"If you start saying 'this only happens because the author wanted it, therefore the character's motivations don't count' then sooner or later you arrive at a point where you may as not read fiction at all. To me, if you don't put yourself 'inside' the story, what's the point?"
ITA. However, I think that sometimes an author can manipulate the story in a way that ends up manipulating our trust as well. This happens more often in movies and TV than in books, because factors such as lighting and music can affect the audience in emotional ways that are hard to fight off. What these effects can do is skew our reactions to the story, and get us more involved in it so that our ability to judge can be negatively affected, like in propaganda films.
I think all the characters are the writer's puppets, but it depends on what use the writer makes of those puppets. Is the writer telling a story that is 'true' in its essentials, or is he/she lying to you in some way? Just in my own opinion, if a reader/viewer simply gives in and believes everything they read/see, then they're allowing themselves to be manipulated, not just entertained.
I want to stress that this is just my own POV, however.
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2012-05-22 07:31 pm (UTC)ITA. However, I think that sometimes an author can manipulate the story in a way that ends up manipulating our trust as well. This happens more often in movies and TV than in books, because factors such as lighting and music can affect the audience in emotional ways that are hard to fight off. What these effects can do is skew our reactions to the story, and get us more involved in it so that our ability to judge can be negatively affected, like in propaganda films.
I think all the characters are the writer's puppets, but it depends on what use the writer makes of those puppets. Is the writer telling a story that is 'true' in its essentials, or is he/she lying to you in some way? Just in my own opinion, if a reader/viewer simply gives in and believes everything they read/see, then they're allowing themselves to be manipulated, not just entertained.
I want to stress that this is just my own POV, however.