I'll target the bits where we dispute.
A single fictional not-very-accurately-written psychopath isn't real either. They're fictional. I don't really follow your point. An individual representation of a particular demographic does not constitute stereotyping that entire demographic.
Honestly? I think it's lazy and a cop-out. I discovered it when studying Othello in sixth form and realised Iago was basically Shakespeare going "Gotta write a play somehow" and invented a character just to fuck with the others. But let's be academic. :)
D'you know, I watch the Hallowe'en films like, every, well, Hallowe'en because they're always on the telly (for some reason) and I've never actually picked up on that. This is both perhaps a bit embarrassing and also maybe is a nice example of my point: for some things, the audience really doesn't care. A better example might be natural disaster films, where the antagonist is not even personified. Nobody asks the sharks their opinion in Sharknado. It's taken for granted that sharks are assholes, and they're assholes when they can sort-of fly, too.
When I say 'generic', I mean 'antagonist by design', which is my fault for not being clear - I meant those antagonists whose motives aren't really relevant, or boil down to the woolly "Just because".
And you're right, being creative and original with a Just Because villain really is necessary, or there simply is no content there. I think the Joker from The Dark Knight is probably the ultimate example of a Just Because villain done right: he's quirky and funny, and almost literally shallow. I'm pretty sure he never takes his make-up off and that we find out nothing about him as a character. What people will remember about the Joker will be his funniness, destructiveness, and lines like "Some people just want to watch the world burn".
Brovo said Except Pikachu isn't real. This would be like if I wrote that all Chinese people want to eat babies and murder Americans and . See how that might be offensive?
A single fictional not-very-accurately-written psychopath isn't real either. They're fictional. I don't really follow your point. An individual representation of a particular demographic does not constitute stereotyping that entire demographic.
My offense, my feelings on something, are not justifiable means for which to call others to stop doing it altogether. If that's what gets your plot rolling, and you enjoy it, fantastic, but I won't enjoy it.
Honestly? I think it's lazy and a cop-out. I discovered it when studying Othello in sixth form and realised Iago was basically Shakespeare going "Gotta write a play somehow" and invented a character just to fuck with the others. But let's be academic. :)
Ironically, you mention Halloween. A film where the main antagonist has a back story.
D'you know, I watch the Hallowe'en films like, every, well, Hallowe'en because they're always on the telly (for some reason) and I've never actually picked up on that. This is both perhaps a bit embarrassing and also maybe is a nice example of my point: for some things, the audience really doesn't care. A better example might be natural disaster films, where the antagonist is not even personified. Nobody asks the sharks their opinion in Sharknado. It's taken for granted that sharks are assholes, and they're assholes when they can sort-of fly, too.
Anything that is generic is stereotypical. Anything that is stereotypical is generally overdone and boring. You at least want to put a unique twist to something, to make it yours, or just to make it different. You can use generic for unimportant things, but for something as important as a main antagonist? You better give them a personality, a history, a face--something.
When I say 'generic', I mean 'antagonist by design', which is my fault for not being clear - I meant those antagonists whose motives aren't really relevant, or boil down to the woolly "Just because".
And you're right, being creative and original with a Just Because villain really is necessary, or there simply is no content there. I think the Joker from The Dark Knight is probably the ultimate example of a Just Because villain done right: he's quirky and funny, and almost literally shallow. I'm pretty sure he never takes his make-up off and that we find out nothing about him as a character. What people will remember about the Joker will be his funniness, destructiveness, and lines like "Some people just want to watch the world burn".