Board Thread:Series Discussion/@comment-4848837-20150121024809/@comment-4884507-20160219041544

Here I am once again, shelling out our TB update for this week. The topic?

Characters vs. Plot.

It's no secret to anyone that these two things are the bread and butter for any form of media out there. And why wouldn't they be? Life itself is simply a collection of events and people that they happen to.

When you really know a person, you understand their ups and downs, insecurities, fears, habits, likes, dislikes, preferences and what have you. And what defines those things you might ask? What puts those things out in the open? A person's story.

And can a compelling plot or story even exist without a person, a thing for it to happen to? A truly complex and enticing story knows how not to rely simply on what happened, but give you a pretty good idea as to why it happened, and who exactly it happened to, wouldn't it?

With this in mind, it's noticable that when you flick on your TV, crack open your book, ecetera and infinetra, that not every story you'll find is the same. People have different tastes. Some people seem to lack the ability to connect to a fictional world unless they have a character to relate to or at the very least understand. Some people, by the same token can't really be bothered with all of that and simply want to be entertained. I mean, at the end of the day, don't we all?

A plot and a character are by no means exclusive to one another. A lot of media will attempt to give us a nice blend of both, setting up and developing an array of characters overtime while also giving us memorable and relatable situations for them to respond to.

However, this isn't always the case.

On one end of the spectrum, sometimes the characters are the main focus. The focus lies on the characters, their interactions and devlopment. The conflicts in these shows tend to lean towards the internal side of the coin, battling an everpresent abundance of inner demons or perhaps interacting in a virulent manner amongst one another.

And assuming there does happen to be an external plot, the characters in question almost always end up captivating it in some manner or form, and the focus very rarely shifts to being solely external. In this spectrum, it sometimes seems as though the world wouldn't to rotate every 24 hours unless one of the characters somehow enticed it into doing so.

While there's nothing inheretly wrong with this, there is a very real risk of the overall story in terms of events in the series could end up not being very memorable. And the possibility of plotlines becoming repetitive, and in turn, stale depending on the amount of depth a set of characters possesses is another very real risk.

On the other end of the spectrum, sometimes the plot is the main focus. The focus lies on the big picture, giving us something fast-paced, thrilling, or at the very least memorable and or thought provoking to keep us hooked.

That isn't to say that characterization is necessarily minimalized, but it tends to take a backseat to whatever happens to be unfolding, as we're thrusted across the twists and turns that this alternate reality has bestowed upon us. In fact, a lot of the characterization can usually be summed up as sort of a reaction to the events and mayhem, rather than something constant that's being developed over time.

Again, there's nothing inheretly wrong with this, but there is a very real risk of characters feeling unimportant, existing only for necessity's sake and not really leaving an impact outside of their 5 minutes or so of importance. Characterization being brushed aside in order to fit the needs for the plot, perhaps becoming more insipid, idiotic, or obnoxious just to suit the needs of the plot simply because the plot wouldn't make sense if the character wasn't acting more insipid, idiotic, or obnoxious rather than coming up with something else, or offering a logical explanation as to why a character would shift so drastically on a whim is another very real risk.

But at the end of the day is one better than the other? Is there a balance of some sort than can be reached? Maybe sometimes the outside world just seems meager when compared to the cry of the inner demons. And maybe sometimes the outside world will give you a push, something to respond to with haste, lest you run the risk of crumbling physically rather than just mentally.

At the end of the day it all comes down to preference. I mean, do you tune into NASCAR to see the high-speed tension that is racing? Or do you tune in because you simply can't wait to see all of those familiar faces again? Those people you almost feel as though you know giving their all on that track, mile for mile?

What's that? You're not really into NASCAR?

Okay. :c