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Getting Pissed Off At Fictional Characters

Discussion in 'Tilted Entertainment' started by redravin, Mar 21, 2015.

  1. redravin

    redravin Cynical Optimist Donor

    Location:
    North
    Have you ever found yourself getting mad at a character in a book?
    I'm not talking about when when the book is badly written though there can be those moments but when there is just enough foreshadowing and they do that thing that makes you want to reach into the book and strangle them.
    Sometimes it can be the writer deciding to take a character in a direction you hadn't counted on that isn't necessarily outside of their of wheelhouse but sure isn't one you're happy about.

    My example (warning: spoilers) is Best Served Cold where the main character and her partner who have been hell together and are losing tough, make it through an almost impossible battle.
    The damned writer spends pages making it seem like they are having after battle make up sex only to finally let you know they are with different people.
    AAARGH!!
    My romantic soul was crushed.
    Damn it you two, I was counting on you.

    You folks have any examples?
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2015
    redravin, Mar 21, 2015
    #1
    • Like Like x 1
  2. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I fall in love with antiheroes so I'm perpetually mad at the characters I love.
     
    snowy, Mar 21, 2015
    #2
  3. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC
    I'm still mad at Rachel for Ross, even though they were "on a break" ;)


    So if that's any indication, yeah
     
    rogue49, Mar 21, 2015
    #3
    • Like Like x 1
  4. Champagne Chris Kanyon

    Champagne Chris Kanyon Vertical

    One of the things that stopped me reading the "Game of Thrones" books was how much I hated Catelynn Stark (as well as the narrative jumping around so much in the end I couldnt follow it, or lost interest in trying)
     
    Champagne Chris Kanyon, Apr 6, 2015
    #4
  5. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Emma Bovary. Holy shit.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Apr 6, 2015
    #5
  6. Champagne Chris Kanyon

    Champagne Chris Kanyon Vertical


    You ever read Gemma Bovery by Posy Simmonds?
     
    Champagne Chris Kanyon, Apr 6, 2015
    #6
  7. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    No. Would she piss me off too?
     
    Baraka_Guru, Apr 6, 2015
    #7
  8. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    I read quite a bit, but can't really think of any fictional characters that really push my Pissed-Off button. Authors, yes, with a prime example being John Irving for The Hotel New Hampshire.
     
    Chris Noyb, Apr 7, 2015
    #8
    • Like Like x 1
  9. Plan9

    Plan9 Rock 'n Roll

    Location:
    Earth
    Meh, I'm less pissed off with specific characters and more tired of the formulaic Dumb Trope Shit (TM) we all suffer through in the name of cushy canned context. The formula is there for a reason, sure, but kuuhhh-moooohnnn!

    Example: I'm so over the Strong Single Female Detective dressing like a porn star in a pants suit and having a Particular Vice and Consuming Dark Secret. I still watch shitty cop shows but it's more like MST3K now than straight entertainment.

    ...

    Bonus: I nearly threw my laptop against the wall when I watched the final episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. ST:E was a prime example of Follow The Formula and then they 9/11'd the series with a single WTF?! episode. So bad!
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2015
    Plan9, Apr 7, 2015
    #9
    • Like Like x 3
  10. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    That's the thing. It's one thing to get pissed off at characters, and another thing to get pissed off at writers, etc.

    Getting pissed off at characters? It's all good. Sometimes characters should piss you off. It's characters being human and shit. (I'm against the idea that main characters should be "likeable" or "relatable"—Humbert Humbert is a perfect example from a perfect novel.)

    Writers piss you off when they ruin shit by making it unbelievable or by otherwise employing "cheap tricks" that annoy you.

    Don't get me wrong. I enjoy getting pissed off at characters. It will keep me reading.

    I've abandoned books (and even entire series) when writers have pissed me off.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Apr 7, 2015
    #10
    • Like Like x 2
  11. redravin

    redravin Cynical Optimist Donor

    Location:
    North


    Could not agree with you more on the ending to Enterprise.
    People can bitch all the want about the series endings for Lost and The Sopranos but that was one of the worst ever.
     
    redravin, Apr 7, 2015
    #11
  12. Champagne Chris Kanyon

    Champagne Chris Kanyon Vertical


    well, its the same principle as Bridget Jones and Pride and Prejudice I guess... the same basic story re-imagined with an upper middle class girl in England (or Normandy)
     
    Champagne Chris Kanyon, Apr 7, 2015
    #12
  13. POPEYE

    POPEYE Very Tilted

    Location:
    Tulsa
    I enjoy fiction and fantasy, however I still want the story line to be realistic, to grasp my imagination, and allow my the service of putting myself in the role. Frank Herbert did not employ this in last few
    chapters on the fourth book in the series of Dune. To me it was almost some 1960's acid trip that lost my attention. I didn't even finish it due the the dis-apointment of it all. So yes, writers are the one's that lose me most, not the characters.
     
    POPEYE, Apr 7, 2015
    #13