Monday, July 25, 2016

Antagonist vs Villain; There is a Difference

So here is my other rant that I was going to do. The confusing thing about villains is that they are also antagonists but antagonists are not aways villains. I'll use Harry Potter as an example to better explain. (The reason for using Harry Potter is because I'm a fan.)

Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) is an antagonist at the beginning of the books and films. He makes Harry's life harder than it needs to be, by being a pain in the neck. In the later books, Draco becomes a minor villain but that doesn't last every long because the real villain of the story is the one pulling his strings.

Tom Riddle/Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) is the big bad of the story. He antagonizes Harry in the beginning of the book series but shows off why he really is the villain of book four/movie four. He has a huge influence on Harry life.

The easiest way I can describe the difference between an antagonist and a villain is that an antagonist makes the protagonist have a bad day. A villain forces the protagonist to change who they are. Naturally, if that change in the protagonist is a good or bad thing is up to the author. But a change does happen.

Of course, I care about how the antagonist and villain are written in the story. They are elements that bring in conflict to the story. Because without conflict then what is the book even about outside of characters just sitting there watching paint dry. Which doesn't sound like a very good read if you think about it?

Well, that's all for my rants! Sorry to anyone who is waiting for my to start posting prompts or continuing We're Not Zombies!  but writer's block is the antagonist of writers so it can't be helped.