Antagonists are important in creating narrative tension and giving protagonists someone to pit against. They can be hard to spot and may have saving graces, with well-crafted ones steering the story into unexpected twists. Fiction and genre films often have less complex antagonists.
Even people who would do anything to avoid conflict in their homes or at work often want a real troublemaker in a story they read or a show they watch. Nearly every protagonist needs someone to pit will or brains or beauty against. A story may have one or more antagonists, but almost all require this role to be filled in order to create narrative tension that will keep the reader reading, the story unfolding, and one that both reader and protagonist want to beat.
The antagonist actually has a very varied and extremely important job. In good literature and the best movies, this character might be hard to spot, at least initially. The main character, or protagonist, might think that this anti-version is really a best friend or true love. It is usually the reader or viewer who figures this out first and spends the rest of the story waiting for the protagonist to recognize the villain.
A good storyteller, regardless of medium, invests an antagonist with at least a few saving graces. Perhaps this individual was deeply hurt as a child, or perhaps he truly believes in a moral righteousness that the public can see is misguided. Some of these characters start out on the side of the protagonist and are driven away or seduced by circumstances beyond their control.
A well-crafted antagonist helps the plot unfold by pulling the narrative thread just enough to force the story forward. Often a writer gives the villain the opportunity to steer the story into new and unexpected twists. Those who display round or deeply human feelings, motivations, and needs are often easier to forgive, and are also more likely to turn the action into surprising twists.
Fiction and genre films, such as works dealing with magic, murder, space creatures, and the like, are often less likely to have complex and highly developed antagonists. These types of stories are more likely to hinge on more flattened characters with stock-like behaviors that are easy for the audience to recognize. The witch in the fairy tale, the troll in the fairy tale, and the crazed killer in the slasher film are examples of the types of villains that audiences love to hate and don’t need to humanize.
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