Friday, April 27, 2012
Some thoughts on the movie Megamind
Shanna Swendson wrote a wonderful article here about perception verses reality of characters. What really struck me -well, I'll quote. (I tried paraphrasing, and it didn't come out right, so here's how Ms. Swendson put it).
"Michael Hauge talks about in his screenwriting theory, where the "true love" character in a romantic plot is the one who recognizes the true essence of the person that's hiding behind the identity. They have conflict when the other person insists on relating to the essence while the character is still trying to be the identity, even as the character can't help but respond to someone dealing with them on that level of fundamental truth."
I just saw the movie Megamind, and this quote is totally spot on for that movie. (If you haven't seen it yet, you might want to stop reading now.)
Megamind insists that he's evil incarnate but from the very start Roxanne refuses to relate to him that way. She recognizes that he's not dangerous and just rolls her eyes at his death traps and posturing. Later, when she gives her "are you happy" speech she's still relating to him as a person. No one else calls him on killing Metro Man because a) they're too busy cowering in fear and b) they really do think he's evil incarnate.
The big thing the Bernard disguise does is allow Megamind to drop his `I'm one bad dude' persona and relate to Roxanne as himself. Two things I find really interesting: one is that Megamind thinks Roxanne is impressed with him because of Bernard's "battle" with Megamind, but Roxanne phoned `Bernard' before the raiding of the lair. She was initially drawn by his shared grief for Metro Man, not a show of heroics. The other really interesting thing is that Bernard claimed to have lost his fight. He was still trying to impress Roxanne with his `evil' persona ("I tried, but he was just too fabulous.") Roxanne treated Bernard as a hero because he was willing to take on a fight that was so far out of his liege. Once again she reacted to the truth behind the mask; Megamind fights battles that are beyond him and that itself is a form of winning.
Roxanne doesn't change Megamind. He's still impulsive and doesn't think things through. (Cleaning up the city with his dehydration gun then leaving the cubes lie around? Yeah... didn't think it through.) What R does is give him positive feedback. Megamind isn't pretending that `Bernard' somehow wrestled the paintings back into the museum or single handed cleaned up the city, but seeing Roxanne's approval gives him incentive to act in a positive way. Roxanne does not change Megamind -she just shows him what he was all along.
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That is an interesting dichotomy in some characters. I suspect that sometimes it's deliberate on the part of the writer, while other times it's unconscious. I'd be curious to know how often it's which, but I have a sneaking suspicion that would be hard to figure out. {Smile}
ReplyDeleteAnne Elizabeth Baldwin
I guess the only way to know for sure is if the author mentioned it in an interview or something. Of course, not knowing means you get to speculate, and that's so much fun in itself. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, speculation is a lot of fun. That's part of why I was wondering. {SMILE, wink}
DeleteAnne Elizabeth Baldwin
According to an interview with Will Ferrell (Megamind's voice actor) the idea that his `evil' personality was mainly showmanship and that `Bernard' gave him a chance to be himself was a very deliberate part of the characterization.
ReplyDeleteNow that is neat. I like that sort of alterego a lot. {BIG SMILE}
DeleteI think I like it as much as I do because sometimes folks start doing things because they know folks expect them to do those things. If that starts to "snowball," you can find themselves doing things they never intended to do. This sort of alterego lets them break the cycle, at least for a while. If it can be broken temporarily, maybe it can eventually be escaped permanently. {SMILE}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI'm just glad that a lot of the mistakes I made in college didn't follow me much after I graduated. {smile}
DeleteAnne Elizabeth Baldwin
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMost of my collage mistakes come from me not opening up to people, which I think made me come across as a cold fish sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI think writing practically is an alter-ego. You can be really honest, but since what you're saying is wrapped up in a story you don't have to worry about what people will think -rather like wearing a mask.
When you're going thru troubles, sometimes you have to "shut down" for a while. At least that's what I've found. {Sympathetic Smile}
DeleteOpening up works great for me with little and medium-sized problems, but not always with bigger ones. Dumping a big mess on someone who isn't close enough to be comfortable with sharing that isn't good for either of us. So sometimes "cold fish" is as good or better a way to go than most alternatives. {Sympathetic Smile, SQUEEZE}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
I like your point about writing. Sometimes honesty is easier for both writer and reader when it's wrapped up in a story. {SMILE}
DeleteAnne Elizabeth Baldwin
Yeah, the whole `that's totally not me, that's a fuzzy little mouse with a cool hat.' :) One of the best things about writing is the control. In real life if something rotten happens there's usually not much you can do about it, but in a story you always know you can make it go away just by hitting highlight/delete. Such power! Bwahahah!
ReplyDeleteThat little mouse sounds like a fun character. {SMILE}
DeleteTrue. You rarely get a chance to do things over in life, but in fiction you can rework a scene until it comes out right. That's a power I wish I had more of. {SMILE}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
Me too. :)
ReplyDelete