DO WE NEED TO ADMIRE OUR HEROES?
I usually admire the main character Hondo in "S.W.AT." a CBS network show:
https://www.cbs.com/shows/swat/
Hondo is a little cartoony, a little larger than life, and sometimes buffoonish. But he serves the premise well: a tough guy who cares about people and whose basic mission in life is to help people.
So far, so good.
But last night I watched an episode in which Hondo tries to rescue a boy, 15, who has been arrested and is following in his gangster father's footsteps.
Anyone who deals with teenagers, as I have for years as a teacher, father, and grandpa, knows that getting mad at a teenager and yelling at him or her is not the best way to establish rapport and open lines of communication.
But that is what Hondo does. Yells at the boy. What the hell is wrong with you? Or words to that effect. Of course, the boy shuts down and shuts Hondo out. He heads defiantly on into a life of crime.
To me, that is bad writing and bad character development. It is also bad psychology.
Hondo lost my respect and admiration in that scene. He also lost my willing suspension of disbelief. If Hondo is so smart and such a good cop, why does he not know how to handle a teenager?
I don't need Hondo to be perfect. But I need him to be as smart as I am. Or smarter.
Do you feel that way about characters in fiction and on film?
I sure do. If a smart character does something stupid, it throws me out of the story. I pull back and argue with the logic, with the truth of the story.
I think identification and believability are important to fiction, whether on the page or on the screen.
I strive to care about my own characters, the ones I create in my own writing, and when I put them in harm's way, or have them confront a problem or moral dilemma, I want them to respond in much the same way I would.
Or the way I think I would. Or the way I think I should.
What do you think?
Do we need to admire our heroes?
Oh, BTW, what should Hondo have done? He should have taken a seat near the teenager, remained calm, open, receptive, and non-judgmental.
He should have smiled at the kid and said something like, Hey, how are you? And he should have listened without anger or judgment to whatever the boy said.
He should have listened to what the boy was feeling and thinking, why he was making these choices, and what he thought the results would be. The most important thing you can do with teenagers is care about them and listen to them.
If he had done that, I would have admired Hondo in that scene.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for being on Goodreads.
RA
https://www.cbs.com/shows/swat/
Hondo is a little cartoony, a little larger than life, and sometimes buffoonish. But he serves the premise well: a tough guy who cares about people and whose basic mission in life is to help people.
So far, so good.
But last night I watched an episode in which Hondo tries to rescue a boy, 15, who has been arrested and is following in his gangster father's footsteps.
Anyone who deals with teenagers, as I have for years as a teacher, father, and grandpa, knows that getting mad at a teenager and yelling at him or her is not the best way to establish rapport and open lines of communication.
But that is what Hondo does. Yells at the boy. What the hell is wrong with you? Or words to that effect. Of course, the boy shuts down and shuts Hondo out. He heads defiantly on into a life of crime.
To me, that is bad writing and bad character development. It is also bad psychology.
Hondo lost my respect and admiration in that scene. He also lost my willing suspension of disbelief. If Hondo is so smart and such a good cop, why does he not know how to handle a teenager?
I don't need Hondo to be perfect. But I need him to be as smart as I am. Or smarter.
Do you feel that way about characters in fiction and on film?
I sure do. If a smart character does something stupid, it throws me out of the story. I pull back and argue with the logic, with the truth of the story.
I think identification and believability are important to fiction, whether on the page or on the screen.
I strive to care about my own characters, the ones I create in my own writing, and when I put them in harm's way, or have them confront a problem or moral dilemma, I want them to respond in much the same way I would.
Or the way I think I would. Or the way I think I should.
What do you think?
Do we need to admire our heroes?
Oh, BTW, what should Hondo have done? He should have taken a seat near the teenager, remained calm, open, receptive, and non-judgmental.
He should have smiled at the kid and said something like, Hey, how are you? And he should have listened without anger or judgment to whatever the boy said.
He should have listened to what the boy was feeling and thinking, why he was making these choices, and what he thought the results would be. The most important thing you can do with teenagers is care about them and listen to them.
If he had done that, I would have admired Hondo in that scene.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for being on Goodreads.
RA
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