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Sep. 17th, 2009 03:19 amHere's a question, once more inspired by the ever-thought-provoking Mr Miles:
When you experience a story, in book or film or telly or audio or however, how important is it to you that the central character's values, or rather the values expressed by the progress and outcome of the story, are similar to your own?
I make the alteration because there are obviously cases in which the story is about the defeat of the central character, and hir values in those cases are usually presented as in opposition, as it were. There are, I am sure, people who root for Shakespeare's Richard III, but the intent of the story is to show him as a villain, in opposition to the values of his society and of the story. There are other cases in which neither of the central characters' values are presented as "right". Othello springs to mind. We know Iago is a bad man, but that doesn't mean Othello was "right" to behave as he did. And again, there are stories which express values we no longer agree with, or never did, but that doesn't necessarily make them bad stories. Or does it?
When you experience a story, in book or film or telly or audio or however, how important is it to you that the central character's values, or rather the values expressed by the progress and outcome of the story, are similar to your own?
I make the alteration because there are obviously cases in which the story is about the defeat of the central character, and hir values in those cases are usually presented as in opposition, as it were. There are, I am sure, people who root for Shakespeare's Richard III, but the intent of the story is to show him as a villain, in opposition to the values of his society and of the story. There are other cases in which neither of the central characters' values are presented as "right". Othello springs to mind. We know Iago is a bad man, but that doesn't mean Othello was "right" to behave as he did. And again, there are stories which express values we no longer agree with, or never did, but that doesn't necessarily make them bad stories. Or does it?