Antagonists vs. Villains vs. Anti-Villains

Recently, I’ve been on a bit of a Les Misérables binge, and as I unfortunately don’t have time to go back and reread the book, I’ve taken to reading its wiki page and fanfiction instead. In my search through the internet, I came across a term that I had never heard before in reference to the character Javert: anti-villain.

From Wikipedia:

Unlike other villains in classic literature such as Iago of Othello, Javert is portrayed as a somewhat sympathetic antagonist with noble goals and viewpoints, arguably an anti-villain.

Until this point in time I had only thought about and been aware of the differences between an antagonist and a villain. I had never even considered a term like anti-villain, even though I’ve often thought about the differences between protagonists, heroes, and anti-heroes. All things considered, it makes sense that if anti-heroes can exist, there should also be room for anti-villains as well.

Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: Positive Portrayals of Catholics

So not too long ago, I was watching The Colbert Report and was treated to something awesome: an interview with Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who is the current head of the United States Catholic Council of Bishops (USCCB). Colbert and Dolan seem to actually be pretty good friends and did a talk at Fordham University called The Cardinal and Colbert: Humor, Joy, and the Spiritual Life. This has nothing to do with anything geeky, so why am I bringing it up? Stephen Colbert hasn’t hidden the fact that he’s a devout and proud Catholic. And, in my opinion, he is one of the most positive examples of a Catholic on TV today.

So watching Colbert got me thinking: are there any Catholic characters, particularly in geek culture, that show a positive portrayal of Catholics?

Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: Christian Social Justice and Les Misérables

Les Misérables is still on my brain because it is such a fantastic movie and musical, I just can’t stop thinking about it. It certainly helps that the musical is chock full of Christian themes. One of the biggest themes Les Misérables shows is social justice.

Social justice, in a Christian context, in its simplest forms means care and consideration for the poor and outcast for several reasons. One, because Christ commands us to love one another and we are all created in God’s image, and two, because nothing in this world belongs to us; it belongs to God.

Theatre Thursdays: The Les Mis Touring Show

Alrighty, I saw Les Miserables at Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center the other night, so it’s review time!