If I had to guess, I believe the first time I ever came across the concept of revenge was when I originally played Final Fantasy IV. As a child of about six, you can imagine that I didn’t come across the concept of revenge that often, I might not even have been aware of what revenge was, but the subplot of Tellah seeking vengeance against Golbez for the death of his daughter, just like so many other aspects of the game, left quite a deep impression on me. As I began to explore not just video games but media such as film, TV, books etc., I found myself often being drawn to stories dealing with revenge. Therefore, I thought it might be interesting to examine why I love revenge stories so much.
Ever since I was a child, I’ve always felt very strongly about being wronged and the desire to correct these wrongs. Of course, I would never advocate for vengeance outside of storytelling but I do confess that there is something cathartic about seeing a character put everything they have into carrying out their revenge. It also helps that we can often relate to the reasons why the character seeks vengeance such as the death of a loved one, discrimination, abuse etc.
Another aspect that I think is often overlooked when it comes to tales of revenge is the power fantasy behind them. All too often, we find ourselves feeling powerless in our day to day lives with very little we can do to change what upsets us or hurts us. However, revenge stories see our characters rejecting the idea that they’re powerless and fighting against the injustice inflicted upon them. Two recent films that come to mind when I think of this are the 2017 French film “Revenge” and the 2012 Canadian film “American Mary” which both see women exacting revenge against men who sexually assaulted them. The two films handle this in different ways with American Mary using it as a transformation of the main character’s personality who, once she’s carried out her revenge, uses it to progress her life while Revenge sees the character fighting for survival for most of the film, only really choosing to take vengeance towards the end. Interestingly, these stories actually help to inspire me to take life into my own hands and to fight against any feelings of powerlessness.
Something I really love about revenge in storytelling as well is that it often adds depth and sympathy to characters who might not otherwise deserve it. A great example of this comes from one of my favourite films, “The Devil’s Rejects” where the antagonist, Sheriff John Quincy Wydell, pursues the Devil’s Rejects in order to get revenge for the murder of his brother. Even as he crosses the line from a morally shady law enforcement figure to an insane, bloodthirsty vigilante, we never completely lose sympathy for him as we recognise the danger that the Devil’s Rejects pose and his desperation to right a wrong, leaving us in an ambiguous situation where we’re not sure who we want to win.
Of course, I’m not always satisfied with revenge stories. I love revenge stories that end with either the complete victory of the avenger or with them realising that they’ve lost everything in order to attain their revenge but something that really gets under my skin is when the avenger is somehow convinced by someone that what they’re doing is wrong and they have a change of heart. Now I’m not saying that there can’t be great examples of this but most of the examples that cross my mind feature an avenger suddenly abandoning the path of vengeance with very little convincing such as a certain character from the final season of Game of Thrones, not going to spoil who it is here, or the revenge storyline from Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris. If you’re going to feature revenge as a prominent part of your storyline, I think you should fully commit by either embracing the victory or showing the loss that comes from seeking revenge.
I do really love revenge stories and, even though there are some that frustrate me with how they conclude, I’m always intrigued when I learn that a story features revenge. Let me know your own thoughts on revenge stories, whether you love them or hate them, what some of your favourite or least favourite are, whether you agree with my pet peeve and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs!