redwoodalchan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
redwoodalchan) wrote2013-09-30 10:08 pm
redwoodalchan) wrote2013-09-30 10:08 pm
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I propose a new character archetype!
This is a term I coined after I realized just how many of my (and others') beloved villains fit the bill. A Sad Sultry-voiced Villain is just that: a villain who's sad and has a sexy voice. This kind of villain can be sad for any number of reasons. The most common one is probably some sort of horribly dark, troubled past, but it can be an inner demon that pesters the villain in the present day or even something that's entirely the villain's fault. These villains are actually quite diverse. They can be over-the-top or they can be subtle; they can be sympathetic or they can be monstrous. Sad Sultry-voiced Villains that have no redeeming qualities and are completely, unrepentantly evil are unusual but not unheard of. These villains also don't have to be physically attractive, though many are.
Case in point: Frollo from Disney's version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is, to all intents and purposes, a Sad Sultry-voiced Villain. Doesn't stop him from being a complete bastard in just about every way.
Paradoxically, what I think I'm trying to do with this is gather all these villains under one umbrella term to highlight just how diverse they really are. Because it seems as though rather than evaluate each individual SS-vV on a case-by-case basis, a lot of fans just treat them like they're all the same. They project Byronic hero-esque qualities onto characters who never had them in canon just because that's the kind of character they expect to be that sexy, and/or have a voice that beautiful. I feel like a catch-all term would help here, because if people could label a villain like this to explain their reactions to these characters' smooth voices and me-against-the-world attitudes, they could get back to talking about what the villains actually DO.
Interestingly enough, one trait that does seem to be pretty endemic to this type of villain is a high mortality rate. Off the top of my head, of the SS-vV's I can name, the VAST majority of them are dead by the time the stories they're in end. It's strange--I'm not sure why.
And yes, I'm well aware of the limitations of this label. For one thing it is much easier to apply to visual and recorded media than written media (though a book could provide cues as to how we're supposed to interpret a character's voice, of course). I'm also aware that different languages may complicate a character's classification as such--for instance, Mao from "Code Geass" and Furuichi from "Xam'd: Lost Memories" are Sad Sultry-voiced Villains in English but not in Japanese.
Case in point: Frollo from Disney's version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is, to all intents and purposes, a Sad Sultry-voiced Villain. Doesn't stop him from being a complete bastard in just about every way.
Paradoxically, what I think I'm trying to do with this is gather all these villains under one umbrella term to highlight just how diverse they really are. Because it seems as though rather than evaluate each individual SS-vV on a case-by-case basis, a lot of fans just treat them like they're all the same. They project Byronic hero-esque qualities onto characters who never had them in canon just because that's the kind of character they expect to be that sexy, and/or have a voice that beautiful. I feel like a catch-all term would help here, because if people could label a villain like this to explain their reactions to these characters' smooth voices and me-against-the-world attitudes, they could get back to talking about what the villains actually DO.
Interestingly enough, one trait that does seem to be pretty endemic to this type of villain is a high mortality rate. Off the top of my head, of the SS-vV's I can name, the VAST majority of them are dead by the time the stories they're in end. It's strange--I'm not sure why.
And yes, I'm well aware of the limitations of this label. For one thing it is much easier to apply to visual and recorded media than written media (though a book could provide cues as to how we're supposed to interpret a character's voice, of course). I'm also aware that different languages may complicate a character's classification as such--for instance, Mao from "Code Geass" and Furuichi from "Xam'd: Lost Memories" are Sad Sultry-voiced Villains in English but not in Japanese.