I've seen TV shows and movies do this. Pro wrestling does it. Cartoons and video games have done this. For some reason, I've never seen the good guy be less intelligent while the bad guy is smart. Is this a good reflection of reality?
Bad guys portrayed as dumb
- Thread starter rainforests1
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Are we talking about a story line that involves good vs. evil? Home Alone would be an obvious example where the good guy(a child) outsmarts the bad guys(adults) over and over again. I don't see any story lines which involves the opposite. It has to involve a story line of good vs. evil for it to count in this thread.
Calliegirl
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I do think it's accurate, although I'm sure there are a few intelligent criminals. I think having a lower iq, or a lack of education (hence appearing 'dumb') can lead people to become criminals, since they would only be able to do mostly menial, or low paying jobs.
Well, that's not what you said originally, now is it?
Pretty much every story with a bad guy is a story of good versus evil. The concept of good versus evil is basic to human mythology, from the Bible to fairy tales to Westerns to police procedurals to sci fi.
Memorable not-dumb bad guys:
Satan
Darth Vader
Hannibel Lector
Freddy Krueger
Professor Moriarty
Voldemort
The Joker
the Borg
J.R. Ewing
Vito Corleone
Michael Corleone
Tony Soprano
Vic Mackey
Comedies (including professional wrestling) tend toward the slapstick portrayal of stupid bad guys. Drama tends toward evenly matched good guys and bad guys. Tragedies (and some horror genres) tend toward the bad guy(s) winning.
IRL, the criminals who get caught tend to be stupid. Smart people can usually make it difficult to even notice that a crime has been committed, and/or can accomplish their goals without even risking criminal penalties.
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yakherder
老外
Any Stephen King story with the Walkin' Dude, i.e. the Stand, the Dark Tower, has definitely got a really smart guy that's about as evil as you can get. Then there is Tom Cullen in the Stand and Sheemie in the Dark Tower, both of whom are not smart, in the traditional sense, yet play important roles on the side of good.
Oh, Austin Powers lol
But really, a lot of bad guys are portrayed as unrealistically stupid, that is true. But I could go all night making a list of really smart bad guys. I can't think of many dumb good guys though, but as per my Stephen King example, they're out there.
Oh, Austin Powers lol
But really, a lot of bad guys are portrayed as unrealistically stupid, that is true. But I could go all night making a list of really smart bad guys. I can't think of many dumb good guys though, but as per my Stephen King example, they're out there.
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yakherder
老外
Inspector Clouseau
Forrest Gump
Gomer Pyle
and countless other comedic roles. Lloyd Bridges, for one, made a career out of those kinds of roles in his post Flipper era. The bumbling/naïve/overly optimistic/overly trusting good guy is as much of a stock character as the stupid criminal. In dramas, they are sacrificed freely to show what a bad guy the bad guy is.
yakherder
老外
Just recalled the movie "Chocolate" (from Thailand in 2008, not the one from 2000), which features an autistic girl who studies Thai boxing and, of course, ends up having to take on a bunch of bad guys. In one of the climax fights, she beats the crap out of a bad guy with Tourette syndrome. How's that for non traditional :/
A poor person is more likely to steal than someone who has money. For many other crimes(murder being one), there's no reason a poor person should be more likely to do them.
Who are the good guys in this though? There are very few in politics.
Freesia
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yakherder
老外
The solution just hit me. They need costumes with capes and cool masks and such, then they will by default become good guys. I can't believe no one ever thought of this. I may have just saved the world.
Clueless Git
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Don't be ridiculous Spang.
Good guys don't choose bad guys to be their leaders.
You need to watch more television.
'Batman' would be a good place to start.
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Clueless Git
Plant powered
Honest people don't steal whether they have money or not.
It may be true that the risk to benefit ratio is different for dishonest people who have money and dishonest people who don't have money though.
Seperate thought ...
Someone close to me recently spent a little time enjoying porridge for breakast at one of her majesty's special hotels.
Quite a few of the residents in such establishments are actualy better off whilst in them than out.
The risk factor to such people is as close to zero as you can possibly get.
Do you have any stats? I'll rephrase that:a poor person should be more likely to steal, but for most other crimes it shouldn't make a difference.
Calliegirl
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I'm poor, all of my family is poor, the majority of my friends are poor, and I can say with 100 percent certainty, none of us steal.
Being poor ≠ no ethics or morals.
In fact, most poor people have a better set of ethics than a wealthy person. That's why we're poor. From what I've seen, rich people get where they are by using, stepping on, and stealing from others.
Being poor ≠ no ethics or morals.
In fact, most poor people have a better set of ethics than a wealthy person. That's why we're poor. From what I've seen, rich people get where they are by using, stepping on, and stealing from others.
