Inneresting 48
issue 48
April 17, 2021
Why do we pay attention to jerks?
In light of recent reporting on horrible bosses in the entertainment world, it’s worth asking the question: Why were we ever okay with any of this?
Mina Tsay-Vogel’s research on mass media and psychology suggests there’s more nuance than morbid curiosity in watching characters behaving terribly. Looking at examples like Breaking Bad and Dexter, she finds it comes down to empathy: the more we understand why characters are doing wicked things, the more we forgive or overlook it.
“But that’s just how things are!“
It’s a common argument that showing people making illegal or immoral choices isn’t necessarily glamorizing it, but we can consider the impact of our story choices and how we frame them. Simply telling a story can make it feel more normal and true.
At the blog Inframethodology, Thomas Basbøll makes the argument that a depiction of something real shouldn’t be treated the same as the objective fact that the thing exists.
A study from The British Journal of Social Psychology suggests exposure to stories about antiheroes alters people’s behavior and decision-making.
Farnam Street has a write-up on The Illusory Truth Effect: how repeated exposure to a story or a stereotype makes it more believable, whether or not it’s true.
After surveying people held in correctional facilities, The Marshall Project published new vocabulary suggestions for journalists, hoping to remove bias from discussions of incarceration.
Highland How-To: What kind of world are you representing?
One of the tools available to screenwriters with Highland 2 is the Gender Analysis tool. It gives you a gender-focused breakdown of your writing based on your overall cast list, as well as the dialogue assigned throughout your script.
It’s one way to step back and check to see if the story you’re writing on the page reflects how you see the world (or how you want to see it depicted).
Learn more about this and other features of Highland 2 in our Knowledge Base!
Other Cool Things
Relax with “Short Trip,” a gentle in-browser game with an immersive soundscape and hand-drawn art style.
Take a break, and take a breath, with this reading of Wendell Berry’s “The Peace of Wild Things.”
If you’re wrestling with negative self-talk, try taking some quick advice from Rebecca Toh.
And that’s what’s inneresting this week!
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