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I'm diagnosis you

What are you in the mood for?

When I hear that question in regard to choosing entertainment, my ears perk up. Why? Because for many people, the answer is insight to where their hearts or minds are--at the moment at least.

What sort of thing will bring joy to this consumer of media right now? Romance? Action? Comedy? Horror! Whether the choice of genre induces a feeling the person wants or perpetuates their current mood, it is a window to their soul.

Take for instance your lady friend who wants to watch a romcom. Or, yikes! A hallmark movie... What does that say? Any number of things. She wants to perpetuate the cuddly mood she feels toward you? Possibly. She’s lacking a sense of romantic meaning in her life? Maybe. Only she can say for certain, but whatever the reason, its likely centered around the desire to experience romance without risk.

Make sense?

Ok. Let’s take it a step further. What type of characters play for mood? Genres have tropes for characters as well as plots and twists. Sure, sure, K. But what are you getting at. Look, this is my complicated lead in to talking about morally gray characters, ok?

Boom.

What?

Yes. I believe that the decision to consume a story with morally gray characters is a choice of emotional need.

Let’s begin by discussing the opposite. The white-hat cowboy and the black-hat villain. Hero = Always 100% good. Villain = Always 100% bad. The plot is simple. A person can put their trust in the good guy and expect only the most virtuous of decisions to be made. This story gives a sense of security in a tumultuous world. Yes! The good guys can choose to be good and come out on top! It’s a reinforcement of desired optimism. Or an escape from pessimism. Flip sides of the same coin. Escape. A person can expect to feel good at the happy ending, knowing that no puppies were beaten in the righteous triumph of good over evil. It’s a choice to live in two dimensions and experience a story through the eyes of a two-dimensional character.

(There’s a whole ‘nother rant in me about franchises trying to reinvent shiny-caped heroes as flawed. In short, I don’t like it. Because when I want to see my hero show, I want to see my hero show.)

Morally gray characters on the other hand, are more complicated. Before we get too much further though, I will lay out my thesis: Most people in the mood for morally gray characters are looking for heroes they can relate to, not immortal superbeings.

Because humans are all, wait for it... living in a morally gray world. There are no true white-clad idols of perfection living among us. No matter how good a person is, they still far short. It’s a basic premise of pretty much every world religion and philosophy. The human soul understands this at a core level. A healthy human mind knows this to be true.

Let me next answer your question with a question. Why do Mary Sue/Marty Stu characters fall flat? It’s not really because we think the author has inserted themselves and we find that offensive. I know very few authors well enough to know if their characters are simply their avatars on the page.

And frankly, who cares if they are—IF the character is interesting.

So, what is the real problem?

The Mary Sue character takes the white hat and bleaches it. Then takes an injection of hyperbolic steroids. Essentially it takes the concept of the superhero one bridge too far. And while the human mind can make justifications for the utter goodness of a character to some point, the Mary Sue exceeds what we can rationalize as a valid representation of our own optimism on the page. Or screen.

While we can all recognize the failed character build, I believe there is a fine line between the standard shiny-caped hero and a Mary Sue. It’s easy to cross—even unintentionally.

Which is why many people yearn for something that feels more three-dimensional in their characters. Normal humans, and thus characters sometimes make selfish decisions. They sometimes debate whether or not doing the right thing is in their best interest. They are also capable of doing the legally wrong thing when their conscience mandates breaking the law.

Not only do these characters resonate with a wide range of readers, but they make for more interesting story telling because they are less predictable than someone who always does the right thing for the right reasons. Or the evil thing, because evil.

It’s also one of the many reasons why preachy fiction fails in the market, but don’t get me started...

We, in the mood to be readers, listeners, or watchers of morally gray characters are searching for a sense that flawed people can still make it in this world. Still do good. Still win in the end. And be liked, even loved. The everyman concept is, at its innermost core, a morally gray character archetype.

But on a deeper level, characters without these moral shortcomings and flaws of virtue feel fake to us. And we have to be in the right mood to watch “fake.” When we want something that is poignant, that touches our souls, and makes us feel uncomfortable things, we need these types of characters who operate in the gray.

I have a raised eyebrow for anyone who says they don’t ever like morally gray characters. It tells me they might not be in a healthy place. On the other hand, who doesn’t feel the need to just watch the good guys win sometimes? If not, they might not be in a healthy place either.

In short, Art is good for the soul. Heroes are good for the soul. But so are flawed characters, maybe more so than heroes? I guess that depends on where you are in your own journey.

Also, as my choice of T-shirts today says, “Keep talking. I’m diagnosing you...”