Creating Characters in Wabbit Season
Suspension of disbelief. Empathy for the protagonist. A quest led by an unconscious desire by the protagonist to attain a perceived unattainable object becomes the story.
In some cases, the main character fails (The Wrestler), and the audience witnesses something called tragedy. A few characters employ humor to elicit sympathy from the audience, and these are comedies (The Hangover).
The most difficult part of creating fiction is the issue of authenticity, and its cousin believability.
Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. With that, it’s often less difficult to insert simple, anecdotal truths into fictional characters, because the audience might not accept their credibility.
A simple problem, like Bugs Bunny wanting to live in peace. An antagonist, like Elmer Fudd, acts against this desire. But, Bugs Bunny holds a certain unconscious desire — to make a fool of anyone who attempts to sully his idyllic, rustic existence.
The two opposing forces act and react, and the realm of drama is revealed. Throw in a sub-plot — Daffy Duck‘s desire to thwart his own shotgun demise — and the plot is interwoven and energized with complexity.
See what happens when Elmer tries to Kill Da Wabbit! For copyright (Warner Brothers) purposes, the original audio is censored in places.
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