Survey on Stereotypes

[Anjana]

I think this is where this goes...

Anyway, I have a general survey (as stated above) consisting of one question that will help me with a story I'm writing.

The basic jist of the question is: What's your mental image of a torturer? It can be basic steroetypes that you know of or your own version. The time period and methods aren't really necessary. I'm hoping for a description of such things as they're physical appearace, their intelligence, their personality, their people skills, their motivation...basically physical and mental descriptions.

I don't need a lot from each post. I just want a rough idea of a stereotype...or -types, I suppose.

Thank you in advance.

 

[ras'matroi]

I would imagine a torturer as a person of extremes.
For an example;
either they are really dumb and their only enjoyment is to see someone else in pain
or
they are highly intelligent and are studdying what happens to their victim, pysically and mentally. In an extream case they would not even see their doings as a crime but as something that they have to do to gain knowledge. (so they are not exacly socialised)

an ohter example: physical appearence
I would imagine them either ugly in some kind of way, searching to coprimind their own feelings by hurting other people.
or they are really good looking and just feel above everyone else.

either they are of high social position and can do what they want and noone will raise against them because they have all the power and just do not care about what others think
or they have no real power and everyone is treating them bad so torturing might be the only way to have power over someone.
hope it helps

 

[Stuart Jaffe]

One of the best images of a torturer I could think of is Sir Lawrence Oliver in Marathon Man. Seeing him walking down the street, he appears as a gruff, stern old man, maybe not too friendly but certainly not the man that was capable of such evil. That's frightening to me. Evil that is not so blatantly visible.

 

[Anjana]

Yay! Answers!

This really helps, thank you, although I do not know much about Marathon Man. I shall need to watch it.

I'm still hoping for other replies, if you have the time. Don't worry about repeating answers, by the way. You're allowed to say you agree with another person. That's why this is a survey. Thanks again!

 

[Chabio]

lo there,

I see most "profesional" torturers as stocky, dedicated and of little empathy.

Stocky:
Because as most would have a bully mentality, they would need to be powerful individuals, to care little for their weakling victims. They would need to do heavy work on such things as guillotines, torture racks etc which requires muscle and great strength would also be handy in dealing with repeccussions from the victims' friends or families.

Dedicated:
Strange as it sounds, It would be considered a career move for many and would gain favour with the High nobility that employs them. Money is garunteed to always come in. Since it is a specialised career, through time, the torturer would take pride in his work and begin to invent new ways in their "art".

Little empathy:
To them, it is a nescessity and way of life in the area. These things happen and its always better to be on the right end of a hot poker, when it does. Through time, they would be numb to the revulsion of the job and may even begin to enjoy it. The human race are latently evil and if it is "gods work", as many churches claimed in those days..they are garunteed a seat in heaven. Also remember the cruelty in thoses days were more accepted than they are now.


sorry this was rushed, I should be in bed at this time of night ..

 

[Susan Boulton]

Why create a character from the normal stereotype. Take Albert Pierrepoint, he was a hangman, when the UK used to do those things. He was a dedicated professional. He made sure he did his job well, that the death of those condemed was as quick as he could possibly make it i.e. their neck broken by the drop. He was just a "normal" everyday chap doing his job. It was only in later life, after he had retired, did his work begin to "bother" him.

Did he compartmentalise his life? Placing his work as a hangman in one mental box and his "normal" life in another? You can mix and match characteristics to make a "human" character. Maybe that's a bit harder, but it can be more fulfilling both for yourself, as a writer, and most certainly the reader.

 

[Aes]

A big guy with a chest harness, black leather pants, and a facemask.

Okay really, I'd say the following has to be true:

- Large build. Stereotypical torturer needs some way to overpower his victims, as this helps keep them and line as well as it contributes to the victim's feelings of hopelessness. "Could I take this guy? Probably not."

- Remorseless. He does it because he is like a child who derives pleasure from yanking legs and wings off his "insects." A child doing this doesn't care that his victims are suffering and will probably die from what he is doing. He enjoys it, and that's that.

- Antisocial personality. Generally, it's safe to say that someone who gets their kicks out of torturing people isn't going to have the best social skills.

Of course, this is just what I consider to be stereotypical traits for such a person. A clever writer could make their torturer a scrawny, 7 foot clown with squeaky red shoes, a rainbow wig, and a huge red nose that sounds like a bicycle horn when squeezed. He drives himself to work in a colorful windup car that is about 1/3 his size. Stereotypes are no fun in most cases, but that's what you requested, so good luck.

 

[dustinzgirl]

Danny Trejo---

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001803/


He would make an awesome torturer...ok, I admit, I may want him to torture me...just abit.....I know, I'm wierd, but DANG he is so cute!

PS: Another person I always thought would make a good torturer is Anthony Hopkins...I mean, just those cold eyes....

And, the orderly john from "Firestarter" but I don't remember the actors name.

 

[YOSSARIAN]

My opinion is that you'll want to avoid using a stereotype torturer. What is your image of a torturer? You haven't provided any context, and that renders all these stereotypes meanigless. Where some my have an image of a toturer as a stocky man, or a large man, or a physically unassuming man, others may see a slender or robust woman torturer. Even the psychological aspect of a torturer is not easily stereotyped. One may torture for pleasure, or because he or she is psychologically compelled to. One could torture becasue he is following orders from a morally bankrupt superior. Why is the torturer doing what he is doing? What are the causes, and what is the desired end? If you ask yourself these kinds of questions, I think you'll develop a character that fits your story better than someone else's notion of how a torturer looks or behaves.

That being said, my idea of a torturer looks like the middle-aged son of Dick Cheney and Ann Coulter, talks like Donald Rumsfeld, and has the moral compass of Tom Delay.

 

[Anjana]

Yeah, um, just as a clarification for those who wish to help with my character creation...

I'm not assembling this information to create a stereotypical torturer. This is to get a general idea of what a stereotypical torturer is. Certainly I have my own opinion, but a stereotype typically means more than one person thinks that way. Thus, this survey.

However, I must say that the suggestions offered in creating this character are genuinely helpful, but for future reference, that really isn't the point of this thread.

Hope I wasn't sounding mean or anything. I didn't mean to be if I was...

 

[BookStop]

My idea of a creepy torturer is someone completely fastedious. Someone very intellegent, clean shaven with clothes ironed, shoes polished, that sort of thing. Almost too perfect, but quiet. You know, the kind of guy the nieghbors say has a great lawn, but they didn't really know him.

 

[Mouse]

The Tickler from ASoIaF is exactly how I would imagine a torturer.
Or maybe a really snide, bald man with white gloves . . .

 

[YOSSARIAN]

The Tickler from ASoIaF is exactly how I would imagine a torturer.

Me too.

 

[the_faery_queen]

to be honest, and this is totally unhelpful, i thik someone who carries out torture can be anyone. if you think of the german officers in the second world war, so many of them were normal people, looked normal, probably had families and loved ones, but did nasty, horrible things to people beacuse it was their job. some of them may have hated it, but it was their job, and they were probably in fear of their lives as well.

so i think it depends on your character. if you have any idea of what sort of character you want him to be, that will tell you how he looks and behaves.

sterotypes, for me, would be someone large, not inhuman, neccessarily, but just doing thier job. i think that would be far more scarey to me. if it was someone who was cold and inhuman, you'd not be able to relate to them. they'd be an ailen form to you, and it was scare you, but you wouldn't be scared by their actions as their pyschopathic. it's all bizzare and strange. but a normal guy, doing his job, that would unsettle me far more. the idea that he could torture someone and go home to his family.

peter moorwood had a cold, nasty sort of man, who raped a girl and the hero, who summonded demons (did all sorts of crap) but his torturer was actually a doctor. a woman. i can't remember why/how she got into that job, but she was an ordinary woman, with a husband and kids. the hero even commented on how wrong that was, because he'd expected a large, hooded man.

so i think it depends what you're going for, which i know isn't helpful, but a torturer can be anyone, and for me, it is more disturbing when they're women/mothers or normal friendly men.