The trope of a hollowed-out husk of a man rulling over the great unwashed masses is ubiquitous in popular culture. Think of emperor palpatine from star wars. He seems Enigmatic and elusive in the second film, appearing only as a hologram and pulling the strings from behind the curtain. When you finally get to see him in the third film he's shriveled and deathly pale. He looks like he's hanging on to life through pure malevolence before being triumphantly slain at the end of the film. This is far from the only example of fictional decrepit...