All the world is a pantomime. At least that’s how it feels just about every time I dip into social media. Aha! If you don’t like that, you must like this. If you criticise that lot, it means you must support us.
Hmm (strokes chin). No, it really doesn’t.
I don’t view the world/life as if I’m in the audience at a pantomime where the division between good and evil is clearly defined for both entertainment value and the delight of a young audience. If I did that, I wouldn’t be much of a writer … or a person with the ability to think for myself.
Good v bad in fiction
This character is all good, that one is all bad is a no-no in fiction, at least once you stray above pantomime level it is. Just about every writing website has a variation of this advice:
A one-dimensional character is typically one who lacks complexity, depth, and a sense of authenticity. These characters often adhere strictly to a single defining trait or stereotype, making them predictable and uninteresting. Whether it’s the villain with no redeeming qualities or the hero with flawless virtues, one-dimensional characters fail to reflect the multifaceted nature of real individuals.
It’s obvious, and yet, if social media reflects the general consensus, many people ignore this basic advice when it comes to real life. Who can I think of, from first-hand experience, who is evil with a capital E? I can come up with people I don’t like, people who have done bad things. But out and out evil with no redeeming features? Nope, nobody of anyone I’ve ever known. And it would be potentially injudicious to make a judgement like that on people I don’t know. I sat on the jury of a murder trial once. The person in the dock was guilty, no question. But, and this might sound odd, they weren’t a bad person. I felt quite sorry for them in the end. Without going into detail, life just took a wrong turn, a situation which could happen to any of us got out of hand. Plus, the victim wasn’t completely innocent of any wrongdoing. And that’s what makes stories more interesting. The world is far too complicated to strip it down to such simplistic choices as one person is good another is evil. One side is good, the other bad. People do unspeakably evil things – sometimes on a personal level, at others on behalf of governments. Why they do them is where it gets complicated.
Heading into grey areas
It’s rare to find fictional characters who are so evil they have no likeable qualities. Think of Hans Gruber in Die Hard, Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean. In a way those are both pantomime characters, so it’s okay to revel in their flamboyant darkness. When fiction veers closer to real life, it can become more problematic for some. Sam Rockwell’s racist cop in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri attracted criticism and controversy because his character’s development involved a redemptive arc. Basically, there were people who didn’t like this because they want their villains to be easy to identify without complications which confuses how they feel about them. Bad people should be bad people. That’s burying heads in the sand though; it’s not real life.
I know folk who seem kind, they pet dogs, give to charity, are polite to those they meet, have agreeable personalities, do good deeds. But their politics? Oh, boy. When it comes to politics, they’re Sauron. So, I don’t discuss politics with them. And that can apply to both ends of the political spectrum. I don’t view this as dodging reality; I see it as living and getting along with people while accepting there are aspects of their character I don’t and can’t subscribe to.
I don’t always agree with those in my tribe, and I don’t always disagree with the members of other tribes. That way of thinking should be left in the school playground. Any other approach just doesn’t make sense because, despite what the propaganda pushers and their witting and unwitting puppets may want us to believe, the world is not a pantomime.
