Sophs #1 Journal: The Stock Character
POST BEFORE FRIDAY MORNING, NOV. 30A stock character is a character type, often a stereotyped character, used repeatedly in genre fiction (like horror, sci-fi, moral tales) and of course, movies and television shows that like to use these character types. Examples include the mad scientist, the blond airhead, the femme fatale (sure, look it up if you don't know what this means), the rags-to-riches hero, and the conniving villain.
In The Devil and Tom Walker, Tom Walker exemplifies the stock character known as The Miser, one who would value money over everything. You should know the Greek tale of King Midas, a miser who learned, as many do, that wealth isn't everything. Go to this link to read the Midas tale. Tom Walker's wife is the stock shrew, the nagging wife who browbeats her husband.
You've read enough (and seen enough tv and movies) to recognize stock characters, so tell me ...who is your favorite "stock" character?
Define the stock character type you choose and then give me some details about your specific character that proves that he or she is, indeed, stock. Of course, tell me why you enjoy your character. Choose a character from books, movies, short stories, and television shows.
I've provided an example for you, namely Ebenezer Scrooge.
Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly misanthrope (he's a miser--all about money--and he's a misanthrope--a "hater of mankind") in the Charles Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol. His love of money and disdain for Christmas characterizes the original Scrooge. Note that the word scrooge to denote characters like him is now regularly used in our vernacular. Scrooge overworks and underpays his loyal employee, Mr. Bob Cratchit. Cratchit, a good and holy family man, has bills to pay and a crippled son (Tiny Tim) to take care of, but he faces his trying responsibilities with Christian fortitude. He even refuses to admit to his poor family that Mr. Scrooge is a bad man. You might say that Cratchit is a stock character himself, the "poor but happy" fatherly figure whose diligence and Christian piety keep his family in food and clothes.
Back to Mr. Scrooge, who grudgingly allows poor Bob to stay home on Christmas Day, but orders him to arrive earlier the next. He greets holiday well wishers, like his kind nephew, with a "Bah, humbug" that of course, is now universally recognized as the reply of the Christmas Scrooge. Suddenly, however, his world is turned inside-out when he is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley, his former business partner and a scrooge like himself. The forlorn ghost, who now does penance by walking the earth in heavy chains, money boxes, and keys, warns Scrooge to mend his ways, lest he suffer the same fate.
Scrooge is shaken, but falls asleep. During the rest of the well-known story, he is visited by three Christmas ghosts. He then undergoes a miraculous change. The new Christmas-loving Scrooge sends a huge turkey to the Cratchit home, raises Bob's salary, and becomes a surrogate grandfather to Tiny Tim.
This Christmas tale is a story of faith, redemption, and the goodness that lies within us all. These qualities were once buried in Ebenezer Scrooge, but were unearthed in the joyful end of the novel.
If you need some more help with stock characters, see the Schoolsville post entitled, Sophs--Breakfast, Anyone? More Stock Characters!
posted by JTF @ 8:24 AM
45 comments
45 Comments:
My favorite stock character is the boy next door. Everyone has their own variation of the definition for the boy next door, but I think that he is a boy who is wholesome, innocent, shy, sincere, and dependable. He appears to be just average but may turn out to be the love interest of one of the main characters or the hero of the movie. I like the boy next door in every movie because you can always count on him to be there for another character that needs a friend. Countless movies, books, and television shows include the boy next door as one of their main characters. The first example that comes to mind is the character Peter Parker from Spiderman. He’s quiet and keeps to himself at school and keeps his crush on Mary Jane a secret from her while he watches her date other guys. He ends up with Mary Jane and he ends up being the Spiderman, the hero who saved many lives in New York City.
The stock character type that I chose was the alter-ego. These types of stock characters can be found in several books, movies and television shows. Many characters in movies have alter-egos. A character with an alter-ego is person who leads a double life or has two completely different personalities. A perfect example of a character with an alter-ego would be the famous Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Super hero movies are filled with alter-ego characters such as Superman and Clark Kent, Batman and Bruce Wayne, The Hulk and David Banner, Spiderman and Peter Parker. It just so happens to be that my favorite stock character is Batman. During the day he is a successful business man that owns a wealthy corporation and by night he is superhero that uses clever fighting tactics and gadgets to defeat evil villains and save lives. He is an alter-ego character because he leads two different lives but is still one person. I enjoy my character because he is batman for a reason. He wants to help the people of his city and the world. He keeps thieves and murderers off the streets. And how could I forget about his awesome fighting skills and incredible, fancy gadgets such as the batmobile.
When it comes to stock characters, there are many that I admire. A few of those are the hero, the bully, the nerd, and the jock. Although I would have to say that my all time favorite stock character is the villain. It seems that every good movie, book, or TV show has some sort of villain in them. When it comes to villains though, my all time favorite villain is Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter. When I hear the word villain he is always the first person who pops in my mind. To my he is the classic villain. I think this because of many reasons. One reason is that Voldemort is basically made of pure evil. He not only enjoys making Hairy Potter suffer but he lives for it. When it comes to his goals in life his two main ones. They are to kill Harry Potter and to by the Dark lord of everyone and rule the world. Unfortunately people normally dislike the villain but I always seem to like them because they are usually very smart. I also like them because they normally have a lot of power, and in Harry Potter this is the case. That is the reason I like Voldemort so much. I just feel like villains in general in movies are miss understood most of the time. Finally I doubt that I will every change my mind and I will probably like the villains the most when it comes to stock characters.
There are many stock characters in every story, but a common one that I enjoy most is the “nerd” or “geek”. There is always the nerd in the every plot, whether it’s the typical high school setting or the annoying teacher’s pet in middle school. The stock character of the nerd adds humor to every story, most typically stereotyped as a clumsy boy with big taped glasses, high pants held up with suspenders, and is known as the genius. This character is portrayed as an extremely annoying boy that is ostracized by others because of his appearance and personality. He is sometimes known to be the anti-social or socially awkward teenager in school who doesn’t know how to talk to girls and is the main target for the “popular” kids to bully. However, the nerd is always harmless and may not realize how others portray him. Sometimes, the nerd is also the one who saves the day because of his genius skills and inventions.
My favorite stock character of the nerd is Steve Urkel from the TV sitcom Family Matters. He is one of the most well-known nerds of all time in which the show revolves around his extremely annoying personality. He is the stereotypical geek with large, thick glasses, short pants held up with suspenders, brightly colored sweaters, and a very high-pitched voice. He is the neighbor of the Winslow family and never seems to leave them alone. Steve is always professing his love for Laura, constantly follows her father, Carl, and tries to attempt to befriend Laura’s brother, Eddie. None of them are very accepting of Steve, but Estelle Winslow, the mother, is always welcoming him into their home. Steve Urkel is always causing damages and injuries to other people as a result of his clumsiness and obliviousness or witty inventions. He is known for his responses to these damages or injuries in his high pitched voice, such as, “Did I do that?” or “Steve Urkel at your service!” Steve always means well and cares for other people, but it is sometimes misunderstood by the Winslows because of his annoying behavior. Steve may mean well, but he also tends to be needy and overbearing sometimes without knowing it. Nonetheless, Steve Urkel has no hatred for anyone and is genuinely loyal to the Winslow family. Also, no matter how the Winslows react to Steve, they all have a deep appreciation for him.
I think I would have to say that my favorite stock character is the sidekick. Some of the other ones that I enjoy are the hero, villain, and boy-next-door. The sidekick is more appealing to me, though, because I can relate to him/her. The sidekick is such a big role now that it can also be characterized as an archetype. There’s one in every movie, TV show, book, or play. They don’t always get the most attention or recognition, but they will end up playing a bigger role than expected at the beginning. I feel like I am a sidekick and I just kind of stand there and support other people through their journeys. But, it’s not that I want recognition; like many sidekicks, I just enjoy being here and don’t want attention for things that people should be doing anyway. I just finished reading the Percy Jackson series, five books following the journey of Percy Jackson as he learns his true identity and saves Olympus from destruction. The sidekick in these books is Grover Underwood, a satyr. In the first book, he is shy and shakes in the presence of bullies. He can also be found chewing at the end of his t-shirt or munching on a tin can. He even faints in the face of monsters. But, throughout the rest of the series, he matures quickly; he uses woodland magic to help defeat many monsters and Titans and is always there to support Percy. I like Grover because people constantly underestimate him and write him off, but in the end he plays a big role in saving Olympus. He proves everyone wrong, and the gods even make him a Lord of the Wild for that. Although the sidekick can be underestimated, never forget them, because they might just come back to prove you wrong.
Picture this: There are two people from completely different worlds in a crowd of people. They look up, their eyes meet, and all of a sudden a sappy romantic song plays. We all know what happens next. They fall hopelessly in love and have to conquer the trials of society before they can live happily ever after. My favorite stock character isn't one character. It's two. My favorite stock characters are the star-crossed lovers. There are countless books and movies that have used star-crossed lovers as the basis for their plot. Examples may be Romeo and Juliet, The Notebook, and my personal favorite, The Hunger Games. The two main characters, Katniss and Peeta, are from District 12 in a nation, Panem, that makes each of the districts choose one girl and one boy every year to fight to the death in a televised event called The Hunger Games. The winner lives a life of luxury, and the loser doesn't live at all. Katniss is the girl from the poor part of her district who has always had to fight for her survival. Peeta is from the merchant, wealthier side of town who has always had a crush on Katniss. Of course, these two are chosen to participate in the games. The rest is history. Once Katniss figures out that she'd rather die than return home without him, the two official fit the bill of the star-crossed lovers. They're from two completely different worlds, they fall in love, and they go to any length to ensure that they are with each other. I love the star-crossed lovers because I always find myself getting emotionally attached to them and cheering them on in their trials to find happiness. It may be cliché, but it's always hit a soft spot in me.
My favorite stock character is probably the klutz. In every movie or book there is a character that is always breaking stuff or falling down. They are there to provide comic relief in the plot because they are a character that you can laugh at. Even though this person is uncoordinated they keep trying and eventually succeed at their task. These characters come in all shapes and sizes, but my favorite would have to be Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther. He is very clumsy and is always destroying evidence. Even though everyone gets angry with him for not helping he always keeps trying. By the end of the movie he has solved the investigation faster than anyone else with his cooky methods. He also along the way gets the audience to laugh along with his funny methods.
In any kind of story, you are most likely going to find an immense amount of stock characters. There are a wide variety, ranging from bullies and nerds to blondes and heroes. These characters are what make their story what they are. My personal favorite has to be an underdog. In almost every movie or story out there, there has to be an underdog. What I really like about underdogs is in some ways, I can relate. They always are put down or told they’re not good enough at some point in the story, yet they find motivation to come out and prove every one wrong. One of my favorite comedies about an under dog is the movie Billy Madison. The main character, Billy, is the son of a rich business owner and is supposed to inherit his father’s company. To do so, he must complete 1st grade through high school in an allotted time to inherit the business. No one expects Billy to do so, because he is a goofball and has no motivation in life. While going through school, he meets a wonderful women that helps give him motivation and he gets serious about inheriting the company. In the challenge at the end, Billy finds a way to outsmart his opponent when he was thought to be doomed. Under dogs always find a way to come out on top.
My favorite stock character is always the comedic best friend of the hero in the story. This character always finds a way to a humor to even the most serious situations. The movie could be really suspenseful or scary and all of a sudden, this stock character finds some sort of a joke to crack to relieve the tension from the characters, and even the viewers. They never seem to get a lot of attention in the movie, but they are always a fan favorite. They are willing to do anything to help their friends, and I noticed that they have some of the best lines of the movie. I have always loved Chunk from “The Goonies”. Whether it is with one of his witty comments or that moment in the beginning with The Truffle Shuffle, I always laugh at him. He may not be the most popular character in the movie, meaning he is not a jock, a ladies’ man, or necessarily a hero, he warms people’s hearts with his humor. Another best friend stock character I have always loved is Billy from “Big”. He plays Tom Hanks’ best friend and is always makes me laugh. With his natural kid instincts, he helps Tom’s character make it in the toy business. He is not the most popular character, but he is definitely a very comic character. Although Chunk and Billy are not the main characters of “The Goonies” and “Big”, their charm and humor, make them the perfect best friends.
My favorite stock character is the damsel in distress. A damsel is a young woman or girl. Distress us a state of extreme necessity or misfortune. In many old fairytales and modern romances, there is typically in a damsel in distress. My favorite damsel is Ariel, the Little Mermaid, who comes from the Disney movie The Little Mermaid based on the popular fairytale by Hans Christian Anderson. Ariel’s precarious situation with her father, the deal she makes with the wicked Sea witch Ursula, and the rescue from her prince, Eric, qualifies her to be a perfect example of a damsel in distress First of all, Ariel dreams of breaking free from the ocean and becoming human. Her father, King Triton, refuses to let Ariel go and let her explore a world different from that of their world under the sea. Ariel is distraught and seeks to be freed from what seems like bondage to her. To further Ariel’s precarious situation, she strikes a deal with the wicked Sea Witch, Ursula. Ursula agrees to make Ariel human for three days in return for her voice; however, if Ariel falls in love and is kissed before sunset on the third she will get her voice back. This deal leaves Ariel facing many difficulties upon landfall. The fact that Ariel needs to be saved and helped by her prince charming completes being the stock character of a damsel in distress. Like all the other damsels in distress, Ariel is rescued by her prince charming and lives happily ever after. Prince Eric falls in love with Ariel, based strictly on her beauty and the fact that she saved him from a ravaging sea storm, but he fails to kiss the girl. Prince Eric, realizing the evilness of Ursula, takes a ship’s splintered bowsprit and kills the wicked Sea Witch. King Triton, Ariel’s father, realizes Ariel’s love for Eric and permanently makes her human. Ariel and Prince Eric marry and live happily ever after. Damsels in distress are my favorite stock character type because they portray the true beauty of love, hope, and trust. They make me believe that no matter how bad things seem there can always be a happy ending. People say that damsels in distress are merely characters of fairytales and there are no happily ever afters like those in their tales, but I firmly believe that every woman, young or old, is a damsel in distress in her own way. There is a prince charming waiting for each of us and we are all entitled to our own happily ever after.
My favorite stock character is hard to choose. I have always enjoyed the jock, the villain, and the rags-to-riches hero. Despite these, I would have to say that my favorite stock character is the wise old man.The wise old man tends to have disheveled white or gray hair, along with a prominent and bushy beard and spectacles. The first character that comes to mind is Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series.To many, he is the quintessential wise old man. His sayings tend to be vaguely phrased so that the recipient does not understand until they need the information. He is a grandfatherly, benevolent, caring man who takes the helpless Harry under his wing. Although he dies at the end of the sixth book, his vague sayings keep guiding the three main characters until they secure their ultimate victory in defeating Lord Voldemort. I love this character because of the master teacher aspect it can add to a work of literature. The wise old man is a teacher who lives on in his lessons.
My favorite stock character is the wise old man. This character is an old man, wise and full of knowledge beyond his years that usually helps the (also stock) “rags to riches” character get to where he needs to be. I enjoy this character because no one is perfect and it would be nice to have a mentor who you could trust not to steer you wrong. Also I enjoy this character because they are humble. They are the reason that the rags to riches character is so accomplished by the end of the book, movie, film, etc, and yet they do not want recognition for this. They are humble to the point of selflessness and most often sacrifice themselves to save the hero. There are many examples of this character in media, but the first one that came to my mind was Dumbledore, the Headmaster at Hogwarts who takes care of and even dies for Harry Potter. Another example is Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, who takes care of Bilbo Baggins and the other hobbits. Finally, in Star Wars Episode IV, Ben Kenobi sacrifices himself to allow Luke Skywalker and his friends to escape.
“Help! Help!” The tied up woman yells for her savior, who is on his way to save the young woman and kill the evil villain her put her in this. Stock characters appear in many stories, some many more than others. For example, the damsel in distress appears in almost all of my favorite books and movies. From The Dark Knight to the Twilight series and from I Am Number Four to Spiderman, the damsel in distress might be the most frequently reappearing stock character of all. When Rose Tyler, from my favorite series, Doctor Who, is trapped by an alien who plans to bring all the mannequins in the world to life, the Doctor comes to her rescue. (And of course, he destroys the villain and he and Rose fall in love.) Another one of my favorite scenes with this stock character is from the BBC television show, Sherlock. What Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were investigating a top secret Chinese crime ring run by the one and only, Moriarty. At the climax, Watson’s new love interest, Sarah, was kidnapped by a leader of the crime ring and was tortured to reveal information about Sherlock. Finally, Watson came to her rescue, saving the damsel in distress.
One of my favorite stock characters in movies is the best friend. The best friend is always there for the protagonist of the movie, no matter what. The best friend is one of my favorite stock characters because the best friend always stays by the protagonist’s side, and always tries to help, encourage, and protect the protagonist. An example of a best friend from movies would be Sam from The Lord of The Rings. Sam is always by Frodo’s side, and is always willing to go through anything or give anything to help Frodo on his journey to destroy the Ring. Another one of my favorite best friends comes from a video game called Infamous. The best friend of the main character, Cole, is Zeke. In the game, Cole accidentally sets off an explosion in Empire City, and the explosion gives him the power to manipulate electricity. The entire city is against Cole, but Zeke is always sticking by Cole’s side, and constantly calling Cole to give him tips and advice on what he should do. Near the end of the game, the main villain offers Zeke the same powers as Cole, and Zeke betrays Cole and accepts. Once Zeke figured out that the villain was lying and was trapped, he realized that he was a fool and begged Cole to rescue him and apologizes many times. I like Zeke because after everything he goes through he still remains loyal to Cole in the end. Sam and Zeke are my favorite examples of best friends in movies and in games; no matter what they go through, they will stick with their friend until the very end.
One of the most famous stock characters in the movies and on TV is the dumb blonde. The blonde girls in the media are always portrayed as being unintelligent. This is usually because blondes appear prettier and more popular then the “geeky” brunettes. These dumb blondes are also the punch line of most jokes not just in the media but also in reality. I believe to make up for their mindlessness, these stock characters are always the mean girls as well. They are ones playing dirty tricks and spreading untrue rumors about the “regular” girls. Dumb blondes are also the most popular girls, head of the cheerleading team, and voted homecoming and prom queen for four years straight. Although they are different than how most blondes are I think dumb blondes can be some of the funniest characters in the movies. My favorite dumb blonde is Karen Smith from the movie, Mean Girls. Karen is clearly the most unintelligent in her clique, yet she is one of the prettiest most popular girls in the school. What makes her such an airhead is not only the things that she says, but also the way she says them and the tone of voice she uses. Even though she may not be the smartest and she gets on her friends nerves quite often, she is loved by her friends for the way that she is and that is something that friends can’t change. Karen Smith is the perfect example of the stock character, a dumb blonde.
The stock character that has always interested and amused me is the “popular girl.” This character is often portrayed as a pretty, conceited, teenage girl who looks down on everyone, always seems to have a boyfriend, and is often very ditsy and dumb. My favorite example of this type of character is Haley Dunphy, from the television show Modern Family. Haley is a teenager who is very popular, has an unintelligent boyfriend, and is very unintelligent. Her personality contrasts greatly with that of her younger sister, who is very smart and nerdy, and Haley is constantly making fun of her. In one of Haley’s arguments with her sister, Haley says, “You are a freshman. What are you doing in second year math?” Her sister responds, “You’re a senior. What are you still doing in second year math?” Haley argues, “Not still, again!” Haley causes her parents a large amount of stress and aggravation because of her lack of responsibility. She often finds herself embarrassed by her family members because she thinks they are not “cool.” I think that the character of Haley is funny because she is a stereotypical popular teenage girl. Her lack of brains and her unintelligent comments add humor to the show and further portray her as an air-headed, popular girl.
There are numerous stock characters that often appear in television shows, movies, and books. There is such a variety, that I have found it very difficult to select just one. However, if I must choose my favorite stock character, I would have to pick the average annoying boss. This type of character seems to appear in just about every story setting. The boss or manager always possesses the same types of traits as well. Most of the time they are a person who seems unqualified for their position, in ways such as lack of knowledge, lack of common sense, and lack of a desired personality. Sometimes the nagging boss is a person who is qualified for their career, however they display a heartless, self-cantered, greedy, and miserable personality. Either way the character is portrayed in the story, the average boss always possess one quality that link all roles in all different genres together. The boss never fails to cause their employees more work than is required. Whether it be because of a random additional and unnecessary assignment, or distractions during the work hours that force employees to work overtime, there is always an annoying extra. My personal favorite role of the annoying, nagging boss is the one played by Steve Carrel in the television show “The Office”. In “The Office” Steve Carrel plays the role of an immature, self-conscious, and lonely manager named Michael Scott. Michael Scott is the regional branch manager of a northeastern paper company known as Dunder-Mifflin. Despite, never attending business school, as well as possessing none of the qualifications needed, Michael Scott finds himself in an important head position. Michael Scott’s own bosses feel he is fit for his job, but his branch employees would beg to differ. Through his constant “waste of time” conference room meetings, office parties, and attempts to become best friends with his employees, Michael Scott portrays very well the average annoying boss. One who instead of encouraging hard work and productivity actually decreases efficiency, and produces much more work than is necessary for his staff. I enjoy the typical nagging boss in television shows and movies, because I find it humorous how they are always alike, in that they are disliked by their employees, and always are causing more harm than good, despite their intentions. In just about every comedy show and movie the character type of the irritating, nitpicking boss exists in one form or another. Although it may be cliché, considering its wide usage, this stock character never gets boring for me, even though its employees may disagree.
There are countless amounts of stock characters out there. You have the sidekick, the villain, the likely main character/hero, the funny guy who lightens the mood, the wise mentor, and on and on. The stock character type that I chose was the unlikely hero. He is the guy who, in the beginning, gets overshadowed by everyone and no one pays any attention to him. He is very often overlooked and/or misunderstood by most people. He might also be the one who everyone, at first, views as the psycho or even the villain. The unlikely hero does not necessarily have to even be the main character of the story. Despite everyone’s first impressions on him he ends up being the one who comes in and saves the day. A perfect example of this comes from the movie Up. In this movie, there is a dog named Dug. Dug wears a special collar which allows him to speak. Although not the brightest dog out there, he is certainly a very brave and heroic dog. In the movie, he has to oppose his depraved master and even his pack in order to save Kevin, a prehistoric bird. He had to defy his own master to do what was right.
The stock character genre I chose is the prominent hero. These stock characters can be found in almost every action or adventure book, movie, and television show. A prominent hero is someone that leads or protects a group of people in distress. These characters guide with tremendous bravery,skill, and devotion. A great example of a prominent hero is Jack West; the leader in the book "Seven Ancient Wonders" by Matthew Reilly. Jack is the leader of a collection of small nations, who try to stop a disastrous natural phenomenon that would cause the termination of the world. Jack leads his band of nations through many perilous traps in the race against time, to recover ancient artifacts that will cease this phenomenon. Jack will almost always take the lead through the deadly set of traps and will put his own body on the line to save his allies. By the end of the story Jack puts himself on the line numerous times and ends up stopping the deadly natural phenomenon from occuring; saving the world. Our prominent hero finally gets to take it easy and relax after saving the world; until a new threat to control the world appears and Jack is back to saving the world with a few new allies.
My favorite stock character is the double agent. The double agent is a character who acts like he is on one side of a conflict, and then switches to the other when it will benefit him. Double agents tend to be very good at gaining people's trust and at manipulating people. My favorite double agent is the villain from the James Bond movie Goldeneye. In the movie James Bond and another agent are on a mission when they are caught by the enemy. The other agent seems to have been killed so James Bond blows up the facility they are in and escapes. It turns out that the agent had not been killed, but he feels betrayed that his country left him there to die. He decides to join the enemy and assists them in stealing and activating a satellite weapon against England to get revenge on his country. I like the double agent character because he usually has an advantage over the good guys. He was one of them at one point so he knows everything about them and knows how to beat them. I enjoy this type of character because it always adds an unexpected twist to the story and makes it more exciting.
For my stock character I decided to choose the “dumb blonde” from one of my all-time favorite movies Legally Blonde. Reese Witherspoon plays Elle Woods who is a young, pretty blonde who wants to go to Harvard to try and win back her supposed true love who dumped her because she was “too blonde.” When Elle arrives at Harvard she stands out among the crowd with her bright blonde hair and pink outfits. Her ex that she is chasing after does not understand how Elle could get into such a prestigious school like Harvard. One of the professors at Harvard offers an internship that only a select amount of students can get into. Elle applies and gets accepted, but later Elle finds out the professor only picked her for the internship because she was pretty. Elle takes over one of her professor’s cases because the defendant would not provide her professor with an alibi. The case happens to be a famous fitness instructor who Elle knew, so the girl allows Elle to defend her even though Elle is not even a lawyer yet. No one understands why the girl would pick this blonde to defend her case. But it turns out that Elle’s beauty knowledge helps her win the case. After Elle wins the case her supposed true love wants to get back with her, but she rejects him saying he isn’t smart enough for her. I love this movie because Elle, the “dumb blonde,” proves her stock character wrong in the end. She shows that even though she may not fit the traditional stereotype of a lawyer, she can still get the job done. Even though Legally Blonde is just a movie I think it shows that anyone can accomplish something if they put their mind to it.
One of the most overused stereotypical stock characters is the dumb blonde. A dumb blonde is absent-minded, not very intelligent, conceited, but most importantly has fabulous blonde hair. Being a blonde I can relate to the stereotype. I always enjoy a good blonde joke, even when they’re at my expense. In my opinion Karen from the movie Mean Girls exemplifies this character perfectly. Mean Girls is a film full of many different stereo types. Karen is part of the “plastics”, or the popular crowd. She is very absent-minded and never really fully sure of what is going in. One of my favorite scenes from the movie is when Karen is trying to draw the letter “k” on herself. She uses a mirror to do this and ends up walking around with a backwards “k”. For some reason this scene gets me every time. I can’t watch the scene with out laughing out loud. Her friends are constantly helping her realize what is going on. The movie never specifically says, but it is inferred that Karen isn’t very smart and doesn’t do very well in school. The “plastics” are idolized by the rest of the school. They are beyond popular and always have people watching them. With the public eye always on Karen, she tends to be conceited about her appearances, always making sure that she looks her best. However, underneath the absent-minded, conceited stereo-type, Karen is truly good at heart.
People like to say that stereotyping is on the rise in this time in society, but frankly, stereotyping has been going on for years and years in the literature world. These stereotyped groups of characters in literature are known as stock characters. Stock characters can range from the nerdy Hermione character in Harry Potter to the jock-like Flash Thompson character in Spider Man. My personal favorite stock character is James Bond, who plays the “competent man” stock character in his movie Skyfall. In this movie, James Bond is an MI6 agent who overcomes all his obstacles. The movie starts out with Bond being shot in the shoulder and falling off a cliff and into water some hundreds of feet below. MI6 headquarters think Bond has died, and arranges a funeral and obituary for Bond. Then, being the man that can overcome anything (including death), James Bond miraculously recovers from the gunshot wound and comes back to the agency. He goes through impossible physically demanding tests so he can be reinstated as a “00” agent, and, just as his stock character suggests, passes each one. Throughout the remainder of the movie, Bond focuses on finding and killing the main antagonist of the story. In many instances, Bond is faced with challenging obstacles and deals with each one as it comes at him. It is in movies like this that we really get the chance to see a perfect example of the stock character “the competent man.” In every way, James Bond fits the description of a competent man, being able to overcome and challenge that faces him.
My favorite stock character is "A" from the hit television series “Pretty Little Liars.” "A" is an unknown character (or group of characters) that stalks, scares, and sometimes even attempts to kill the four main characters Aria, Hannah, Spencer, and Emily.
A began stalking these girls after their good friend Allison was bludgeoned and buried alive.
Whenever "A" leaves a message for any or all of the four girls, it leaves a message signed “A.” Sometimes, even if there isn't a message there, the letter “A” will be smudged on a foggy glass window. It is amazingly terrifying.
The reason that I like "A" so much is because of the mystifying qualities that he or she or they possess. I love that fact that I don’t actually know which of the characters are "A", so it leaves you guessing through plot line in successive nail-biting episodes. At each season’s dramatic finale, the television show shows you one of the members of "A." Honestly, most of the episodes leave me in tears because of the extreme suspense and terror. However, I don’t mind because I could never tear myself away from the show once I started. Throughout each season, I accuse different characters of being "A" because of their suspicious behavior, but I have failed thus far to be correct.
That is why "A" is my favorite stock character.
My favorite stock character is the friendly and always loyal dog. This character is always there for their masters no matter what happens. They are there to save them whether it is from a dangerous situation or just to cheer them up when they are down. Some examples in books and movies of this character are the famous characters of Lassie and Cracker. Lassie is the famous collie that always saved people from dangerous situations. Once she ran and just in the nick of time saved a girl from when they fell in a well. Another time she alerted people to a fire and got them all out in time. Cracker was in a situation of his owners having to move. His owners gave them up to the military and he was trained as a scout for the war. Rick, his new owner was a soldier that got hurt. Later in Rick’s life, Cracker saved Rick from a spiraling depression and got reunited with his old owners. A real life example could be my dog, Athena. She is always there to cheer me up when I’m down and she follows me absolutely everywhere. Athena is so friendly and is so gentle. She is the best dog in the world and is loved by so many people. Dogs can be really cool stock characters.
My favorite stock character would have to be the underdog. This is the person who everyone overlooks and thinks that they are incapable of doing something. These characters are the ones that come out of nowhere and succeed more than the people who are supposed to succeed do. My favorite underdog would have to be Rocky Balboa from the Rocky series. Rocky is portrayed in the first movie as a washed-up fighter who is just trying to fight anyone he can. Suddenly one day, he is asked to fight for the heavyweight championship. Rocky, after he trained long and hard for the fight, was able to take Apollo Creed, who was the champion at the time, all of the rounds. His close loss prompted a rematch in the second movie where Rocky came out of retirement to eventually beat Apollo Creed and win the title. Even after Rocky gains fame and defends his title many times, he still becomes an underdog in each of the next four movies. Rocky is the perfect example of the underdog because he is just an average guy who is given a great opportunity and is able to take advantage of it due to his rigorous training. Throughout his fights, Rocky Balboa continually gets hit to the ground. Mostly every time he is able to get back up and continue fighting. I believe this characteristic of Rocky really adds to him as an underdog because that is what an underdog does; they keep fighting despite what the odds say.
My favorite stock character would have to be the geek. In movies, television, and books there is usually one character identified as the geek. They are usually nonathletic and fans of superheroes. They enjoy science fiction and fantasy, especially video games, comic books, films, and roleplaying games. I have always loved Sheldon Cooper from “The Big Bang Theory” and he is a perfect example of a geek. Sheldon is an obsessive fan of comic books and science fiction. In fact, every Wednesday night, Sheldon goes to the comic book store. He also owns his own “Flash” costume, complete with muscles! Sheldon is a theoretical physicist and his job is researching The String Theory. He has a master’s degree in two PhDs. Sheldon is my favorite geek because of his warped sense of humor and witty sarcasm. I can relate to him because he is analytical, like me. The geek can be underappreciated at times, and they deserve a lot more credit.
Since I love to spend my rare free time reading, I’ve come across many great stock characters. I would have to say my favorite is the gentile giant. This character is usually shown as a very large many with gruffly facial hair. He can be quite intimidating when he’s first introduced. However, as the story progresses, you learn that he has one of the warmest of hearts. The character that instantly pops into my head to fit this description is Hagrid from the Harry Potter series. When Hagrid first appears on the scene, you can clearly see he is one big burly man. Then you realize that his heart is just as big and is one of the most selfless people. Without hesitating, he becomes almost a mentor-figure for Harry, showing him around Diagon Alley when Harry is rescued from his cruel aunt and uncle. Hagrid has one of the most altruistic personalities I have ever read about. He even has earned the trust of head-master Albus Dumbledore and would do anything for that man. I believe Hagrid is a true loyal person, who would never intentionally do anyone harm. I thoroughly enjoy his personality because it’s hard to find someone as kind and righteous anymore.
In any sort of story there are always a multitude of stock characters. My favorite type of stock character is the gentle giant. They are always physically imposing and terrify other people, but they are always very loving and caring. No matter what they can be depended upon and are good friends. The stock character of the gentle giant is always reliable to help when their friends need them. An example of the gentle giant is Rubeus Hagrid from the Harry Potter series. Hagrid is half giant who terrified everyone he came across. Despite his ferocious appearance, Hagrid is a very caring and loyal friend who helps Harry throughout his many journeys. Hargrid’s kindness toward a young monster got him expelled from Hogwarts but he never regretted it. Gentle giants are my favorite stock characters because prove that appearances are deceiving.
I have always admired the rags-to-riches hero. In most cases, there is a scrawny, not exactly popular young man who is just trying to find his place. He has good morals and wants to do good for others but nothing ever too extreme. A character that comes to mind is Steve Rogers from Captain America. He starts off as an asthmatic, skinny guy who wants to do nothing but serve his country in WWII. With the help of a doctor, he becomes super strong and much taller, and he becomes a war hero known as Captain America.
One of my favorite stock characters is the nerd. The nerd is a part of pretty much every high school themed movie, book, or television show. The nerd is always getting picked on by another stock character, the dumb jock. Usually the nerd has a crush on a popular girl who he does not seem to have a shot with, or he aspires to be popular. The nerd always has equally nerdy sidekicks, and they sometimes envy the popular kids and how they live. Most of the time the nerd ends up overcoming the odds and going from zero to hero at some point. An example that comes to mind is George McFly from back to the future. He was the nerd who liked sic-fi movies and got bullied by the jock named Biff. Eventually he got to live out the nerd's dream and stand up to his bully and get the girl. He became a successful writer and ended up hiring Biff to work for him. This is a classic case of the nerd ending up as the hero.
In most stories you will find a couple different kinds of stock characters, not all you will like but there will be a variety in most cases. My favorite stock character is the obvious protagonist who has everything going for them. The hero of the story who has everything perfect in his life and nothing bad ever happens. Most of the time in stories or movies the hero is a poor loser with no friends who stumbles upon the fortune of a hero, but I like a change from that, I like Sterling Archer from the show “Archer”. He is a good looking rich special agent who gets all of the ladies. Throughout his life he has had everything he could dream of and he knows it, he is cocky arrogant, and intelligent. He treats all of the other characters terribly and never follows the directions of his superiors with no repercussions. There needs to be more characters like this because they are the most funny, they generate dry humor in most occasions which is my favorite kind of humor. He always gets the job done in every episode even though he messes around a lot because he has the ability to make up for it with his god-given talents.
One of my favorite types of stock characters is the underdog. This is usually the person who is looked down upon by others and who no one thinks can win. However, this character always maintains hope and perseveres despite all the difficulties that get in his or her way. In the end, this character is usually the one who becomes the hero and that is when everyone finally realizes the character’s inner strength. Some examples of underdogs are Rudy Ruettiger, Forrest Gump, and Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games. In the movie Rudy, ever since he was a little boy Rudy has had the dream of playing football at Notre Dame. Despite his small stature, Rudy doesn’t let his dream slip away. He gets a job as the assistant of the groundskeeper of the stadium to pay for his tuition, and when football tryouts come around, he tries out for the team. Rudy gets a place on the practice team. He never misses a practice. He gets pummeled, beaten, and torn, as does his spirit, but the coach is so inspired by his continued perseverance and hard work that he promises Rudy that he will let him play one game before he graduates. After many more roadblocks, Rudy almost quits the team. But he doesn’t, and in that last game, Rudy goes in on the last play while his mother, father, and brother watch. Underdogs inspire me because they show me that anyone can accomplish their dreams if they set their mind to it. They teach me that even when everything is falling apart, we must hold tight to our dreams and aspirations.
I have admired several stock characters in various movies, TV shows, or books. One stock character that I admire in movies is the nerd or geek. This character is usually known to be the overly sensitive genius. A nerd is often socially awkward and uncomfortable in certain situations. When I hear the word nerd, an automatic picture comes to my mind. I see a person with large square glasses, maybe not so fashionable clothing, and usually a know-it-all personality. In movies or TV shows, the “nerd group” usually has a crush on the “popular group” of girls. One of my favorite TV shows portrays the nerd stock character very well. This scientific comedy is the Big Bang Theory. The show centers on a group of friends who are all scientists and nerds. They are always trying to figure out new experiments and equations and are often proving people wrong. One nerd on the show is Sheldon Cooper. Sheldon would qualify as being the person to fit the criteria for the nerd stock character. He is always trying to correct people and explain to them laws of science. Sheldon is very stubborn when it comes to changing his own experiments or ideas. Everything he owns is set up in a particular way that must not be changed. He has a huge phobia of germs and does not like coming into contact with other people. Although Sheldon is the typical nerd, he does not dress as people picture nerds to dress. Even though Sheldon does tend to irk many of his peers, he is a highly intelligent person who is just a human being with unique characteristics like most people in the world.
One interesting stock character featured in almost every book and movie is the villain. The villain always seems to be fascinatingly intelligent, and creates a plot for the story. He or she makes the story interesting by adding a problem to solve in the story. One of my favorite villains from a classic movie is the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. In this movie, she seems to be the stereotypical “bad guy.” She is known for tormenting the main character, Dorothy, and it is apparent that her main goal is to get revenge on Dorothy for killing the witch’s sister, the Wicked Witch of the East. She is always trying to impede Dorothy’s journey to the Emerald City to retrieve the ruby slippers. I love the Wicked Witch because is in such contrast to the innocent personality of Dorothy and the other protagonists of the story, and her evilness makes me root for Dorothy and her friends even more. In The Wizard of Oz, the Witch is one of the more stereotypical and flat characters because she seems to have only one character trait—evil. However, I love her character because she adds interesting plot twists to one of my favorite movies of all time.
Without a doubt the stock character which I most enjoy is the underdog. More times than not the underdog is found in sports type movies, books, and television shows. The underdog is the most exciting stock character to me because he/she in most cases is expected to lose ninety-nine times out of a hundred, but yet finds a way to beat the odds and pull off the miracle upset with his/her heart giving him/her the power to persevere. Classic examples of a great underdog story are Remember the Titans, Miracle, Hoosiers, Rudy, The Rookie, and my personal favorite, The Blind Side. This movie, The Blind Side, is based off of a true story featuring Michael Oher, currently an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens. This movie follows Michael from his life growing up in poverty through his years at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis and being adopted by Sean and Leigh Tuohy which ultimately led him to become one of the greatest prospects in all of college football. The story of Michael Oher is among the most improbable of success stories you will ever hear of. As a child he bounced around from foster home to foster home due to his mother’s drug addiction and somehow managed to find himself a home with a loving and nurturing family who got him interested in football and his school work. Through his hard work and dedication, Michael Oher was able to succeed on the football field as well as in the classroom which was enough to earn him a full scholarship to Ole Miss in which both his adopted parents are alumni. He now has a very successful career in the NFL as an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens. This once impoverished and uneducated boy was fighting just to survive and find a home. Now he is a talented and strong willed man making millions of dollars to protect one of the NFL’s most elite quarterbacks.
Typically, in movies, the most popular girl is portrayed as mean and conceited. In movies, this girl is usually a pretty blonde that everybody pretends to like but actually doesn't. This girl usually acts as if she rules the school, because she believes she does. My favorite example of this type of character is Regina George from Mean Girls. Regina thought she could get whatever she wanted just because she was pretty and popular. She thinks she is entiled to other people's boyfriends (even her friend's), friends that will abide to her every command, and to be the Queen of the "Spring Fling Dance." People pretended to like her because if you were on her bad side, she could turn everyone else against you. People will typically side with her because they would be scared to go against her or secretely wanted to be like her. In the end, Regina finds out that everyone dislikes her and that it is better to have real friends and be nice than have fake ones by creating fear. This is the epiphany that most popular mean girls usually have at the end of the movie or story.
Blair Waldorf is a star of the hit television series, Gossip Girl. She also happens to be my favorite stock character. Blair’s character fits many types of stock characters like, the snotty rich girl, the diva, or the drama queen. However, I would describe her stock character more as the popular mean girl. Blaire goes to an all girl’s school, Constance Billards, and considers herself the queen of the school. She has what she calls “minions” that follow her around and do whatever she says. Everyone in the school knows Blair Waldorf. It’s only right that her boyfriend is the cutest guy in all of Manhattan, who every girl wants, and is the most popular at his school. As the mean girl, Blair likes to stir up a lot of drama and considering the fact that she is the most popular at her school that she is caught up in a lot of drama. Blair once said, “If you want peace, always be prepared for war.” She is known for her schemes and if she wants something, she isn’t afraid to go after it, even if it means hurting a few people’s feelings along the way. I mean, they don’t call her the mean girl for no reason. She is my favorite stock character because she makes the show interesting. After all, Gossip Girl is a television Drama.
When I thought of stock characters, the first example that popped into my mind
was the popular girl that ruled the school in the film Mean Girls that was directed by Mark Waters. Regina George was the epitome of the popular girl stock character. With Regina’s attractiveness, boyfriend, lifestyle, and reputation, who would not think of her as the “Queen Bee?” The popular female usually has much appreciation from her classmates despite the fact that she is not necessarily the nicest individual. During the movie, almost the entire junior class and teaching staff that attended an assembly in the gymnasium said that they had been personally victimized by Regina George. Regina’s clique was given the title “plastics” due to their Barbie-like behavior. Regina George was the classic popular girl. She lived in a mansion with no rules according to her teenage-like acting mother. Regina’s boyfriend was the alpha-male in the movie with his status quo in high school of being the star football player. Every girl in the school imitated any trend that Regina set. For instance, an enemy of Regina was trying to sabotage her wardrobe by cutting holes in her shirt, but the attempt was proven futile when the other girls in school cut their shirt the exact same way. Her closest friends even followed her around everywhere and attempted to emulate Regina. The popular girl’s genuine personality is typically revealed at the culmination of the movie. In Regina’s case, her true colors were shown in the climax of the movie and she was given a happy ending when she found her rightful place on the girl’s lacrosse team where she channeled her anger through sports rather than through victimizing others.
In literature, television, and movies, stock characters are basically stereotypical characters such as the jock, nerd, and sidekick that have a certain type of personality. Of all the known stock characters, my favorite is the voice of reason. This character is usually one of the main character’s friends, and he or she usually gives the main character advice about a situation. At other times, the voice of reason mediates fights or tries to make his or her friends, who are blinded by their emotions, realize common sense. He or she always seems to know what to do and what others should do. Sometimes, his or her advice is followed, but there are many instances when the voice of reason is ignored. When this happens, the character who does not listen to the voice of reason often meets his or her downfall. One example of a voice of reason is Benvolio from the play Romeo and Juliet, which was later made into many movies. Benvolio, although a Montague, is against fighting in the streets with his family’s enemies, the Capulets. He tries to break up the street fight between four of the feuding families’ servants in the beginning of the play because he knows that the Prince of Verona was not fond of the brawls. After the fight, when Romeo talks about his first love interest Rosaline, Benvolio does his best to give him the best advice possible, which is to look at other women. Romeo tries to ignore Benvolio’s sensible advice, but it takes only one glance at Juliet in the party at the Capulets’ house to make all thoughts of Rosaline fly away. Finally, as Mercutio, Romeo’s friend; and Tybalt, one of the Capulets are about to fight, Benvolio warns them a final time about the prince’s hatred toward street fighting. Unfortunately, Mercutio and Tybalt do not listen to Benvolio, and the duels that follow start the turn of events that leads to Romeo’s and Juliet’s eventual suicides. The voice of reason never fails to make me look up to him or her, and it is always sad to watch how failure to listen to him or her brings about a tragic ending.
Regina George in Mean Girls is a stock character. She is the perfect example of a high school queen bee. Tons of movies feature this character by having one popular girl with a few followers. Another example of a movie with this is in 13 Going on 30, featuring “The Six Chicks.” This is exactly what happens in Mean Girls. Fitting the stereotype perfectly, Regina has two ditzy followers, Gretchen Weiners and Karen Smith. The two girls follow her around and live in her shadow. Highschool queen bees are always bossy, beautiful, skinny, rich, and somewhat idolized. Regina makes up rules for her “friends” such as you can only wear your hair up in a ponytail once a week and must wear pink on Wednesdays. Regina also drives a nice car and lives in a mansion with a “cool” mom who tries to talk and dress like a teenager. From the surface, her life seems almost flawless. This stock character in a way reminds me of a Barbie because it seems like everyone wants to be her, but all she is, is plastic. For this very reason, they call Regina and her two followers “The Plastics.” In a way, this identity is a form of a stock character because almost all highschool movies have this. Regina is my favorite stock character simply because in all schools and movies there is that one girl that everyone wants to be because she is so popular pretty. She represents her stereotype very well.
My favorite type of stock character is the deadpan snarker. It is important to note that the work snark is a combination of snide and remark. A deadpan snarker is a character who uses dry humor and sarcasm extensively. Not surprisingly, a deadpan snarker is typically a character who is dry, bitter, gnomic, and sarcastic. Sometimes it seems as if this character is made up of pure sarcasm. He or she is also usually a minor supporting character used for comic relief. He or she always finds a way to come up with a witty comeback to an insult or a simple remark. I enjoy this type of character because I relatively like dry humor, and I enjoy the wisecracking battles of two characters with equal skill levels of sarcastic skill. I like this character because they always seem outmatched in verbal combat, but their level of snark and sarcasm always delivers the victory with a vicious, but clever, one-lined zinger. One of my favorite deadpan snarkers comes from the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. His name is Garak. He is a former military intelligence officer exiled from his home world for military misdoings, and this gave him a very bitter view on life and an interesting sense of humor. This leads to other characters to generally avoid asking questions about his past, but when they do he deflects the truth with sarcasm and sends the questioner with more questions than answers. He is also known for his famous snarky “Bond one-liners” when he rescues everyone from a threat. Garak is a true deadpan snarker and he wields his sarcasm liberally against all who dare converse with him.
My favorite stock character is the nerd. This kid always makes some cool invention or has the 500 rare things that others see as garbage. He is constantly picked on and always has this peculiar take on life. He can always come out on top in his mind even when he doesn't actually succeed. He is a very popular stock character. The first example that comes to mind of the nerd is the character is the professer fromt the movie The Absent Minded Professer. He is a geeky man who can never seemed to get married until he makes a flying rubber by accident. The man is nerdy and smart, but in the end he does get the woman of his dreams.
My favorite stock character would probably be the clueless but innocent one. He is clueless, kindhearted, and a simpleton of sorts. This character never seems to be “in the loop” whatsoever. The clueless character interprets an uncommon word in a sentence as a different definition than the one meant or a similar sounding word, causing even more confusion. I really like this character in humorous shows or comics because it is very funny whenever he misinterprets a word and digs himself deeper and deeper into a pit of confusion. This character is even funnier when he is paired with a character who seems to have an opposite personality or who is not ignorant at all. For example, in the comic strip Get Fuzzy by Darby Conley, a talking dog named “Satchel” would be described as the clueless character. He lives with a Bucky, a clueless, sarcastic, and compassionless cat; and Rob, the smart, exhausted human who has to deal with these two everyday. With those combinations of characters, a simple conversation can get twisted around and steered off course into hilarious confusion. However, the clueless character shouldn’t be overly clueless; it the character is too clueless and ignorant, it annoys me very much because it seems like the person cannot understand the simplest of questions with the most basic vocabulary.
As a child I would read so many fairytale stories where the princess needed rescuing from the wicked step mother and in the end a knight in shining armor sweeps her off her feet, rescuing her from her horrid life giving her a happy ending. My favorite stock character is a knight in shining armor because the character in story books always gave me hope that any one can have their happy ever after. The character of a knight in shining armor is usually very handsome, courageous, and caring. My favorite “knight in shining armor” is Armie Hammer who plays Prince Alcott in Mirror Mirror. Snow White, played by Lily Colins, lives with her step mother, Julia Roberts, who prefers to have lavish parties rather than care for the kingdom. Prince Alcott realizes he is in love with Snow White, but the Queen wants Prince Alcott for herself so she could become rich. Toward the end of the story as Snow is put in danger, Prince Alcott wants to rescue her, but Snow locks him in the dwarves’ house saying “…this is my fight”. Prince Alcott rescues Snow White, in a way, and they have their happy ever after. I really like Armie as a knight in shining armor because he is very caring of Snow and has a charm about him.
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