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Empathizing with Evil

Lately I've been thinking about how the audience can identify with antiheroes and particularly with those characters that seem to have no redeeming characters. Clearly they don't have a "save the cat" scene per se (why would they help anyone but themselves?). But there are certainly techniques for creating scenes that allow us to empathize with these characters and their dark ways.

A good screenwriter can make you identify with even the most evil of characters.

Empathy is being able to put yourself in the mind of another (being able to identify with them). So under what conditions are we able to put ourselves in the mind of another? What are the techniques for creating empathy?


Empathy Is Created:
  1. When we recognize a piece of ourselves in that person (whether in their character traits, their aspirations and desires, their actions, their decisions, their point of view, their struggles, their weaknesses and flaws, their fears, etc.)
  2. When we recognize a piece of who we want to be, who we wish we were, or who we wish we (sometimes) could be in that person.
  3. When we recognize that a similar situation (usually a struggle) or set of circumstances may have led us to a similar fate or decision.
    1. This ability to recognize and relate to the struggle of another is actually a form of recognizing that struggle or the possibility of that struggle in ourselves and seeing it play out in another character. In a way, it is no different than recognizing a piece of ourselves in another person, but it warrants a separate mention due to how common it is.
    2. In other words, we are able to put ourselves in the other person's mind when we recognize and relate to a situation that the person is going through (usually a struggle), and in most cases understand and relate to their decision when faced with that situation.


Recognizing Ourselves In Others

In the first case, we recognize a piece of who we are in another person. Many times, we recognize some fault, mistake, or injustice. We see that that person is going through a struggle and we know what that feels like, so we empathize with them. Sometimes it's an embarrassing moment or an all-too-familiar reaction to a situation. It's usually the feeling accompanied by the thought, "Yep, we've all been there."


Recognizing Who We Wish We Could Be In Others (Fantasies)

The second case, where we recognize a piece of who we wish we were or who we wish we (sometimes) could be in another, raises an important function of stories: fantasy fulfillment. Drama is a testbed. Stories provide an outlet for the audience to explore their wishes and fantasies. Of course, not all fantasies are benevolent. Some are dark and twisted temptations. Some explore the most primal and malevolent urges of our shadow selves: our desire for power at any cost, our desire for dominance and conquest, our desire for revenge and street justice, to name a few.

We can, in passing moments, recognize the darkness within ourselves, even though we dare not speak of it. We quash our desires, and yet we still have them. Perhaps we don't wish we were like the vile antihero on screen--but we sometimes wish we could taste what it feels like. Sometimes we wish that we could protect and defend our family the same way the mobster does, with the same effectiveness, no matter the cost. We sometimes wish that we could pull off a heist so intelligently, flawlessly, and seamlessly, all the while sticking it to the man. We sometimes wish that we were as good at what we do as this character is at what they do. We have a desire for mastery. We respect the consummate professional and the fruit of his skilled labor. We sometimes wish we could rebel against the bureaucratic forces that stifle our moves at every turn. We wish we didn't let anything stand in the way of our desires. We wish, we imagine, and we fantasize. That's the root of our empathy.

And this explains why we can empathize with even the most vile and ruthless characters. Because there are pieces of them that we not only understand, but that we actually admire, even though we dare not admit it. And that admiration leads us to imagining and fantasizing about being in their shoes. Our admiration can even be as simple as appreciating the fact that they take what they want, and wishing we were more like that. We needn't admire all aspects of a character to empathize with them, only enough to understand them.

We admire leaders. To some extent it's ingrained in us from an anthropological perspective. All else equal, we admire those who are dominant. It's important to mention here that "dominant" does not necessarily equate to "asshole" nor does "assertive" equate to "bastard". We'll refer to "dominant" as "high status" and "submissive" as "low status" which we'll define later. We respect and those who are deliberate, calm, focused, controlled, decisive, concise, clear, and confident. And with this admiration comes a desire to put ourselves in that person's shoes.

Note that the understanding of a character is only made possible through our empathy (through our ability to put ourselves in the mind of the character), though this understanding is not the thing that causes our empathy. The cause of the empathy is a recognition of a piece of who we are or wish we were, or a recognition of and ability to relate to a situation/struggle that a person is faced with.


Recognizing Similar Circumstances

"There but for the grace of God go I." Sometimes, we see what could have been us if we were put in a similar situation. If it weren't for luck, or fate, or divine intervention, the same circumstances might have caused us to turn out the same way. And this realization causes empathy. It's an admission that at our core, "we're not so different, you and I." Of course, to make this form of empathy work, the audience must truly be able to recognize, understand, and relate to the set of circumstances that led a character to who they are and where they are at any given moment. If the audience doesn't see how a similar set of circumstances could have led them to act the same way, then they don't see themselves in the character's reactions and thus won't empathize with him.

We can even empathize with nasty, abrasive outcries and smack downs, provided the recipient of the treatment deserves it. It's another form of fantasy fulfillment. We wish we could (if we don't already) lash out and stand up to those that deserve it. One technique to create empathy is to make everyone around your character even worse than he is. In that way, everyone will deserve whatever abuse the main character administers, almost regardless of how despicable. Actions, as with everything, are all relative. By comparison, your character will look like an angel compared to those around him. We'll relate to his situation (being surrounded by imbeciles or bastards) and consequently we'll empathize with his actions.


Sympathetic Characters

Of course, there are plenty of characters that we empathize with for benevolent reasons. And in those cases, we can even sympathize with them. A character might be a hard worker. We like that. They might be polite, good-mannered, and considerate. The character might go out of their way to help others and look for ways to serve their community. All of these actions cause us to empathize with and admire a character. Take caution, however, not to make a perfect character. No one likes perfection, because it's not truth. It's not reality. No one is perfect and to be perfect is to not be human. So let your character save a cat and win some sympathy, but remember that they must also have a weakness which we will discuss later.


Book Club
As an aside, if you're interested in joining a screenwriting book club where we discuss these types of things all the time, check out https://kiingo.com/book-club.
Every month you'll receive a monthly book summary and meet likeminded storytellers and screenwriters. We're reading John Truby's "The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller" for the month of March.

https://kiingo.com/book-club

Thanks for reading!
Ross
 
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