Turn on any action, horror or even kids movie and you’ll most likely be able to guess which guy is bad news. Even though we’ve all been taught not to judge a book by its cover, many Hollywood movies have managed to imprint a stereotype of a male villain in our minds – pale, sickly looking skin, an icy stare in his eyes and the most predictable characteristic – bald.
Notable bald movie villains
If you don’t believe me, take a look at this;
- Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter)
- Professor Charles Xavier (X-Men)
- Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal Franchise)
- Imhotep (The Mummy)
- John Doe (Se7en)
- Mola Ram (Indiana Jones)
- Mr Freeze (Batman and Robin)
- Freddy Kreuger (A Nightmare on Elm Street)
The list is endless, but the point is that filmmakers are using hair loss along with skin conditions such as scars, warts and facial or body deformations to represent the ‘evil’ characters. This could be down to the fact that movies shot in the silent film era relied on exaggerated visuals to portray villains, heroes and comedians to the audience and today this method is still in use although much more subtly.
Realistically in the real world if your hair’s beginning to thin out on top, hopefully no one’s going to come at you with a pitchfork or try to get you arrested. Yet some psychologists do feel that prolonged exposure to such films and concepts could possibly contribute towards prejudice in our society, and facilitate misunderstandings behind skin and hair loss diseases amongst the public.
What if I don’t want to be mistaken for a villain?
If you’re starting to lose your hair, and don’t want to be mistaken for one of the bad guys your best bet would be to consider something along the lines of a scalp micropigmentation (SMP) procedure. SMP gives a realistic and natural impression of a shaved head, with a hairline and even sideburns that can complement and enhance your profile. At least the shaved head stereotypes are hunky, confident and manly heroes who end up saving the world without breaking a sweat.
