the bringer of disgust.

 

    

 

Interesting to compare the eyes

and the downturned mouths in Snow White’s Queen,

 and the Stepmother in Cinderella.

And the appendages to her

head designed to give

 greater height and

impressiveness.

 

  

 

In the Sleeping Beauty, the malevolent force

here also reveals the fang shape

in the horns on her head, and the shapes

of her cloak drapery. Her companions too reveal

these shapes – the crows in the shapes of

the beak and wing feathers. And

she turns into a quite

magnificent dragon.

 

 

 

The villains in Lady and the Tramp also

embody the fang shape – in the corner of the mouth,

the eyes, turned up nose, the chin and the teeth.

So different to a typical ‘good’ cat –

The eyes and face are rounded,

no sharp pointy bits in

the mouth, no angry

brow, rounded

jaw.

 

  

 

And in the magnificent Cruella de Ville –

pointy cheekbones, chin, and mouth corners.

Often angry brows, and fanged hair and nails.

 

 

And with the Wolf, from Three Little Pigs?

Fanged hair, teeth, ears, eyes, claws,

and even trouser bottoms.

Also, he is bigger and

taller than us.

 

      

 

In Pinocchio,

the fox contrasts sharply with the fox in Robin Hood –

where the fox is the Hero. Sharp, fang shaped nose

and lower lip, fanged whiskers and tail, and

shifty eyes contrast with the

kinderschema fox of

Robin Hood.

 

 

And then there is the legendary

Captain Hook. Not much here in the way

of fang shapes – a hint in the eyebrows and

moustache, the pointy chin and nose, and of course

the hook itself. But here the main message

is carried by wilful chin and posture,

the clenched fist and angry brow

 and mouth.

 

And there are many other characters which follow this pattern:

 

 

 

 

The Hunter from Snow White,

who leads her out into the woods at the behest

of the Queen, to murder her.

The showman, Stromboli,

in Pinocchio, and

many others:

 

         

 

Angry eyes, scowling mouth, forceful actions, and size – bigger than us!

 

 

Ron Lowery The Stock Market 0-029-0411

 

So one marker for the Villain, like for the Hero, is Power. The other,

the one which distinguishes the two, is the Fang shape.

But many Villains do not fit this pattern.

They don’t conveniently advertise

themselves with Fang shapes.

But there are two issues

here. How we recognise

the Villain, and what

emotional reaction

we then have to

him or her. So

we can recognise

the Villain from visual

or intellectual clues,

but the same Villain nucleus

is triggered either way,

and the same feeling

and the same

default

actions

ensue.

 

If we see our Hero joyous,

celebrating our victory, then the Joy

impels us to draw close, join in, celebrate too.

But if it is the Villain we see joyous,

Celebrating his victory over us,

Then we feel Disgust, and

The urge to withdraw,

Put a distance

between us.