Villains 101

It, who often goes by Pennywise the Dancing Clown, is the terrifying villain from Stephen King's 1986 novel It. In this episode, I discuss the complexities of the creature, its place in pop culture and folklore, and why clowns are so terrifying.

The Queen of Hearts from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an emotional, heartless ruler. This episode looks closely at passages from the novel, examines the history of beheading, and thinks about the mythological roots of her character.

Harry and Marv, the Wet Bandits/Sticky Bandits, are the hilarious villains of the classic Christmas films Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. In this episode, I will discuss the various types of crimes they commit during the films, the injuries that they sustain, and their skills as criminals.

Disney villains are legendary, and Scar from The Lion King is not one to mess around with. This episode analyzes Scar from different perspectives, including comparing his behavior to that of lions in the wild. It also compares Scar to others in literature and history. Ultimately, this episode raises the question, does Scar behave naturally or is he a horrible dictator?

The classic Halloween film Hocus Pocus brings us a wonderful trio of villainesses, the Sanderson Sisters. This episode looks at the history of witches and trends in popular culture while analyzing three of the most iconic witches.

Gaston is the chauvinistic, self-absorbed villain of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. This episode describes the ways in which Gaston's villainy emerges and finds him to be an especially terrifying villain because he is a human with qualities that we may recognize in others.

The boar Napoleon from George Orwell's novel Animal Farm becomes an oppressive dictator. This episode looks at the parallels between the novel and Soviet Russia and examines Napoleon's rise to power and tyrannical rule. 

Judge Doom is the deliciously evil villain of the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Doom is a sinister villain with dreams of expansion that cause him to make genocidal plans. This episode analyzes Doom's character and looks at the history of human devastation of land and life around the world.

Judge Holden is the cold-blooded, violent villain of Cormac McCarthy's novel Blood Meridian. In this episode, I analyze different interpretations of his character and The Judge's philosophy and teachings of the world.