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Stuff Done Right Episode 2: Angst
Nov. 29th, 2014 12:00 pmThe common go-to for making a teen heart-throb, someone's got to be the tough, angsty one. And, it's so easily done wrong. The problem is similar to that of comic relief, in that angst done wrong is just annoying.
For the positive examples, I have Zuko (yes, I will be going back to that well often), Nick Knight from Forever Knight (a show that I hope doesn't date me horribly), and I'll even include Josh from Being Human.
I think that there are two parts you have to keep in mind when writing angst. The first, of course, is that there has to be a reason for the angst. Zuko's reasons change, throughout the series, but they start out with his father's emotional abuse, followed by his father purposely burning him followed by a banishment. Zuko wants what he cannot have, his father's affection. (Simple explanation for a complex character, I know, but it works for now.
Josh is a classic werewolf, full moons turn him into a monster. That and he simply doesn't have the social graces that Aiden has to help him take difficulties with grace. But, hey, classic monster werewolf, big green hulk, those are both good reasons.
The second part is that there has to be a part of the angsted character's life that isn't about the angst. Unlike what we might see in certain shows or movies, people who brood in their angst aren't usually trying to get the world to see how angsty they are. Angst is fear, after all, and it feels like weakness. So, a lot of the time, people with angst want to cover it up, feel something else, smile once in a while.
Zuko has a mission to focus on... then trying to build a life as an exile... then trying to fit into a Fire Nation that... Okay, it feeds back into his angst, but the point is he's doing something, not just angsting. Josh cares about people, makes dinners for a semi-normal experience, and cares about people.
Nick Knight makes a good contrast against my negative example, Edward Cullen. Nick, in his past, killed people without maintaining the "they were evil" excuse and has a genuine guilt over that. Edward's only guilt is about his bare existence at all. Nick is an officer of the law keeping to that duty. Edward seems to have two modes, angstified and controlling, and the angst seems both too showy and too shallow to be believable.
(By the way, if you want to look over some good deconstruction of Twilight, you can find it here http://www.anamardoll.com/ )
For the positive examples, I have Zuko (yes, I will be going back to that well often), Nick Knight from Forever Knight (a show that I hope doesn't date me horribly), and I'll even include Josh from Being Human.
I think that there are two parts you have to keep in mind when writing angst. The first, of course, is that there has to be a reason for the angst. Zuko's reasons change, throughout the series, but they start out with his father's emotional abuse, followed by his father purposely burning him followed by a banishment. Zuko wants what he cannot have, his father's affection. (Simple explanation for a complex character, I know, but it works for now.
Josh is a classic werewolf, full moons turn him into a monster. That and he simply doesn't have the social graces that Aiden has to help him take difficulties with grace. But, hey, classic monster werewolf, big green hulk, those are both good reasons.
The second part is that there has to be a part of the angsted character's life that isn't about the angst. Unlike what we might see in certain shows or movies, people who brood in their angst aren't usually trying to get the world to see how angsty they are. Angst is fear, after all, and it feels like weakness. So, a lot of the time, people with angst want to cover it up, feel something else, smile once in a while.
Zuko has a mission to focus on... then trying to build a life as an exile... then trying to fit into a Fire Nation that... Okay, it feeds back into his angst, but the point is he's doing something, not just angsting. Josh cares about people, makes dinners for a semi-normal experience, and cares about people.
Nick Knight makes a good contrast against my negative example, Edward Cullen. Nick, in his past, killed people without maintaining the "they were evil" excuse and has a genuine guilt over that. Edward's only guilt is about his bare existence at all. Nick is an officer of the law keeping to that duty. Edward seems to have two modes, angstified and controlling, and the angst seems both too showy and too shallow to be believable.
(By the way, if you want to look over some good deconstruction of Twilight, you can find it here http://www.anamardoll.com/ )
