Search found 1 match: Vince Gilligan

Searched query: vince gilligan

by sellis
Fri Nov 11, 2011 5:27 pm
Forum: Movie-Specific
Topic: How the Hell do you make a character likable?
Replies: 11
Views: 5995

Re: How the Hell do you make a character likable?

It may have something to do with how sympathetic a character's motivation is. Are you able to understand and relate to why a character wants what they want, why they behave the way they behave?

Take Breaking Bad, for instance. The concept, as stated by Vince Gilligan, was to take Mr. Chips and turn him into Scarface. Walter White, at the beginning of the first season, is quite the loser. He gets belittled at both of his jobs. He's pretty passive in his marriage, parenthood, and nearly every facet of his life. We sympathize with him. We see his flaws and his vulnerabilities, so we perceive him as human.

Then something happens to him (the catalyst), and based on his reaction to it, our sympathies change. He gets diagnosed with cancer, so he resorts to cooking meth. This one amoral decision, despite it being for a "good" cause, begins a chain of other amoral decisions, thus leading him on a path towards becoming "bad."