Characters

I just noticed that I have not posted a blog in a few days. I know that the key to a better blogging experience is to keep up with the postings. What can I say? Other than that time flies. Also I have been working on a short screenplay over the last few days. More details on this later. I have a deadline for the submission. So I will save the details for later. But none the less I needed an idea for a blog posting.

I have been thinking about what makes a good character in film or television. The perfect character is really the “imperfect” person. It is about their “quirks”. And the less than ideal conditions of their surroundings. And what better place shows us that in our real lives than the workplace? And who can be more vilified than your boss? Other than Hitler and current politicians (regardless of affiliation). I saw an article in the USA Today on bosses in the workplace and how they felt they were being portrayed on the TV show The Office. I find the show to be funny in subversive ways. I do not want to go on about bosses. It is a subject that I can “dig a deep hole on”. I think the other characters on the show are funny in different ways on the show. The biggest is the conflicts between Jim and Dwight. Here are some more clips Part1, Part2. I think that these brief scenes add some real flavor to show. If they were the center of the show all the time they would lose something. Plus, Jim is lucky to have a good looking “partner in crime” to be his ally. This adds another layer to the show. This is what makes shows work is that all the characters (not just the major ones) are defined. This is the idea that I try to achieve in my own works. Plus we all know some real “characters” in everyday life.