Favorite Movie Villain

My favorite movie villain is Mother Gothel from the Disney movie Tangled, a take on the classic tale of Rapunzel. Mother Gothel is first seen at the very start of the movie, where she is depicted as an old and greedy woman desperate to reclaim her youth. When she learns that the infant Rapunzel possesses the power to grant her wish, she kidnaps her in the dead of night and locks her in a tower. Mother Gothel is shown to be vain and cunning, and it is made obvious that she has no feelings for the child she raised. She is presented to the audience as ruthless and coldhearted, but Rapunzel, who has no knowledge of anything but the treatment Mother Gothel gave her, viewed her as a loving yet overprotective mother. Mother Gothel is the epitome of a classic villain, using deception in order to get what she wants, knowing that she is hurting somebody who loves her. She is so villainous to the viewers because she feeds off of the basic human need for love and fear of betrayal, and warps it without question. She is willing to kill somebody who loves her, and this is a more exaggerated symbolism for what people are scared of- giving their heart and soul to a person, only to be tossed away like they are meant nothing. The only thing that motivates Mother Gothel’s intentions is greed and vanity, and her actions hit home because of her similarities to other betrayers and liars in the viewer’s life.

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