Why do we need Bad Guys?

[MoonDragon]

People, give me some funny and clever answers and I won't have to kill you. smilies/evil.gif

[Gayahithwen]

Well, otherwse the good guys can't show off! Besides, the movies/books would be so boring.. Think about it:

Frodo sat outside his house smoking, when Gandalf came past. They had a big party and nothin ever happened, because Sauron had never made the Ring..

Also, the evil guys soldiers.. They aren't showed untill it's time for the good guy to come in and slaughter them.. right? Why do we need them?

[Daniel Telcontar]

Well, every reader needs somebody in the book to hate. If you are an evil reader, you hate people like Frodo and Sam. But if you are on their side, you hate the evil ones like Ugluk, who I think isn't evil, he just suffers from brain damage. I have the evidence: I am Ugluk. I command.

The poor creature has no way of explaining himself. I think it was wrong of the Rohirrim to kill him, he was just a victim of circumstances. smilies/rolleyes.gif

[Rosa_Baggins]

How interesting would it be to watch Frodo smoking a pipe for at least 2 hours.......not interesting at all would it.
Bad guys give the story or movie or what ever more action and things BUT when the good guys fight the baddies we all know whos gonna win dont we!The good guys of course!!
So i a way i agree with you on not having bad guys but its boring otherwise. smilies/biggrin.gif smilies/biggrin.gif smilies/biggrin.gif
anyway must go seeyou lot later
From
Rosa

[Anarya SilverBranch]

I don't believe that they are really bad guys, just misunderstood souls who can't get anywhere in life without stepping on others because of they're sad past and deepseated insecrurities within them that they can't seem to forget. Quite sad really smilies/frown.gif

[gollum*elf*pup]

bad guys? what bad guys?

[Starbreeze]

They are essential for character development, and prehaps for the personality of the characters themselves. I cannot name anyone, especially after September 11th, whose life has not been touched by evil. Evil shapes us, it shows us our strengths and our weaknesses and enables us to change the way we live and the way we think about life. The bad guys help us live, as well as destroying lives. It is all about adaptation, survival fittest and all that.

[akhtene]

If there were no bad guys, how would we know that other guys are good? smilies/evil.gif

[Gimli Son Of Gloin]

Hey Maul, you need the bad guys so they can get killed, like a certain Dark Apprentice that got killed by certain Jedi in Episode one.(And also killed one)

[Cimmerian]

Imagine a sterile society like the Thermians had in the 'Galaxy Quest' movie. Those guys didn't even lie. What a perfect society, a blissfull Utopia. Wouldn't it be great to have such in every sphere of life? To live life every day the exact same way till the day we die?

NOT!

Enter Sarris http://members.aol.com/aleong1631/galaxyquest2.jpg to bring some life into the story.

ENUFF SAID!

Maul, eh? Does your keeper know you're outside... Muahahahhahahahahaha! smilies/evil.gif

[Rosa_Baggins]

I havnt see that movie cim but that guy is freaky!!
*shudders*
love
Rosa

[Greyhame]

Why bad guys? Why good guys? Why tall guys? The answer lies in the seeming paradox of conflict and resolution.

What resolution, you ask? I'd tell you, but THEY don't want you to know.

If you don't believe me, just ask the you-know-who. They'll help you out.

If the above schizophrenic, apparently mindless ramblings have frightened and/or disturbed you at all, there is a lesson:
Don't EVER, EVER, EVER get engaged!!!

Unless you're already married or something.

AAARRGH!!! The in-laws, the ring shopping, the lack of money, the only 18 months left!!!

Run, run!!! Uncle Greyhame is having a nervous breakdown!!!

If it's at all possible at this point, try and disregard this post.

[akhtene]

Oh, Cimmerian, don't you ever post such huge bugs where I could see it !!! smilies/wink.gif smilies/smile.gif I'm just a tiny bit phobic (and the tread seemed so peaceful...)

[Maikadilwen]

It's only to make girls heartbroken when the socalled "villain" dies...... *sigh* smilies/frown.gif
Like Maul..... or Pinhead........ smilies/evil.gif smilies/evil.gif smilies/evil.gif

[Starbreeze]

In the same way that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so evil is seen differently by different people.
Many of those who are seen as evil by others see them selves as doing what is right for the good of others.
Prehaps the bad guys are just misunderstood people, who in turn misunderstand the difference between good and evil and right and wrong.

[MoonDragon]

Good, neat and funny answers from all except RosaBaggins and akhtene. I spare you all for now. But you two, Be afraid! Be very afraid! smilies/redface.gif

[Maikadilwen]

Ah, come on Maul. Try to be "nice" just for once. You know I'm crazy about you. Though you broke my heart when you died.... smilies/frown.gif smilies/evil.gif

[Talking Hawk]

Well-spoken, StarBreeze! (Don't mind me budding into this conversation..) I agree whole-heartedly, and I think that as some people view particular characters as "villainous" because they know that they would have opposed them, I think that other people see these characters as - for the lack of a better word - not-so-bad because those characters may have traits that the person has. (Okay, did that make any sense..?)

All right, here's an example. Person A thinks Boromir is a toosh-head because person A has a big fat crush on Frodo, and would've beaten up the son of the steward of Gondor in an instant for attacking the little hobbit. Meanwhile, Person B, from his/her own life experiences, has a very strong bond to his/her family - comparitive to Boromir's bond to his people, the Gondorians. Person B, therefore, might have felt that Boromir is a misunderstood character, one of a noble heart who is only trying to do the best he knows how.

(pauses and blinks) I just realized that I did not directly answer Maul's question...hm... I suppose the reason we need "bad guys" are for readers/viewers to argue/discuss/share their point of views on where to draw the line between a "good" and "bad" character. As far as LOTR is concerned, there is a lot of grey area (i.e., Elrond, Boromir, Gollum, Saruman...). That's all for now..

[Maikadilwen]

(i.e., Elrond, Boromir, Gollum, Saruman...).

Elrond as a "baddie"??? Enlighten me please....

[Starbreeze]

Hawk, what you said made perfect sense, except Elrond being a baddy - surely he helped the cause of Light, not hindered it?

[Cimmerian]

(i.e., Elrond, Boromir, Gollum, Saruman...).

Boromir a baddie????...how do people come up with that one after he gave his life in trying to protect others... do read the debates on this subject all over this board on Boromir's characterisation.

[Rosa_Baggins]

smilies/rolleyes.gif Yep!Im trembling in my boots, i reallllly am! smilies/biggrin.gif

[Lothiriel Silmarien]

Maikadilwen, I agree with you about the villains. Why do the hot ones always die?! Well atleast Sauron was around for a while. He was a hot guy, then was reduced to a hot disembodied eye.

Maul, I'll give you a reason why we need bad guys. There would be no storyline without them. Would LotR have been written without Sauron? The One Ring would not have been forged. And it's much more exciting with Nazguls and Orcs and all those bad guys smilies/wink.gif

[Rosseiliantiel]

We need bad people, cuz otherwise we wouldn't have me, and THEN what would we do? smilies/evil.gif smilies/biggrin.gif smilies/evil.gif smilies/biggrin.gif

[MoonDragon]

Encore! Encore!

[Mintyztwin]

Why do we need bad guys? 'Cause bad guys are cool!!! smilies/evil.gif

Heh heh. We need them to make sure the good guys get their daily blood bath. (How else do you think their skin stays so baby soft?)

Sorry 'bout that! smilies/biggrin.gif If anyone thinks that was to bizarre, chalk it up to a momentary loss of sanity! (Not that I'm ever sane! smilies/biggrin.gif

[Lindril Arvilya]

We need bad guys so that young children tihnk good is good and go out and buy the toys and play with them. And also so that fangirls think good is hot and go out and buy the toys and pretend they were Arwen. smilies/biggrin.gif

[dragoneyes]

We need bad guys so that our lives don't get weighed down with drudgery and so we can have someone to punch once in a while when life gets tough smilies/evil.gif

[TolkienGurl]

Stories need 'bad guys' because that's the way the world is. Usually stories, especially LOTR, reflect those elements of our lives. There's always evil all around, and 'bad guys' doing bad things. Its an unwanted but present part of life.

[Lindolirian]

If we didn't have bad guys in certain movies, we couldn't make fun of them when they play good guys in other movies..... "Who am I speaking of?", you ask....

None other than the great and really funky lookin...

**drum roll**

AGENT ELROND!!!