Line #0 Analysis/DesignatedVillain


1	* In most movies about SavingTheOrphanage, old theater, school, ball field, etc., the villain is someone who wants to tear down this location to put their own business there, a completely legal and understandable (if somewhat tragic for the protagonists) way to make a living. Often they’re corrupt or try to achieve their goal of obtaining the property through underhanded or illegal means, but sometimes the movie has no other way to paint them as an outright villain than to make them kind of a jerk. (A production intended for kids especially would do this, because the creators think [[ViewersAreMorons kids are insufficiently intelligent to understand corruption]].)
2	* Similarly, landlords (or bankers, etc.) get this treatment simply for demanding that protagonists pay them the money they’re rightfully owed or vacate the premises. If the ‘creditor’ figure is not outright portrayed as a jerk or involved in some underhanded scheme, they still get painted as ‘fabulously wealthy landowner being merciless and unforgiving to characters’ hardships.’ Unfortunately, there really are people with this sort of NoSympathy for landlords in RealLife. Likewise, there really are landlords like this in Real Life, so this viewpoint is not always unjustified.
3	** If they have a [[NoAnimalsAllowed ‘no pets allowed’ policy]], it’s usually because they hate animals instead of more legitimate reasons like the potential to spread disease, or for the expensive damage pets can do to the property such as [[UrineTrouble urinating everywhere]], or chewing or clawing the walls or floors.
4	* [[CassandraTruth The people who think the hero is crazy and needs to be locked up]] usually think so because the hero is, well … ''acting'' totally crazy. In real life, if somebody you know [[YouHaveToBelieveMe starts going on about voices, special powers, or other worlds]], getting mental help for them is generally the ''right'' thing to do.
5	* Any time a new boss/authority figure makes any type of budget cuts, it is almost guaranteed that they will be [[MeanBoss portrayed as a villain]], and their rising to their position of authority will be portrayed as a TyrantTakesTheHelm moment. Never mind the fact that in RealLife budget cuts are often necessary, particularly in tough economic times. The idea that budget cuts may sometimes be justified is apparently an unpopular one with many writers, and all authority figures who suggest budget cuts will be portrayed as absurdly evil villains who actively hate the arts/their employees/teachers/children/the community and want to cut the budget ForTheEvulz rather than because of fiscal/economic realities.
6	** If they are a school principal or superintendent, they will be depicted as a DeanBitterman who needs to lighten up. If they are a political figure, they will inevitably be a StrawCharacter, and if they run a business, they will always be portrayed as being a CorruptCorporateExecutive. [[FelonyMisdemeanor Apparently, fiscal responsibility is the Eighth Deadly Sin in the world of fiction.]] The fact that this attitude is often carried over into RealLife — resulting in anyone who suggests budget cuts being portrayed as evil, however fiscally sensible their proposals may be — is also rather frustrating.
7	*** There’s a seemingly easy AuthorsSavingThrow at play: if the authority figure wants to cut the budget on the backs of poor people, many viewers would see that as bad. Yet if they had been abusing the services that were cut, it might be necessary to teach them [[AnAesop a lesson]], albeit perhaps a controversial one for this audience. When such a thought leads to an assumption, sincerely held or [[{{Hypocrite}} feigned]], that ''all'' economic problems are poor people’s fault, however, it is a problem.
8	* In many particularly cheesy kid and teen movies, anyone who doesn’t immediately give the DesignatedHero their way is portrayed as a {{jerkass}}. A typical example is a character who did nothing worse than compete with the protagonist for something, yet somehow deserves to be punished and humiliated, or a teacher who actually makes the protagonist work and is portrayed as a SadistTeacher because of it.
9	** This is especially bad when the ‘hero’ belittles, humiliates, and otherwise torments their enemy and [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality is portrayed as justified]], but when the enemy does ''the exact same thing'', they are a {{jerkass}}. This often leads to AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: if we only ever see a character’s behavior around someone who hates them, what’s to say they ''aren’t'' sweet to their friends and family? This can then make an already UnintentionallyUnsympathetic protagonist worse, if they treat their loved ones poorly.
10	** Characters who punish other characters often get this treatment too, even if the other character had a reason to be punished (for instance, the police arresting a character who really did do a lot of damage, or a boss firing an employee who was genuinely incompetent.)
11	* Sitcoms and Telenovelas with a LoveTriangle (well, is there any without one?) usually arrange it as a designated couple and ‘the other’, who is an obstacle in the designated couple’s happiness. They are usually referred to as the heroes and villains of the work. However, ‘the other’ may be a villain or not depending on what they actually do to keep the relation or in other topics. Specially if the designated couple have just met and ‘the other’ has been in the relation from years ago (and more if there are kids in the scene), doing anything to protect the relation may be perfectly justified in most cases.
12	** Another one related to romance is when a character is portrayed as unsympathetic just because they don't return another character's infatuations for them. While this doesn't usually happen if the one with the crush behaves in an overly-sexual way, and/or [[StalkerWithACrush outright stalks their crush]], if they just sit there and pine, their crush is usually seen as cold or distant, even though they didn't do anything.
13	* In a work that’s VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory, the opposing side will get [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade an upgrade in villainy]], while the side with the protagonists may be [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade made to seem more heroic]]. Evidence in the story can still remain for a grayer view, though, sometimes either side may appear similar, and anyone who researched the event will be shaking their heads as to why each side’s traits were exaggerated.
14	* Occasionally, AMillionIsAStatistic will not work quite as expected and the audience will find themselves capable of looking at the villain's actions in an objective light. Sure, the BigBad had killed several dozen people and he is a bit of a jerk, but if he has a real chance of [[SlaveLiberation abolishing global slavery]] and [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans establishing a utopia]], is he really the bad guy in the equation? Sometimes, WellIntentionedExtremist or even a NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist will be seen as morally correct, because their cause is just too damn sympathetic and the sacrifices they make are pretty reasonable in the grand scheme of things.
15	* In stories involving the supernatural, some characters are portrayed as villains for unintentionally hindering the supernatural characters in some way, even though it was an accident and they usually didn't even know those supernatural characters ''existed''. (This is commonly seen in stories where kids mistreat LivingToys they didn't know were sentient). Characters who doubt the existence of the paranormal are sometimes also meant to be villains, even if the evidence at the time really ''did'' lead to the paranormal not being real.
16	* Some characters will portray a small child as the villain, or at least the antagonist, for whining or behaving irrationally, even though such irrational behaviours are normal in a kid their age.
17	* In some stories, a character will be portrayed negatively just for wanting to keep other characters safe. While some characters are legitimately overprotective (for instance, HelicopterParents or those who practice SafetyWorst), others get treated as villains just for encouraging a scientist to wear PPE or calling out characters for doing some dangerous thing.

Context Analysis / DesignatedVillain