Love the Killer?

by Dragonsoul 

Enemy. Adversary. Villain. Whatever you call him/her, the antagonist has a significant role–-that of opposing the hero/heroine. While the function is not as vital as the protagonist himself/herself, without them the whole of the story would be pointless. It should only serve in that capacity, to inspire you to kill or punish the villain. And yet, why do we find ourselves lured to daydream of the enemy? Why do we sympathize with their atrocious actions? I am here to explore why the killer, normally so abhorred, can be so worshiped...even loved.

As you probably noticed this is an essay on the reasons we find ourselves attracted to the ‘sinner’ instead of the ‘saint’. In the effort of being fair I will announce this as a possible spoiler for Final Fantasy 4(2US), 6(3US), 7 and Chrono Trigger. As well, this is just my opinion...

Do you love the killer?

Interesting thought. Many of us do.

In the beginning, there was good. People treated each other with benevolence,compassion and courtesy. Then came evil. Murders, robbings, etc. occurred. For some reason (probably based upon our sense of morality), the media only presented the side of good. Movies had the good guys winning, getting the girl, and destroying the bad guy. Books were the same, as was any other form of entertainment or communication. For centuries (or for however long humanity’s been around) good shone more prominently than evil. And yet, evil was always there playing a back seat to good.

Evidence to this is the earlier rags. Final Fantasy 4 main character was a good-souled character named Cecil. Paladins themselves are the very definition of valor. The final boss is an alien creature, Zemus, with no respect of human rights or life. Final Fantasy 6 didn’t stray much from that vein. Characters such as Locke and Terra show a sense of struggling to preserve life and the very planet itself. This game also had a very unredeemable villain, Kefka, who kills entire kingdoms. The line of good and evil is very defined.

And yet in later years, the ‘black and white’ lines are becoming gray. The opponents are no longer these bloodthirsty killers who see only destruction. Society has evolved. Now games come out with background and reasons for the atrocities. In Chrono Trigger, Magus murders Cyrus, transforms Glen to a frog, and attempts to summon a creature that would mean certain death for the world. At first, like you, I hated him. I wanted to shed his blood. The same was for Sephiroth. I mean, did you ever see a more gleeful smirk than when he sent Nibelhiem up in flames? Or stabbed Aeris/Aerith? Or as he planned to obliterate all with meteor?

Time to die, Villain!

Or was it? Throughout both games, Magus and Sephiroth developed a soul–-shattered and bloodstained though it be. You couldn’t help but feel saddened when you heard of Magus’ woes as he was cruelly ripped from his sister’s arms. You couldn’t help but shake your head in horror as Sephiroth’s true origins were revealed by his demented father.

Which, of course, begs the question: why did the developers uncover these villains sides and troubles when they failed to do so for their predecessors?

The answer is simple: society is changing. We no longer want to hear the story of the hero’s problems; it is not enough. We want to see the motives behind the killings. Good has been explored, evolved, eaten, breathed, and upchucked (sorry!). Evil is a mystery, one to be poured into our selves and to be enjoyed. It is new, fresh, and on the rise.

So, evil is new...anything else?

Humanity has a love of change and conflict. It is in every aspect of our environment. If not, how could you explain the desire to do dangerous sports, or watch movies were the ending isn’t so peachy? We cheer our hero on, hoping he/she will prevail against the odds. But even as we rail the evil they confront we also are pleased to see the conflict become even more...conflicted.

While in days of old, mother and father might have told us to be ‘good little boys and girls’ and shun personal development, today they encourage us to challenge ourselves. That challenge has come across in exploring our morality. How many of us would approve of vandalism? Not many. But how many of us would condemn the demolition of life-killing reactors? Even less. What about ‘safekeeping’ an item that is potentially dangerous and removing that item, forcefully, from their owners?

In Final Fantasy 7, there is a rebel group called the Avalanche. Now, natural detest of governments aside, would it seem feasible to illegally destroy healthy machinery? In Final Fantasy 4, such a dilemma also occurs. Cecil is prompted to steal the Crystal of Water from a neighboring kingdom. Now, removing deadly firearms is one thing but robbing another country from its pride and joy is another. Or is it? The eternal question of what is moral. Good rarely questions the concept of morality, clarifying it with simple rules. But evil always picks at the concept, making us redefine our borders. And because we love challenge, we love change. And because we love change, we love conflict.

And, of course, evil is ever the best conflict.

Produced by our ‘villain’.

Ok, so evil is new and a source of conflict/development... anything else?

My final reason (though these are certainly not the only reasons!) would deal in a more internal and personal aspect of ourselves. Our inner demon. They say that the desire to hurt is within us all. Though none of us would like to admit to such a thing there is little logic to dispute. Wasn’t there a time when you wanted to pelt that teacher on the head who failed you? Or wanted to take a match to the house because your parents grounded you for something you considered insignificant?

Now there are few of us who actually carry out these threats (and thankfully so!) but they are there, hidden in the unconscious mind. We see the villain protest the crimes committed against he/she and they act upon their anger. This is almost clearly wrong and most players see that. Who could justify the murder of Aeris/Aerith? Or Cyrus? Or anybody, for that matter?

In video games there are individuals who sense of good and evil is so warped that murder seems logical. Sephiroth sees the death of Aeris/Aerith as the only suitable answer to prevent his mission from becoming a failure. Little in life has cared for him so he cares for little in return. President Shin-ra’s slaying, to him, was appropriate. So was burning down Nibelhiem. Magus lashed out at the hardships of life by killing Cyrus. Cyrus was a threat. So Magus eliminated the threat.

So, the point?

Just as we might feel frustration toward wrongs done to us, we understand, on some level, the anger these adversaries feel. They have their reasons. We know their reactions are wrong; we’d never do it ourselves. But a dark outlet is filled within us. We achieve some satisfaction that the pain we suffer has been suffered by others. Nobody wants to kill-–it’s a natural trait that is submerged by morality.

But isn’t it nice to have someone understand?

Villains understand.

Simply put our love of the evil is a safe release for the pain we feel. Games don’t hurt anyone. People do. But if we channel unvented anger through a harmless video game and, ultimately, the enemy, the matter is solved. We can continue our lives, content that nobody was killed and our mentality is secure...

Until the next incursion, anyway...

To sum it all, evil (and a villain) is new and unexplored while good has been around the bend. Evil a.k.a. the villain presents a challenge but good does not. And evil/villain is a way for us to expend negative energy. Of course, there are dozens of explanations as to why the enemy is such a powerful lure but here are the ones I find the most prevalent.

Thanks to anyone who actually read this. Thanks to anybody who actually understood it, too! I also appreciate my sister for being a sounding board for the development process. Gotta thank Square, also, for making such great villains. I’m always open for rebuttal so flame away! But, remember, this is just my opinion.

By the way, if any of you wondered...I love the killers, too!