Questions of Character

[pellucid]

Character has been coming up a lot lately in the various fannish playgrounds I've been hanging out in. Discussions of female characters at gabolange's (flocked, or I'd link) and surrealis's ( here), discussions of characters of color at sugargroupie's (most relevant bits flocked), a chat with some RL friends about J. K. Rowling's efforts to control the interpretation of her

Comments

[meg_tdj]

Wow... I'm way too tired to think deeply about this, but some of the things you've said (and I'll be watching the comments, too) have given me a clearer idea of how to create a good character. Good timing, considering that's what I'm trying to do right now. ;)

In an attempt to answer some of your questions, though... for me, I like to think the characters I enjoy are real because they live in controlled circumstances. It's not real life - nobody really dies in science fiction! It's like you're free to get attached to someone, because unlike a person who could be here one second and gone the next, characters live on in books you can read a billion times or DVDs you can watch and rewatch until your eyes bleed. You can shape their future in your own head, too, rather than waiting to see what fate (or their writers) has in store for them. I like having that kind of control over someone, because God knows I don't have any control over my own existence.

I tend to be attracted to characters I can relate to in some way, but also to characters who can make me FEEL something. That often comes down to the actor playing them, or in the case of literature, the level of detail the author puts into them. Characters that have heart-rending angst in their eyes don't have to do much to win me over. Characters who are misunderstood and play into people's misconceptions while wishing someone would just see them for who they really are... those are the ones I fall head-over-heels for. I would include Gregory House, Sam Winchester, Claire Bennet, Juliet Burke (Lost), and even Daniel Jackson in that category. I don't know, I just find it kind of encouraging to see these people in a similar emotional state to mine who are soldiering on and doing great things, you know?

I often say that I like characters who are "smart, sweet, and snarky," but that's not always the case. Gregory House is rarely sweet, though he does have his moments. He's definitely smart and snarky, though. Fernando Sucre (Prison Break) is far from smart, but he's got enough sweetness in him to more than make up for it. And he's not dumb. I hate dumb characters. It's the one reason I can't love Dean Winchester from Supernatural or Jack O'Neill from SG-1... they play the dumb card way too often and IT BUGS ME. I can't love characters that just make me want to slap them all the time. :P

We've talked before about my tendency to love male characters vs your tendency to love female characters, and since then I've given that a lot of thought. I think my issue with female characters is that for the most part, they're either painted as everyday-women with husbands and families or wonder-women who can do amazing things without breaking a nail. I can't relate to either extreme. I like "meaty" characters, ones that make you laugh and cry and scream angrily at the screen when they do something stupid. I'm not interested in female characters whose biggest angst factor is that they can't find themselves a husband, or they want desperately to have babies, or they're finding it hard to fit into a man's world. I want REAL ANGST, dangit!! There are finally some female characters on TV these days that fit the bill for me, especially on shows like Lost and Heroes, so more female characters are starting to show up on my faves list now. Yay for that. ;)

Okay, I'm going back to sleep now...

[pellucid]

You know, you and I have talked about character preferences at various times before, but I don't know that I've ever seen you put all the pieces of your preferences together like this before--and I suddenly have this far more enlightened understanding! (It's possible I wasn't paying enough attention before--eep! Sorry.) But yeah, that all makes loads of sense.

I like "meaty" characters, ones that make you laugh and cry and scream angrily at the screen when they do something stupid

I would argue that every one of the female characters on my "favorites" list would fit this description--though many of them are from shows you don't watch. But I agree, and I, too, get frustrated when women get written only into stereotypical roles. (I admit to a certain weakness for the "women who can do amazing things without breaking a nail", but I'd rather see them doing amazing things while breaking nails and expectations and stereotypes.) There are really strongly-written, well-developed female characters on television, though, and I will argue that till I'm blue in the face. It doesn't mean everyone is required to like them; but I don't want people ignoring the fact that they're there and then continuing to spread the myth that they don't exist. (And yes, I realize that you said just that, basically, and this isn't me responding to you specifically; more just a general rant. ;) )

[meg_tdj]

You know, you and I have talked about character preferences at various times before, but I don't know that I've ever seen you put all the pieces of your preferences together like this before--and I suddenly have this far more enlightened understanding!

Really? Wow... maybe I should always have this kind of conversation when I'm dead tired then. ;)

I would argue that every one of the female characters on my "favorites" list would fit this description--though many of them are from shows you don't watch.

Yeah, I think that's it exactly... I clearly don't watch the right shows! But it really did look bleak for women on TV for a while there, yet over the past few years more and more great female characters have been popping up out of nowhere. Even in the shows I watch. ;)