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Rants >> Rant 327

::Today's soundtrack: Apoptygma Berzerk "Deep Red" ::


Way back in 2005 I had written an analysis of the "mysterious cloaked figure," a sort of stock character used to inspire fear in the reader or audience (see Rant 108). For the past month or so I have been entertaining myself every now and then by looking up stuff on the internet concerning one of the latest memes, The Slender Man (go ahead and do a Google Image search on that right now as it may clue you in). See, some people on the webs have invented a new boogie man type of creature to frighten small children, came up with a basic description and backstory and now folks are adding to the whole thing with shopped photos, drawings, tales of encounters, and a YouTube series of short films. The reason I bring up The Slender Man character, is that it made me notice another stock type: The Man in a Black Suit.

The Men in Black Suits have had several uses over the years, from omniscient/omnipresent government agents, to assassins, to supernatural ghouls. While the cloaked figures are often concealed under their hoods, the men in black suits are obscured by the fact that a plain black suit is clothing of universal purpose. A man can wear one and go to a funeral, wedding, business meeting, or protect The President. Black suits are everywhere and worn for all occasions, but sometimes this very fact is what makes The Man in a Black Suit unusual. There is nothing odd about a black suit like there is a hooded cloak, so some people won't look twice, but every now and then someone will see a man in a suit and feel like he is out of place without knowing why. A playground full of children, for example... why is that man way in the back in that suit at a park? And why is he alone and just seemingly staring? The black suit is SO normal that it can sometimes go straight to the other side of "normal" and come out freakish.

The Black Suit can also perpetuate a sense of strictness or strong professionalism. If you see an assassin character in a black suit you KNOW that they are badass. Suits are neither comfortable nor easy to move in, so if someone is planning on killing you in one, look the fuck out because you will dead, mister. Suits also give off the air of intelligence, and more often than not, a villain wearing one will just always seem to know. Even if you have no idea HOW they could possibly know, they still will. In addition to the "knowing", or perhaps because of it, they will always know where you are and when and therefore make for excellent stalkers. Men in Black Suits love being seen and recognized for the improbability of their knowledge (often flashing a creepy grin after catching your eye), don't make too much of an effort to conceal themselves, and revel in being noticed and making you feel like you can't do anything about it. They are there and they will keep on coming. They will follow you no matter what. If you think they are watching you sleep, you are probably right. 

The thing is, even though they are stalking you and making you paranoid and frightened, no one will believe or understand you. You try telling your friends and family about some guy in a suit following you around and they'll think you got confused. It must have been different guys. Lots of people wear suits, after all. Or maybe he works nearby and it is a coincidence that you pass him everyday on his way to work. Just some guy in a suit, what are you so worked up about?

Very often in fiction, mostly movies and comic books and the like, a villain with a grand scheme wears some sort of fancy, outlandish outfit. Nothing says "I'm going to take over the world" like a long cape with a giant, stand-up collar on it, after all (just ask Eric Roberts). But these villains, as powerful and intelligent as they may be, just do not bring out the uneasiness that the plain black suit does. A villain who speaks softly, is refined and reserved, and wearing a black suit knows that he has what it takes and doesn't need to overcompensate for shortcomings because he doesn't have any. The suit tells us all of this on its own. We don't need to cover it with exposition. Over the years we have become accustomed to The Man in the Black Suit to the point that we know this is the character to fear without any set up at all. He is simple and straight forward, and one of the ultimate stock villain types.

(I like to think that The Slender Man, The Gentlemen, Mr. Croup & Vandemar, Agent Smith and Death from the Gashlycrumb Tinies all get together and have tea and biscuits. They are very polite and very good tippers to the waitress, but they like to take it in turns to grin creepily at the Maitre D. They have a good laugh about it afterwards.)

William the Bloody (just trying to look smart again. my mom says I'm cool.)

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