Author: Claire

The Wicked Witch is one of the most recognizable Villains of movie history.  She is one of only nine other females that appear on the AFI's Top 100 Villains list.  She is the highest-ranking female villain, and she certainly deserves her rank.

Just by looking at her name, there is little question as to the nature of the Wicked Witch.  She has become the archetype for wickedness and is an easily identifiable image of evil.  She is cruel, manipulative, and cold – all the features that one would expect from one who is wicked.  Most dictionaries defined wickedness as being synonymous with evil, and we can certainly see this reflected in the Witch's behavior in The Wizard of Oz.

In the Wizard of Oz, The Wicked Witch of the West has conquered the Winkies and treats them as slaves.  She remains in power by using her army of flying monkeys that do her bidding.  She uses the fear of her cruelty in order to stay in power – and prior to Dorothy arriving in Oz, the terrors of the Wicked Witch had simply been a part of life for the citizens of Oz.

But things begin to change when Dorothy arrives in Oz. We get our first taste of the Witch's wickedness when she fails to show any sort of remorse for her dead sister.  Instead she simply appears angry to have been cheated out of the enchanted ruby red slippers.

The Witch immediately comes up with a number of plans to steal the slippers and eliminate Dorothy in the process.  However, she finds herself foiled time and time again as Dorothy makes friends on her way to see the Wizard.  These series of events all reveal the inherent evil and true wickedness of the Witch who craves nothing but power.  Greed is her primary motivation.

The Witch is unsuccessful at stopping Dorothy from reaching the Wizard, but in a twist of fate the Wizard charges Dorothy with disposing of the Witch.  Dorothy is captured by the Flying Monkeys as she tries to sneak into the Witch's castle.  The Witch tries to get the slippers by threatening to drown Toto, but it is soon obvious that the only way to obtain the slippers is to kill Dorothy.  Again, this scene reflects the wickedness of the Witch as she uses the life of Toto as ransom to obtain what she wants.

The Wicked Witch doesn't know how best to dispose of Dorothy and take the Ruby Slippers for herself, so she locks Dorothy away instead.  During this time, Dorothy's friends attempt a rescue, but they are cornered by the Wicked Witch's guards.  The Witch decides that they all must die, but Dorothy will die last.  She will watch her friends suffer and suffer in the process.  She sets the Scarecrow on fire, and in an attempt to extinguish the flames, Dorothy throws water on the Witch which causes the Witch to melt. Upon realizing what has happened, the guards that had once been under the Witch's control rejoice – another reflection of the true evil of the Witch.

Throughout the film, there is no redeeming goodness in the Witch, as with many villains in film.  She is illustrated as truly wicked, and never wavers from this characterization.  Of course, for anyone who has seen the musical Wicked, the perception of the Wicked Witch changes entirely, but in the film itself there is no justification for the Witch's evil actions earning her the title of villain.

Then again, perhaps all the Wicked Witch needed was a friend, as illustrated in the video below.

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Joseph Stalin is one of those historical figures who we aren't entirely sure how to categorize.  Unarguably, he is one of the most influential and significant leaders of the 20^th century.  But is it possible to categorize him as either a hero or a villain?

There are valid points from both sides of the debate.  Some regard Stalin as a political hero who helped lead the Soviet Union out of the dark ages and into the modern world.  Others regard him as a ruthless, evil dictator who is worthy of no title other than mass murderer.

When Stalin came to power in the Soviet Union – the entire Soviet system was a mess.  After a disastrous combination of war, revolution, and famine – there was little foundation to build on.  The USSR was a disorganized, under-developed, and largely agricultural expanse.  The economy was stagnant and broken.  Stalin instituted a whole slew of reforms – coming down with a heavy hand in order to motive change.  He was absolutely ruthless in his aim to industrialize the USSR.

Stalin was the one who instituted the Gulag labor camp system – a system he ingrained so deeply into the new Soviet system that it was impossible for the system to be ended immediately despite attempts to do so.  The system was gradually phased out until the collapse of the Soviet Union.  Due to the massive arrests in the 1930s, populations in the Gulag camps soared making prisoner-slave labor the preferred means of industrialization. His political philosophy eventually came to be known as Stalinism.  Stalinism came to be characterized by propaganda, brutal political coercion, secret police, totalitarianism and terror.

Stalin and the Soviet Union ended up joining the Allied forces in World War II – a turning point that helped the Allies win the war in Europe.  However, it is important to remember that Stalin helped the Axis powers (more specifically, Hitler's Nazi Germany) in the beginning stages of the world.  The Soviets were directly involved with the invasion of Poland – having agreed to then-secret terms with Germany dividing up Poland and other Eastern European nations.  Stalin even attempted to become one of the Axis powers, but was betrayed by Hitler in 1941.

It was only than that Stalin launched a massive offensive against Hitler and the Nazis.  It was this campaign that earned him the title of Time Magazine's "Person of the Year" twice.   After helping to win the war he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize not once, but twice.  At this point, the American public largely regarded Stalin's actions as heroic.  Why? Because he was on our side.  That perception did a complete 180 following the war.

During the Cold War Era communism in the USSR thrived.  Since Stalin was such an effective wartime leader – leading the Soviets to victory – it was easy to maintain control of and support from the masses via propaganda. The USSR maintained control of most of the Eastern Bloc and also held a close relationship with both China and North Korea.  Stalin was the one who provided the arms necessary for the North Koreans to initiate the Korean War.  During this time the Western World perceived the USSR as the greatest threat to the free world both militarily and idealistically, and undoubtedly looked at Stalin as a villain.

The Soviet Union that Stalin helped to build undoubtedly great, for it was the only other political society that attained the status of €˜superpower' in the Cold War Era.  He expanded the Soviet Union's sphere of influence, and helped the Soviet economy to see growth of nearly 15%.  Stalin transformed the USSR into an industrial superpower.  Overall, conditions in the USSR were vastly improved under Stalin's socialist government€¦but at what cost?

Between famine, gulags, executions and other policies, the death toll resulting from Stalin's policies falls in the ballpark of nearly 20 million lives. Stalin's influence on the USSR was so profound, his successor Nikita Khrushchev had to institute a policy called "de-Stalinization" following his death.  Stalin and the legacy he left behind had to be, quite literally, purged from the Soviet system.

In a way, the classification of Stalin as a hero or a villain comes down to cost-benefit analysis.  Is it possible to justify Stalin's ruthlessness?

Personally, I believe Stalin fully deserves the title of villain.  This could be my cultural bias speaking, but the foundation for nearly all of his accomplishments are built on the grounds of human suffering and totalitarian rule.  Not to mention that 20 million lives is not an easy number to overlook.  Despite his successes, Stalin's brutal policies have earned him the title of villain.

I'm fairly certain that most everyone has read Harry Potter, but if you haven't you should probably stop reading.  The books are just too good to ruin!  Even if you've been watching the movies – stop now before I give away the ending.  I'm not kidding. 

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For those who have read the books, we can probably all agree that Severus Snape has been a pivotal character in the Harry Potter series since the very beginning.  However, even from the start, there was always some sense of mystery surrounding Snape.  Early on in the series, J.K. Rowling crafted him in a way that lead readers to instantly dislike and distrust Snape – portraying him as dark, greasy, and cold.  Snape openly dislikes Harry and his friends from the very beginning, which leads Harry to question Snape's loyalties early on in the first novel.  This suspicion remains a theme of the novels until the very end.

In the very first book, it appears that Snape is attempting to kill Harry but it is later revealed that Snape had been attempting to save Harry.  But why?  Why would Snape try to save the boy that he so openly loathes.  Snape becomes the lightning rod for all of Harry's suspicions in the next three books.  Every time something goes wrong, Snape appears to have a hand in it.  However, Dumbledore again and again expresses that he trusts Snape implicitly.  Snape's abysmal behavior toward Harry prohibits him from understanding how Dumbledore could possibly trust Snape. Aside from Voldemort, Snape was the seemingly evil contrast to Harry.  He was a bully, spiteful, and at times just flat out mean.

We learn all sorts of nasty things about Snape.  Snape and Harry’s father were enemies in school.  Snape was a Death Eater.  Snape is the Half-Blood Prince who had a habit for writing nasty spells in his potion’s book. Snape is the one that relayed the prophecy to Voldemort that would eventually lead to the death of both of Harry's parents.  But the mystery still remains because there are patches of light that indicate that Snape may be loyal to the Order of the Pheonix after all.

And then Snape does the unthinkable: He kills Albus Dumbledore.  At this point it seems fairly conclusive that Snape is a villain with zero heroic potential.

However in the final book J.K. Rowling presents what is arguably the greatest twist in the series.  In Snape's dying moments, our entire perception of him is changed.  The first important revelation: Snape didn't murder Dumbledore.  Dumbledore had actually asked Snape to kill him for two reasons.  First, Dumbledore had less than a year to live due to one of Voldemort's curses.  Second, Dumbledore didn't want Malfoy to have to live with death on his conscious – Dumbledore wanted Snape to protect Malfoy by acting in Malfoy's stead.  This revelation makes it obvious that Snape's loyalties do lie with the Order and the €˜good' side, but what are we to make of him now?  This by no means elevates him to €˜hero' status.

But this wasn't the only revelation made in the moments just prior to his death.  J.K. Rowling still had an ace in the hole. Snape had been in love with Lily Evans Potter for his entire life.  This causes us to reevaluate all of Snape's past actions in this new light.  Snape's hatred towards Harry may have been a misguided self-hatred.  Harry was the physical embodiment of Snape's past mistake that lead to the death of the woman he had always loved. It is also revealed that this is the reason that Snape had kept Harry safe throughout the series, even though his actions were mostly behind the scenes.  The hints had been carefully plotted throughout the series, but never pieced together until this crucial moment.  Snape's love for Lily is what lead him to switch sides and to risk his life time and time again to help Harry triumph over Voldemort.

Snape is undoubtedly one of Rowling's most complex characters, something that Rowling has admitted in multiple interviews. But were his motivations selfish or selfless?

This now raises the important question – Does Severus Snape deserve the title of hero?  He showed unquestionable bravery and loyalty to good and it is arguable that his contributions are directly responsible for Harry's triumph over Voldemort.  Can we overlook his flaws and prior actions in the face of this revelation?  Was it enough to both redeem himself to the point of heroism?

Both Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore thought so, and in the end that's more than enough for me to grant him the title.  But the debate rages on amongst readers: did Snape find redemption and die a hero, or will he forever be a villain?

Below is a completely non-educational yet somewhat entertaining rendition of Snape's story in rap form.  Once you get over the slightly chipmunk-esque voice, it's actually pretty funny.  Be sure to read the lyrics!

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I first met Michael Matz when I was six years old.  At the time, I had no idea that I was meeting a hero.  I was too distracted by the fact that Michael Matz was giving me a riding lesson and, lets be honest, at the age of six ponies were far more exciting than heroes.  However, my initial impression of Michael Matz has been replaced with one of complete awe.  Michael Matz is an amazing individual who truly deserves the title of hero.

In the sports world, Michael Matz is by no means a household name, which is the case for most equestrian athletes.  Yet his accomplishments over the years are, in a word, extraordinary.  After taking a stab at college, he decided he'd rather pursuing his childhood passion: riding.  He left home with very little to his name, and started his career as a groom.  He spent many nights sleeping in barns with nothing but a sleeping bag.  But after three years of hard work, Matz became a force to be reckoned with.

Matz won the United States Show Jumping championship a record six times.  He medaled at eight Pan American games, five of which were gold.  He also represented the United States in three world championships, winning team gold in 1986 and two bronze medals in 1978.  And was named "Rider of the Year" twice in 1981 and 1984.

Aside from these remarkable accomplishments, he represented the United States in not one but three Olympic Games.  Matz competed in Montreal in 1976, Barcelona in 1992, and Atlanta in 1996 where he helped the U.S. ride to team silver.  It was at the Atlanta Olympics where Matz was honored with the opportunity to carry the flag during the closing ceremony.  He was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 2006.

Matz's sporting accomplishments continued after he retired from Show Jumping in 1998.  Matz, instead, chose to pursue a career in the horse racing industry as a trainer.  His accomplishments in this field are just as remarkable as his accomplishments in the jumping ring.  He is perhaps most well known for training Barbaro, who won the Kentucky Derby in 2006.

But these incredible sports accomplishments may not even be Matz's greatest accomplishment.  In 1989, after missing a flight connection, Matz and his fiancé (and now wife) ended up on United Airlines flight 232.  Mid-flight the DC-10 aircraft suffered a catastrophic engine failure, which severed all the hydraulic lines.  The plane was forced into an emergency landing in Souix City, Iowa.  The plane broke apart and burst into flames upon making contact with the ground.  Matz survived the crash and helped lead 3 young children, who where traveling unaccompanied, to safety.  Upon escaping the plane, Matz and another passenger followed the sounds of a baby's cries back into the inferno and managed to pull an 11-month-old child out of the wreckage.   It was only then that Matz found his fiancé, whose whereabouts had been unknown until that point.  111 people died in the crash.

Matz, his fiancé, and all of the children he rescued miraculously survived with only minor injuries.  But Matz's heroism didn't end by simply getting the children out of the plane.  He stayed with the children to make sure that they got in contact with their parents (cell phones weren't nearly as common as they are now) and did his best to shield the children from the trauma of the accident.

Matz describes that day as the luckiest day of his life, not the day that he won the Kentucky Derby. Less than two weeks after the incident, Matz rode to victory in one of his U.S. Championships.  The three children that he rescued were all present at Churchill Downs the day that Matz won the Derby with Barbaro.

Michael Matz isn't just a hero for his accomplishments, but for his incredible humanity.  He rose to the top of the sports world in two completely different sports, assisted others when they were in desperate need, and managed to take time out of his day to teach a child how to ride a pony.  He truly is an incredible individual.

Michael Matz continues to train racehorses out of the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, MD.

Below is Matz's gold medal round at Aachen aboard Chef in 1986.  Be forewarned – the commentary is in German.

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