Why does Evil mean Ugly?

Okay,I just noticed-Well ive known it for a long time but it just start annoying me now.

In most movies the Evil Character or Villain is Ugly and I ask-Why?

I mean-if its a good movie the character development would be quite high-And the Villain wouldn't need to look Ugly to show their personality-It would be done through acting as oppose to looks-I know Visual aids are important when it comes to film making but I find that if a film has a villain and He/She so happens to be ugly (Like Slugworth in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory ) it loses intellect-But if the Villain happens to be Beautiful (Like the Tripods in War of The Worlds ) it adds intellect.

Views?

 

It's not like that in all movies, but I would say to make the villain less appealing to the audience.

 

Disney wins in breaking the stereotype



^Not much character development, but pretty...in a green, horned kinda way. And evil.



^A little more character development; not necessarily intellectual but crafty (there's a difference); Am I the only one who finds him attractive?



^Nobody breaks stereotypes like Gaston! (He's not too bad a looker, but he ain't too smart, either)

 

As for little kids shows, they do so the kids really know who's good, and who isn't. To stir the vibe in the correct direction.

 

This is usually prevalent in simpler works - more extensive and those that require more thought occasionally blur such boundaries, but this is not always necessary. The reason for this is, as previously stated, to provide a clear distinction between the "good" and "evil" characters. Visual aid is one of the simplest forms of didactic communication, and as such, such voluntary aidings can help imply whom is the antagonist and whom is the protagonist.

Pertaining to the general "simpler" examples, we have two contrasts -



This man is Dudley Do-Right. The name itself invokes the factor of him being the hero and major protagonist of the cartoon. Alongside him are his apparent impeccable good looks; noted to be "manly features", his alert posture, and that ever-competent smile. He is the basic hero.

And on the other side of the spectrum:



Here we have Snidely Whiplash, an apparent foolish, comical villain. And of course, we know he is the villain or primary antagonist from his visual features - bent posture, clothing choice, deformed features and menacing grin, complete with sneaky and deceitful eyes. The Snidely Concept is based upon certain cues humans would associate with "villainous" figures; us humans are creatures that usually enjoy what is perceived as "normal", but abnormal things we are slightly wary around due to us presuming of their unpredictability. Snidely's aesthetic works upon this principle, and from this we draw on to the villains that we hold today with their aesthetics and how we perceive them to be "ugly".

 

This tends to happen in a story of a young hero/child who goes up against an old evil wizard. A lot of the best villains aren't ugly though and even those that aren't physically appealing or human can still give people attractive chills.

 

I think it depends on the movie really or books. I've seen a lot of villains who actually look really hawt too. I seldom see a villain that actually looks 'average' in appearance. They either look great and people would hit that, or they look like something that crawled up from a sewer after being flushed down the toilet years before. There are a 'few' average looking villains but not many when I think about it. There's also the same stigma with heroes, if you think about it. They either look inhumanly great looking or they look badass and not like the person you'd want to meet in an alley anytime soon. Shocking looks of either hot or ugly draw the eye more than average people.

 

We had a discussion on this matter in uni. This whole thing is based on stereotypes. You are "good looking" so you have to be good, you are "ugly" so you have to be bad. I think according to psychology beautiful people inspire more trust than those considered ugly.

I remember reading an experiment on people who would cross the street without looking for incoming cars if the one who would first cross the street was beautiful while on the other hand they wouldn't follow those with "suspicious" faces.

Thinking about it though, anime most of the times have handsome/beautiful evil characters.

 

Ooh, just popped into my mind.



This, in case you are not like me and do not obsess over British sci-fi, is the Master, one of the main antagonists in Doctor Who. Granted, this is his new form. He used to look like this:



Yah, that's stereotypical evil-ness, right?

But, back to the point. The Master in the first picture is fairly average-looking, right? I mean, he's fairly attractive, but you wouldn't be begging him to do you just by looking at him, right? But he's not ugly/gruesome/undesirable to look at. He just...is.

Props to you, Russell T. Davies, for breaking the stereotype even more than Disney!

 

Anime and manga have a habit of making their major villains "pretty" so the stereotype doesn't hold true for all media. In fact, in Judeo-Christian mythology and demonology the devil is usually described as being seductive, when he takes a human form.

 

SQUARE are ridiculously famous for busting this one - the Cloud of Darkness from Final Fantasy III is the best break of this I can think of. You walk up to it expecting some horrible creature because that's what the overworld sprite looks like... and then you enter the battle and it's a rather attractive naked woman.

The good-looking/ugly thing is a very subtle visual cue that has been used for years in Western animation and storytelling in general as a basic designation of good and evil. Good characters are designed to appeal to an audience - they will have rounded edges and soft features and not stand out from the world in much of a way (heroes tend to have a quite generic model). In a way this assures you that they stand for the opinions of the people, or for the good of their state, and because generic models with all the features aligned and nothing odd look more human. They will seem healthy and happy and generally nice people.

Villains are drawn usually to stand out more - they will have sharp edges and individual features that are considered non-attractive as a basic tell that they do not stand for anyone's opinion or good but their own. Depending on the artist, they'll also have more lines worked into their design, which makes the character look older or more worn - that in turn makes them look more foolish (they're at an age when they're supposed to be using their wisdom to teach others) or ill (people naturally avoid sickness in hopes of not spreading sickness).

 

Evil doesn't always mean ugly, especially not now, that trend is changing. If you think about the fact that Evil is often portrayed as being seductive now; it has to have the temptation appeal, its like another way of representing why people are drawn to it.

Look at some of the demons in Supernatural and similar shows for example.

 

Evil is usually pictured as ugly because they are mean things... and mean things aren't something to follow.. aight.. this is like a kindergarten... :lmao

 

No. Charaters can be beautiful and evil. It all really depends on who came up with the story. Depends on the type of story as well. ​

 

Beautiful example of circle reasoning there.

 

All I really have to add to that is that BEFORE it was usually ugly. But NOW it's usually pretty or sexy in some cases. That's just the way things are now. You gotta make evil seem like a good thing instead of being... well EVIL. That's why it's the way that it is.

 

As has been established, evil can be either good looking or ugly. However unless the work makes the hero's ugliness a plot point, the hero is rarely ugly. So we get people such as Quazimodo and The Beast, but their ugliness is still a plot point, it's not a natural choice to make.

 

It fits the character. PLus when the villian is beautiful it goes ugly cause of personality. Beauty is skin deep inside and out. Ugly is the same way.

 

Eris in sinbad was sexy. So is the queen is snow white. Not all villians are ugly lol. Most cartoon villians probably are because they want to show kids that evil is bad. And to portray that they show the person as being ugly to scare kids lol.

 

Bad guys aren't always ugly, it depends on the story as some now show that looks can be decieving ect. but with stories for small kids they normally are to make them hate them and know they are evil.