Portrayal of villains in Hollywood films: A comparative study of different film genres

Abstract

This study explored how villains are portrayed through six Hollywood films with the usage of textual analysis to analyze meaning behind text and visual imagery. The primary objective was to examine how these villains were represented through the genres of crime, cartoon, and musical films and to determine if there were any differences among the genres themselves. The study is essential because it can offer insight into the evolution of culture, human behavior, and the ability to tailor more complex stories on the big screen, which can aid filmmakers, the academia, and communication practitioners in their pursuits. A research gap for villains and how these genres may differ was found, which can be touched upon and further explored in this study. The results of the study concluded that five of the six villains had no qualms with breaking the law to achieve their goals. They were presented as adults and showed no remorse or guilt for what they have done. The characters were framed this way to showcase how far someone would go through extreme lenses to demonstrate the importance of the law. As such, a villain can be represented as someone who breaks the law. The following concepts and theories were additionally used and applied: The Stereotype theory by Walter Lippmann, Representation theory by Stuart Hall, Order of Signification: Denotation and Connotation by Roland Barthes, and the Three-Act Structure model by Syd Field. Findings found that two female villains could be stereotyped as femme fatales, while one male villain could reinforce the belief that people with scars are evil. Negative portrayals of clowns can also lead to negative representation, altering how some people perceive the occupation in real life and the associations made with them. As for order of signification: denotation and connotation, meaning and symbolism could be derived from the names of two villains. As for genres, the differences all stemmed from our ever-growing cultural values and beliefs. The ratings for the films served as an additional point of interest, as mature themes were evidently found more in crime films compared to cartoon films. Moreover, musical films involved characters singing and dancing, which served as another way to characterize these characters. All of their inner thoughts and feelings were vocalized here, but this element wasn’t present in the remaining genres. The other two revolved around natural story progression as insight.