Capture the Softer Side of a Villain! (Writing Prompt)

Did you know that many of the bad guys we see in movies are not actually bad guys?

Think about it. When you watched Jaws, did the movie ever show you how Jaws wakes up every morning to help the baby sharks go to shark school? Of course not. The movie was obviously biased against Jaws, especially with that eery theme song trying to portray Larry as a ruthless killer. That’s right–Jaws’ real name is Larry. And he is happily married and has 7 grandsharks.

From Darth Vader in Star Wars to Ursula in the Little Mermaid to Jafar in Aladdin, many characters have been misrepresented by movies and now they must live with the tag of villain. Jafar was recently spotted in Dubai drinking ice coffee with friends when a group of people surrounded him chanting villain, you villain. If only they knew that jafar is an introvert who loves video games and talking about soccer. He thinks Messi’s the goat.

Your mission is to humanize a character from a movie who has been labeled a villain. You can tell the “real” story of this character, or perhaps give a day-in-the life of what their life is like. You need to capture this character’s softer side, the side that movies ignored–probably for ratings. Be specific about what this character is truly like, and if you want to add pictures–do it. So get writing, and get to the truth and softer side of a movie villain.

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