Join The Dark Side: 6 Reasons We Love To Hate Star Wars Villains

If the contemporary pop culture zeitgeist has taught us anything, we can all agree that - sometimes - it’s good to be bad. From Breaking Bad to Bates Motel, from Dexter to Despicable Me, from Maleficent to Megamind; there’s been a prevailing obsession with villains recently that has taken audience mindshare by storm. To say that the Star Wars franchise respects, honours and helps fuel our reverence for the good ol’ baddies, well frankly, that would be a huge understatement. I’m pretty sure if you stopped anyone in the street and asked them to reel off three names of iconic villains, at least one evildoer from the Star Wars universe would be bound to crop up; the series is inexplicably linked to the “dark” side of our cinematic subconscious. Simply put, few movies do bad guys quite as awesomely as the Star Wars series. So, come join us as we dive into six reasons why it’s okay to have a big soft spot for those pesky villains in Star Wars. Just make sure to bring your coolest bad guy costume (Vader, obviously) and to leave those silly midichlorians at home… 1) Star Wars’ Baddies Are Often A Mix Of Good And Bad What makes the most memorable villains in Disney’s blockbuster franchise so engrossing is how the series often blurs the lines between good and bad. Super villain Darth Vader helped to “redeem” himself by throwing his master Emperor Palpatine into the Death Star’s reactor chute at the end of Return of the Jedi, in one of the most iconic redemption scenes in the whole of cinematic history. Furthermore, The Force Awakens’ Kylo Ren wasn’t initially a full-blown evil villain, but began his life as a Jedi on the path of the Light Side. The Commander of the First Order was trained by none other than his uncle - Luke Skywalker - before becoming seduced by the Dark Side of the Force by Supreme Leader Snoke. And don’t forget, much of the promo material leading up to the launch of this December’s The Last Jedi suggests that Luke Skywalker - AKA the greatest Jedi the universe has ever seen - may well be on his way to making the switch to the Dark Side, too. Adding credence to the latter theory is Mark Hamill’s interesting statement in a recent ABC interview. After reading The Last Jedi’s script, he told Rian Johnson (Episode 8’s writer-director): “I fundamentally disagree with virtually everything you’ve decided about my character…” Ouch. It’s hard to say for certain, but it looks as if Luke’s character arc may well be swinging like a pendulum towards the bad guy’s ranks as well. I guess we’ll have to wait to find out for certain later this year. 2) It Teaches Us From An Early Age That *Anyone* Can Become “Evil” Star Wars is one of those rare children’s movie franchises that deals with morality and the dynamic between good/evil, in a mature, intelligent and meaningful way. It sits nicely alongside The Lord of The Rings and the Harry Potter series by virtue of its strength in exploring deep, complex themes of what makes a person “evil”, and does so - arguably - in the most meticulous and sophisticated way in Hollywood’s filmic universe. What really elevates the Star Wars series beyond its cinematic brethren is its intelligent fusion of a variety of religious philosophical concepts. They're spiritual movies; ones that merges many theological essences from a mixture of the Christian faith, Buddhism, Native American Navajo beliefs and early Chinese Taoism. At their heart, they’re about living in peaceful harmony with one another, but they're also unafraid to pose those bigger questions, too: Can a devoutly “good” person become truly evil? Can an “evil” person redeem themselves and become good? For movies about flashing lightsabers, sassy droids and super annoying Gungans (you know the one), the series delves surprisingly deeply into the ying and yang of good and bad, while attempting to subvert viewer expectations in smart, clever ways. Even though there are characters within the movies that are full on “evil,” Star Wars does try its darnedest to explore the blurred and ambiguous lines normal, everyday people often tread within life’s good/bad spectrum; sometimes real-life ethical conundrums are more than just black and white good/bad choices. 3) Those Trademark Family Themes Make The Story More Relatable And The Tragedy Even More Tragic Another overriding theme throughout the Star Wars’ interconnecting narratives is family. The majority of the key characters within the movies are related to one another (sometimes without them even knowing it) and this gives the series a distinct “soap-opera” feel. Now, I don’t say that in a disparaging way, but instead I believe that it actually really helps to ground the fantasy sci-fi drama, while enabling us to connect on a human level with this fictional galaxy that is far, far away. I mean, who can forget that pivotal scene where Vader reveals his true relationship to Luke in The Empire Strikes Back? Moments like these are burned into our cinematic memory and they’re sprinkled throughout the whole of the series. These moments not only assist in elevating the heartbreaking tragedy of how the events unfold, but also help us to relate to the characters in a more significant, meaningful way. These family themes throw up some big, sociological questions: Are we simply a product of our parent’s genes? Or are we the product of our environment and experiences? Do we really have free choice over our fate? Arguably, Star Wars aims for a fairly balanced commentary on all of these philosophical concepts and, at its best, attempts to delve deeply into the very nature of the human condition. 4) The Baddies Are Simply Way More Interesting Than The Goodies One of the main reasons we love to hate the villains in Star Wars is the simple fact that they’re way more interesting than the goody two shoe rebels. Our day-to-day life is often laser-focused on trying to be the best person we can be, but it’s fascinating to switch off for a couple of hours and witness the psychological developments of an “evil” character who’s unconstrained by society's typical rules and regulations. Their motivations are different and alien to us, which makes for far more captivating viewing. Further still, it's very liberating watching a character enjoying freedoms that the rest of us never get to experience. The archetypal story thread of “Prince Charming and the Beautiful Princess” can get pretty stale after a while, so when narratives re-focus on the villain — like we’ve been getting more of recently — it enables storytellers to give the antagonists a more nuanced, multi-layered, 3-dimensional character that is both believable and incredibly alluring on a base human level. Count Dracula was the most memorable character in Bram Stoker’s famous 1897 novel, not the “hero” solicitor Jonathan Harker; this is because, baddies are simply way more compelling than the heroes. Fact. 5) Great Heroes Need Great Villains Without the nefarious villains, we wouldn't have those great heroes to root for in the first place. A memorable hero needs a dastardly nemesis to challenge and overcome, otherwise we'd be left with an empty husk of a movie, devoid of drama, suspense or action. Ew. Heroes and villains are profoundly connected to one another and you'd be surprised at how important a well-written, nasty evildoer can help in piquing our interest for a movie. Luckily, the Star Wars franchise knows this all too well; Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Supreme Leader Snoke, Kylo Ren, General Grievous, Count Dooku, Boba Fett, Jabba The Hutt - I could go on, but I'm sure you get the picture. The Mouse House's series is undeniably home to some of the most iconic, unforgettable baddies in film ever. And here's the irony: we need the villains just as much as we need the heroes, too. 6) We Make Mistakes, So Can The Baddies The truth is: we all make mistakes. Witnessing the villains in the Star Wars franchise — and all of the more baddie-centric contemporary media that is prevalent at the moment — is a way for us to connect with antagonists that are deeply flawed, which gives us a sort of catharsis over our own personal flaws, faults and weaknesses. We may not wholeheartedly condone their actions, but we can occasionally empathise with them and even grow to develop a soft spot for them. Ultimately, the bad guys are a lot like us — they make mistakes, which is a very human attribute. But it’s reassuring that our actions, our ideologies, our core being isn’t quite as “bad” and “evil” as the ones we’re watching on the big screen. This essentially gives us a tremendous sense of comfort, contentment and relief. Like I said earlier, it’s sometimes good to be bad, and, as the old saying goes: “The devil has all the best tunes.”