british villians

[2nosey]

has anybody else noticed that when in an american film or cartoon they have a villian they're always,always british?what have the americans got against the british that they need to let us know through they're films and animations.

they even portray the british to have funny buck teeth and big noses that are in the air all the time. i know this isn't true.

i'd your opinions please!

[shammydodger]

To answer the original question, they've never forgiven us for burning down the White House in 1812 and beating them to the front of the queue in two world wars.

[gary baldy]

Its a colonial thing!
The Yanks like to think our 'special relationship' is like the relationship between a headmaster and a naughty but lovable child.
America knows that it is bigger and more powerful than us and have nicer teeth but it is fully aware that Britain was once the most powerful nation on earth and part of that Empire was what is now the United States.
Britain is therefore seen as the bad guy and the USA are always the avenging, pioneering good guys.
They cannot however get away from the fact that the Founding Fathers were British so movie bad guys are comic book evil but never true evil.
Going back to the headmaster/ child analogy - the headmaster only punishes the naughty child because he has affection for him and wants the child to do well. The Yanks portray us as evil villians but really its a sign of affection. There is a certain inferiority complex aswell in that the Yanks are fully aware that the British are generally better educated, more cultural and have a more refined sense of humour than the average American. This 'qualities' are usually over played and exaggerated in movies and the villians are usually well spoken, quick witted and intelligent and not the low life scum bags that most criminals really are (on both sides of the Atlantic).

The main reason though is pure and simple cliche. Hollywood is incredibly lazy and conservative. If an idea works it will be played and played to death. There is probably an early example of a British evil genius villian that worked well in a film and that has set the agenda for scores of other villians simply because subsequent film makers could be bothered to change a winning formula.

[joko]

*adopts a leslie phillips voice*

"Because we're so very gooooood at it, my dear"

seriously though, american accents don't sound sinister enough, and aren't always believable as the megalomaniac maniac (except lex luther)

[2nosey]

thanks for your opinions everyone!

hey gary baldy you were very informative thanks.oh and there's a takeaway near us called garybaldies, relatives of yours? lol

[xmwahx]

its either because of the war back in the day when they got there independence and they are still holding a grudge or because a lot of ppl like british accents

[n00dles]

shammyd, underplayed my hand there, (didn't he say it 5 times?) No? Never mind :oD

Chronicle of the Cinema: L.A. July 15 (1988)

Bruce Willis plays a deadly game of cat and mouse with the chief heavy, smooth British classical actor Alan Rickman. These days in Hollywood the best villians have British accents.

[Want-to-know]

Since the silent era in Hollywood, Brits have acted as villians in Hollywood. Jimmy Finalayson, the great Scottish comedy actor specialised in playing villians in many Laurel and Hardy films for example.

When the talkies came in, many silents movie stars could not act and so stage actors were sort from the New York stage. Many British actors too tried their luck with the talkies and were very successful. By the 1930s/40s, many British actors were cast as villians,e.g. Claude Raines and Charles Laughton. Do not also forget that Britain's Boris Karloff specialised in playing monsters.

Since it would seem political incorrect to insult other races/religions/nationalities, etc. in films these days, us Brits do not seem to take offense at being cast as villians. In fact, Hollywood producers follow their predecessors and make many of our actors quite wealthy playing such roles.