Blaming characters for problems in the plot

[ringing_phone]

Sara Jaye's post on Damsel Scrappies got me thinking about this (actually, I started posting it there, but thought it might be off-topic). I've noticed that there are a large number of bashers who, when they complain about a certain characters, are really annoyed/upset with things that happened around or to that character. They're annoyed with the

Comments

[sarajayechan]

-A character gets kidnapped or otherwise imperiled more than once, often in similar situations. What's really bugging fans is the "skipping record" narrative, but instead of saying, "man, I wish the author could come up with something different for once!", they blame the character.

y helo there, Ninian and Peach!

-A hero does something out of character, and there's a love interest around when s/he does it. Fans are bothered by the out-of-sync actions of the hero, but instead of saying, "Based on X episode or Y dialogue, I really don't think he'd do something like that," they blame the love interest.

Like it's all Orihime's fault Ichigo turned into Bull!Ichigo?

-A regular cast member is killed off or otherwise disposed of in a fake, unsatisfying way, and a newbie takes his or her place. Fans are upset over the fake, unsatisfying death/removal, but instead of saying, "They couldn't have thought of a better way to get that character out of the story?", they blame the newbie.Dude, fans do this even if the character WAS removed in a

[dai_atlas]

Heh, Peach immediately came to my mind for #1, too. :p

[akai_senshi]

I've noticed this too. Sometimes I think that the people who blame characters aren't really around for the author's vision, or the plot, or actually for most of the characters and world-building- but rather an unnatural fixation on either one character to the exclusion (or hatred) of all others or to the possibilities for shipping.

Also I think people are reluctant to blame the author, thinking that s/he must be perfect or something. The characters' flaws are more noticeable than the author's.

[beccadg]

Sometimes I think that the people who blame characters aren't really around for the author's vision, or the plot ... but rather an unnatural fixation...

I don't believe there is something "unnatural" about a person who's main interest in a story is a character or relationship rather than "the vision" or "plot." Vision, plot and character are three separate things and any one of them is a perfectly fine thing to be someone's main interest. Some writers have no grand vision and aren't very good at plot, but they are capable of creating a wonderful character or two or three. Recognizing and appreciating what maybe the writer's main strength is not merely natural, but best for all.

Also I think people are reluctant to blame the author...

I believe it generally comes down to people being unable to blame the author.

...thinking that s/he must be perfect or something.I'm sure for some it is a matter of being incapable of admitting to themselves, much less others, that the author isn't perfect. For others though I think it maybe a

[kankurette]

The old Madonna/Whore dichotomy, basically.

[ringing_phone]

I didn't think about that, but you're right. When the plot's going smoothly, it's going to be pretty invisible, and the first thing the viewer/player/reader is going to see are the characters doing something boneheaded.

The character I was specifically thinking of (I admit) was Umah, from Legacy of Kain. She appeared in Blood Omen 2, which has quite a few problems - and not just things that are a matter of opinion. It has a real problem with clunky dialogue (and by "clunky" I mean "unironic Fawful dialogue;" for example, one character at one point unintentionally lapses into couplets), scenes that meander directionlessly until someone pulls a conclusion out of thin air, characters who contradict themselves in the same scenes (sometimes in the same sentence), a plot that only makes sense if you haven't played the rest of the series, and a character death that is supposed to be moving but turns out hilarious because of the very easy, very obvious way he could have saved himself (I have yet to meet a player who hasn't noticed it).