The Birth of Evil: Nature vs. Nurture in 'Maleficent' Jourdan Burch 11th Grade

Throughout childhood we are taught by movies and novels that the world is judged on an even scale of good or evil, while the gray area becomes exposed as we age. The idealism that evil is born and not made is an unjust classification of humanity’s expectation in regards to the platform which good and evil is evaluated. This type of ideology is presented in the 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty where certain characters are presented in a biased manner or good and evil. The 21st century approach to “Sleeping Beauty” called Maleficent exposes the biased views of characters by revealing their history, motivation, and consequences which the original story omits.

Revealing the history behind a character previously viewed as evil presents an argument that their future intent is formed from their past encounters and not inherent traits. In the beginning of the 2014 film Maleficent, the main character is portrayed as an innocent, ambitious, radiant, young fairy who is popular among her community. Maleficent’s innocence does not present a negative nature; instead it shows a childlike manner of positivity, loyalty, leadership, and curiosity. After Maleficent foils the greedy king’s attempt against the Moore she earns the title “Protector...