Screenwriting : How would YOU humanize these characters? by Zorrawa Jefferson

Add a "but" to the end of each sentence and add an action (something they did) or attribute that is the opposite or at least not aligned with the things before the "but".

That's a great question, Zelene. The WHY behind these people's actions is how you humanize. Why is the bully flaunting his strength? Maybe he only ever got attention as a child when he was boastful. Why does the young man cheat on his pregnant girlfriend? Maybe he feels he's undeserving of happiness so he self-sabotages. And so on.

Give each of them a reason for their actions, Zorrawa Jefferson (Examples: They're forced to do those things, or they were raised that way). The audience might not like what they're doing, but the audience will understand why they're doing them.

They could also be conflicted about what they do (www.networkisa.org/screenwriting_articles/view/externalizing-internal-co...).

Fun excercise! A few thoughts come to mind.

1. A cocky arrogant bully who constantly flaunts his strength.

- but then his strength comes in handy at a pivotal moment. A lot of war movies come to mind where the setup one of the soldiers as a prick but then he gets a heroic moment that adds some complexity to his character.

2. A young man who cheats on his pregnant girlfriend.

This one's tougher - I heard Michael Douglas famously said about his role in Fatal Attraction, that he couldn't understand why the audience was cheering for him. Here was a guy who cheated on his wife and yet somehow the audience was on his side. So with this one, you could go one of two ways: either the boyfriend is so good at something that the audience weighs the pros and cons: Kevin Bacon in City on a Hill is a terrible husband, but really good cop. Ghost in Power is cheating on his wife, but he's great at being an assassin/drug dealer - he also initially resists, so that can help humanize the character - that struggle before he gives in.

3. A prostitute that kills then feeds her clients to demons. This one's easier - obviously you can make these guys "deserve it" bad guys, traffickers. They're already a certain amount of sympathy lost for the clients out of the fact that they're clients.

I agree with Maurice. Sharing their motivations and needs is a good way to accomplish this. As an example, vampires can't help but bite humans in the neck but we know that they need blood to survive so it gives them a purpose or motivation that we can understand as humans are on top of the food chain that we sit atop. It's a great subject for discussion.

What I do is I have someone in mind, for instance, if I am thinking my character is like Tom Cruise in Top Gun. I will Google How would you describe Maverick from Top Gun, my favorite from the same film is ice.

The first question for me, is why do we need to? Th easiest way is just make their actions relatable.

Give them a cute puppy.

LOL Dan.

God, I have the absolutely PERFECT essay response I wrote for a question of a similar concept that describes, in tremendous detail, humanization of characters in cinema and what qualities an otherwise vilified character might have that portray that such humanization. I also used Homelander as the focus character for said essay response in order to exemplify that without this such characteristic or trait, it will never be possible to make an unlikeable character likeable.

If you have a character that is arrogant, show what makes them insecure. If a character isn’t strong what is their weakness? Finding the humanity behind these things is where you can create some interesting character depth.

I feel the quick answer for a lot of writers is to create an opposite character value to have the greatest contrast. However, this is is only a two dimensional character at this point. Humans are flawed yet, they are multi dimensional. I would look into the other characters and their values. It's through these interactions with multiple values that we get an authentic, organic interaction, and that is human.

What you're looking for is "Why?"

A bully can be abused at home, hence why he's taking it out on others outside it.

1. The bully has something to prove or a secret he hides. The humanising is in the back story. His father beats him, he respects his father despite the bullying, he knows no better. He repeats this behaviour, mistaking the bullying for commanding respect from those he bullies.

   2. I know someone who actually did this, his wife was pregnant and he got it on with a work colleague. What's his back story? Maybe he's not ready for fatherhood,. He is young and the pregnancy unplanned. He was not that serious with her. Maybe he's a product of an unwanted pregnancy, what his father did to his mother is the norm. He's unaware or ignorant of the effects of his actions.

   3. She's beholden to the demon. Why? Maybe the demon holds her brother captive. The demon will devour him unless she can find an alternative to feed on. She does it out of love for a sibling.

   By the way, these are really good exercises for writers. It ignites creativity and fires up the imagination. Why do people do the most horrible things to each other. There's always a reason, only the the completely insane are beyond the comprehension of man. For everyone else, there's always a back story. Conflict, choices, dilemmas are good fodder for the big screen. I've come across some unbelievable true stories from talking to people. Ordinary people with extraordinary stories. Many untold, but some day, some will be. Watch this space!

If you really had to humanise them. I personally would only do it if there was no other way.

Bully - PTSD that’s how his trauma manifests

He doesn’t love her. He loves who he is sleeping with. But he is will to go without love to do the right thing

I think mental illness is the low hanging fruit here. She believes she is doing the right thing. So we see the world through her eyes and we can empathise. In this story, once she reaches her demise, we can feel sorry, but her punishment is justified.

Show their vulnerable side. Then you humanize.

I think the big thing would have to be the why they are doing this? What's the revelation that would make the viewer gasp and their opinion of the character's change?