Women and villainy. It seems as though from the beginning of time womanhood has been synonymous with wrongdoing and evil, starting with Eve in the biblical creation story of "Genesis". Hollywood today seems to not be doing much to break these stereotypes. The most highly promoted and subsequently highest-grossing movies as of late star women in villainous roles. The obviousness of this pattern is made more apparent because they are the few movies that actually have women in the lead roles, especially in 2014.

Amongst the top 20 grossing films so far this year, only three of them star women in lead roles. Of those three, two have the lead woman play a negative or villainous role, namely the Disney movie "Maleficent" starring Angelina Jolie and "Gone Girl" starring Rosamund Pike.

"Maleficent" follows a well know villain, the wicked fairy from the story of "Sleeping Beauty"  and tells the story from the new perspective of the traditional antagonist. While this new perspective is interesting and gives audiences an unheard side of the fairytale, it does not paint the female lead in a flattering light. A scorned lover, Maleficent becomes vengeful and cold, leading to her cursing Aurora, the newborn daughter of her ex-lover. Though she is redeemed by the end of the movie, by presenting her like this for the majority of the movie it perpetuates the idea that this extremely emotional and vengeful attitude is a woman's natural attitude and reaction to being hurt. This creates a harmful effect in society's perception of women, especially the young audience this Disney movie was aimed at, making them think actions can be reactionary to other's treatment rather than one's own morals and principles.  

Despite these negative repercussions, "Maleficent" was the second highest grossing movie this year, which begs the question, is this presentation of a female lead as villainous necessary for the success of a movie starring a woman.

"Gone Girl" is another example of a movie with a female lead, as the title suggests, and presents this titular character in a negative light. She is ruthless, cunning, and vengeful, for the same reason as above, love. Again Hollywood shows a woman who reacts in extreme to her romantic relationships. By giving such a big platform to a situation so extreme and unique, it creates the idea that this is a common occurrence and perpetuates a perception of women as volatile.  

With these examples, it seems as though a female villain is the perfect marketing piece. It seems contradictory to the idea that characters and stories should be relatable, because most women do not behave and react so dramatically in a negative way. Maybe what's so appealing about these characters is their breath of emotion. It's unique and peaks curiosity because it justifies an extreme stereotype intrinsic in the history of culture that, without the perpetuation of movies, would otherwise be washed away. It's human to feel the emotions these characters feel, but unacceptable to act on these inner desires, so the female villain serves as a release or guilty pleasure in watching on the big screen what does not happen in real life.