Ruins and desolate areas are fascinating places. Removed from the bustle of civilization, these dilapidated or harsh areas remind us that times change. The pride of our hands and manmade symbols of glory will eventually crumble, just dusty ground for our decendants to explore hundreds of years later. There will always be places too remote and treacherous to easily support human life.
But pieces of the past, even a sun baked animal skeleton, tell us stories. A history exists in those broken remains. Even if they're creepy, void of life, nature persists around them.
These desolate places also provide an intriguing backdrop for those who call them home despite the harsh conditions. As an author, I love to mold characters' backstories on unique grounds: the kid who grew up in a desert with little to eat but scorpions and lizards, or the man who moved to a frigid mountaintop to get away from other people. When something disrupts their view of normal, every day life, stories begin.
In Disney's The Lion King, Scar did his underhanded dealings with his secret army in a scorched part of the land where bones outweighed living creatures. He dubbed the area "an elephant graveyard" in order to draw the young prince away from the safety of his father's kingdom.
Now, I'm a huge fan of clever villains. Scar is among the most conniving and manipulative of them all. He admits early on that he can't rely on brute strength to challenge his brother for the throne. Instead of wasting his time trying to get physically stronger, he uses what he has—his perception to collect information on everyone around him.
And, he has incredible patience, waiting to spring his traps at opportune moments.
He uses Simba's naive and impetuous nature to lure the young cub into the hyena's territory.
He uses his brother's love for his son to set up an inescapable trap. (I'll never forget Scar watching Mufasa struggle to save his son, making sure he dies)
He uses the hyenas, making lofty promises he never intends to keep.
Then, when he's king, he uses the lionesses to hunt and feed himself and his lazy hyena army.
Before any of that, hidden away in that elephant graveyard, Scar has his signature villain song, Be Prepared. The lyrics are fascinating for many reasons. Not only does he reveal his plan to rally the hyenas to take over the throne, all the while lauding his own intelligence, in the first fifteen seconds of the song, he basically calls the hyenas gullible idiots who aren't good for anything but brute labor.
And the hyenas still follow him.
When I was a child, the lyrics of Be Prepared went over my head. Scar's vocabulary also stumps the hyenas in places. Only when I watched the movie again as an adult did I realize: Scar's promises and manipulation were so good, it didn't matter how he insulted his followers. They were onboard, hanging their hopes on the promise that they would never have to work for food again.
And we see this form of laziness ingrained in culture.
Those who do the least amount of work for the greatest reward.
Capable individuals who complain about their situations instead of helping themselves.
Those who expect everything to be given to them.
The hyenas believed they just had to kill the king and his heir, then they'd never have to work again. It's the lottery mindset—if I can just win the lottery, I won't have to do anything else. All my problems would be solved.
But stagnant lives don't produce lasting fulfillment. Most adults have experienced this result in some capacity. The hyenas experienced this when the lionesses couldn't catch enough food to feed them all. Instead of helping to hunt, the hyenas complained to King Scar. "Fix it daddy, I'm hungry." At this point, Scar had no plans for this particular outcome.
This is the only point when Scar realizes his scheme is backfiring. When the lionesses inform him there is no more food and they need to leave the "kingdom," Scar becomes angry and blames everyone but himself. Even at the end of his reign, he tries more deceit to save his skin. This time, no one is fooled.
Scar's arc could have gone a different direction. Yes, it would have ruined the movie, but he could have chosen humility over force and kept his life—admitted he was wrong. When adult Simba returns to fight Scar for his throne, Scar could have backed down peacefully. His pride wouldn't let him. Simba never wanted to kill his uncle, even after all the horrible things Scar did.
No one mourns Scar when he dies. He had no redeeming qualities and had no capacity to learn from his mistakes. In a movie, this is typical villain behavior: I'm bad because I am. Scar doesn't have a backstory to show why he coveted the throne. All we have is a lust for power and jealousy for his brother. (I'm also writing this with no regard for any sequels/specials that came after the original movie)
How different would Scar's motivation look if his older brother, Mufasa, had bullied him when they were younger? Maybe picked on Scar because he was smaller? Or maybe their parents favored Mufasa for other reasons than simply being the eldest? These issues help an audience sympathize even with a villain.
And this is where I love to hover when I write villains. This is how villains gain that extra dimension. Not all of them can be redeemed, but I at least want my readers to feel some kind of connection with them—just a shred of compassion for why they are so rotten. Once that seed takes root, villains lose a rough edge. Readers can say, "I would never stoop to that level, but I can kinda understand why they did it."
Get readers to that point, and they will be torn: do I root for the hero knowing that the villain was so terribly slighted?
What a delicious conundrum!
Until next time, keep on smilin'!
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