In the previous chapters, I have explored the theories pertaining to my field of research on character engagement, and engaging with anomalous characters through the mechanisms of identification, empathy, and sympathy. I will use the previous chapters as a foundation for my conclusion as to what I believe is the most fundamental areas of character engagement.
The key theorists I use include Sigmund Freud and Melanie Klein from psychoanalytic theory, Derek Parfit and his theories into personal identity, rationality and ethics and Vladimir Propp and his character roles in the morphology of folktales. I draw too, from Christian Metz’s theories on Disavowal and from Torben Grodal’s PECMA flow model but not in as much detail. The application of
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It is my belief that modern spectators find characters who are more realistic, multi-faceted and who portray more human characteristics than fictional ones to be more engaging because spectators themselves can then relate to the motivations and actions of the character regardless of which side they are more inclined towards. However, this is not a focus in what I have previously written and is merely a side discovery.
Through the process of writing this paper, it became clear to me that empathy is the highest form of engagement one could reach when relating to and identifying with a character. One needs to feel for a character to be able to identify and engage with them fully. Simply witnessing them and their lives without fully experiencing what the character is feeling emotionally is not sufficient.
There are cases, such as within the horror genre, where sympathy can be regarded as more important than empathy as spectators might not necessarily want to emotionally partake in the actions of the characters, however, I have found that this pertains more towards genre studies rather than character engagement. Therefore, identification and empathy are still seen as the dominant mechanisms of engagement.
4.3 Mechanisms of
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I would like to see how emotion affects a spectator’s viewing and engagement and how simulation plays a part in spectatorship and engagement with character.
4.5 Final words
The purpose of this paper has been to investigate the mechanisms of character engagement operating in anomalous characters through research into psychoanalysis, spectatorship theory, identity, empathy, and sympathy. As mainstream television entertainment evolves we see the emergence of more interesting and colourful characters. Therefore, spectators will find novel and more interesting ways in which to engage with and enjoy characters. As the world changes, so too will the characters we see portrayed in popular mainstream entertainment.
It is my hope that this paper will enable the reader to gain a better insight into how a spectator can engage with a character because character engagement is vital in understanding and enjoying a character and the film or series in which the character
The article Empathy as a Personality Disposition written by John A. Johnson delves into the idea of what comprises one's personality in order to explore the idea of empathy as a behavioral talent. We are introduced to the concept of personality through the lens of experimental social-psychology. This perspective presents the idea that the perceived sincerity of a front as well as the clues to a person's inner personality is based on the verbal and involuntary nonverbal mannerisms that the audience automatically picks up from an individual's performance. It also indicates that these fronts are selected as a result of the combination of an individual's inherit talents and the larger influence of the world around them. The article also explores
What makes a person relate to a character? In the 1980’s authors began to utilize more imagery in their works to grasp audiences. With each character comes different languages and different viewpoints. When using imagery, the images the author wishes to convey come naturally. Louise Erdrich dug deep into her own ancestry which overtime inspired her short stories, poems, and novels (Louise). With background knowledge, she has been inspired to write about the relationships between Native and non-Native cultures. Erdrich was inspired by the family bonds and the ties of kinship, along with the inspiring storytellers she grew up with (Louise). All of these emotions are tied into her very first short story, “Love Medicine.” Lipsha, the protagonist
[1] I suppose that characterization is not particularly necessary in this story, as one is able to ‘connect with’ a character given the generality of his or her experience (having blood drawn, for example).
In order to support his point of view Neill explains the possible reasons why people respond either sympathetically or empathetically to the fiction and how these responses are related to each other. He splits his research in three parts. For obvious reasons the first part clarifies the terms empathy and sympathy. He states that “with sympathetic ...
Owens and Sawhill use pathos to evoke the feelings of their readers. This method establishes
Any quotes on specific pieces of writing, film, art, or anything else tend to have more meaning because those speaking could be supporters, critics, or neutral minded analysts. Most specific quotes have some sort of direction that go with them, and I enjoy exploring them. With Hitchcock, most of his quotes were deep and insightful, but some really stood out as being analytical and almost responsive to his own work. For my second angle of this paper I chose to explore the prompt where we were to write a thorough analysis based on a single character because everyday we analyze people by watching them and analyzing them based on appearance and personality. When there’s an appearance of very interesting people, we enjoy diving deep into their characters. We explore who they are as a person, where they came from, why they are where they are, and to what extent our relationship would lead. When given the opportunity to explore a char...
After reading and evaluating the works of T. S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club, there are various discussion points pertaining to the connection between tragedy and human conditions. Herein, tragedy is the result of a specific human condition, disengagement. This essay aims to identify and explain the behavioural traits between characters in two literary works which leads to a disengagement by the characters from a typical social environment.
...statement: The characterization the authors use in these three novels determines how well the readers will get to know the main characters in terms of emotion.
Burton defines empathy as the ability to not only recognize but also to share another person’s or a fictional character’s or a sentient beings’ emotions. It involves seeing a person’s situation from his or her own perspective and then sharing his or her emotions and distress (1). Chismar posits that to empathize is basically to respond to another person’ perceived state of emotion by experiencing similar feelings. Empathy, therefore, implies sharing another person’s feeling without necessary showing any affection or desire to help. For one to empathize, he or she must at least care for, be interested in or concerned about
Empathy is used to create change in the world by reaching out to the emotions of people and attending to them. It is used to help others learn and decide on matters that would not be reasonable without feelings attached to them. Empathy helps bring together communities that would have long ago drifted apart, but instead welcomed all who were different. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. This attribute of human-beings really allows us to not only attend to situations as if they were our own, but it allows us to feel most of what others feel because humans are very much alike in some ways. In many of the articles and novels that we have read this quarter, characters from different pieces of context have portrayed empathy whether it was toward
Everyday we observe people’s contrasting opinions. Whether it be in politics, school, or in one’s personal life, emotions are often a major factor when it comes to expressing one’s ideas. In writing, an audience must be aware this, and decide for themselves if an author is being bias or equally representing all sides to a situation. In both Into the Wild and In Cold Blood, the authors form distinct opinions about their main characters and believe family structure heavily influenced their future.
What makes reader to see an feel that ? The literary elements used by author to describe and coll or this main character through his journey to find the answer to all of the question arisen in a upcoming situations.
American psychologist Carl Rogers first introduced the meaning behind empathy and its importance in the health care profession. He defined empathy as “to perceive the internal frame of reference of another with accuracy and with the emotional components and meanings which pertain thereto as if one were the person, but without ever losing the “as if” condition” (reference). Empathy encompasses the person as a whole, and having the ability to engross one self into the individual 's perspective while maintaining your own emotions in check (reference). Many theorists have attempted to analyze this concept from many different angles such as, Hoffman (1981) argued that the body responded in a natural way and as a largely involuntary vicarious response to affective cues from another person. For example, when viewing facial distress during an encounter the body may respond with similar feedback producing matching emotional occurrence (Decety & Jackson, 2015?). This could be interpreted as a role of autonomic function that is vital to “cognitive functions and emotion regulation” (Decety & Jackson, 2015) thus, not even being aware that empathy is being displayed. While others such as Batson et al (1997) referred to cognitive resources being utilized in role taking
Plays are a unique form of entertainment and literature, for they typically include scenes in which characters acknowledge and address the audience directly through various monologues and soliloquies. This adds an extra interactive layer of involvement where the audience can influence a character’s decisions. For instance, in Shakespeare’s Othello, the main character, a wily young man ironically dubbed “honest” Iago stops to tell the audience about his true intentions just as often as he tries to undermine other characters. Naturally, Iago would need some release from his deceitful planning. Therefore, the audience, by silently abiding through Iago’s speeches, must be his sidekicks – albeit unwillingly – the only people Iago trusts and feels
unravel the nature of these emotions so that those portraying the emotions can gain an