On Character Death
Apr. 28th, 2012 09:14 pmIf you speak to British children of A Certain Age and whisper to them the phrase, 'Otter film', you will witness a remarkable phenomenon. Firstly, their eyes will soften, as they recall the rollick and gambol of the otters and how they were charmed by them, and then there will be a moment where their eyes go wide, perhaps moisten, then crease in despair as they shout 'YOU BASTARD!' at you.
This is because there were two seminal otter films* in the 60s and 70s that were both wonderful and beautiful, save that both ended with the death of the otters.
Character death, even when it's an otter, is hard! Hard to read, hard to view, hard to write convincingly, hard to make work within the context of the wider story. On the other hand, when it's done well, the dramatic payoff can be remarkable. But where is the line between deaths that come organically from the plot and those which are used for exploitative emotional gain? And how can you kill off a character without having generations of British children hating you forever?
I don't pretend to have the definitive answers, but I have a few thoughts. Many of my examples in the following will be drawn from Season 2 of Dance Academy, which practically none of you watch, but you'll be able to follow without any worries. Suffice to say that if you DO watch DA and are behind, there are spoilers abungo! The remaining examples are drawn from Harry Potter, Heathers, The Hunger Games, The Demon's Covenant, Seven Little Australians, Pulp Fiction, Serenity and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. And a few other random books and films that I have forgotten to come back and mention, which you've all either seen or will never see, so it doesn't matter.
( 1. Why kill characters? )
( 2. Who should you kill off? )
( 3. How should you kill them? )
( 4. How do you break the news in story? )
( 5. Should you warn your readers? )
( 6. How do you walk the line between emotional effect and exploitation? )
( 7. What's the fallout? )
* Tarka the Otter and Ring of Bright Water are the two films to watch out for. And avoid like the plague if you value your cheerful outlook on life. The only thing crueller to inflict on children than these two films is Seven Little Australians. There are a few significant downsides to having an English father and Australian mother, spending my childhood dealing with Character Building Story was one of them!
** In the interests of fairness, Jodi Picoult has some beautiful turns of phrase and pays her readers the credit of being mature and intelligent enough to deal with the discourse of complex emotional, moral and ethical topics. Some people find her novels engaging, involving and profoundly moving. They are all much, much nicer people than I am.
*** That said, Sydney motorists are 90% lovely and 10% homicidal twats, so it's not impossible.
This is because there were two seminal otter films* in the 60s and 70s that were both wonderful and beautiful, save that both ended with the death of the otters.
Character death, even when it's an otter, is hard! Hard to read, hard to view, hard to write convincingly, hard to make work within the context of the wider story. On the other hand, when it's done well, the dramatic payoff can be remarkable. But where is the line between deaths that come organically from the plot and those which are used for exploitative emotional gain? And how can you kill off a character without having generations of British children hating you forever?
I don't pretend to have the definitive answers, but I have a few thoughts. Many of my examples in the following will be drawn from Season 2 of Dance Academy, which practically none of you watch, but you'll be able to follow without any worries. Suffice to say that if you DO watch DA and are behind, there are spoilers abungo! The remaining examples are drawn from Harry Potter, Heathers, The Hunger Games, The Demon's Covenant, Seven Little Australians, Pulp Fiction, Serenity and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. And a few other random books and films that I have forgotten to come back and mention, which you've all either seen or will never see, so it doesn't matter.
( 1. Why kill characters? )
( 2. Who should you kill off? )
( 3. How should you kill them? )
( 4. How do you break the news in story? )
( 5. Should you warn your readers? )
( 6. How do you walk the line between emotional effect and exploitation? )
( 7. What's the fallout? )
* Tarka the Otter and Ring of Bright Water are the two films to watch out for. And avoid like the plague if you value your cheerful outlook on life. The only thing crueller to inflict on children than these two films is Seven Little Australians. There are a few significant downsides to having an English father and Australian mother, spending my childhood dealing with Character Building Story was one of them!
** In the interests of fairness, Jodi Picoult has some beautiful turns of phrase and pays her readers the credit of being mature and intelligent enough to deal with the discourse of complex emotional, moral and ethical topics. Some people find her novels engaging, involving and profoundly moving. They are all much, much nicer people than I am.
*** That said, Sydney motorists are 90% lovely and 10% homicidal twats, so it's not impossible.