Explaining the role of character development in the evaluation of morally ambiguous characters in entertainment media

M Kleemans; A Eden; S Daalmans; M van Ommen; GWM Weijers

doi:doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2016.10.003

Explaining the role of character development in the evaluation of morally ambiguous characters in entertainment media

M Kleemans, A Eden, S Daalmans, M van Ommen, GWM Weijers

Academy for Games & Media

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The current project aims at better understanding how narrative characteristics in stories function in the liking, moral evaluation, and enjoyment of narratives featuring morally ambiguous characters (MACs). Shafer and Raney (2012) found that viewers differently enjoyed a heroic versus MAC-centered narrative. Building on this approach, a mixed-method design was used to investigate character development in two morally ambiguous narratives. Results of both a qualitative content analysis and an experiment provide support for the claim that character development is a central mechanism to explain viewer responses to MACs in narrative content. Thus, this study provides new directions for understanding characters in media research.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	16-28
Number of pages	13
Journal	Poetics : Journal of Empirical Research on Culture, the Media and the Arts
Volume	60
DOIs	https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2016.10.003
Publication status	Published - 2016

Keywords

Affective Disposition Theory
Character development
Enjoyment
Morally ambiguous characters
Viewer responses

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abstract = "The current project aims at better understanding how narrative characteristics in stories function in the liking, moral evaluation, and enjoyment of narratives featuring morally ambiguous characters (MACs). Shafer and Raney (2012) found that viewers differently enjoyed a heroic versus MAC-centered narrative. Building on this approach, a mixed-method design was used to investigate character development in two morally ambiguous narratives. Results of both a qualitative content analysis and an experiment provide support for the claim that character development is a central mechanism to explain viewer responses to MACs in narrative content. Thus, this study provides new directions for understanding characters in media research.",

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Explaining the role of character development in the evaluation of morally ambiguous characters in entertainment media. / Kleemans, M; Eden, A; Daalmans, S; van Ommen, M; Weijers, GWM.

In: Poetics : Journal of Empirical Research on Culture, the Media and the Arts, Vol. 60, 2016, p. 16-28.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

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