The Importance Of Character Appeal In Movies

While emotion may be used as a guiding force and hook in nearly any media, though admittedly some sources respond better than others, character seems to be used quite differently. Character certainly feels as if it’s used more to ask someone to trust what is being said simply because a certain person said it, rather than presenting the reason for the information being credible. I believe character-based appeals rely heavily on the reputation of a certain individual or group to make their claims, and therefore must be quite specific as to which audience it is presented. For instance, an argument for evolution presented by Bill Nye would not go far if presented to a group of creationists. Regardless of what source of media is utilizing their character-based appeals, they must know their audience to ensure a positive response, or they risk damaging their own credibility and

If it is, for example, the fictionalized movie, “Soul Surfer,” based off the life of surfer Bethany Hamilton, a certain amount of character appeal is used to convince viewers to trust that Bethany is a pro-surfer. Though the actress, AnnaSophia Robb, certainly is not, because of Bethany’s real-life surfing expertise, the movie is believable. However, the effectiveness of character appeals in films such as documentaries are completely dependent on how the subject is viewed in reality. For instance, the film “Dunkirk” was widely accepted due to drawing on the character appeals of the soldiers who experienced it for themselves. On the opposite spectrum, though not exactly a documentary but still applicable, the upcoming movie about Tonya Harding will probably be received with mixed reviews. This will likely be due to Tonya’s real-life and well-known actions, as well as how she is viewed by the general populace--especially since the film seems to glorify