Humiliating Villains (and Heroes)

One of the delicious aspects of entertaining fiction is what's sometimes called "creative humiliation of the villain." Seeing a bad guy kept his comeuppance in a way that wounds his ego never gets old. This often occurs after great damage to others, so it's an evening of the scales. But it also reflects repugnance for antagonists who believe they are smarter or better than everyone else and even taunt heroes and victims. I don't think I ever missed an episode of Colombo because each one enacted these little morality plays.

Against villains, humiliation provides readers or viewers a pay off. But humiliation can also be useful to good storytelling if it's used against heroes. Often, the reason why we empathize with the character is because he or she has been wronged. As Damon Knight told me once, "we've all been wronged, so we're naturally on their side." In addition, humiliation can contribute to real change. The more a character faces obstacles, including reputational damage (which is largely what humiliation is), the more likely they are to deal with a flaw.

Note: Depending on the villain, it might also be used to create a level of empathy or understanding. Think of the backstory of Syndrome’s rejection in The Incredibles.

Suffering humiliation for the sake of doing the right thing makes a character more noble in our eyes. In Jerry Maguire, Jerry makes himself vulnerable and reveals his true love in the presence of a women's group, where none of the members are on his side… to say the least.

How do you humiliate a character?

• Show the character has crossed the line or violated the taboo.
• Present a behavior out of context were put it in its worst light.
• Make the "offense" against a cherished part of the character's self image or public persona.
• Make the behavior appeared to be cruel or worthy of disdain.
• Put the offensive behavior on exhibit, often including the character falling for a trap or being hoisted by his own petard.
• Focus on a behavior the character is ashamed of.
  

How do you make the humiliation more intense?

• Be sure the humiliation sticks. Make it difficult for the behavior to be disavowed, apologized for, or minimized.
• Make a shift in power part of the moment of humiliation.
• Make the consequence proportional for the villain and out of proportion for the hero.
• Make the humiliation happen in front of enemies or people the character cares about.
• Increase the consequences, making them more dire or including multiple impacts (such as hurting family as well as self).
  

How do you create humiliation in fiction?

I found that, often, my characters tell me what would humiliate them. Or, I can ask what makes them proud, and then reverse it. Similarly, I can examine some of the factors above (the audience for the humiliation, the image tarnished) and use these to amplify the emotional and practical consequences of a humiliation.

I think it's easier to imagine how to humiliate a villain that is to come up with powerful ways to humiliate your hero. Giving heroes flaws, making them suffer, and creating obstacles for them is very difficult for a lot of writers. The easiest trick is to think in terms of humiliating the villain, then do something similar to the hero. It doesn't always work. In advising students and clients, I may resort to using a step-by-step process that gradually makes even horrendous moments for heroes tolerable. I'll suggest one for humiliation here:

Embarrassment is closely related to humiliation, so remember in times when you or someone you cared about suffered embarrassments can help re-create the feeling and even suggest what the humiliation might be.

Once you understand the what and the how of humiliation, you can get creative with it. In Mad Men, Don Draper has (unjustly) been discovered to be an imposter by Pete Campbell. The information is true. He does not have the credentials, identity, war record, or name he has claimed. It’s so humiliating, Draper’s initial reaction is to run away (sacrificing his career and family). He is further humiliated because his sweetheart of the moment won’t go with him. And she calls him a coward. (In fact, he loses her completely.) It is a low moment for him. So he challenges Campbell to do his worst. The two go into his boss’s office. Campbell puts his discovery in a horrible light. Draper not only faces the situation, he takes ownership of it. He suffers the blow with dignity, and is Campbell whose character flaw is revealed, with him ending up being humiliated. It’s brilliant storytelling.

One area I haven’t touched on is comedy. While humiliation works for me in drama, I’m not a big fan of laughing at people being humiliated. Even the slights of name-calling and practical jokes feel like cheap humor to me. But there’s no doubt that a lot of humor, from late night hosts to sitcoms (like Fawlty Towers) to movies (like Something About Mary) lean heavily into humiliation. Much of what I’ve mentioned here can work for comedy though it might include the same level of pain (except in dark comedy) or story importance.