THE EVIL WINS (?): A Perspective

 

I have been reviewing movies on this blog for a few years now, and I have found that there has been an evolving theme going on with many newer productions. These movies have been produced beginning shortly after the turn of the century. After a couple of decades of the next generations cutting their literary teeth on dystopian novels, these same kids have grown into adults that have taken over the storytelling lines of the movie industry. The result has been a quagmire of screenplays that have the evil, or villainous, characters and/or creatures coming out on top.

This is not to say that dystopian novels or the people who write and/or read them are the cause of all society’s ills. In fact, most of these stories have the good guys, after three or four books, winning. The problem is that the young readers who absorbed these awful, and often violent, imaginary worlds put them together with the horrible real-life happenings they saw in their own lives, and out of that has come what we are seeing today. The world that they lived in had little justice, no accountability, and worshiped money and everything it could buy. As they grew up, things only got worse. What with housing crashes, pandemics, and riots brought on by violent racial disparities, is it really any wonder that there are many people out there that believe that evil will always win? And so, this philosophy is portrayed in their stories, their books, and their movies.

Not that there weren’t any bright spots in this era. The Star Trek universe always features a place where all intelligent beings are treated as equals, no matter what they look like. With its reboot films and newest series, it can now speak to whole new generations about acceptance and inclusivity. The Star Wars films are known for bringing beings of all descriptions together to fight for freedom from dictatorial governments. Even if some of the chapters have a noticeably dark tone, they tell the story without flinching over the uncomfortable parts of the history. And those like Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia, which were based on books that were written at a time when good always triumphed over evil, also made their mark. These attributes were rewarded by the profits that were brought in by these efforts. Which just goes to prove that, no matter what they claim to believe, people still love happy endings, endings where the good guys come through the darkness to the light of victory, no matter what the cost.

Unfortunately, these are the exceptions instead of the norm. The horror genre, in particular, has been extremely affected by this darker philosophy. It used to be that the vampires and/or werewolves were horrible creatures that were destroyed in the end. Now, they are handsome rock star heroes who have girls trailing at their heels and are worshiped as semi-deities. The demons get away or the main character ends up succumbing to the dark side and becoming one of them. Perhaps this can be viewed as rooting for the outcast, but it is still true that their existence is a terrible, painful ordeal, with their only relief being to make sure others share in their torment. This may make sense to the view that only evil can triumph in this life, but is that really the truth?

Actually, the truth is that, even though it may seem that evil does win every time, it actually does not. Evil has a way of working against itself. An evil man makes a lot of money, only to have his trusted colleague turn on him and take his life. The colleague may do this because he wants what is best for himself, what his erstwhile friend had, but in the end he brings down someone that would have caused more harm than the friend ever will. And, eventually, the same thing will happen all over again. It may take a while, but the chain of events will continue until all the evil men are gone and there are only the decent ones left to make a new way of living. Evil will never triumph. Its very nature precludes that. It will simply last until there are no more left to follow it. Then it will die out. It’s as simple as that.

I believe in good. I believe in light triumphing over darkness. And, frankly, I also believe that there is enough darkness in this world without us having to watch it on the screens in our homes. So, from now on, I am going to make a concerted effort to watch and review only films that bring goodness and hope to the viewer. This will not mean that I won’t be including the high budget hit movies that may come along, but the majority will be in this new vein. I do not want my mind corroded by the darkness that permeates our world, and I am sure that there are many out there who feel the same. So, this will now be the place to come to find those alternatives. Here the heroes will triumph, and the light will find a place to shine. Let us shine with it.