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I would argue that MOST of what makes Hans Gruber compelling is Alan Rickman's performance and not just his ideology. That same role being played by a lesser actor wouldn't have been nearly as amazing.

@SysterYster

5 жыл бұрын

He also mentioned the books. Alan isn't in the book. Even if he is a great actor.

@thenew4559

4 жыл бұрын

Indeed. I believe that having a charismatic villain is often just as important as the clash of ideologies between the villain and hero.

I miss Alan Rickman... Great vid!

@DarkPrinceOfClowns

5 жыл бұрын

Our dealy beloved potions master...and metatron... His and Heath Ledger's death was the greatest loss in the movie industry ever.

Excellent points. Interesting that I do this in my novels without realizing what I was doing, more an intuitive pitting of ideologies than by design. Perhaps we are also drawn to these conflicts because of the mythos of our society. Our entire lives we are exposed to stories which pit opposing philosophical ideals against each other. From tall tales like John Henry to fairy tales like Cinderella, this conflict of ideology becomes part of our shared consciousness. Thanks for sharing!

@ThinkStory

6 жыл бұрын

Very interesting!

@gnarthdarkanen7464

4 жыл бұрын

Old thread... but screw it... It's worth a note that as we get involved in writing, we start a certain kind of journey into analyzing what we're doing and how to do it better... not so different from any other job. It's a relatively immature concept to just say "protagonist=good so antagonist=bad"... It's simple, and does the job... BUT as with anything else, it doesn't KEEP doing the job. Writing realistic, living, breathing people isn't as simple as just "this is a good guy, and that is a bad guy" without further exploration... AND with that, we (writers) have opened the can of worms about the many MANY brands and styles of "evil"... It's still relatively immature... but it seems to fit in there and do the job better for longer. AND we have SOOOOoooo many choices and combinations. Just a step past that, however, it's more obvious that good and evil are tired. It's okay to obviously cast a certain light of "gone too far" or "beyond redemption" or just "unacceptable" from intentions to actions... based on our society's demands of us as "good" people... BUT the core of the hero and villain still must conflict at some baser level... something everyone can identify with and understand. With that, the story gets more interesting. The differences can become more subtle and the writing more layered and colorful... leaving us to question at length even after we've left the theater or closed the book, everything we thought we knew about nobler aspiration or baser deterioration. It's why we can deeply hope for a hero so flawed as to be almost repugnant compared to simply a "decent" man... and in spite of intentions to nobler ideals, we can absolutely hate the villains that cut uncomfortably close to our own nerves and bones... "There but for the grace of God..." and all. ;o)

I just have to say: You make AMAZING videos for a Writer!!! I swear I would have had a really hard time getting my novel right, no matter how good people claim I am. (Mostly in fanfic reviews, but still..) Please keep posting more wonderful tips! They work just as well in writing as they do in screenwriting.

Great essay.. Learned a lot. Thank you..

@ThinkStory

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! I have a new video out too. Check it out if you have the time.

This is the first time I've watched a video essay that has truly spoken to me as a writer. Thanks so much man. I paused and stared at the statement at 2:40 for a long time, thinking about its implications. You have given Die Hard a new meaning, and deepened my understanding of social context in what defines a classic. Look forward to more!

YES! They are NOT terrorists! Why do people get it wrong! And yes, DIE HARD IS a Christmas movie! great essay. thank you

This one 7 minute video helped me focus and understand the problems I've been having in themes and and character dynamics than ANYTHING I've seen ... thanks very much man! :)

2:18 I spotted Snape..do you??

I'm enjoying a binge watch of your videos after benefiting from the excellent "Castle Rock" recaps you made of episodes 1-3. I think it's genius to have video essays and show recaps. May I also suggest movie reviews? Movie trailer reactions? Those could be done more frequently if you choose a format without a lot of edits.

@ThinkStory

6 жыл бұрын

I'm still trying to figure out what my channel really is. But I LOVE making the Castle Rock videos. We'll see how they go and what I'll do after.

I just knew about your channel. It's great!! Thanks for making this kind of content!!

Shorter than I was expecting, but good.

@brookejenkins2157

5 жыл бұрын

That's what she said

I've never seen Die Hard, and after watching this video, I just get this strange feeling of ingenuity and wanting to cry and IDK why The things brought up about this film in this video are super powerful storytelling tools and are super inspiring... and heartwarming lol

That was a very nice video. Thank you.

Really enjoyed. You struck at the essence of crafting great story: The Hero is only as good as the Opponent. A 100% evil Opponent is like a silent film villain - doesn't stick in the world today - too many layers demanded by a more sophisticated audience for film, stage, novel, t.v. A clash of ideologies and moral compass is profound!

@ThinkStory

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@user-ye6ty9ie8g

4 жыл бұрын

"the world today - too many layers demanded by a more sophisticated audience" HAHAHAHAHAHAA

Great video! I am curious to see where this channel goes. I will happily come along for the ride!

@ThinkStory

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Just released a new video a few days ago. Check it out if you have the time.

A good video and made all the more interesting by the ironic fact that you couldn't prevent your own ideologies from getting in the way of your point.

@franesustic988

6 жыл бұрын

Yea, I was genuinely shocked when he implied that communism is good, and even more when he called authoritarianism, injustice and immorality "western values"... utter lunacy.

@ThinkStory

6 жыл бұрын

I never implied that communism is good or that authoritarianism is a "western value." In fact, I argued characters like Vader represent the opposite values of freedom and democracy like Luke does.

@phatpat63

6 жыл бұрын

That's not true, you definitely did both of those things. And it is indeed ironic. It's possible that it was not intentional, and it just comes down to incompetent writing. But you come off more like someone who's disingenuously playing the shifty word game.

@gmmay70

5 жыл бұрын

-I'm generally pretty tuned into ideological messaging, but I'm not seeing where he said those things at all. The closest he comes to letting ideology slip in is when he says the 1979 recession was caused by greed, but that's the only thing that stuck out to me.- Nevermind, I replayed it and caught it on the second go 'round. I don't think that's what he was going for, but yeah, the words are pretty clear. He was probably going for "his values... are antithetical to Western Civ...."

Such a great perspective on what makes a great villain. Maybe the lack of iconic villains as of late is why we are seeing such a decline in quality of action movies. When was the last great action movie you saw??

@ThinkStory

6 жыл бұрын

Mad Max: Fury Road!

@117Awesome

5 жыл бұрын

John Wick 2

Holy fook Snape is Hans?!!

@miriamvlachoulis6875

5 жыл бұрын

He did some good stuff

What is it with all y'all quoting Truby? He's in every villain video I've watched so far. From different channels, too.

Die Hard is the battle between Family vs. Materialism

Clashes between differing ideals are great and all, but have you ever had a story where in another story the villain could be a hero. Where the ideals are both coming from understandable and sympathetic roots or seek a betterment of humanity. Antagonists who have such strong ideals that for many people agree with the antagonist's ideals over the hero's. Where in the end you wish that there could've possibly been a way to come to an agreement, but the clash of ideals seeking the same outcome through wildly differing methods makes it impossible. I have and I can tell you they've ruined me because every other villain or antagonist I've run into just can't scratch the good antagonist itch anymore. An example is MCU Thanos, but in the end he falls flat as to make an antagonist that you wish you could agree with...You have to give them the time to learn about them and their story. You want some good examples Persona 5 Royal's Third Semester Antagonist and Emet Selch from the ShadowBringers expansions for ff14. The best villains perfectly counter their heroes, the best antagonists are found to have difficulty in finding fault in either their methods or their goals. Because who would want to stop someone from giving humanity a world without suffering.

For me, there really is no conflict of good and evil, rather as you have said, a conflict of ideaologies. The audience labels the one they agree with good, and the one they dont like bad. Im interested in playing with this in my stories, for example, making a villians actions ethically wrong, but their ideology the more agreeable one, as the protaganists take the side of the unpopular.

TL;RD: No protagonism based morality, but morality based protagonism.

Woah, woah, woah...HOLD IT! "A-shirts" are really called "wife-beater"!?

@gnarthdarkanen7464

4 жыл бұрын

Back... oh... I think it was "blowing up" as it were in the early 90's, with TV shows like Cops, and Most Wanted and the like, that some folks on certain Talk Shows noticed you always find the "domestic abuser" in one of those A-shirts, usually stained with beer and food (and occasionally blood) and bare foot or with shitty slippers on at night when the Police bust in on the scene to rescue the wife... I can't recall which Show published the observation first, or most often... BUT with that, it wasn't long before it was a concept almost everywhere, and the dubious new term was stuck... Apparently, to this day, it's a fairly popular (in the U.S.) term for that kind of shirt, "the wife beater"... and modern clothing designers have cringed ever since. ;o)

6:07

Draama

Great write up, but no 'Anton Chigurh'? Come on!!!

THANOS!

Tbh: Rugged individuals as protagonists is 1. Morally Backwards as hell 2. Psychology Miserably 3. Not a great thing to have our kids worship on the silver screen We’re deadass in the middle of a loneliness crisis, community unity& healthy forms of socialization are WILTING We need more examples of hero’s who learn to really on & care for others, not gun toting stoic men who, in reality, are hopelessly miserable.

@user-ye6ty9ie8g

4 жыл бұрын

"McBride"... the jokes write themselves

@georgebailey8179

3 жыл бұрын

1. Morally Backwards as hell - Because saving the lives of innocents is morally backwards 2. Psychology Miserably - Because if you laugh and shout "yippee ki-yay" in a terrible situation which you are unlikely to survive, you clearly suffer from depression 3. Not a great thing to have our kids worship on the silver screen - Because they need to learn to give up when they encounter obstacles. We need more examples of hero’s who learn to rely on others. - Like how McClane learns to rely on Sgt Powell and Argyle We need more examples of hero’s who learn to care for others - Like how McClane wants to save his marriage and clearly loves his wife and children, as well as forming new friendships with Powell and Argyle. Have you watched the movie?

What a terrible essay

@MRWHO-gt8zo

4 жыл бұрын

It doesn't talked about the individual goal and only used it as an clash of ideology. It like saying that the villains reflect the thing we hate and the hero is the thing we love. That horrible. A good villains isn't a propaganda or an agenda. It a character of it own. Character development is a way to make the villains memorable. It less a clash of ideology and more a clash of characters. Vader couldn't go to the light side without a development of his goal or though. You just make an black or white. Good, bad hero and villain if you just make a clash of ideology and moral.