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Sue Sylvester and the Art of Being a Villain
This week's episode of "Glee" got me thinking: what is it that makes a good villain?
Before I go off on a tirade, let me just say: I LOVE Glee. I LOVE the character of Sue Sylvester. I LOVED this episode.
There. Now, for the rant.
From there, we learn that Sue has donated $3000 from her cheerleading funds to build much needed wheelchair ramps for the school. Schuster and the principal are obviously as confused about her behavior as the viewers are.
Finally, we are treated to a poignant scene in which Sue reads "Little Red Riding Hood" to her own older sister in a convalescent home. We see that Sue's sister also has down syndrome... and suddenly it all becomes clear. Sue Sylvester has a soft heart for disabled folks because her sister is disabled.Great. There goes another nice, simple, nasty villain. Wonderful. How long before she loses her teeth entirely and becomes inspirational, uplifting and good hearted? How long before that wonderful biting wit is completely lost to soft-focused tear jerking moments? In my mind, a good villain isn't a complex portrait of a person. A really classic villain is, instead, cartoonishly evil -- focused on the total defeat of the protagonist, and, often, of the forces of Goodness themselves. Their characteristics are the exaggerated opposite of those of the hero/heroine. They are often crafty, cunning, quick witted, and fearfully effective. Even when they bumble, or fail, they chalk it up to their dim witted henchmen, or the weather, or the simple luck of the good guys. Imagine a world in which we discover that "Sleeping Beauty's" Maleficent was tormented as a child for being weak or ugly, thus causing her villainous dragon-rage. Or, that Freddy Kruger has a soft spot for koala bears and little kids with debilitating disease. Why do we need to find out why the character is evil? Why do we need to justify a villain's behavior?I, for one, want a villain that is evil because that's what they are. Let's bring back the notion of the evil monster that didn't have a good reason to eat that baby. Let's celebrate the heartless dictator who simply wants more power for the sake of having more power. Let's make room for the arch nemesis who hates the superhero simply because they're so opposite. I liked Darth Vader better when he was an ominous threat than when he became a sad, failed father.
I liked Dracula better when he wanted to enslave mankind than when he wanted to simply be in love with Winona Ryder.
I liked Heath Ledger's version of the Joker better than Jack Nicholson's in part because we never learned the Joker's backstory in "The Dark Knight." It didn't matter, and would have stripped some of the evil and chaos away. Don't get me wrong. There are some circumstances in which it's good to have a little backstory to your villain. There are many stories where I can appreciate that the characters are multi-faceted individuals with deeper goals and desires. But, sometimes, I just want a villain to be a villain, with no excuse, no remorse, and no compromise. Too bad it couldn't have been Sue Sylvester.
(Still love the character and the show, though.)
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Evil Squid Sadness Spreading Club
You have now all been duly deputized to spread sadness and disheartening wherever you go! Take this, my minions, and proceed to the boundless corners of the Internet!
Sticky
I just found out Betty Crocker isn't/wasn't a real person.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
What Would Google Do?
Do people think anymore? My apartment's fire alarm is a lady saying "there is a fire in the building, evacuate," and then a very low pitched "beep, beep, beep." When the alarm went off at 3:45AM, my roommates and I would have been dead if there was really a fire.
You may have heard the song "Fireflies" by Owl City. I love the song because it is so uniquely romantic in that it doesn't actually mention human-to-human love, but the romance is burning with every sound.
Insult: A clerk asked to see my ID when I bought an "M" (17+) rated video game. I'm twenty.
I found an alternative to caffiene. It works as well, but instead of being addictive in the long run, it's addictive in the short run. It is Resident Evil 4; the video game I was IDed for buying.
One of the hardest things for me to do is ask people to do something for free.
I'm definitely buying this for my sisters and I to play over Thanksgiving break.
Meaning of Diwali
The word 'Diwali' is an abbreviation of the Sanskrit word 'Deepavali', which means 'rows of lights'. Diwali is commonly referred to as the Festival of Lights.
Light, being a symbol of hope and positive energy, suggests the victory of good over evil (negative energy). By spreading light in every corner of the house, we try to destroy the reign of darkness, on the night of Diwali. People decorate their place with diyas (lamp with a wick made of cotton and dipped in ghee).
Hindu community: the day when the homecoming of Rama, after 14 years of exile in the forest and his victory over Ravana, is celebrated. People welcomed Rama by lighting rows of lamps along the way to the city of Ayodhya (the capital of his kingdom).
Sikh community: the day when their sixth Guru, Guru Har Govind Ji (and 52 other Hindu kings) came back from captivity in Fort Gwalior. Also known as "Bandi Chhorh Divas" for this reason. The people illuminated lamps on the way to the Golden Temple, to honour and welcome their beloved Guru.
Jain community: the day when the famous Jain prophet Bhagvaan Mahaveer, the founder of Jainism, attained 'Nirvana'.
Source: My parents and Wikipedia!
U.K. Press not Permitted to Report on Activities of Government
The Guardian has been prevented from reporting parliamentary proceedings on legal grounds which appear to call into question privileges guaranteeing free speech established under the 1688 Bill of Rights.
Today's published Commons order papers contain a question to be answered by a minister later this week. The Guardian is prevented from identifying the MP who has asked the question, what the question is, which minister might answer it, or where the question is to be found.
via guardian.co.uk
So what's this all about? A British company is dumping toxic waste in Africa. Not just any company either, Trafigura. It's one of those commodity companies that is raping the world for profit.
A boat chartered by the company, the Probo Koala, was caught dumping 528,000 litres of extremely alkaline waste off the Ivory Coast. The Guardian obtained internal Trafigura emails which are claimed to show the company knew the crap was toxic, but was dumping anyway. Now the Trafigura is going sue-happy with the help of their retained legal firm Carter-Ruck. They're trying to prevent this news from breaking, but the Internet is aware, now.
Right now we don't know why the British Parliament is blocking the next part of this story from breaking.
Agreed both the creation story and the story of the fall are myths. Two thoughts from Reinhold Niebuhr are very helpful here.
1) The Bible is to be taken seriously, not literally.
2) Original sin is the one empirically verifiable doctrine.
I believe in the inherent goodness of human nature.
I also believe in the corruption and even bondage of the will.
Anglicans should have a high but fallen conception of human nature, which is exactly what Genesis teaches. We don't completely lose our freedom, but we are born into a mess of disordered relationships, including some oppressive ones. We need a Savior to set us free from powers stronger than we.
Christ is such a Savior and he triumphs over the world as opposed to God for the sake of the world as created good and loved by God, by entering into the world as it is and subverting it from within.
In Christ, before this becomes fully real in us, our relationships with God, our neighbor, and the earth are already restored. The task before us is catching up with the new humanity which is already real in him in fact and in us in promise and hope. Only the Holy Spirit can empower this transformation which is at once individual and social.