Character Building

Batman from Batman Beyond, Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of
the Carribean, Clueless (1995), Daphne Blake from Scooby Doo

When we were children we loved cartoons, we loved stories, and we loved movies (and hopefully as adults, you still do, only I would hope we have matured a bit from the cartoons). As children we especially loved an interesting and new plot, being mentally whisked away into a fantasy land, the possibility of there being a setting far grander than our own, and we especially loved the characters. Whether you were an action enthralled superhero fanatic, were into the retrospective Disney movies that taught life lessons and values, or whether you practically memorized the Cartoon Network lineup for the day, there was some point of reference for us to learn how to deal in this seemingly complicated world we were born into. The aspect of entertainment that we relate to the most and gain new understandings from is the characters. In my fashion, having a character, or persona, that we find a personal resonance with makes a large part of who each of us are, and gives a lot of explanation to towards how we appear to others, and how we choose to present ourselves.

Whatever was your choice of childhood entertainment, there was some character that we all favored, understood, and tried to learn more about because we found for one reason or another, that there was something to be learned from the experiences of a particular character. In this segment entitled, "Character Building" I will highlight movie characters, story characters, historical characters, television characters, and how their antics can serve as inspiration in our daily lives. With this segment I will highlight what we can learn about style and staying within the constraints of we are is important as far as becoming the person you want to be. Understanding how you would handle a certain situation or a certain person goes into your style as well as what you put on your back. What were your reference points for who you wanted to be?