Character Arcs
Nov 17, 2017 1:52:08 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2017 1:52:08 GMT -8
I was listening to Dungeons and Digressions (Fiddleback and the AngryGM collaboration) recently and they got to talking about franchises and how they ruin movies by destroying character arcs. Either there won’t be an arc after the first movie or it will likely be the same arc repeated. Fair enough, but it got me thinking about story telling in general and what I really want out of a story. Ultimately, I’m not sure what I always want is change.
Think about a show like M.A.S.H. For a moment. We’re character arcs actually incredibly important to the show, or could you watch the episodes out of order without losing much? Maybe I’m just not a big enough fan to see that there really is some important arc occuring, but it seems to me that you could start watching nearly anywhere and you needn’t watch in any particular order to enjoy the show. Why do I bring this up? Well, I think sometimes what we want isn’t change, but familiarity.
A good example of this is a character like Jack Sparrow. I enjoy watching him get slapped by women who he doesn’t remember for some misdeed that may or may not have occurred in every port he pulls into. That works for me as a static character element. If Pirates of the Caribbean was a TV show, it would be a reoccurring gag. I don’t want Captain Jack to change. I want him to be him! Much like Jim Butcher and the Dresden Files, if a formula works than why try to fix it? Dresden is great, he follows nearly the same arc every book. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest.
I watch a good deal of cop procedurals. I know the formula and the timing so well that I can regularly guess what is going to happen next. Should I be angry that the show is predictable? It seems to me that is half the reason I watch it.
What do you want out of a story (movie, book, rpg, etc)? Are you always looking for a fresh arc?
Think about a show like M.A.S.H. For a moment. We’re character arcs actually incredibly important to the show, or could you watch the episodes out of order without losing much? Maybe I’m just not a big enough fan to see that there really is some important arc occuring, but it seems to me that you could start watching nearly anywhere and you needn’t watch in any particular order to enjoy the show. Why do I bring this up? Well, I think sometimes what we want isn’t change, but familiarity.
A good example of this is a character like Jack Sparrow. I enjoy watching him get slapped by women who he doesn’t remember for some misdeed that may or may not have occurred in every port he pulls into. That works for me as a static character element. If Pirates of the Caribbean was a TV show, it would be a reoccurring gag. I don’t want Captain Jack to change. I want him to be him! Much like Jim Butcher and the Dresden Files, if a formula works than why try to fix it? Dresden is great, he follows nearly the same arc every book. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest.
I watch a good deal of cop procedurals. I know the formula and the timing so well that I can regularly guess what is going to happen next. Should I be angry that the show is predictable? It seems to me that is half the reason I watch it.
What do you want out of a story (movie, book, rpg, etc)? Are you always looking for a fresh arc?