Need stock villains for some escapist entertainment? You can never go wrong with Nazis. Middle Eastern terrorists also work, but then there’s the messy issue of clarifying that their religion doesn’t make them bad, just their zealous killing-of-people. Gang members as bad guys bring up that sticky socio-economic causal argument, and serial killers . . . well, there just aren’t enough of them to provide unlimited antagonists, the implication of many television series (*cough*Criminal Minds*cough*) to the contrary.

Nope, Nazis probably remain the easiest solution, from their pseudo-historic presentation in the Indiana Jones films (“I hate those guys”) to the thin disguise of the Star Wars series (c’mon-Storm Troopers?). … read more »