Monday, May 4, 2015

What makes a character Bad Ass?

Image courtesy of google creative commons search -

I know I ask a lot of questions, but it's because I'm curious. I obviously don't have the answers, but someone might. So I wonder, what makes a character the bad ass, and I'm not just talking about the bad guy, I'm talking about the hard ass.

Is it their cloths, their personality, their extracurricular activities? What?

I get that some characters can be bad ass because of their actions, like fighting to save the world, killing zombies or vampires, whatever, but let’s take Four from Divergent for example. He's gorgeous, strong, can fight, has a working moral compass, tattoo's, sexy... a little messed up in the head, but pretty on track.

The guy, like most bad ass's, wears black, black, black. But what if you dressed him in say pink. Does a guy who can do all the same things, has all the same strengths loose his appeal when dressed differently? If you put him in a suit, the effect is the same as black leather, it's like a power suit.... sexy (think Men in Black). A pink shirt and light coloured cargo's would hardly have the same effect.

Or is it their attitude. Most characters who are classified as the bad ass have similar traits. They're aloof, flippant, obnoxious and sometimes border on rude. Is that what makes them tough? You probably wouldn't catch them wearing a pink shirt.

Then you have the other type of hard ass, the criminal hard ass, the one who defies authority, steals, deals, takes drugs, drinks excessively and rides around on a Harley or in a hotted up car. You don't see them riding around in a pink shirt either now do ya?

Then you have the straight out bad guy. If you've ever seen the Mortal Instruments movie, you'd know who Valentine is. The bad guy obviously. He's basically power hungry, wears all black, covered in tattoo like markings (runes), a hideous rats tail and a thirst for blood shed. He's not about to put on a pair of boardies and a t shirt now is he? Can you imagine the character, Severus Snape, from Harry Potter walking around in PJ's or a bright fuschia shirt? No!  

I know it sounds stupid, but if you look at all the different angles of all the different types of bad asses, in one way or another, their credibility comes down to their clothing. Sorry, but pink shirt wearing men don't seem to cut it as the tough guy.

And it's not just relevant to men, it's women too. Tris from Divergent isn't walking around in a floral summer dress, nor is she wearing a napkin sized skirt.

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