Heroes :
| In modern movies, the hero is often simply an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances, who, despite the odds being stacked against him or her, typically prevails in the end. In some movies (especially action movies), an hero may exhibit characteristics such as superhuman strength and endurance that sometimes makes him nearly invincible. Often a hero in these situations has a foil, the villain, typically a charismatic evildoer who represents, leads, or himself embodies the struggle the hero is up against. Post-modern fictional works have fomented the increased popularity of the anti-hero, who does not follow common conceptions of heroism. |
Anti-heroes :
| In fiction, an anti-hero is a protagonist who is lacking the traditional heroic attributes and qualities, and instead possesses character traits that are antithetical to heroism.The word anti-hero itself is fairly recent, and its principal definition has changed through the years. The 1940 edition of Merriam-Webster New International Dictionary listed anti-hero, but did not define it. Later sources would call the anti-hero a persona characterized by a lack of "traditional" heroic qualities. |
Villains :
| A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether an historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the bad guy, the character who fights against the hero. A female villain is sometimes called a villainess. Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines villain as "a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel; or a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot. |
Anti-villains :
| An anti-villain is a character in a film, drama or literary work who pursues undeniably villainous ends, but employs methods that are arguably noble in order to advance his interests. Thus, the anti-villain is the converse of the anti-hero, who frequently resorts to immoral means in pursuit of an admirable goal. An anti-villain may commit serious crimes, such as murder; alternatively, his actions may only be considered "villainous" because they come in direct conflict with the story's protagonist. |
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