https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz Archetype en-us 2018-10-30 02:27:32 UTC 2024-06-03 23:03:48 UTC hello@padlet.com roeskmac000 https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/298941893 Being a literal monster is not the archetype I am trying to identify here. In this case, I mean villains. Everyday bad guys who go against the very definition of humane. 
So, rather than Overcoming a Monster, the archetype I'm going off of would be Overcoming a Villain. 
All throughout media we have archetypes where the good guys win and the bad guys lose. But it's the point of beating (overcoming) the bad guys where my compare and contrast begins.]]> 2018-10-31 12:56:11 UTC https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/298941893 roeskmac000 https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/298950902 In the movie, "Se7en" we get a serial killer whose name is never revealed to us. He plays with the detectives (and protagonists) of our story by killing people with the motif of the 7 deadly sins. ]]> 2018-10-31 13:11:30 UTC https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/298950902 roeskmac000 https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/298952837 We have all heard of the 7 deadly sins through Dr. Faustus, if not before that. The murders go on in the order of gluttony, greed, sloth, lust and then pride. That's only 5, right? So where are the final two sins? We have yet to find out.]]> 2018-10-31 13:14:58 UTC https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/298952837 roeskmac000 https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/298954110 The killer, John Doe, puts himself at the mercy of the main protagonists and asks only one thing of them. He asks that they drive him out to the desert and there they will find the final two victims. In turn for this, he will plead guilty and accept the punishment for his crime. If they do not, however, he will plead insanity and they will lose both a criminal and the final two victims. 
They caught the bad guy, right? So, how did they fail to overcome him?
Well...
They arrive in the desert, just the two detectives and the killer. They get out of the car and down the road they see a delivery van coming toward them. The air is very hostile and when the man gets out of the van he gives them a box. 
The killer gives a speech to one of the detectives and says that Mills (the detective) was envious of his life with Tracy (Mills wife). The other detective opens the box and while we do not see what is in it, it soon becomes clear. The killer tells Mills that his sin was envy and that Tracy died. He tells him that her head is in the box, and that she was pregnant with Mill's child.
The air remains extremely tense. 
Mills asks again and again, and while we've all probably seen a meme or two regarding this scene, the question remains; What is in the box?
We don't get to see and we're not sure we'd like to. The disgustingly smug smile on Doe's face tells us exactly what we need to know.]]> 2018-10-31 13:17:16 UTC https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/298954110 roeskmac000 https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/298963122 The failure is in the way Mills handles the death of his wife. The killer knows it. He knew exactly where to hit Mills so that it hurt the most. He killed Mills' wife and gave Mills the perfect setting to kill him in anger. 
And Mills does. He shoots Doe and completes Doe's plan by representing wrath, the final sin. 
For about half of this scene, it's clear that Doe is in charge. And by the end, it is beyond clear that he has won. ]]> 2018-10-31 13:32:56 UTC https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/298963122 roeskmac000 https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/299009742 One big difference between John Doe and Hans Landa is that while Doe committed his crimes to make a lasting effect on humanity. In "Se7en," Doe says, "What I've done is going to be puzzled over and studied and followed forever." He knows this crime will have a lasting effect, and takes pride in the fact.  Landa, however, committed his purely out of self-interest. Throughout his film, it is clear he doesn't care about the war and its efforts, he only cares about himself and doing well in his life. He says, "Finding people is my specialty so naturally I work for the Nazis finding people, and yes some of them were Jews. But 'Jew Hunter'?" He doesn't consider himself a nazi, but admits he does work for the nazi party. 
Another difference is that while Doe won and his villainous efforts proved fortuitous, Landa was caught, punished and forced to spend the rest of his days with a swastika scarred into his forehead. Not a good day to be a Monster in his case.

]]> 2018-10-31 14:50:28 UTC https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/299009742 roeskmac000 https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/299009912 Both men are exceedingly smart and throughout both of their respective films, they allude justice. They both manage to do this until the end by simply out-smarting those who would bring them justice. 
They are both very tricky and understand more about their victims than the victims know about themselves. (Ex. Doe sees the sins in each victim when they do not see where they have sinned. Landa finds his escaped victim years later and while he does not recognize her immediately or act on it, he taunts her when he finds out who she is.)]]> 2018-10-31 14:50:44 UTC https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/299009912 roeskmac000 https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/299012390 2018-10-31 14:54:57 UTC https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/299012390 roeskmac000 https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/299019369 In this alternate telling of the Holocaust, we get a villain who is a Nazi. One thing that immediately sets us away from him (other than him being a literal Nazi) is that he's almost constantly smiling, like he knows he has the upper hand. One thing we can predict from at the beginning of the film, knowing how the Holocaust ends, is that Landa will meet an end. The only hope is that the end will be a bad one for him.]]> 2018-10-31 15:06:58 UTC https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/299019369 roeskmac000 https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/299039146 Other than the very obvious crimes against humanity and various war crimes, what else has Landa done that has made him a monster? 
Throughout the film we see that Landa is extremely confident and very intelligent. He is very attentive to detail, and this helps him to find Jewish people who have escaped the Nazi Parties grasp. He is, in a sense, a bounty hunter and while his hunting is not limited to Jewish people, the majority of people he finds are Jewish. ]]> 2018-10-31 15:39:18 UTC https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/299039146 roeskmac000 https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/299111732 Landa is very meticulous and exercises his abilities in a way that aid him in finding Jewish people wherever they may be hiding. His main priority is himself and while he doesn't identify as a Nazi, serving the Nazi party is his job. 
His presence on screen is very commanding and with his demeanor flickering between charming and intimidating every scene, it's hard not to see him as the perfect monster he is. 
By the end of the movie, he plans on betraying the Nazi party, which in a way is even worse because he doesn't do it to end the war or to save countless lives, he does it so that he won't be punished for his crimes. 
This, however, does not quite work out for him. 
Aldo Raine, a Jewish-American man and self-identified Nazi-Killer (as well as scalper) has his commanding officer make a deal with Landa. This deal gives Landa immunity from any punishment as long as the Fuhrer (Hitler) is killed with his knowing consent.
Hitler is killed and Raine and Landa are on their way back to Raine's camp so their deal can be made official. Raine killed Landa's guard and scalps him and then carves a swastika into Landa's forehead. 
A fitting punishment as Raine says, "I'm gonna give you something you can't take off (the scar)."
 ]]> 2018-10-31 17:49:07 UTC https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/299111732 roeskmac000 https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/299112914 While both cases have more differences than similarities, one thing remains clear. That is that being a villain doesn't pay. 
They're called bad guys, and monsters, and villains for a reason. The connotation is anything but positive that remains true throughout all media, any bad guys we see are, in fact, bad. But it is when we overcome the monsters, the villains, and the bad guys that things can be good. 
When the bad guys win, it sucks. When they lose, it's pretty sick. ]]> 2018-10-31 17:51:16 UTC https://padlet.com/roeskmac000/kc5akwtlljuz/wish/299112914