Wicked Cultured: Difference between revisions

== Film ==

* ''[[The Silence of the Lambs]]'' Hannibal Lecter typifies this trope like no other; a cultured and refined genius as well as a homicidal cannibal. Some of his more cultured actions include his charcoal drawings of Florence that he uses to decorate his cell (done from memory), killing and eating an untalented flautist in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to improve its sound, and listening to Bach's "Goldberg Variations" while removing a man's face. His conversations are rife with references to classical works from Shakespeare to Marcus Aurelius, and much more.

* The ''[[X-Men (film)|X-Men]]'' films:

** Magneto

{{quote|'''Amazing:''' Well, we've always been each other's greatest nemesises... nemesisi... nemesi... what's the plural on that?

'''Frankenstein:''' Nemeses. }}

** Count Dooku, who notably uses a fencing grip on his lightstaber

** His master Palpatine/Darth Sidious has shades of this as well -- Ian McDiarmid, who played him, has said that Palpatine's only redeeming feature is that he is a patron of the arts, particularly weird alien operas.

*** ''[[Diamonds Are Forever]]'' Blofeld is especially deep into this trope, being a [[Deadpan Snarker|snarkalicious]], [[Affably Evil]] [[Large Ham]].

*** The ''OHMSS'' version inspired [[The DCAU]] Lex Luthor; the term "cultured thug" is mentioned in interviews/ commentaries, and could have been the alternate Trope name.

*** Imported, brick by brick, from France to California (he bought the Eiffel Tower too, but was refused an export permit).

*** The former is often seen sitting around his dining table in his underwater mansion, eating expensively and listening to Bach.

** Her modern, American, and underage counterpart in ''[[Cruel Intentions]]'' also fits this trope, but it's largely an act: she's a slut, and has a surprisingly filthy mouth.

* Headmaster Maximilian Nero of [[HIVE Series|H.I.V.E.]] fits this, believing that evil should always be intelligent in its design and stylish in its execution.

* Vetinari, periodically. In particular, his hobby of reading the ''[[Discworld]]'' equivalent of classical music, because actual instruments are just too unrefined.

** Though, really, he's an ascetic more than anything. Sure, he's well read and educated, but he dresses simply, subsists on bread and water, has no known vices (apart from an uncompromising attitude toward mimes -- performing in the city is punishable by the scorpion pit -- but most don't begrudge him that), takes no advantage of the perks and trapping of his office, spends essentially all his time making sure the city doesn't fall apart and planning [[Xanatos Gambit|Xanatos Gambits]] around the city's Guilds and international politics. Also, he's not so much evil as deeply pragmatic (although there is, admittedly, not much of a difference sometimes.)

* O'Brien from George Orwell's ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]]''.

* Lucius Malfoy from ''[[Harry Potter]]''. He's well dressed and well spoken, and he's also implied to be heavily involved in wizarding cultural affairs (on the board of Hogwarts, donates to St. Mungo's). And damn, is his [http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f395/barguestspirit/normal_HP5-SP-4883r.jpg pimp cane] awesome or what?

** example: [[The Thrawn Trilogy|Grand Admiral Thrawn]]. The guy collects art. Then he studies it, [[Awesomeness By Analysis|learns the loopholes in the creators' culture]], [[Magnificent Bastard|uses them to steer them into the exact position he wants them]], and systematically [[Curb Stomp Battle|beats them]] until they surrender. The one time he was unable to gain insight through a culture's art, he was forced to utterly destroy them, although he still looks at their art and believes that he's finally starting to understand (this species, tellingly, was the Khaleesh - the most well-known of which is General Grievous). He's even able to acknowledge the artistry in {{spoiler|his own assassination}}. Thrawn's [[Affably Evil|Affably Imperial]], of course, and in some depictions he's [[Officer and a Gentleman|not strictly a bad guy]], and always [[Pragmatic Villainy|pragmatic]].

** A less morally ambiguous example is [[Smug Snake]] [[Shadows of the Empire|Prince Xizor]]. He's the head of the vast crime syndicate Black Sun, he sits at the Emperor's feet closer than anyone but Vader, co-owns and dines at the most exclusive restaurant on Coruscant, and in general is just fabulously wealthy and lets it show. There's mention that he forgave some debtor when presented with a thousand-year-old miniature tree, and he muses that values it more than rare gems and would not give it up even if he had to sell the rest of his finincial and criminal empire.

* [[Scaramouche]]: The Marquis is an honorable, educated, well-read noble. He is also a ruthless killer.

* Vlad the Impaler in ''[[Count and Countess]]''. Cruel, sadistic, and ruthless in his quest to "free Christendom," he is nevertheless learned in the history of past civilizations and can refer back to Scripture off the top of his head. And he likes traditional Romanian dance.

* After concluding his [[Dead Person Impersonation]] in the first novel by forging a will from his impersonee leaving everything to himself, [[Villain Protagonist]] Tom Ripley of ''[[The Talented Mr. Ripley]]'' and other novels lives the good life in a French chateau, becoming a talented dabbler in art (both as an expert and as a painter), music, and fine cuisine. In between entertaining guests, he likes to amuse himself by carrying out odd jobs for gangsters, and once in a while (i.e. at least once per novel) kills the odd person who gets too close to exposing his past

== Live-Action TV ==

* Jonathan from [[Advance Wars Eternal War]] fits this trope perfectly.

* Sort of [[Real Life]], since it's reality TV, but Joe & Bill (a.k.a. Team Guido) from ''[[The Amazing Race]]''. They were relatively old, gay, had lived all over Europe, spoke several European languages and were overall kind of prissy. Needless to say, the other teams did not like them. Although they did give reason to, most famously because one of them shoved somebody's mother and reduced the daughter to tears.

* Similarly Wilhelm of ''[[Xenosaga]]''.

** Also Albedo.

* Dark Oppressors in ''[[Nexus War]]'' are supposed to be like this. It doesn't exactly get reflected well in their skillset, but the sort of ''players'' that get attracted to the game mean that it gets played straight anyway.

* Doctor Killjoy of ''[[The Suffering]]'' takes [[Chewing the Scenery|great]] [[Large Ham|delight]] in reciting Shakespearean soliloquies.