Shoddy Characters (Rant #hwan)

One of the more important yet under looked Elements of Tragedy or a story/play/production, is Character. All too often nowadays much needed character development is sacrificed for Spectacle or is cut in order to move the story along. This results in shoddy, convoluted characters who have no real purpose other than to pull a trigger or swing a fist. This results in a bizarre hard to follow plot in which new characters pop up randomly and unexpectedly. This also leads to stereotypes and generic roles of “Nerdy guy who gets killed first”, “Buff man with handgun”, and “Brainless snobby cheerleader”. Such cardboard cutout characters actually harm the story and the audience's reaction because it is almost impossible to identify with, and thus care for them. This in turn leads to predictability in stories and desensitizes audiences to violence. It is no wonder that today's society is worsening in both behavior and actions as they are fed an endless stream of convoluted drivel. If the condition of shoddy characters persists society will mold itself into them, and create real life versions of the gratuities portrayed in the media. Tis is not a desirable position to be in. Hopefully society will pull itself out of the pit it's digging itself but that does not seem likely.End Of Rant