At the heart of any character’s inner conflict is change or transformation. The rage and divide in US politics is all about the perception that the country is changing. “It’s not the country I know anymore.”

Demographics are changing. Social mores are changing. Moral taboos are changing, Resistance to these changes is summed in the theme song of the television hit All in the Family.

In a story, someone or something provokes some kind of shift or change in the character or the character’s world. Change is disturbing because what comes next is uncertain. “You are no longer who I expect you to be. You are not predictable.”

Studies have shown that people would rather get a predictable electric shock (pain) now than maybe be (unpredictably) shocked (or not) later.  People show greater anxiety when waiting for an unpredictable shock (or pain) than an expected one. The Joker says: “Because it’s all part of the plan.”

Writers are always advised to write what they know. What writers (and all other human beings) know the most about is change.

Living, by definition, is to change. Nothing in life is static. Change and transformation are all around you. Both impact you every day. You live in an unsettling and constantly changing world. That is especially true today, with the backtracking, outright lying, and whiplash-inducing policy and personnel shifts in the White House.

The world is (and always has been) full of political uncertainty, evolving relationships, personal and professional ups and downs, and, conflicting responsibilities, loyalties, commitments, and desires. Your characters should experience their world in exactly the same way.

You know how painful change and transformation can be. You have experienced extreme, dramatic and, sometimes excruciating change. Your life has been full of unexpected reversals, complex dilemmas, and difficult growth experiences- and so should the lives of your characters. (And there’s no reason why all this turmoil, chaos, and pain shouldn’t be hilarious. Great comedians know: “If it doesn’t hurt. It isn’t funny”.

One of the downsides of the awesomeness of human consciousness is the ability to worry about the future. We know the future exists, but we don’t know what’s going to happen in it. In animals, unpredictability and uncertainty can lead to heightened awareness.

What’s unique about humans is the ability to reflect on the fact that these future events are unknown or unpredictable,  This uncertainty itself can lead to a lot of distress, anxiety, and pain. And that is scary.

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What’s up, Doc? A Power of Excitement character, that’s what! This week I’m talking about everyone’s favorite wascally wabbit, Bugs Bunny of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes fame.

I had the great good fortune to work with the remaining animators of “Termite Terrace” fame, including Chuck Jones.  I interviewed these amazing artists (somewhere I still have those tapes) and looked at their original drawings. in one of my first jobs as a consultant.

The object was to standardize the characterization of the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon for legacy purposes.  These characters are now all over the world in television, merchandizing, and spin offs (Baby Bugs Bunny).  And Bugs needs to look like Bugs and act like Bugs wherever he appears. I helped create the official style and character guide.

But back to Bug Bunny’s Character Type:

Power of Excitement characters play the role of the merry prankster. They keep things lively, entertaining, interesting and off-balance for all the other characters  At heart, these characters are anarchists.  They love to cause chaos to keep things amusing or to shake up the existing (dull, boring, or pedantic) order of things.

Bugs Bunny is smart, sassy and adept at getting into and out of traps.  He is an anarchist, who refuses to obey rules (including the law of gravity).  “Ahh, Doc– I never went to law school.”  Bugs is a charming agent of chaos in every one of his cartoon roles. Bart Simpson is another example of this smart mouth “bad boy” character.

If we look to the Dark Side of Power of Excitement, we need to look no further than The Joker in the Batman franchise to find an example.  The clip below is the definition of an Agent of Chaos gone bad:

Several critics agree and one reviewer blasts the movie on that score saying:  “Nolan’s latest exploration of the Batman mythology steeps its muddled plot in so much murk that the Joker’s maniacal nihilism comes to seem like a recurrent grace note.”  The review goes on to decry the “airless complexity” of the story.

The Dark Knight is a classic example of the Emotional Toolbox premise that– “In the battle between reason (plot) and emotion (connection), emotion ALWAYS wins.”

Audiences will forgive almost anything if the emotional connection in a film is strong enough. If the emotional bond isn’t strong enough then very little else will salvage a movie.

The country seems to be in a very pessimistic mood these days. Polls are showing more people losing confidence in the economy and feeling like the country is headed in the wrong direction than any time since the Great Depression.  The Dark Knight reflects the general sense of being trapped in choices, all of which are bad.

We also haven’t fully mourned our fallen in Iraq either.  We never see their coffins coming home.  We never see any of the funeral ceremonies.  We keep putting on foot in front of the other despite the enormous personal and emotional cost.  I think that is what Batman is forced to do.  He even continues the fight under false assumptions– Alfred burned the note Rachel sent him.

If you’ve just come to my blog– there is a short essay about The Joker in an earlier post.  His role is so pivotal in all of this.  What we fear most is chaos.  That’s what people sense right now– being on the edge of chaos.

The Dark Knight is hooking into emotional themes beyond the movie’s plot points.  The question for any writer, not just those who write about Super Heroes, is–  How does your script connect with the deeper emotions of your audience?

Mark Gill gave a powerful keynote before the NALIP Conference

He says in part:

Quality of emotional content is what matters, period. In a world with too many choices, companies are finally realizing they can’t risk the marketing money on most movies.

In the end, all of this (effort in movie-making) has to add up, seamlessly if possible, to something that moves us– to the quality of the emotional content. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about thrills, laughs, tears, or an adrenaline rush. What matters is that we are engaged and, ideally, emotionally transformed and satisfied.

In a world increasingly dominated by numbers– financial, technological and most importantly the finite number of hours in a day, our very human desire for contact, meaning and emotional transformation isn’t going away. It’s growing. Those who remember that will survive and most probably win.

That is the premise on which I founded The Emotional Toolbox and creating that emotional authenticity and connection is at the core of The Nine Character Types eBooks.

In a Power of Truth film things are never what they seem.  None of the major characters in The Dark Knight are what they seem at first glance.  The tangled undergrowth of human duplicity catches and pulls at every character in the film.

In the beginning of the film, Batman tries to find out the truth about one thing: a spectacular bank robbery.  Over the course of the film, he finds out the truth about a larger thing:  what happens to human nature under the extreme duress of chaos.  In the end, he finds out the truth about himself:  he is both stronger and weaker than he imagined.

In the movie, criminal acts are just the surface.  This surface, upon closer inspection, is tangled up with its own deeper undergrowth of human darkness.  Once the surface of the crime is cracked, chasms open that no one could have imagined.

Batman is continually looking for answers that elude him.  He is caught in the eternal Power of Truth paradox:  Seeking certainty in an uncertain world only brings more uncertainty.  Who is he?  Does Gotham need him?  Will he break his “one rule” to save the woman he loves?  How  “bad” is he willing to be to do “good”?  How easy would it be for him to permanently cross over into the Dark Side?

Christian Bale, the actor who plays Batman says:  “Now you have not just a young man in pain attempting to find some kind of an answer, you have somebody who actually has power, who is burdened by that power, and is having to recognize the difference between attaining that power and holding on to it.”  What is the real truth about Batman?

Not only is Bruce Wayne not what he seems.  Batman is not what he seems.  At the end of the film, he takes on the burden of Two Face’s crimes to give Gotham a “hero,” turning himself into someone he’s not in the eyes of the public. Batman tries to “save” Gotham from the truth.

Lt. James Gordon speaks of Batman’s new role saying:  “Because he’s the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now… and so we’ll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he’s not a hero. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector… a dark knight.”

Batman says:  “Sometimes, truth isn’t good enough, sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.”  Alfred, by destroying Rachel’s final farewell letter echoes Batman sentiments and saves Batman, himself, from the awful truth that Batman had lost Rachel long before she died.

Everyone in the film is bound up in the tangled undergrowth of human duplicity.

There’s more about Power of Truth characters and stories in my forthcoming eBooks on The Nine Character Types.

A character driven by the Power of Love is often someone who tirelessly pushes another forward in a story.  Although typically developed as a female character,  a Power of Love character can also be a compelling male ensemble player (or even lead).  These characters— often soft-spoken, gentle and compliant on the outside— are made of strong, even steely, stuff on the inside.  They believe the best place to be is the “power behind the throne.”

All these qualities are very evident with Alfred.  His courtesy and refined manners mask a steely determination and protectiveness on Bruce Wayne/Batman’s behalf.  Alfred stands just behind Batman’s power and is a subtle but strong presence in the story.

Alfred: I suppose they’ll lock me up as well. As your accomplice…
Bruce/Batman: Accomplice? I’m going to tell them the whole thing was your idea.

In a large part the whole concept of Batman is Alfred’s idea. Bruce/Batman’s continuing story hinges on a key action Alfred takes.

Power of Love characters are defined by their determination.  They will not give up on whatever goal, scheme or objective they have in mind for the object of their attention.  These characters  sincerely do believe they know what is best for others.  They can be very cunning in controlling and manipulating others (always for the other person’s own welfare).

Alfred advises, consoles and prods Bruce/Batman through-out the film.  Rachel entrusts Alfred with the note that, ironically, are her last words.  Alfred first delivers Rachel’s farewell note and then surreptitiously takes it and burns it.  He does so out of love for Bruce/Batman, and he sincerely believes he (Alfred) knows what is best.  Maybe so, but Alfred also deprives Bruce/Batman of the truth and the last words of the woman he loves.

The Dark Knight

Let’s start with Harvey Dent/Two Face (Aaron Eckhart).  This character is an iconic Power of Conscience character.

Power of Conscience characters know instinctively if something is wrong, unjust, unfair, improper, corrupt, evil or out of line.  Their judgment and response is swift and immutable  These characters are propelled forward by personal outrage and moral indignation, usually on another’s behalf.

Harvey Dent’s moral condemnation of crime fuels him to clean up Gotham and make it safe for ordinary citizens.  He is a vigilant prosecutor of evil.  He catches and punishes criminals within the strict confines of the legal system.  He is a “white knight” and a moral hero.

After he is burned and Rachel dies, Dent moves toward his Dark Side and becomes Two Face, a twisted vigilante and self-appointed judge, jury and executioner.  As Two Face, he is a fascinating counterpart to Batman.  (More on the Dark Knight in a later post.)

Harvey, or any other Power of Conscience character, moves to the Dark Side by believing the ends justify the means (evil behavior for a moral purpose).  The burning question for these characters is how bad a thing are they willing to do for (what they consider) a good cause? What ends justify what extreme means? Incrementally, they stumble down a slippery slope taking actions which they feel are justified, until they become exactly like the oppressors, persecutors or criminals they once loathed.

Harvey moves toward his Dark Side because of his outraged sense of fairness and justice.  He explains:  “You thought we could be decent men in an indecent world. But you were wrong; the world is cruel, and the only morality in a cruel world is chance. (holds up his coin) Unbiased. Unprejudiced. Fair.”

The “fair” and impartial flip of a coin will be his “moral compass” from now on.  He is a man without mercy or compassion.  There is, however, no true justice without  the humanity of those qualities.  There is only revenge, which is a bitter poisonous force of destruction.

He will be a fascinating villain to watch.

The Power of Conscience character will be covered in great detail in my forthcoming eBooks on The Nine Character Types

Hunter S. Thompson was a writer who straddled the Dark Side of the Power of Excitement.  Although real people are, of course, more complex than fictional characters, they still have a core or essence that can be traced back to one type.

Self-described “gonzo” journalist ,Hunter S. Thompson, became famous in the pages of Rolling Stone magazine for his sense of wild adventure, drug use and love of chaos and anarchy.  He ran a campaign for Sheriff in Aspen in the 1970’s based on those principles.  All these basic elements were a part of his unique writing style.

Bill Cardoso, editor of the Boston Globe magazine, claimed “gonzo” was South Boston Irish slang describing the last man standing after an all night drinking marathon.  In other contexts, gonzo has come to mean “with reckless abandon,” “out of control “or “extreme.”

Thompson committed suicide when he decided life wasn’t fun any more. He did, however, maintain an explosive personality to the end.  At his funeral, he requested his ashes be shot out of a canon from a tower he designed personally (in the shape of of a double thumbed fist holding a peyote button) as Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” blared over loudspeakers.  Thompson’s funeral was a fitting send off for a man hell-bent on the next wild escapade.  One of his favorite sayings was: “Buy the ticket, take the ride.”

In Dark Knight, the Joker pushes the Dark Side to its furthest extreme.  He says to Harvey Dent (Two-Face):  “Do I really look like a man with a plan, Harvey? I don’t have a plan. The mob has plans, the cops have plans. You know what I am, Harvey? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do if I caught one. I just do things. I’m a wrench in the gears. I hate plans. Yours, theirs, everyone’s. Maroni has plans. Gordon has plans. Schemers trying to control their worlds. I am not a schemer. I show schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are…  It’s a schemer who put you where you are. You were a schemer. You had plans. Look where it got you. I just did what I do best– I took your plan and turned it in on itself.”

The Joker’s words aptly sums up Thompson’s approach to journalism.  Throw a wrench in the gears, turn things in on themselves and expose how pathetic politicians’ attempts to control things really are.

The Joker elaborates to Dent/Two Face:  “I am an agent of chaos. And you know the thing about chaos, Harvey? It’s fear.”

Thompson was also an agent of chaos.  His “fear and loathing” books were about what happens when chaos ensues.  Sadly, in the end, he was as trapped by his wild persona as if he were a meek and mild drone working a nine to five job.  He became a caricature of himself, satirized as “Duke” in the comic strip Doonsbury.

Her lover tells Holly Golightly (a female Power of Excitement character) in Breakfast at Tiffany’s: “You say you are a wild thing… (Y)ou’re terrified somebody’s gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby, you’re already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it’s not bounded in the west by Tulip, Texas, or in the east by Somali-land. It’s wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.”  However hard or fast you try to escape– there you still are.