I’ve been asking a lot of tough (and sometimes random) questions on theology. Fortunately, all of the questions I have posted here have been given very thoughtful and informative responses, so first of all, thank you for your help!
I’ve come to know this forum as a wonderful bunch of philosophers and science lovers that also enjoy a bit of casual conversation. So, I had a bit of a non-theology question that at face value doesn’t seem too difficult but upon my pondering lends itself to be a very difficult question to answer.
Despite how much I despise English class, I’ve always enjoyed writing stories and was hoping to write something to be a sort of reflection on my development of understanding the nature of reality and being comfortable with life. I was inspired by works like Undertale, the indie game where the player is challenged to look inwards at their own morality by playing a game where, in-canon, the characters are essentially digital beings and some are even aware of us the player. My story was hopefully going to be about the characters learning they are characters in a book but coming to terms that that doesn’t mean that they should be fatalist about it but rather see it as a beautiful thing.
However, pondering this, I’ve found it very tricky to convey how this can be a good thing. In an internet culture where dark humor consists of characters finding out they are just video game characters and thus their entire life is a lie etc. etc., I’ve it very hard to convey this message, especially since I’ve found very little of the alternative for inspiration, where characters find the beauty in their strange reality (which is another reason why I want to write this piece in the first place). Here are a couple of ideas that I have to try and explain this beauty:
Characters are reflections of their author, so we essentially share in their reality. Basically how Marvel is the brain child of Stan Lee, so Marvel is a part/legacy of Stan Lee much like the Declaration of Independence is for Thomas Jefferson
Since people love characters so much, so the characters in stories can rest easy knowing that someone would always love them
The characters serve to convey a message to us, the viewer, so their lives always have meaning for as long as they remain in the story
Technically, the characters cannot feel anything (as they only exist in words), but when is the reader imagines their feelings and other things they essentially become real in our world in the minds and hearts of the reader
If you guys have any thoughts on how I can try to convey this, I would love to hear your input!
Interesting! So would a characters like Sauron or even Saruman feel loved by Tolkien? (Or Voldemort by Rowling if you’re more into Potter’s world?).
I remember Dorothy Sayers reacting somewhere to a reader’s query about she didn’t make her detective, Lord Peter Whimsy, a Christian. She essentially replied that it just wouldn’t be in his nature to do that. She was in a sense honoring her character’s life as being “his own”, though she didn’t try to “go meta” with him in the same way you’re suggesting, at least not that I know of.
Thats an interesting point and I think, in a way, they somewhat have to. After all, those two villains alone represent some of the most iconic villainy in cinema (another would certainly be Darth Vader), with unique backstories, designs, and philosophies to contribute to their worlds. Such characteristics don’t just appear on their own. Much like God loves even his sinful children, authors need to love even the villains who challenge their hero’s. One element i certainly want to include is an allegory of Christianity in the background. I’m working on a wise young female character who would be the very embodiment of good in stories who will share the wisdom that leads to the appreciation of their reality.
Another aspect I want to try to work on, perhaps in a different work, is essentially my take on the battle of good and evil that goes on within stories. Shortened version of my story philosophy, the plot is essentially a physical thing, and the good and evil that exist in the story universe is a direct consequence of that in our reality. After all, Voldemort isn’t depicted committing crimes that don’t exist in our own world: he murders and he hates. Essentially, I want to create a “story about stories,” much like Tron tries to create a unique explanation of how computers work.
I certainly need to work on how to articulate these two different ideas, one being that characters are loved by their creators but that good and evil is still present because of it’s existence in the higher reality of their authors (if that makes sense). In the end, I want the characters to still be responsible for their crimes, but how do I articulate this if their actions are determined by their authors? Do I try to articulate this at all? I think considering how I want a Christian allegory in this story, I think I should try to work a means of redemption for the villains, even if they may seem to be unable to decide for themselves. Have any thoughts on this strange contraction, free will for characters even though we authors are their only source of decisions?
I suppose I’ll share my workings of the story so far. So, the premise of the story is that all stories exist in the same plane of existence, in a sort of mega multiverse full of smaller multiverses that are constantly created from a enormous white hole at the center of this reality. This white hole is simply the manifestation of human imagination, as once an idea is created it cannot be in-created (much like matter can leave theoretical white holes but never go back across). In canon, this universe is connected to our planet in some mind-bending manner (it is connected psychologically in our side but physically on their, meaning the character’s, side). The characters in my story are a hyper intelligent species of alien that resembles insects on Earth: the Exo-Insectoids. They are a universe scale civilization that shares their universe with several other species. This universe exists in the same way as say the MCU, DC comics universe, and any other fictional universe; they aren’t some god-like species, just some random buggeds who became self-aware. A short while ago, they discovered this mega-multiverse and have been studying it ever since. They are a very morally gray species, much like a giant space America. Their studies often leave unrepairable imprints on other plot lines and often make easily avoidable mistakes. Anyway, it becomes quite obvious to them the existence of plots as a physical construct and the pre-determination of stories. To many of the bugs this isn’t a big deal but rather something to be used: if they can control the plot, they can control reality (essentially become a class 1 civilization). However, as should be expected, this leads some of the researchers to question their own reality. Throughout the story I want to work these questions through and essentially show the reader that there is nothing to fear about life and the nature of it. Unlike other writers who would probably take this opportunity to write some dark story about characters loosing hope about their lives because of this discovery (as is present in many online works now), I would like to give hope to this universe.
If I can teach myself the skills of animation, I would find it better to put this story to video instead.
I think how I kinda want to address this is by giving them a sort of version of free will we believe we have in real life. The authors/the plot will dictate the events that occur, but it’s the characters who choose how to respond. This kinda provides a set-up for very meta and mind-bending events to occur, sort of creation versus creator discussions (especially if I could portray a character who is being dragged through constant and soulless sequels).
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” -Colossians 4:6
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