ive obsessed abt variations of this question all my life with existential intensity (how do i keep people from disliking the weird kid with the weird name)
i think it boils down to framing. unlikeable characters in fiction are still framed in ways that are narratively compelling https://x.com/moonandmouth/s/moonandmouth/status/1662915817153888256âŚ
its about getting people invested in the struggles. most unlikeable people irl tend to be opaque, so you dont know their stories or struggles, you just see their behavior
2019-07-31
A thing I noticed fairly early-ish on is that people care about things more once theyâre framed properly. Like, if you watch a documentary about a pit crew or a kitchen or a tattoo shop, you become invested in those peopleâs struggles and you start to care about them personally
which can be doubly tragic bc the opacity is often a response/reaction to having been burned in the past
a common-ish trope in indian movies is the very stoic father figure whoâs mean and standoffish until he finally cracks at the end and you feel this big relief for/with him
- I really should watch Pride and Prejudice.
ââŚbeneath the small talk and sketchy biographies and received opinions, people carried with them some central explanation of themselves. Stories full of terror and wonder, studded with events that still haunted or inspired them. Sacred stories.â â Barack Obama, 1995
You @parafactual 2023-05-28
what if itâs that unlikable people are likable at a distance
Visakan Veerasamy @visakanv 2023-05-28
thats part of it ya
Nick Dobos @NickADobos 2023-05-28
Great point, Iâve been fascinated by anti-heroes too. I think itâs because the narrative allows us to understand them and feel what they feel
IRL you only see the unlikeable parts. You donât get to see and feel the pain. But in story you can see the unlikeable and the human
Kifah @maskys_ 2023-05-29
Yea. Usually the author strongly frames the character to appeal to the reader by providing context-that is unavailable to the book characters. IRL it is harder to appreciate both frames bc a) you need to seek conflicting perspectives b) you need to accept both as true
Kahlil Corazo Explorations.ph @kcorazo 2023-05-29
genuinely curious what made you decide to aim for likability instead of aiming for freedom from the need or desire for it
Itâs vibe
Emma P @emmaconcepts 2023-05-28
Iâve been thinking about this a lot.
I think part of it is that fictional characters tend to be both interesting and show agency in ways that it is very easy to assume real people are not and donât.
Damon Sasi @DaystarEld 2023-05-29
Also, unlikeable people in fiction are effectively harmless. There are plenty of animals people enjoy seeing in zoos or on TV, but wouldnât want to live around. People tend to dislike things that regularly make their life worse, no matter how compelling or empathetic their story.
Cow Tongue @cowtung 2023-05-28
There are people I like very much over zoom who I couldnât stand being in a room with. I think the distinction is the absence of any real threat and easy exit strategy. I think this is a case for more norms around pausing in-person conversations.
@aaditkamat.bsky.social @aaditkamat 2023-05-28
Yeah, I usually remember villains far longer than the heroes in a film for different reasons than in real life. In the former scenario, it is generally due to impressive acting whilst in the latter it is due to negativity bias.
Katie Bar The Door @bar_doors 2023-05-29
If fictional characters were as unlikable as IRL unlikable people are, people would stop reading/watching.
They have to have interesting or compelling qualities to keep the audience engaged.
IRL unlikeable people are what they are naturally, because of course they are.
Aldo de Vos @VosAldo 2023-05-29
Irl people donât have background music