How important is character arch?

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  • How important is character arch?

    In a screenplay, do all main charcters need to go through a major arch?, or do so some remain steadfast throughout?
    Last edited by alex whitmer; 10-07-2011, 05:36 PM.

  • #2
    Re: How important is character arch?

    Lord no. Some characters are always going to affect the plot as a result of their refusal or inability to change.

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    • #3
      Re: How important is character arch?

      I definitely think some characters can/should remain static.

      To me only the protagonist (s) MUST have an arc.
      I think it's actually problematic if the antagonist has a transformation --- unless he gets worse then that's good.
      "The question isn't who will let me, but who is going to stop me?," -- Ayn Rand (via Howard Roark in The Fountainhead)

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      • #4
        Re: How important is character arch?

        Originally posted by Synthia View Post
        To me only the protagonist (s) MUST have an arc.
        I think it's actually problematic if the antagonist has a transformation --- unless he gets worse then that's good.
        I would say that it depends on the genre. In some cases, I would say that a good arc for the antagonist is just as important as one for the protagonist, that is, unless you're looking for a James Bond villain-type.

        Look at something like Silence of the Lambs...while calling Lector the antagonist is debateable, he definitely had an arc and that made the story all the more richer.

        Personally, I feel that if you have characters that recur through the narrative, they all should have some form of an arc, even if it isn't all that overt.
        "Forget it, Jake. It's Hollywood."

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        • #5
          Re: How important is character arch?

          Originally posted by Synthia View Post
          To me only the protagonist (s) MUST have an arc.
          Actually that's often not the case. Some protagonists do not change, but rather they change those around them. The stranger who comes to town and teaches the people to stand up for themselves is a classic exmple of this.
          twitter.com/leespatterson

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          • #6
            Re: How important is character arch?

            Yes, I've seen this tons of times and it happens in one of my favorite books. Especially when you have a savior type character.

            But the question here is not what happens in movies, but what our personal opinion is about how important character arcs are.

            And for me, my protagonists MUST change.

            Now, in the future I might right a story otherwise, but that's not my personal taste yet.

            I also think Signal's point about the transformed antagonist is interesting.... but to me the stakes are higher for the protagonist if the opposing force is immovable. Unwilling to give up. Unable to be persuaded. Unchangeable.
            "The question isn't who will let me, but who is going to stop me?," -- Ayn Rand (via Howard Roark in The Fountainhead)

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            • #7
              Re: How important is character arch?

              Originally posted by -XL- View Post
              Actually that's often not the case. Some protagonists do not change, but rather they change those around them. The stranger who comes to town and teaches the people to stand up for themselves is a classic exmple of this.
              This reminds me of something I read in Michael Chase Walker's book "PowerScreenwriting." That's my favorite craft book ever.

              I believe he called referred to the genre as savior stories as I mentioned above. Like the Music Man and so forth ...
              "The question isn't who will let me, but who is going to stop me?," -- Ayn Rand (via Howard Roark in The Fountainhead)

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              • #8
                Re: How important is character arch?

                Originally posted by -XL- View Post
                Actually that's often not the case. Some protagonists do not change, but rather they change those around them. The stranger who comes to town and teaches the people to stand up for themselves is a classic exmple of this.
                Yes, but the stranger in most cases is a loner who would just as soon not get involved at all when we first meet him/her. He/she may even enter the town for an entirely different (self-serving) reason and "arc" into a savior. That's far more interesting and dramatic than some dude who enters the pic exactly as righteously as he leaves it.

                Arc (not arch) is very important. Downplay it at your own peril.

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                • #9
                  Re: How important is character arch?

                  If the protagonist doesn't change, then something is wrong. If he was incapable of defeating the antagonist at the beginning and he doesn't change, then he cannot defeat the antagonist at the end. And if he is able to defeat him at the beginning, then the script ends on page 6.

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                  • #10
                    Re: How important is character arch?

                    There should be some self realization, some sort of something. One deciding
                    factor is the time length (does your story take place in a single day, a week,
                    a year?) of the story, that also determines how much change can take place.

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                    • #11
                      Re: How important is character arch?

                      Originally posted by Charli View Post
                      There should be some self realization, some sort of something. One deciding
                      factor is the time length (does your story take place in a single day, a week,
                      a year?) of the story, that also determines how much change can take place.
                      Takes place over three weeks. The main protag is imovable. It is the characters around her that change because of her steadfastness.

                      At one point, after she exacts the revenge she promised, she feel unsatisfied, and sets her sites on even bigger stakes, but her character does not go through any major changes.

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                      • #12
                        Re: How important is character arch?

                        If I may, I'd like to address the character "arch."

                        Any character with a hunchback like the Hunchback of Notre Dame needs to have an arch in his back. Probably best to leave the hunchback alone and not straighten it out by the end of the story.

                        Same goes for a character you'd like to show as really really old, tired, where gravity's taken its toll on him and his spine is permanently bent forward and all he sees are his shoes all day. Probably best to let the raindrops hit him in the back of the head and not bend him backward to catch water in his mouth to make him feel young again.

                        These types of arches should be left alone, IMO.

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                        • #13
                          Re: How important is character arch?

                          Who had a bigger character arc, the Man With No Name or his mule?

                          -Derek

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                          • #14
                            The change isn't always IN the character. . .

                            But rather, in our perception of the character. James Bond and Indiana Jones are always used as examples of protags who don't really change, but my favorite example is Forrest Gump.

                            Forrest doesn't really have a classic arc, nor does he 'learn a lesson' and change as a result of what he's learned. So why did the movie win tons of Academy Awards? Because although Forrest didn't change, our understanding of him did.

                            All through the movie, Forrest seemed almost oblivious to his *simpleness*, or at the very least, he wasn't bothered by it. Everyone around him was (sometimes painfully) aware of Forrest's dopey demeanor, when all along, he just ambled along, throwing out riffs like "Momma always said, 'stupid is as stupid does'." And the audience thinks, "Aww, lucky him. He doesn't know he's such a doofus."

                            So the character revelation comes at the end - (and I think this is partially why the movie was Academy level fare) - when Forrest looks at his son. His eyes fill with emotion and his first question is: "Is he.. like me?" When Jenny tells him Forrest Jr. is brilliant, Forrest almost collapses with relief.

                            So Forrest never changed, but WE realize something about him we never knew - that he WAS aware all along. This not only reveals him to be more than we thought, but also fills him with pathos. His whole life he's had a deep sadness under all his 'aww shucks'.

                            Aww shucks, I get a bit teary just thinking about the scene. *sniff*

                            Anyhoo, your end goal is a multi-dimensional character - whether it's with an 'arc' or a 'revelation'.

                            Just my .02c

                            Cheers,

                            Cutt-
                            "I've got vision up the butt, so just go with it!" - Dewey Finn, School of Rock

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                            • #15
                              Re: How important is character arch?

                              Generally speaking, the villian is usually the only main character that doesn't arc. Again, just speaking in generalities. The more profound the journey your hero takes, the more profound and "moving" your story is, then the more it is essential to show that it had a profound effect on everyone that witnessed it.

                              There are exceptions everywhere, of course. And if you always come up short on page count, adding everyone's arcs in is a great way to beef up the story while keeping everything organic!

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