Since we were kids, we've been taught the difference between good and evil. But the world is not black and white anymore, even in the realm of movies. Here are reasons why we're so captured by those "bad guys". 

Villains（反派主角） are realistic. Studies have proven that we are more likely to sympathize with characters who are similar to us. Good guys are often portrayed in movies as nearly perfect, and it's hard to relate to them. We all have our own imperfections and a dark side. So, villains are often more realistic than good guys are. 

At the same time, modern antagonists aren't 100% evil. They're complex and troubled characters who have their own story. Everyone hates Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter movies because she's unreasonably ill-natured. There's no story and no logic behind her behavior. She's just self-serving. But many antagonists actually have their point which we see, and often even accept. We see what they're going through and what they're thinking, and we can't help but empathize with them. 

We're curious about them. Every time we see a person acting bad or weird, we want to know why. And that makes us eager to know more about them, about their past, and about what they're even thinking. They're controversial, and we like to analyze these characters and their actions. They're not pure evil, and modern movies do a good job of emphasizing this. There's something that made them evil or something that won't let them be good. There's some internal conflict constantly going on within the character that we just find fascinating. 

Villains are unpredictable. We never know what will happen to the villain. And that makes us care about them during the whole story. It's what gets us hooked on watching them through to the end. Also, you can't predict their actions. There are not many options aside from the right thing to do for the hero. But there're many absolutely crazy possibilities for the villain that we couldn't come up with even in our wildest dreams. And this makes us interested in watching them. 

As a language learning enthusiast, I've come up with the best apps for learning English from the thousands of mobile apps out there.

Best for Pronunciation: ELSA Speak

ELSA Speak is probably the best mobile app around for helping you improve your English pronunciation. The app's greatest strength is its intensive AI feedback, but ELSA also provides mini-training sessions to really perfect your pronunciation. The AI analyzes your recordings based on pronunciation, intonation and fluency then points out exactly which parts sound inaccurate.

Best for Immersing in English Videos: FluentU

FuentU is a language learning app that teaches you English through authentic videos like news reports, movie scenes and interviews, with learner tools for all levels. Each clip has interactive subtitles so if you're not sure what a word means, you can hover over it and get in explanation. The app also gives video examples for each word so you can team vocabulary in context.

Best for Practical Topics: Babbel

Babbel has you learn and practice English with realistic conversations that surround things that you're personally interested in. Lessons are short and consist of written and audio versions of the grammar featured in the lessons. Then you are able to complete practice exercises to solidify your understanding.

Best for Fun Beginner Lessons: Lingodeer

Lingodecr uses games and short exercises to teach beginner and intermediate English learners. Lingodeer takes a gamified (游戏化的) approach to language learning with a goal-oriented curriculum consisting of structured lessons and regular reviews. Lingodeer's lessons are arranged according to themes, such as sports, weather, parts of the body and shopping.

Birmingham Writers Group welcomes members from all walks of life from the West Midlands- we're a the mixed group, and we always enjoy new views. We'll support each other's writing, and provide constructive and critical advice during our group meetings which take a variety of forms. All we require is that our members are regular writers and that they treat each other with respect.

What we write

Our current membership features many fiction writers with a little knowledge of poetry for good measure, but we're open to non-fiction writers too; fiction with a small length is the work of choice, but we also cover radio plays and screenplays. We do ask any material read out at our meetings should be suitable for diverse audiences. Furthermore, we welcome second language writing but we're not equipped to teach writing if you're only just starting out.

When we meet

We generally meet twice monthly. After the official meetings, some members might go to a nearby pub for a chat. We also arrange additional social evenings elsewhere. Because we're a private group with no external funding, we have to rely on some membership fees. However, you may attend two meetings at no charge to determine whether the group is suitable for you. A per-meeting attendance fee of & 5 is asked when you attend a third meeting.

So if you like what you've read here, please contact us and we'll let you know when the next meeting will be and how to join. We do not wish to miss potential members out; welcome to talk to us if you have difficulty participating.