Great Antagonists, From Nurse Ratched to Big Brother

Stuart J. Tanner and Cullen McHael trade examples of compelling antagonists in speculative fiction from Sci-Fi to Fantasy, deconstruct the role of the antagonist, and offer advice from hard earned lessons about how and when to consider your antagonist in your writing process. Cullen lists nine kinds of antagonist, which one are you?

0:00 Intro
5:28 The Role of the Antagonist
8:40 Antagonist Example: The Joker in the Dark Knight
15:41 The Antagonist Letdown
24:32 9 Kinds of Antagonist: Which One Are You?
30:46 The Complexity of Antagonists
33:01 The Bully: from Nurse Ratchet to Big Brother
41:23 Antagonists Beyond Ideologies
48:26 Cullen’s Final Comments: Lowering the Bar and Escaping Inflated Expectations
53:04 Stuart Final Comments: Joys of Speculative Fiction

Questions of the Day:

When do you decide on an antagonist?
Great Antagonists—what makes them great?
1. The Joker from The Dark Knight
2. Roy Batty in Bladerunner
3. Sauron in The Lord of the Rings
4. Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
5. Johan from Monster
Failed Antagonists—why?
Types of antagonist?
1. Fallen hero
2. Competitor hero
3. Evil mask
4. Bully
5. Corrupt priest
6. Unstoppable force
7. Grand shadow
8. Wild beast
9. Hostile environment
How might you fit an antagonist into the narrative, especially at the first third of the book?
How does your choice of antagonist shape your narrative?
How do we set out to decide what kind of antagonist to use in a given story?