Stereotypes and Character Hype

We continue our discussion about characters and expand upon the concepts of stereotype and the roles our characters play.




I consume a lot of media. While I try to evenly divide my spare time among my various interests, I occasionally fall prey to my vice: entertainment. I watch an average of three new movies a week (not including the movies I rewatch for the sake of rewatching); more often than not, I have the TV on in the background while I work and am always seeking new shows to binge watch whenever I find myself with a free weekend. My addiction to pop culture has some pratfalls (watching Friends instead of completing an assignment, for example), but it has also exposed me to every genre, every story, and, yes, every character in the literary and entertainment world.

Let's pause before diving into the mechanics of writing a character and delve further into this pop culture mania-- specifically, adult swim cartoons. I'm usually reluctant to admit I've been watching adult swim programming for the past few years, but the channel has yielded three excellent shows that excel in characterization: Home Movies, Moral Orel, and Rick and Morty. All three are cartoons designed for teenagers and adults, and all three have exceptionally well-developed characters. Home Movies may be partially based on the comedians at the helm, but they are startlingly realistic and built upon with every single conversation (we'll go into further detail with this show when we discuss dialogue). Moral Orel, the most crass and satirical of the bunch, breathes sudden, unflinching life into its previously unremarkable characters with the finale of season two and the progression of season three, which turn into character studies that shape flat stereotypes into achingly human characters. Rick and Morty finds its characters through realistic dialogue and a rare touch of soul, as well as through increasingly bizarre storylines and unique plots that develop its characters organically.

Why did I spend the past paragraph gushing about my favorite shows? Because even television shows have writers and writers, at some point or another, have to do something with their characters. Whether they love them like their own offspring or are just barely paid enough to care about their futures, writers have to somehow develop the people/drawings onscreen before we reach for the remote. Writing characters for a television or film is just as critical as it is for any story.

Writing a character is perhaps even more important than the character's creation. You could think of any character off the top of your head and give them a name, but until you put a character in a situation and start having them respond, they're about as interesting as a Republican convention. The story cannot exist without the character and the plot cannot be driven forward until it is set in motion by the force of the character.

This is why developing the character is so terribly important. While creating a character and filling out the little profiles that detail your creation's favorite foods, hopes and dreams, and fears, it is considerably more difficult to have that character grow as they progress.

So! Time for a little exercise. Grab the nearest character of yours you can find: they can be the star of your latest project, a half-sketched idea for a new story, or even a person with the first name that popped into your head. For this exercise, I will be using a character I created named Aimee Newton.

Let's give your character a little background. Pick three words that summarize your character's personality: in the case of Aimee, those words would be "stubborn, curious, and creative". These words do not have to be specific, just as long as they are true for your character. Next, list three things about this character that distinguish them from other characters. For Aimee, these three things are: she has been blind in one eye since she was two, she was adopted from China by an American schoolteacher, and she is really good at playing the trumpet. Got your list? Great. Here's your exercise: Your character is aboard a sinking boat. They are going to be dead within a minute or two, so they spend their last moments reflecting as the boat begins to slip underwater. You have ten minutes. Go.

Time's up! It doesn't matter if you wrote a paragraph or a page: take the time to carefully reread what you just wrote. Don't judge for quality of prose. You're judging whether or not you wrote your beloved character in a way that felt organic, intriguing, and realistic. It didn't have to be emotional or moving. It just had to read like you cared about the character and their thoughts. Only in this way will the audience start caring too.

Another important component in developing characters is making sure to either dodge or completely subvert the stereotype. We discussed stereotypes when we explored tropes (the two, though not synonymous, tend to go hand in hand), but we didn't stress just how significantly they affect our craft. We've been exposed to stereotypes all our lives: the jock, the nerd, the queen bee (no, I'm not just describing The Breakfast Club). Depending on the quality of the material these characters are in, they can either stay bound within the rigid confines of their stock character elements or they can break free to stand on their own.

We don't just avoid certain stereotypes to stay fresh: we avoid them to stay unbiased. It's ridiculously easy to make the Latino character the comic relief or shove them into a sombrero and call it culture. As writers, it is important for us to not contribute to the oppression of specific races, genders, and sexualities (don't get me started on the redundancy and offensiveness of the glittery, flamboyant gay character that seems to pass for "representation" these days). Certainly, a character can make a racist or sexist remark to another if such behavior fits their persona, but it is how that behavior is received that defines the character's perspective on it. We don't want stereotype-perpetuating bigots in the creative world. Lord knows enough of them exist elsewhere.

That's why it's important to conduct extensive research if your character has a different race, sexuality, or gender than you. It is perfectly alright to write about a black character if you are write, but don't start characterizing them based solely on your preconceptions of the race. Don't write a blind character without reading a few articles or stories about blind people and their experiences first. Stephen King might advocate the policy of "write what you know", but, come on Stephen, we can only handle so many more white, middle-aged, straight male protagonists before we finally just lie down and let Jack Torrance do his worst. It's natural to expand beyond what you know and write about things or people outside of your knowledge: you just have to be willing to put the effort into it.

So how do we break free of stereotypes and write the unique characters we like to read and watch? Well, it takes a village. Make a profile for your character and make lists about them: what's their favorite movie? What do they think of when someone mentions God? Do they like pasta? Once you feel you have a decent handle on your character, put them in various situations (such as the shipping sink scenario) and see how they react to their surroundings. Do they relinquish themselves do their fate? Do they valiantly seek a way out of their bind? And does this experience help them grow? Well, that's up to you, isn't it? Characters are like children: they have to grow up eventually, but it's your responsibility to help them along the way so they turn out to be exceptional at the end of their journey.