and remain likeable no matter what injustices are done to him. Charlie Chaplin fought
for his dignity.
Tweety Pie (Tweety Pie)- The Coward—Always the chicken.
Scooby-Doo (Scooby-Doo)
Classic Comedy Types vs. Negative Stereotypes
For a short cartoon, you may choose to use a classic comedy type that we already know, but
take care to avoid negative stereotypes. Commercial broadcast television, especially, is a
mass-market medium. Networks have censors that ensure that their comedy is politically
correct, especially if the comedy is targeted at children. Some networks are more careful
than others. In commercial TV advertisers will refuse to buy advertising in programming
that offends. In a global marketplace where the audience is very diverse, a certain amount
of political correctness is just common sense. You simply cannot afford to lose a segment of
your audience...even if the gag is the funniest ever!
When you’re writing about someone of the opposite sex, someone older or younger,
someone with disabilities, someone from another culture or lifestyle than the one you know
well, consider what you write. Be aware of nuances. Think of people in terms of multi-
dimensions. What do these characters do in their spare time? What are their relationships
socially at play, at school, or at work?
Whether you’re developing characters or just writing a scene, consider who would nor-
mally be in that location in real life. Who would be there in New York or Detroit? Who
would be there in New Delhi or Beijing? What races, nationalities, social/economic classes,
occupations, sexes, and ages would be there? Develop different characters into your series
and films in places where you would normally find them and in places where they could be.
Value diversity! Prize differing beliefs and cultural values besides the traditional ones
you know. Make minorities active, not passive. Avoid casting minorities as victims, or if they
must be the victims, let them overcome this by themselves. Both bad guys and good guys
come in many diverse types. You might want to create characters and then add a gender or
race afterward. The key is in not isolating minority characters. One child in a wheelchair is
a role model, but it’s hard to make role models interesting and unique. If you have two or
three characters with disabilities in the same script, then each can be unique and interest-
ing, good guys and bad.
Do your research before you develop and write characters and scripts that are different from
what you know best. Read the latest scientific studies. Get to know people who are not like you.
This is a part of your job! Understand people’s thought processes and really care about others.
Try to get someone from another culture, lifestyle, age group, or sex to give you feedback about
characters and scripts that are different from what you know so that you get it right.
Don’t be afraid of a point of view! Let characters stand up for their culture and expe-
riences and provide the rest of us with new insights.
Recent studies on gender differences are compelling: Most, but not all, women are more
relational, better at reading emotions, nuances, and social cues. They’re apt to be more sen-
sitive to touch, pain, and sound. Their body movements may use more of the small muscle
Developing Characters 61