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In the earliest sci-fi, villains were almost always tailored to be symbolic of enemy superpowers. Then villains were tailored to be symbolic of human prejudices. Later, sci-fi villains were tailored to be symbolic of runaway technology/nature damaged by technology. In more recent sci-fi, enemies were tailored to be symbolic of inhuman corporate interests and greed.
I keep wondering what's next to represent sci-fi villainy? I suspect sci-fi will borrow from horror films and the villain will symbolize the damaged human psyche.
Not to be confused with the "mad scientist." (In the "funny how things work out" department: We might not have the stereotypical sci-fi device of the "mad scientist," if not for bad editing of the movie Metropolis that reduced a brilliant and tragic character to an erratic madman.)
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