Does sgt hartman from full metal jacket applies as evilly affable? At least according to the new definition? Because he says things affable things like "Dont you fall down the Obstacle course, Pvt Pyle! That would break my heart!" Or "I like you, you can come to my house and fuck my sister.
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Nah, at heart he's a good guy. He's being harsh to weed out the recruits who don't have what it takes. Maybe a bit of a sadist, but not an outright sociopath
So wait, I am confused. Is An Evilly Affable character a Complete Monster played for laughs, or a Complete Monster that is funny? Like, if a character is played for laughs but always ends up receiving a Dude, Not Funny! response from the audience. Is that still Evilly Affable?
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An Evilly Affable character doesn't have to be a Complete Monster at all. (I think that term is getting tossed around too much lately, but that's beside the point.) I think the point is a villain who's evil, but still plays at having an "affable" demeanor, despite more-than-likely not having a genuine nice bone in their body. This may or may not include making jokes and trying to be funny.
Well, on the Complete Monster page, it says "When a character is normally like this but played for comedy, see Evilly Affable." I was just asking because some people argue on whether or not Cartman from South Park is Evilly Affable or a Complete Monster.
It sounds like someone misinterpreted Evilly Affable, in that case. It's common for an "evilly affable" character to be funny, but not a given. Either way, however — in my personal judgment — Cartman rarely even pretends to be anything more than a jerk, so I would go with the latter, if anything.
Edited by Caswin
Well, here's how I'd put it. Evilly Affable means that a particular character is a sadistic and depraved bastard, and yet, everyone most of us "love" this person for all the reasons we should hate him/her. Said character need not be a Complete Monster, it's just we love the fact that this person is an insensitive Jerkass who's just good at what he does. This isn't always because they're funny, although that often seems to be the case.
The difference between Affably Evil and Evilly Affable is in what the villain lends their charm to. If a villain is loved for being bubbly, charasmatic and sometimes almost friendly, then it's Affably Evil. If the villain is just an insensitive, cruel asshole, and yet they do it in such a way that comes off as entertaining (perhaps from a well-developed character), then it's Evilly Affable. Evilly Affable antagonists don't act affable, but what makes them "affable" (which I think means 'likable') is the fact that they're so damn good at being bad. Hope that helps.
I will not be understood. Understand?!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't many Complete Monsters still act affable in their own right, despite being utterly repugnant villains? The first example to come to mind is The Joker on a bad day.
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Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Rework or Cleanup:
, started by arks on Sep 8th 2010 at 2:04:18 PM
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