If the aesthetician wishes for his audience to care for a character, the tool in which they must employ is that of sympathy. It is for this reason that I say sympathy is the single most important element that the storyteller may utilize, and the one that must be established fully and effectively in order for the work to be successful in holding the attention of an audience. Failure to establish a character as sympathetic will inevitably result in a diluting of the gravity of any given work. This is true because the audience must empathize with the character in order for them to care whether they live or die, succeed or fail. Therefore, in order to have stakes in a film, sympathy must be displayed by the protagonist.
So then what is sympathy? A look at its etymology reveals that it is derived from the Greek words sum and pathos meaning "with feeling." Too often I hear the words sympathy and empathy mistaken for one another, so let us also define empathy so to put that mistake to rest. Empathy comes from the Greek em and pathos, meaning "in feeling." Therefore, the difference between the two original meanings is that sympathy is that feeling which the actor or character radiates, as in "the musician played that melody with such intense feeling," whereas empathy is that feeling which occurs within the audience as a reflection of a character's expression of feeling. Here we see clearly the reciprocal relationship between audience and character as it relates to sympathy. There are two parts then to applying sympathetic resonance; the
situation, and the expression. Since sympathy is radiated from a
character he must both voice his state which has resulted from the
situation in a convincing fashion, and he must react to that situation
admirably. This comprises the unifying action of the hero.
Now to the question posed originally; how do I make my characters sympathetic. The nature of sympathy is radiant, thereby expressed by the character as the result of an external situation. These situations must be sought out by the aesthetician; a life long study which holds no promise for completion in its entire. You will never know every situation which is sympathetic, as they are no doubt infinite in number. However, you may observe by looking within yourself those situations which give rise to empathy in an audience. When you empathize with someone in your every day life, use your senses to analyze the dilemma at play. You will slowly begin to understand the logic behind what you are experiencing, and will be able to reproduce it for your own purposes. It is a worthwhile task, if the aesthetician wishes to master the establishment of sympathy, to write a story from the antagonist's perspective. This will give you an idea of the subjective quality of this principle.
It is the mistake of many modern independent filmmakers to devise characters who are quirky, so as to rouse empathy in the audience through those means. We are all quirky, we are all weird. We would be in a constant state of debilitating empathy if making a character quirky were an effective method of making them sympathetic. There are those who do exist in a hopeless state of debilitating empathy. They are hyper emotional, and we avoid their constant advances to involve us in their latest quest to solve some abstract world problem. They are constantly at work raising "awareness" for this cause or that, which is itself harmless. However, these are the dupes for every predator and con man on the face of the earth. The truth here is that sympathy can be used just as readily for malicious purposes as it can for good. Over indulgence in sympathy makes the perceiver skeptical, and thus makes it more difficult to convince them of a truly sympathetic cause when the time arises.
It is the mistake of many modern independent filmmakers to devise characters who are quirky, so as to rouse empathy in the audience through those means. We are all quirky, we are all weird. We would be in a constant state of debilitating empathy if making a character quirky were an effective method of making them sympathetic. There are those who do exist in a hopeless state of debilitating empathy. They are hyper emotional, and we avoid their constant advances to involve us in their latest quest to solve some abstract world problem. They are constantly at work raising "awareness" for this cause or that, which is itself harmless. However, these are the dupes for every predator and con man on the face of the earth. The truth here is that sympathy can be used just as readily for malicious purposes as it can for good. Over indulgence in sympathy makes the perceiver skeptical, and thus makes it more difficult to convince them of a truly sympathetic cause when the time arises.
I have observed many sympathetic situations and reactions since I became aware of this important element of aesthetics. The basis of the element entire is a character who is subject to a verdict which he does not deserve. A child being sexually abused by his father, a wrongly convicted prisoner on death row, the leper who is cast from society through no fault of his own, the homosexual who is forced to live in secret by the bigotry of society, a father searching for his daughter who has been kidnapped. These are characters and circumstances which have characters who radiate sympathy. They are victims being brought to justice for crimes they did not commit, or are not crimes at all.
Though the nature of the aesthetic element is external, this does not mean the protagonist need be passive. For example, the very easiest and most effective way to establish empathy in an audience is to have a character be the victim of his own words. That is, he says something and is thereafter misunderstood, those words leading to a series of events where he must fight to survive. How sympathetic is such a predicament? Have we all not been just such a victim? Words are forever flawed by their dual interpretation, some having definitions which are in direct opposition! These words are ripe for use by the writer, as they provide an opportunity for misunderstanding, and the establishment of sympathy. Examples of such words may be found here. http://www.fun-with-words.com/nym_words.html
Hollywood would not be in the financial trouble that it is in, that being a steady downfall, if it were more aware of this important aesthetic element. There are some, however, that do employ sympathy, and these are the very best of films for that reason. The first aesthetic work that comes to mind which uses sympathy to its advantage is the recently finished television show Breaking Bad. Upon rewatching the first episode, I began to realize what a sympathetic character Walter White was. Here are some of the things the writers did to make the audience empathize with the character.
1. Gave the main character cancer. No human deserves the type of cancer which Walter White is diagnosed with. It is a fear of all humans to hear the words Walter heard in his doctor's office. In this way the writers have made his predicament universal, as well as external (even though the cancer is literally internal).
2. Gave the main character financial trouble as a teacher. This is, of course, the entire basis of the story, as it pushes Walter to do the heinous acts which he commits in the episodes to follow. Walter wishes to leave his family with some means of living. That is admirable. We can all relate to that. What Walter does to ensure this goal is not admirable, and thus the premise of the series was born. Walter reacts to his situation in an unadmirable fashion, which is why his character goes from sympathetic to unsympathetic over the course of the series.
3. He's the runt of the family. Even at his own birthday, it is Hank who is the center of attention. Again, this is both universal and external, although it is derivative of the character's, well, character. Every one of us has been the victim of an attention hog. We've all longed for another persons affection and attention, and have been denied it. Thank you to Ram Getz for point this out.
The show uses many more over the course of its seasons, and I encourage you to observe those techniques for yourself.
The show uses many more over the course of its seasons, and I encourage you to observe those techniques for yourself.
The film Braveheart is a prime example of sympathy used to an intense degree. In that story, William's clan is being victimized by the English lords, who take away their wives on the night of their wedding so as to impregnate them. The scene where the wife of William's friend is taken away to be raped is so intense that I refuse to rewatch it. That situation, to me, is so profoundly sympathetic that the brutal murder of Englishmen in the following scenes seems perfectly vindicated. That is a scary thought. I am a strictly non-violent person, and yet I could not help but cheer William on as he sliced the throat of the English lord. What an effect sympathy can have on an audience!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2bk_9T482g
Above is a link to the opening scene of Pixar's Up, famous for it's profoundly heartbreaking effect (notice the title states "sad scene"). The writers use a number of techniques to endure the audience to their characters. First, there is a bubbly effortlessness to their demeanor, giving the affect of joviality. Next, they choose a very interesting profession for their protagonist; he sells balloons to children. Children are a very interesting study when it comes to sympathy. They are inherently sympathetic to us -- probably a result of our evolution -- in that they are so terribly vulnerable. We evolved as social creatures who assist each other in the raising of our children. A child itself appears cute to us because this endures them to us, making it more likely for us to offer it protection. They are loveable even despite their often selfish behavior, which we overlook based on the seemingly fallacious notion that "they are children." Think about that for a moment. Those who help them are admirable to the extreme to anyone but a sociopath. Another film that use protagonists coming to the aid of a child in order to establish sympathy is The Sixth Sense, the main character being a child psychiatrist. The main characters of Up, though adults, are somewhat childish themselves in both their behavior and their looks (something the Pixar artists probably did intuitively) which makes them also sympathetic to us. Perhaps the most powerful way to establish sympathetic resonance in a character is to have him be picked on by someone who is more powerful than they are. Think back to your childhood bully. Someone, perhaps, who is in a position of authority and abusing it. This is the situation in Braveheart, and many other great films. We absolutely hate when people pick on us, and the aesthetician can use this.
Without a doubt the most heart wrenching aspect of the opening of Up is the very adult plot development that Ellie is barren. She cannot conceive children. This is, again, a great example of where an external hardship can be internal. The hardship does not derive from her character, but from circumstances beyond her control, and yet it is literally internal. Notice also how, despite there being no dialogue, the storytellers choose to include a scene where both characters express their reaction to the hardship. It is here that the sympathy is really driven home.
The final knife that Pixar drives in to your heart is Ellie's death just before the characters have a chance to achieve their goal. What tragedy! It was one of the very few moments where I wept openly in a theater, and I was not alone. It is not so much the death itself, but the consistent childish love the characters share even at the end of their long lives, and the devastation that Carl expresses while sitting alone in the funeral home, still holding his single balloon.
That is how Pixar was able to get away with killing off a pivotal character of a film made for children 15 minutes into the story. Pixar has proven that when you understand story tools like sympathy, your stories become universal to children and adults, boys and girls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2bk_9T482g
Above is a link to the opening scene of Pixar's Up, famous for it's profoundly heartbreaking effect (notice the title states "sad scene"). The writers use a number of techniques to endure the audience to their characters. First, there is a bubbly effortlessness to their demeanor, giving the affect of joviality. Next, they choose a very interesting profession for their protagonist; he sells balloons to children. Children are a very interesting study when it comes to sympathy. They are inherently sympathetic to us -- probably a result of our evolution -- in that they are so terribly vulnerable. We evolved as social creatures who assist each other in the raising of our children. A child itself appears cute to us because this endures them to us, making it more likely for us to offer it protection. They are loveable even despite their often selfish behavior, which we overlook based on the seemingly fallacious notion that "they are children." Think about that for a moment. Those who help them are admirable to the extreme to anyone but a sociopath. Another film that use protagonists coming to the aid of a child in order to establish sympathy is The Sixth Sense, the main character being a child psychiatrist. The main characters of Up, though adults, are somewhat childish themselves in both their behavior and their looks (something the Pixar artists probably did intuitively) which makes them also sympathetic to us. Perhaps the most powerful way to establish sympathetic resonance in a character is to have him be picked on by someone who is more powerful than they are. Think back to your childhood bully. Someone, perhaps, who is in a position of authority and abusing it. This is the situation in Braveheart, and many other great films. We absolutely hate when people pick on us, and the aesthetician can use this.
Without a doubt the most heart wrenching aspect of the opening of Up is the very adult plot development that Ellie is barren. She cannot conceive children. This is, again, a great example of where an external hardship can be internal. The hardship does not derive from her character, but from circumstances beyond her control, and yet it is literally internal. Notice also how, despite there being no dialogue, the storytellers choose to include a scene where both characters express their reaction to the hardship. It is here that the sympathy is really driven home.
The final knife that Pixar drives in to your heart is Ellie's death just before the characters have a chance to achieve their goal. What tragedy! It was one of the very few moments where I wept openly in a theater, and I was not alone. It is not so much the death itself, but the consistent childish love the characters share even at the end of their long lives, and the devastation that Carl expresses while sitting alone in the funeral home, still holding his single balloon.
That is how Pixar was able to get away with killing off a pivotal character of a film made for children 15 minutes into the story. Pixar has proven that when you understand story tools like sympathy, your stories become universal to children and adults, boys and girls.
Here are other works which use sympathy effectively.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYl4Xb4cDQ8 (Dvorak)
The King's Speech
Tucker and Dale vs Evil (A great example of characters who are victims of misunderstandings).
A Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N17KILNSS0 (Bob Dylan)
Sympathy is not just at play in aesthetics. It is being used every day in each of our lives. Currently, there is a battle raging in the heart and minds of the people of the world, as the Israelis and Palestinians fight to be seen as sympathetic. The same situation occurs when any two people or groups of people engage in combat. It is usually the case that tribal mentality prevails, and we side with whoever we are closest to. Think back to that fight your friend had in school with another school mate. Did you take his side, or that of the school mate? Which one was truly justified in his actions? As aestheticians, it is our job to use sympathy to keep the audience's attention. As humans, it is our job to seek out the truth behind the sympathy we feel, so as not to harm someone who is innocent. The truth, I have found, is that all men are sympathetic. Some choose to make their case effectively, others do not. What man acts in pure malevolence? Only the insane one, and in his insanity, he too is sympathetic.
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