#24: What is it about villains that we are attracted to? They have become popular, if not more popular, than Disney heroes. More and more Disney movies and shows are highlighting their villains, even going so far as creating live-action adaptations of these principal characters. Ariel, Stef, and special guest Chance, dive deep into this question.

Read the blog post for this episode for additional references and resources.

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Ariel Landrum 0:10
Hello, everyone, welcome to the happiest pot on Earth. I’m Ariel.

Stefanie Bautista 0:14
And I’m Stef.

Chance Calloway 0:15
And I’m Chance.

Ariel Landrum 0:16
And we’re Disney fans. But we’re really so much more than that.

Stefanie Bautista 0:18
Like I’m an educator who uses her passions and fandoms to help my students grow and learn about themselves and the world around them.

Ariel Landrum 0:24
And I’m a mental health therapist who uses clients’ passions and fandoms to help them heal and achieve from mental wellness.

Chance Calloway 0:30
And I’m a writer and filmmaker enamored with fantasy and the power of imagination, who is the accidental member of several fandoms.

Ariel Landrum 0:37
And Happiest Pod is a place where we dissect Disney mediums with a the critical lens.

Stefanie Bautista 0:41
And why do we do this? Because just like we are more than just fans we expect a lot more from the mediums we consume.

Ariel Landrum 0:47
So everybody would Disney medium are we dissecting today?

Stefanie Bautista 0:51
Well as seeing that last time, we talked about Spooky Season, we’re gonna dive a little bit deeper and talk about villains and what makes them fantastic and great. And

Ariel Landrum 1:02
Bumm bumm bumm

Stefanie Bautista 1:05
Yes, dun dun dun. Not purr purr purr, because it’s more like dun dun dun. And joining us is our good good friend extended family and welcome guests Chance.

Ariel Landrum 1:19
Yay.

Stefanie Bautista 1:19
Yay. Now we can go purr purr purr

Chance Calloway 1:23
Thanks for having me you guys. I’m really excited.

Stefanie Bautista 1:25
Yes. I feel like it’s a long time coming. We’ve been talking about having you on here. But it never came into fruition until now. So I’m super excited.

Chance Calloway 1:33
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 1:33
Yes.

Stefanie Bautista 1:34
Yeah. Do you want to talk a little bit more about what you do Chance to give our listeners a little intro into the world of Chance?

Chance Calloway 1:42
Sure. I mean, it’s kind of more like what don’t I do? But…

Ariel Landrum 1:46
Touché.

Chance Calloway 1:47
For the sake of an intro? Yeah, I’m a filmmaker. I’m a storyteller. I’ve, I’m probably best known for my digital series Pretty Dudes, which I have now turned into a book, and an EP and all kinds of stuff like that. I love to write books. I write music. Yeah, I just I really love being able to build and create worlds, which I think probably stems from all the Disney movies I watch.

Stefanie Bautista 2:14
And he’s a fantastic singer.

Ariel Landrum 2:16
Yes. Yes. And dancer.

Stefanie Bautista 2:18
Yes. And dancer. And all around performer and creative. We love it.

Ariel Landrum 2:24
Yes, yes.

Chance Calloway 2:27
Thanks. I don’t dance that not much unless I’m dancing with you guys.

Ariel Landrum 2:31
So in talking about villains, I’m curious. Why do you all think that people like villains because I will say that there is a villains, takeover. Surgence? Fandom. There’s a whole community of people who that’s their jam. So I’m curious why you think that is? Because historically, villains have been the villain. The bad guy.

Stefanie Bautista 2:54
I mean, you’re wearing a villain shirt. Ariel from what I can see. So you’re definitely repping the set right now.

Ariel Landrum 3:01
Dress to impress.

Stefanie Bautista 3:03
Yeah, dress… Which is funny cause you’re wearing the Hocus Pocus shirt. And we talked about Hocus Pocus, last pod. Well whatever. But…

Ariel Landrum 3:10
It’s a callback.

Stefanie Bautista 3:11
It was a callback. It’s a callback, I like that we’re really creating our own worlds within this podcast. I love villains because without villains, there’s no story. I mean, they are flawed individuals, just like all of us. They’re super relatable once you get to think about why they are the way they are. And a really good villain serves as the perfect foil. It’s the perfect person to highlight the goodness of the protagonist. Also, it kind of you know, is a balance to the story. I think, whenever I’m, you know, talking about literature, especially in my classroom, and we’re talking about protagonists and antagonists, you need to find that balance in order to understand all aspects of the story at the most basic level. So I think focusing on the villain giving them as much attention as you are the protagonist is equally important to understand a story and where it’s going.

Ariel Landrum 4:01
Okay, how about you Chance?

Chance Calloway 4:02
Yeah, I, I was kind of mulling this over earlier and I think that what happens is, villains are almost like a blank canvas. You can make villains as interesting, as vibrant, as, as weird and unique as you want, because they’re going to be grounded by whoever your protagonist is.

Ariel Landrum 4:23
Okay.

Chance Calloway 4:23
And I think depending on the skills or the intent of whoever’s telling the story, sometimes that turns into the villains becoming the most interesting character. For many different reasons sometimes it’s because there’s a backstory that you can fill in you know yourself or sometimes just, you know, they have the best song or the best outfit.

Ariel Landrum 4:45
Very true.

Chance Calloway 4:46
Like I think you know, even just looking at superheroes as well as as well as you know, fairy tales. You know, you just have so many great villain characters, and you’re excited when they show up as this this villain has this guy kind of attitude. And I think that’s really easy to kind of latch on to as a viewer a fan.

Stefanie Bautista 5:05
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 5:05
Yeah. So I had attended a panel over a virtual online panel over the summer because we’re in a pandemic, at TAGGS, which is the Therapeutic Geek and Gaming Summit, Therapeutic Alliance Geek and Gaming Summit. We just kept saying TAGGS. It was a lot easier. And the therapist who was one of the first presenters had ‘Welcome to the Dark Side Exploring Villains and Their Use in Therapy.’ Therapist’s name is, I’m a butcher this up but I’m gonna try Maria LaquerreDiego. We’re gonna go with that. But Maria, she did a great job explaining why people like villains. And it’s the same thing that you all are saying. They’re flawed. They’re necessary in order to be able to have a hero. And they we can give them quirks, we can adapt them, we can change them, they get to be more vibrant, and fun, they’re more exciting. They’re almost larger than life. They have unlimited amount of resources. They live with a purpose and drive and they get their needs met without apology. And ...