Character Development

As Mrs. Stoklosa suggested on Monday, I focused more on the development of my main character than in the story of the film. We talked that day is that the character could be someone that is not in love but she wants to.

But after watching 'I'm here' (2010) by Spike Jonze, I understood that I don't want my protagonist to feel the need to fall in love. I want her to be strong and independent. The main characteristic that I want her to have is that she understands that she doesn't need a man to find happiness.

Small parenthesis to talk about the short film. So far I've loved Jonze productions, although I've only seen Her (2013) and this short film. I really liked the bright on the robot's eyes, it reinforces the idea that they have feelings even though they're machines. I wish It could be that easy to transplant an organ to someone one loves but I seriously would think it twice before my boyfriend transplant an organ to me or vice-versa because imagine if we broke up and I have to carry his arm for the rest of my life, oh my god, no.

Going back to the purpose of this post, there's a Venezuelan singer called Lasso, who posts videos in Snapchat sometimes. Casually, today he was talking about the haters in social media, and his conclusion was that no one should put priority on the bad comments that unimportant people have towards one and that one should understand that one's true love is oneself, and when people understand that principle, one can live a life full of happiness. While I was writing this post I remembered that comment, and as a matter of fact, I want my character to infuse that principle in herself and demonstrate that she is auto-sufficient, while expressing that she doesn't close to the chances of falling in love.

So to follow on this character development, I decided to focus my research on two characters that adopt the same guidelines of my character. The first one is Summer Finn from 500 Days of Summer (2009). In the opening scene of the movie the narrator introduces the main characters, Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) and Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), while he contrasts their personalities. The narrator explains that Summer doesn't believe in love due to her parents' divorce, which produced conflict and pain.

Some people believe that Summer was the 'evil' character in the production, but I believe that she's an actual representation of real life people. She believes that "relationships are messy and feelings get hurt. Who needs all that?" [1]. Maybe it sounds too cynical, but I totally agree with this statement; I don't know if it's because I've been surrounded by divorces and dysfunctional couples, or is it because I don't believe in what conventional romantic movies transmit, but I think that love is pretty unique and only some people can obtain it with the person they choose, so the rest of the relationships are just a rollercoaster of emotions and disappointment. And that's exactly what happens at some point in the movie, Summe realizes that she doesn't love Tom and she inevitably will hurt him. Nevertheless, the viewer may think that Summer is mean to Tom because the movie is made from Tom's perspective, but Summer always had reasons for her actions.

What I also love about this movie is that since the beginning it's explained that the production is 'a story about a girl and a boy, but it's not a love story', which is also reinforced by this artsy poster.

This is not a love story. This is a story about love.

My second researched character is Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles) from 10 Things I Hate About You (1999). Kat's first appearance demonstrates her rebellious and sassy personality through the song and her attitude towards the other girls. 

Kat's character radiates feminism throughout all the movie. What I admire from her is that she decided to create her own destiny regardless of what her dad wanted or what her peers thought about it. She didn't let anyone to step upon her either and she always understood that her priorities were above everyone else [2]. 

10 Things I Hate About You

The image to the left is one of my favorite quotes from the movie, and it reinforces Kat's feministic beliefs towards men.

Nevertheless, although Kat is introduced as a non-romantic character, the development of her relationship with Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger), changes her perspective about love.

Both movies have similar female characters but with different endings. One shows that individuals don't always belong to the person that they love and the other one demonstrates that love can change people. 

Conclusion: 

I want my character to follow this wave of not believing in love at the beginning. I'm not clear about her reasons to do it yet if it is because of a past relationship, parents' divorce, false expectations, but I still have time to figure it out.

I don't know how to end the story either. I have two choices, I can either make her fall in love with some outstanding guy or I can make like she's going to fall in love but was just an illusion and she stays as she was in the beginning. That's why I decided to run a poll in my blog to see what the audience prefers and then I could decide.

Chao, Chao!

For further information:

[1] "Half-Blaked: Character Study: Summer Finn." Half-Blaked: Character Study: Summer Finn. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://halfblaked.blogspot.com/2010/08/character-study-summer-finn.html>.

[2]"Community Post: 10 Reasons Kat Stratford Should Still Be Your #1 Heroine." BuzzFeed Community. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://www.buzzfeed.com/fangirlingdaily/10-reasons-why-kat-stratford-should-still-be-your-ioqb#.ec0G76Qooe>.

Videos

• "I'm Here" 2010 a Short Film by Spike Jonze FULL." YouTube. YouTube, 30 Mar. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OY1EXZt4ok>.
• "(500) Days of Summer - Intro." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zn0HdZs3Fs>.
• "Bad Reputation in 10 Things - Kat Intro Scene." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaIWHB-m_yY>

Images

• N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <https://www.pinterest.com/pin/113997434292165643/>.
• N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <https://www.pinterest.com/pin/346425396317928756/>.