Are flat characters bad?

Are flat characters bad? 

 

Do I really have to explain why I'm asking this question? For those of you who don't know a flat or static character is it's a character who don't change from the beginning to the end of the story. Characters like this get a bad rap for not being interesting, unrelatable, they're for kids and they would work better as supporting characters. It's understandable why people feel this way about these characters, cynicism is viewed as wisdom and optimism is viewed as naive. Being optimistic is not bad as long as it's based on something, if you have hope to the point where you don't avoid trouble when you see it that's not hope. Just because you expect the best out of people and they don't live up to that, that's not naive. Being cynical is not a bad thing either however you don't want to alienate everyone around you. That's what Batman does I mean he has a plan for everyone he meets if they betray him. He violated their trust by doing that in an underhanded way, so Batman doesn't get the moral high ground here. Yes! People you know or don't know will let you down however is it reasonable to expect that not to happen? If the answer is no, then you shouldn't be surprised with it does happen when you didn't set boundaries. My point is this there needs to be a balance between the two. 

Another reason why these characters are not popular with the general public is our culture. I mean we live in a time where we feed off of negativity. Don't believe me then why do people bad-mouth each other online and on Twitter? Why are there so many reality shows? When you're at a stand-up comedy show and the comedian is not funny do you boo him or her instead of leaving? If the answer is yes, then that's the problem we kick people when they're down. We also let the news manipulate us by having it prey on our fears. Why do you think the news talk about all the bad things that's happening in the world? You don't hear about the good things unless you're watching the local news, I could be wrong about that. This is why I don't watch the news because what's going on in the world has nothing to do with me and I can't do anything about it even if I wanted to. So, what's the point of me knowing about it? I just watch the weather channel. I don't get it how can you say you don't like how the world is when you encourage the world to be this way by being complicit or enabling the world to be this way?     

 

With all that said this is why we need noble characters to set the example of what we should strive to be. How is striving to do better a bad thing? Yes! The stander is unrealistically high however it has no value if everyone can live up to those exceptions. Couples don't stay married until death do them apart these days does that mean we should change the foundation of marriage? Three-point shots are hard to make in Basketball does that mean we should get rid of them? This is why it bugs me that Hollywood would change characters like Superman, I understand why they do that to make them marketable however if you can't sell these characters as they are then don't use them. What's the point of asking for diversity if you don't apply it in storytelling? Flat characters are not the problem this problem is how they are written. Doing the right thing can be an uphill battle if no one is on your side or willing to do the right thing. Also, we have characters that strive to do the right thing that are likable such as Spider-Man, Luke Skywalker and Malcome Reynolds from Firefly. 

Also, the writers are not coming up with stories to challenge or reinforce their points of view. This was done in Captain American the Winter Solider, Superman vs the Elites, Speed Racer and The Incredibles. The thing I like about Superman killing Zod in Man of Steel is that he won't sacrifice lives because of his principle that's what heroes do make sacrifices, a person who sacrifices lives because of principle isn't noble. Also, no one said that these characters don't have flaws. You can have that character be aware of those flaws but be comfortable with them too so that others can do the same. The writers can also have the characters overcome those flaws without compromising his or her integrity. You can also make a static character an underdog story as far as having him doing things to better the world and no one recognize it.      

That's what static characters do they change the world they don't let the world change them. Joker in the dark knight is a prime example of this, in that movie he expose that everyone has a dark side. (Speaking of the Joker why didn't he get any crap for being a flat character?) Another thing I'm not fond of how they're treated as a joke by other character types, look at the Arrow and the Flash team-ups for example. My point is characters like this should be reconstructed not deconstructed. Judging how things are getting worse in the world we need flat characters now more than ever.