• Home
  • Analysis
    • Action
    • Comedy
    • Crime / Gangster
    • Drama
    • Epic / Historical
    • Horror
    • Thriller
    • Best Original Screenplay
  • Beats
  • Blog
  • Contact

How To Write a Screenplay

Learn how to write a screenplay through detailed analysis of feature films.

  • Screenwriting Tips
  • How To Write A Screenplay

What Makes a Great Antagonist?

February 9, 2015 By Matt Lazarus Leave a Comment

What Makes a Great Antagonist?

Q: What do you think makes a great antagonist? Do they always have to have a legit reason (at least to them) of why they are doing bad things? Is it as simple as having a few quirks that people hate?

A: Which is more dramatically affecting: An antagonist who has a great reason for doing his job who never actually meets the protag (rare, but some examples exist) or an antagonist who is never explained, but very present, who takes a perverse, almost sexual thrill in hurting and humiliating the hero?

It’s the latter. Antagonists are only great in the things they do, and our point of reference in a script is the protagonist. The script illustrates a world, the character is like the vehicle that we navigate the world in. Given that nothing on the page really “exists,” we need an emotional point of reference to ground ourselves in, i.e., the main character’s reactions.

This is why in war movies, the might of the Axis powers gets enshrined in one specific Nazi officer, why Vader is the face of the empire, why institutionalized slavery gets enshrined in one vile slave owner. Abstract enemies are real, but not compelling or as memorable. They need a face and a relationship to the character to really stick.

People like to say “the bad guy is the hero of his own movie” and that’s true, but that doesn’t mean he’s got to be fully psychologically realized, he could be as straight forward as the action hero in a bad, jingoistic 80’s movie. Grounding a villain’s behavior in the relatable can be a powerful tool, but it’s not necessary. Why does the Joker hate Batman? The mystery is better than any answer. All that matters it that he does.

Filed Under: Screenplay Blog, Screenwriting Tips Tagged With: antagonist, screenwriting antagonist, screenwriting tips

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get on the SHT List

Sign up for email updates and exclusive content.

Connect

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Recent SHT

Breakfast Club Statue 004

Breakfast Club Sculpture

File this one under closing image masterclass. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen the Breakfast … [Read More...]

Good Will Hunting Climax

What’s the Climax of Good Will Hunting?

People email questions from time-to-time. I've always answered these questions. I've also always … [Read More...]

Jurassic World Jurassic Values

Jurassic World, Jurassic Values

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CofZ7xjGyI8 If there’s one thing to learn from this video, and … [Read More...]

More SHT

Recent Analysis

LA Confidential Beat Sheet

L.A. Confidential

Director Curtis Hanson and his co-writer, Brian Helgeland, have taken a massively complex novel by … [Read More...]

Vertigo Analysis

Vertigo

At the very beginning of the movie, we see Scottie vaulting across rooftops, struggling to keep up … [Read More...]

The Shawshank Redemption Script

The Shawshank Redemption

Frank Darabont has often compared The Shawshank Redemption to a Rorschach test. Written and executed … [Read More...]

More Analysis

Copyright © 2020 ScreenplayHowTo. All rights reserved.