How can an author change the audience’s perspective toward the villain of the story? They humanize them. When a villain is humanized, specific humane qualities and traits are added to the villain’s character development to enhance their connection with the audience. If a character possesses humane qualities, they are more likely to gain the audience’s affection. Therefore, changing the scope of the villain from unlikable to likable. Humanization can be expected if the villain is and/or has become a large part of the story. Sometimes, the story is about the villain entirely, and as the villain’s backstory grows, the audience’s curiosity of the character grows with it. In this blog, I will explain three ways you can accomplish humanizing your villainous characters to allow for a longer lifeline within the story and possibly outside the story–a spinoff perhaps.
Case Study – Joe Goldberg
A great example for humanizing a character is Joe Goldberg, the notorious hopeless, love-sick romantic, psycho, (lol, am I right?) from the book, You, By Caroline Kepnes and even more so, the popular Netflix series, You, starring Penn Badgley. Between the book and the series, there are huge differences between the two––the two Joes that is. For the sake of this blog, the two will be identified as TV Joe and Book Joe. TV Joe is caring and tries his best to help himself and others around him no matter the cost, and ultimately, he wants to be a better person. On the contrary, Book Joe is selfish and only wants what’s best for himself. Though he calls himself helping his love interests it is all to benefit him in the end, and whenever things do not go his way, Book Joe acts like the victim. This is not to say TV Joe has not been selfish, but TV Joe does have far more character development than Book Joe.
Note:
Often times when there is not a connection or something for the audience to relate to, it’s easier for a character to be harshly judged by their actions because the audience is basing its opinion off personal experiences and the assumption the villain is acting out of no rhyme or reason, when there is plenty of rhyme and reason.
Give Your Villain a Relatable Backstory
For starters, give your villain a backstory. This allows for the audience to connect in ways such as sympathy, especially if they can empathize with the villain’s past trauma. When the villain is given a backstory, it provides the opportunity for the audience to understand them and bridge a connection with the villain. Oftentimes when there is not a connection or something for the audience to relate to, it is easier for a character to be harshly judged by their actions because the audience is basing its opinion off personal experiences and the assumption the villain is acting out of no rhyme or reason.
Joe’s backstory is one of abuse and abandonment. In the book, abuse from the store owner is there but it is overshadowed by Joe’s obsession and terrible behavior. However, in the show, the abuse and abandonment Joe has experienced receives more attention––focusing on his trauma. Not everyone has experienced the same trauma, but many can empathize with trauma, putting the icing on the cake for humanizing Joe’s character. Therefore, invoking empathy from the audience.
They Villain Can’t Be the Only Dislikable Character in the Story
Next, create characters that are more dislikable than the villain. Adding a dislikable character takes the so-called villain out the hot seat and replaces them with someone a lot worse. In comparison, whoever is worse the audience is more likely to choose the lesser of the two evils. If the character you want the audience to like more gets rid of the character that is currently disliked the most, they have an opportunity at redemption.
The new villains––Paco’s stepfather and Henderson––are by far more dislikable than TV Joe. Therefore, Joe now appears less evil. The way the new villains are portrayed in the show made it exceptionally easy to dislike them because they are abusive in more ways than one. This is very important because in the books these characters are either nonexistent or portrayed in a different light. Since the goal is to humanize Joe, the show makes Joe appear as the hero while Paco’s stepfather and Henderson are morphed into villains. Thus showing, when Joe cares for someone other than himself, it reveals he is human and no longer the monster.
We All Have Feelings–Well Most of Us
Lastly, give them emotion. If your villain has the ability to feel, then they are able to have guilt for the bad things they do, which insinuates to the audience the villain has a conscience. Emotion is used in day-to-day life to aid in awareness of self and surroundings. It is no coincidence when people say, “feelings let me know I am alive.” Whether it is happy and joyous or sad and enraged, it is the most humane thing to experience. Therefore, when your character is experiencing an emotion, the audience’s ears and eyes are open a lot more to the fact that this is a person.
For seasons I and II, there were huge additions to Joe’s life that are not in the books. Season I–Paco, a pre-teen boy who lives in the apartment next door to Joe. Paco is severely neglected by his mother mainly because she’s in a physically abusive relationship. Season II–Ellie, a teenage girl who is being raised by her young adult sister, who is not as attentive as a guardian would need to be.
Here is where emotions come in. In the show, Joe acts like a big brother toward both adolescent characters. Since Joe has shown he cares for them, it causes the audience to appreciate the fact Joe is taking on a responsibility that is not his, and notably helping children who are truly in need––protecting Paco from an abusive stepfather and Ellie from a pedophile, Henderson. By Joe believing Paco and Ellie need love, care, and protection, it shows that Joe has feelings. And those feelings caused him to naturally step into the role of big brother and/or father. There is a pattern of Joe’s––needing something to love. Therefore, revealing in fact has feelings.
In Conclusion
So, when Joe is choosing his prey, I mean the loves of his life––lol––we either love Joe or we hate Joe, and my unsolicited opinion is I love TV Joe but Book Joe, I am not here for. Which supports why humanizing characters can be beneficial. So, keep in mind to give a compelling backstory, it does not have to be one of trauma, but it does need to make sense. Insert emotion, which allows for the villain to appear as a person who has a conscience. And finally, create another villain to out-villain the original, giving you the recipe for humanizing a villain.
