• Life of the Mind

    Character Justification

    When it comes to characters, something else I ask myself is this question: Is the character justified? A simpler way of putting this is do I believe the character is who the story purports them to be? I beat on the new Star Wars Trilogy last week, and will do so again, because it’s an easy target due to its shallow characters that are never meant to be more than archetypes – the humble hero, the cocky hotshot, the frightened sidekick comic relief. Can I believe that a scavenger who’s had no training of any kind whatsoever is capable of being a fantastic pilot, a great mechanic, a brilliant shot…