Heroes and Villains

The American Film Institute (AFI) does many things (you can read about them here), but one that I discovered recently is that it maintains a list of the 100 greatest movie heroes and villains of all time.

The AFI website defines a hero as "a character(s) who prevails in extreme circumstances and dramatizes a sense of morality, courage and purpose. Though they may be ambiguous or flawed, they often sacrifice themselves to show humanity at its best." A villain, on the other hand, is defined as "a character(s) whose wickedness of mind, selfishness of character and will to power are sometimes masked by beauty and nobility, while others may rage unmasked. They can be horribly evil or grandiosely funny, but are ultimately tragic."

You can read the whole list here, but these are the top five on both sides ...

The Top Five Heroes are:
1. Atticus Finch, in To Kill a Mockingbird;
2. Indiana Jones, in Raiders of the Lost Ark;
3. James Bond, in Dr. No;
4. Rick Blaine, in Casablanca; and,
5. Will Kaine, in High Noon.

The Top Five Villains are:
1. Dr Hannibal Lecter, in The Silence of the Lambs;
2. Norman Bates, in Psycho;
3. Darth Vader, in The Empire Strikes Back;
4. The Wicked Witch of the West, in The Wizard of Oz; and,
5. Nurse Ratched, in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

I think that I can pretty much agree with both lists, but I would have adjusted the villain list to switch Norman Bates (at #2) with The Joker. The Joker appears on the list at #45, but the movie citation is for Batman, in which the character was played by Jack Nicholson ... I think that the interpretation of the Joker by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight is far better.

But this discussion leads, of course, to my ideas on the identities of the top five villains for Republicans and Democrats.

I think the top five villains for Republicans are:
1. Hillary Clinton;
2. Barack Obama;
3. Nancy Pelosi;
4. Ruth Bader Ginsburg; and,
5. Every news outlet other than Faux.

And the top five villains for Democrats are:
1. Donald Trump;
2. George W. Bush;
3. Mitch McConnell;
4. Neil Gorsuch; and,
5. Faux News.

I am not suggesting top five hero lists, because there are no heroes in American politics any more.

What are your suggestions? Leave a comment.

Have a good day. Hope for heroes. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo