Cartoonish

I see the term “cartoonish” among movie and literary critics so often, I’m starting to feel that it’s losing  meaning from overuse.

When depicting a story based on real events, critics will call its authenticity into question if a person in the story is too kind, or too terrible. Unrealistic and exaggerated traits happen in fiction; real life people also can, and often do, come in extremes. The criticism, cartoonish, loses weight when you consider two things. One, that Donald Trump exists, and two; the secondary players in a narrative about a real person’s life must be restricted to an easily identifiable role.

 For example, in Eddie the Eagle, the officials who want to deny Eddie’s entry into the Winter Olympics, are the stuffy and arrogant road blocks in the way of Eddie’s dreams. Were these men more than just haughty snobs too set in their ways to encourage something new and unusual?  Of course, they were. They had their own histories, and families. However, they are reduced to the role of conservative naysayers because that’s the role they played in Eddie’s story.

The fact is, we all project an image that might make us seem two-dimensional to the people we meet throughout our own story.  We might play the role of boss, tired check out attendant, ruffled customer or patient teacher. Sometimes, you need a character that approaches caricature to highlight the main character’s story. The key thing is to ensure that you central characters are well-rounded, so their interactions with the other characters feel real.