So, its not scripted for heroes to be good and villans to be bad in films...heh, then why don't they simply say they're all middlemen and there are NO heroes or villans in films if there isn't one of the other, written as such? The perfect persons (the good guys, heroes, etc.) include: Snow White, Cinderella, likewise, the total villan is someone like Malificent (nobody has ever compared to her). So they do script these people to be predominantely good or evil.
I don't know where that first remark came from, but whatever. Its wrong. Yes, they're scripted in specific roles, but that doesn't or shouldn't stop you from connecting with the hero.
By the by, Snow White was not perfect. She was naive (overly trusting, and hell, she entered someone else's property without asking, she couldn't tell that her stepmother was evil, despite the fact that she must have spent some time with her, hell, the dwarves knew she was evil!). And Cindella never really got a chance to show a truly dark side. She was a victem, through and through, but I can tell you that without the mice to keep her company, she'd probably have gone insane or become bitter. Her main imperfection that I noticed was that she didn't stand up for herself when she should have. So, she's not perfect, either.
And how does this apply to those who cross the line and switch the other way? The good guys who become bad and the other way around?
Hey, you're the one who brought Osoma Bin-Laden into this, not me. I'm saying, that regardless of how people perceive a person, character, whatever. Good is good, evil is evil, regardless of any and all other cultural and religious factors.
Filmmakers do write characters like this with conflicting personalities. Offhand the only one that comes to mind at this exact instant would be the Pokemon, Mewtwo in the first film. Is he the villan, or the misunderstood good guy? You can't watch the American dub and get the same story as the Japenese dub...they're too different...I'm talking of the Japenese dub here. In this case Mewtwo isn't the villan--his creators are. He may act as the villan but if you look deeper he really isn't. Hereoes aren't always heroes and villans aren't always villans.
Yes, there are middle ground characters like that, but we're not discussing them.
I've got to hear your response to this: how can anyone hate Hades from Disney's Hercules? He was one of the funniest characters in the entire film, and many loved that character...even if he was the villan of the story. So do you condemn everyone who enjoyed the performance of Hades?
Wit does not make a loveable character (and in Hades' case, they serisouly needed to fire whoever was writing his dialogue). And no, I didn't like him. Heck, I hated the whole movie, actually. Nothing was able to get me from the start to the ending credits. TO this day, I've only seen about half of it, but that's for another discussion.
Now, as action's post:
It looks to me that a villian can Exist without someone to stop him. Just because sUch a situation is rare in film, doesn't mean it's impossible.
That's not what I was saying. What I meant was, without a hero, the villains would be the only norm around. IN order for villainly to actually seem villainous, there has to be an opposing force to bring about a different ideal. Otherwise, its just "that way".