Wearing the Black Hat

I wonder if bad guys in stories know that they're the bad guys.

There are several figures in stories that are so outrightly evil that there can be no question. Even attempting to rationalize their behavior - usually through a look at a battered childhood - only serves to show that they were fated to be evil, which makes them all the more so.

Most bad guys though are simply greedy or self-interested - fairly common human characteristics. They display one or several traits that main stream society would deem immoral - most stemming directly from selfishness or a lack of compassion for the common man. Bank robbers, mean uncles, insensitive boyfriends, cruel mistresses - they are all just being themselves. Not inherently evil, just mean or hurtful.

And I wonder if they realize that they are bad.

Take for example, the insensitive boyfriend. He's easy to spot in romantic comedies or comedies about "getting the girl". The main character is charismatic, sweet and flawed in some way as he tries to court the sexiest, most dynamic girl who already has a boyfriend that treats her like dirt or just generally neglects her needs. He's usually an alpha-male, overly prideful, cares more about himself than he does the relationship and is obsessed with gaining power or prestige. But how many of these guys do you know in real life? I would guess it's a healthy number.

And yet they live life stuck in that personality type. This makes me question how self-aware they are. Even more interesting, I think, is the question of how someone like this responds to a similar character in a story or a movie. What happens when a popped-collar, self-absorbed, spoiled brat of a jock watches Wedding Crashers to see a popped-collar, self-absorbed, spoiled brat of a jock who is obviously in the "bad guy" role and gets his comeuppance? Does he make the connection that he's the real life version of the on-screen jerk?

(There's nothing inherently wrong with a popped collar, but it was necessary for that very specific example.)

To take the concept in another direction, with the exception of truly evil characters, most bad guys have their own unique story which could explain their behavior. The book Grendel was written from the point of view of the famous monster from Beowulf. In Beowulf, Grendel is a blood-thirsty beast wreaking havoc on the town and its innocent citizens. In Grendel, the beast is portrayed as an animal constantly near the edge of starvation whose mother is slaughtered in cold blood by Beowulf. It sort of blurs the line of what's bad and what's good. Depending on the point of view, a bad character's actions might be justifiable.

Which leads me, on the long road, toward my thought. It seems it could be true that bad guys in stories don't realize they are the bad guy, that they see nothing wrong with their behavior, are not even aware sometimes of the negative effects of their actions, and points of view can shift from story to story.

So whose story have you been the bad guy in lately?

We like to cheer for the good guys, the ones in the white cowboy hats wiping sweat from their brow and drawing a speedier pistol when the sun climbs to high noon. We love identifying with these characters because it somehow reflects our own inner goodness. Is it possible that we are the bad guy in the story? Have we been acting as ourselves only to find out that we're the one who deserves a comeuppance? Who's been selfish? Uncaring? Not thoughtful enough? If we take a moment, will we find that we're not always the hero?

I'd like to think we've all played the bad guy.

The real question is, what do we do about it?