FILM & VIDEO PRODUCTION 12

Character Type in Film

Questions to ask about Characters

Is the main character static or dynamic?

If the main character is dynamic, then what does he or she learn?

If main character is static, then what do they FAIL to learn. What is their mistake, or character flaw?

Do you see archetypal or stereotypical dimensions to the character?

Static Characters

A static character fails to gain insight.

"Within the first season, we kind of realized Eric Cartman's like a little Archie Bunker .... He doesn't really know what he's doing; he doesn't care. He's just a product of his environment.”

(8 minute audio)

Dynamic Characters

A dynamic character gains insight.

A dynamic character encounters conflict and is changed by it. Dynamic characters tend to be more fully developed and described than flat, or static, characters; they probably seem as real to you as people you know in real life.

A number of elements in fiction reveal character, making the character dynamic, including descriptions of a character, the character's dialogue, a character's responses to the conflicts that arise in the plot, and a character's thoughts.

Stereotypical Characters

A stereotype is culturally bound and typically exaggerated; projecting a group identity onto an individual character.

These stereotypes can are based on social cliques, cultural backgrounds, and,too often, gender differences.

Archetypal Characters

An archetype is a character with universal qualities.

Carl Jung, the psychologist, coined this term to refer to "personality types" he saw as universal. He claimed that we have a "collective unconscious", that is, that all people have "imprints" of collective culture in our awareness.

Luke Skywalker accepts the call to adventure and enters the hero's journey, finding that "the force is with him". Darth Vader, can be seen as a shadow archetype.