#character-revelations

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Books
fromPsychology Today
2 hours ago

Do You See Yourself in a Story?

Comic books have evolved into a serious medium for exploring trauma and psychological depth, exemplified by works like Maus.
fromPsychology Today
1 hour ago

Grief, Storytelling, and Identity

The concept album is a response to the brutal murder of Breedlove's father and stepmother at the hands of his stepbrother. The frame—the first song and the last—of the album is about the murders and their aftermath. But this is not a true crime record.
Music production
#podcast
fromABA Journal
3 days ago
Podcast

The Burton Book Review: A discussion on 'When You Come at the King'

The first episode of The Burton Book Review Podcast features an interview about Elie Honig's new book, 'When You Come at the King.'
Television
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 days ago

There's no shortage of terrifying technology': how AI became TV drama's new go-to villain

AI is portrayed as a powerful and dangerous tool in modern surveillance and military operations.
Film
fromDefector
3 days ago

'The Drama' Has More Going For It Than A Provocative Twist | Defector

Kristoffer Borgli uses dark humor and controversy to engage audiences and promote his films.
#writing
Writing
fromDefector
3 days ago

Why Would You Ask AI To Tell The Story Of Your Own Life? | Defector

Writing is a challenging profession with many aspiring writers and few opportunities for steady income.
Writing
fromPsychology Today
2 weeks ago

Don't Let AI Write the Story of Your Life

Writing is essential for self-discovery, and AI's influence can strip away personal narratives and authenticity.
NYC parents
fromVulture
3 days ago

All The Mistakes in Big Mistakes

Nicky and Morgan's theft of a necklace leads to dangerous consequences involving criminals and escalating family drama.
fromKotaku
3 days ago

Cult-Hit Doki Doki Literature Club Fights Sudden Android Removal

Their explanation is that the game's content violates their Terms of Service in its depiction of sensitive themes. DDLC is widely celebrated for portraying mental health in a way that meaningfully connects deeply with players around the world, helping them feel heard, understood, and less alone on their journey.
Games
fromwww.npr.org
4 days ago

What draws people into cults? A new book tracks the journeys of two followers

Deborah Green, a frail 71-year-old woman, was the self-described general of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, a cult that operated for decades.
Right-wing politics
Books
fromInverse
32 minutes ago

49 Years Later, Star Wars Just Inverted Its Most Formative Plot Trope

Villains in Star Wars, like Maul, often perceive their journeys similarly to heroes, showcasing the complexity of their narratives.
Relationships
fromInsideHook
1 week ago

What Men Can Learn From 17 Unforgettable On-Screen Proposals

Real-life proposals differ from romantic comedies, but lessons from memorable on-screen moments can guide men in crafting meaningful proposals.
Graphic design
fromdesignyoutrust.com
1 week ago

This Artist Creates Dark Wood-Burned Illustrations Exploring Identity And The Human Psyche

Robb is an Italian artist known for his intricate pyrography, creating dark, psychological imagery that explores themes of identity and isolation.
#romantic-comedy
Film
fromInsideHook
6 days ago

"The Drama" Has No Idea How to Handle Its Controversial Twist

The Drama presents a romantic comedy that takes a dark turn with a shocking revelation about a character's past involvement in a school shooting plot.
Film
fromThe New Yorker
1 week ago

"The Drama" Struggles to Justify Its Combustible Premise

Charlie and Emma navigate their relationship's challenges through humor and the concept of starting over.
fromKotaku
1 week ago

Life Is Strange's Men Are Always The Worse Romance

Life Is Strange: Reunion quadruples down on this treatment of him, with the only mention of Warren coming in a text message in which Max asks 'whatever happened to that guy' who could've been her high school sweetheart.
Relationships
Books
fromFlowingData
4 days ago

Visual guide for Infinite Jest

Christian Swinehart created Infinite Digest, an illustrated companion to Infinite Jest, visualizing its structure and character connections.
Board games
fromWGB
2 weeks ago

The Succession of Changing Kings - Review

The Succession of Changing Kings is a text adventure game where players navigate decisions to become king while managing resources and consequences.
fromVulture
2 weeks ago

Sure, They Will Kill You, But Can They Get On With It Already?

Realm of Satan captures members of the Church of Satan in droll tableaux, engaging in rituals or group sex, but often seen in mundane activities like beekeeping and hanging linens.
Independent films
Film
fromVulture
6 days ago

Alana Haim's Rachel Might Be the Secret Villain of The Drama

A wedding is jeopardized when the bride reveals a past school shooting incident, leading to tension and judgment among friends.
Relationships
fromSilicon Canals
6 days ago

There's a specific kind of guilt that belongs to people who left difficult families and built better lives. It's not survivor's guilt exactly. It's the knowledge that your peace required a distance that someone who raised you experiences as abandonment, and there is no version of the story where everyone is okay. - Silicon Canals

Family estrangement often leads to complex guilt that doesn't fit traditional narratives of victimhood or ingratitude.
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
3 weeks ago

The Hidden Danger in How We Choose Leaders

Charisma and confidence can mislead evaluations of a leader's moral character, emphasizing the need to distinguish between leadership style and true values.
fromAnOther
6 days ago

Night Stage: Anatomy of a Modern Erotic Thriller

The illicit thrill of hidden desires definitely propels Night Stage, a riveting queer noir about an up-and-coming actor Matias and an aspiring politician Rafael who begin hooking up in public spaces.
Film
Books
fromPsychology Today
1 week ago

Coping With the Up-and-Down Arc of a Prolific Writer's Life

Merrill Joan Gerber's latest book reflects her writing journey from the 1960s to the present, showcasing selected stories from her extensive career.
#literature
fromThe Atlantic
1 week ago
Books

Unconventional Novels About Conventional People

Aging revolutionaries and conformists share parallel narratives of disillusionment and the loss of youthful dreams in recent literature.
Books
fromThe Atlantic
1 week ago

Unconventional Novels About Conventional People

Aging revolutionaries and conformists share parallel narratives of disillusionment and the loss of youthful dreams in recent literature.
Artificial intelligence
fromThe Atlantic
3 weeks ago

The Human Skill That Eludes AI

Generative AI has paradoxically declined in creative writing quality since GPT-2, despite advancing in technical capabilities, with current models producing formulaic, flawed prose despite access to centuries of literature.
Film
fromVulture
1 week ago

The Twist in The Drama Is Not the Problem

The film features a controversial plot twist involving a character's past plan for a school shooting, sparking significant online speculation and backlash.
Independent films
fromInverse
3 weeks ago

'Project Hail Mary' Author Reveals Why That Twist Ending Is So Essential

Project Hail Mary succeeds through its relatable protagonist Ryland Grace, whose character arc includes a late-film revelation that recontextualizes his heroism and ends with him teaching science to young Eridians on an alien planet.
Film
fromBustle
1 week ago

Is Alana Haim's Character The True Villain In 'The Drama'?

Emma's past revelation spirals the wedding into chaos, with bridesmaid Rachel as the comedic yet irritating villain of the story.
Writing
fromBig Think
3 weeks ago

The medieval "love story" that was really a tale of psychological abuse

Resilience is essential in facing challenges, as exemplified by Odysseus and Penelope's enduring hope and strength during their long separations.
#film-vs-literature
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
4 weeks ago

The Shift That Happens When You Write a Non-Fiction Book

Writing a book transforms tacit knowledge into explicit frameworks, forcing experts to articulate intuitions they've developed through experience into clear, communicable ideas.
Books
fromPsychology Today
2 weeks ago

Fiction Is Indispensable to Life's Journey

Fiction is essential for emotional connection, learning, and social cognition, allowing us to escape reality and engage deeply with narratives.
Television
fromVulture
1 month ago

The Beauty's Most and Least Sensical Transformations, Ranked

The Beauty explores how insecurity about appearance drives people to pursue a transformative virus, examining vanity, body horror, and the disconnect between external appearance and internal identity.
Books
fromBustle
2 weeks ago

The 10 Best New Books About Women Breaking The Mold

Successful women often defy expectations, and quieter forms of rebellion deserve recognition alongside visible rule-breakers.
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

The Goodness Test: Dunk, Baelor, and Why Heroes Still Matter

For decades, we smallfolk have been told that goodness is naïve, that moral grayness is sophistication, and cynicism is cleverness. Turns out, we do not want it. Most of us can only take an endless string of villains, liars, and normalized nastiness for so long. Our battered nervous systems want a hero to root for who would not lie to us or betray us.
Miscellaneous
#romance-tropes
Books
fromScary Mommy
3 weeks ago

Why Do Women Love Romance Tropes That Would Be Red Flags IRL? Experts Explain

Women enjoy romance tropes featuring controlling behavior, stalking, and morally gray characters because books reveal characters' benign intentions and safe outcomes, allowing safe exploration of intense emotions impossible in real life.
Books
fromScary Mommy
3 weeks ago

Why Do Women Love Romance Tropes That Would Be Red Flags IRL? Experts Explain

Women enjoy romance tropes featuring controlling behavior, stalking, and morally gray characters because books reveal characters' benign intentions and safe outcomes, allowing safe exploration of intense emotions impossible in real life.
Television
fromInverse
1 month ago

This Time-Bending Video Game Adaptation Has One Crucial Problem

Life is Strange, a decision-based narrative game, is being adapted into a live-action series by Amazon Prime Studios with Tatum Grace Hopkins and Maisy Stella cast as protagonists Max and Chloe.
Philosophy
fromBig Think
1 month ago

The 3 colors: What folktales teach about how to grow wise

European folktales use red, black, and white colors to represent three modes of being that map human maturation: red as ambition and life force, black as introspection and shadow, and white as wisdom and transcendence.
fromMedium
1 month ago

Things that don't matter when you write

To deny one's own experiences is to put a lie into the lips of one's own life. It is no less than a denial of the soul. The concept I stick to - my core principle - is simple: I write in plain English, and only when I actually have something to say.
Writing
Books
fromThe New Yorker
4 weeks ago

Briefly Noted Book Reviews

Two literary works explore complex themes through innovative narrative techniques: Morrison's essays examine challenging craft elements in Toni Morrison's writing, while Nganang's memoir uses the scale as a metaphor connecting personal experience to colonial history.
Video games
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

It's a loving mockery, because it's also who I am': the making of gaming's most pathetic character

Baby Steps uses deliberate frustration and an inept, awkward protagonist to transform player irritation into empathy, identification, and unexpected affection.
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

What Archetypal Psychology Is and Why It Matters

Modern psychology excels at identifying symptoms but often overlooks deeper narrative patterns that shape human experience and meaning.
Music
fromwww.npr.org
1 month ago

Why music has become such a big part of the romance novel reading experience

Romance novel readers increasingly use pop music playlists to enhance their reading experiences, creating a community that bridges book fandom and music fandom, exemplified by Charli XCX's Wuthering Heights album.
Film
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Scarlet review Mamoru Hosoda turns Hamlet into tale of prowling knights and deep nothingness'

Mamoru Hosoda's anime adaptation of Hamlet, Scarlet, features stunning visuals but suffers from incoherent storytelling, arbitrary world-building, and heavy-handed philosophical messaging that undermines its narrative impact.
US politics
fromPsychology Today
2 months ago

A War of Narratives

Clear, simple narratives improve understanding; truth-focused, superior narratives are necessary to counter disinformation and avoid equating falsehoods with facts.
Miscellaneous
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

The Personality You Develop Is the Personality You Seek

Personality changes throughout adulthood through niche-picking, where individuals choose environments that reinforce their traits, challenging the notion that personalities are fixed or purely inherited.
Mental health
fromPsychology Today
2 months ago

The Importance of Narrative Case Studies

Clinical case narratives remain vital educational tools, evolving with media to teach clinicians, normalize clients' experiences, and support suicide-related clinical training.
fromHarvard Gazette
2 months ago

Moved by what's missing in Homer's 'Harrow' - Harvard Gazette

At first sight, Winslow Homer's " The Brush Harrow," which depicts two young boys, a horse, and a harrow against an arid landscape, evokes a feeling of somber isolation - but it's hard to pinpoint why. During a talk by curator Horace D. Ballard at the Harvard Art Museums on Jan. 29, visitors learned that Homer painted the scene in 1865, as the Civil War was ending, making the emotional underpinnings of the work clearer.
Arts
Philosophy
fromBig Think
2 months ago

Which of the 5 philosophical archetypes best describes you?

Everyone engages in philosophy through wonder, logic, interrogation, introspection, dialectic, and advocacy, expressed via diverse archetypal approaches such as the questioning Sphinx.
Mental health
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

When Telling Your Story Costs You

DID is an adaptive, trauma-based survival response, not spectacle; media interviews often violate survivors' boundaries, causing harm and unequal power dynamics.
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

The rallying cry of the rich and horrible': the song that TV villains love to sing

Although the works of Gilbert and Sullivan have gained a reputation for being chummy, collegiate and a little pompous, For He is an Englishman is in fact a bitingly satirical piece of faux-patriotism. Although it sounds like something to be bellowed by tipsy Last Night of the Proms poshos, the song speaks to the kind of blind nationalism that bases exceptionalism purely on the location of one's birth.
Television
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

Burn Your Romance Novels!

The short answer is yes, unless you take fiction for what it is-fiction. When you long for something you don't have, it can lead to dissatisfaction with what you DO have. Romantic fiction has witty, heartfelt dialogue, buckets of romantic gestures, and protagonists who have a preternatural ability to read each other's minds. It's easy to forget it is not real. This can set up unrealistic expectations both conscious and unconscious.
Relationships
fromSlate Magazine
2 months ago

The New Game of Thrones Show Flashes Something ... Huge in Episode 2. It's Not Even the Most Impressive Part.

Jenny G. Zhang: After a series premiere that seemed to be received pretty well by viewers-although the diarrhea smash cut was certainly divisive-we open the second episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms with another jump scare: big dong alert, courtesy of Ser Arlan of Pennytree, who is truly packing the heat. (While he is probably not a Best or a Worst Person in Westeros this week, he certainly deserves some kind of title.)
fromSlate Magazine
2 months ago

Help! I Want to Escape a Chaotic Friendship. But I'm Trapped By a Dark Chapter From Our Past.

"Sara" is a close friend who suffers from significant mental health challenges. She is often sullen, easily offended, and quick to anger. Recently, she had a severe meltdown (which was never discussed), cut me off completely, and didn't speak to me for months. We patched that one up somehow, but her behavior is frequently challenging to the point where I question whether our friendship is worth it.
Relationships
fromSilicon Canals
2 months ago

7 things people do when telling stories that make others tune out immediately without realizing it - Silicon Canals

We've all been there. Someone starts telling a story, and within seconds, your mind starts wandering. Maybe you pull out your phone, suddenly remember an urgent email, or find yourself mentally reorganizing your weekend plans. The storyteller doesn't notice. They keep going, completely unaware that they've lost their audience. After interviewing over 200 people for various articles, I've noticed patterns in how people communicate their experiences. Some captivate you from the first word, while others lose you before they've even gotten to the point.
Writing
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
2 months ago

What Story Are You Telling Yourself?

Personal narrative, shaped by caregivers and experiences, defines worldview, governing assumptions, ambitions, expectations, and therefore determines actions and potential achievements.
Television
fromBustle
2 months ago

'Vanished' Starts Sweet, Then Drops You Into A Twist-Heavy Mystery You'll Devour

A woman’s romantic trip turns into a dangerous, twisty thriller as she pursues her mysteriously disappeared boyfriend across Europe, becoming a competent, action-ready heroine.
Writing
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

The Writer's Secret Weapon

Swimming and physical exertion enhance creative thinking by muffling sensory input, boosting neurotransmitters, and enabling deeper, more original idea generation.
Television
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

In "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," Character Development Returns to Westeros

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a small-scale, gentle buddy dramedy saved by its two endearing leads, Dunk and Egg.
Books
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago

How to Put Sex in a Novel

Contemporary literary fiction increasingly avoids depicting heterosexual intimacy while queer novelists freely explore sex's complexities, as exemplified by Jan Saenz's unconventional novel about selling experimental orgasm-inducing pills.
Film
fromIndieWire
2 months ago

'Scarlet' Tells a Classical Revenge Story - Just Don't Call It a Shakespeare Adaptation

Scarlet reimagines Hamlet as a gender-swapped revenge tale that becomes a purgatorial journey questioning whether cycles of vengeance are worth perpetuating.
Television
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Competency porn: is there any greater escapism than watching a capable person on TV?

Audiences increasingly seek escapism through media that showcases calm, expert performance and everyday professional competence rather than sensational or fantastical drama.
fromJezebel
1 month ago

Turns Out, When You Write a Novel About Killing a Politician, People Tell You How They'd Do It

When the people who are after me get here, they'll arrest me and put me on trial, or they'll disappear me to some black site. Or they won't bother with any of that and they'll just kill me. All of these seem like plausible outcomes, but in the novel's prologue, the narrator seems much more confident of her success: I am a fucking genius, a gorgeous fucking genius, and the only thing left to do is sit down and write.
Books
Film
fromThe New Yorker
1 month ago

Say It Again: A Treatment

Clara, a spy whose family and friends were repeatedly targeted by Russian gangs, travels to London and infiltrates M.I.6 to find a Russian double agent.
Books
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago

When Did Literature Get Less Dirty?

Philip Roth's Zuckerman Unbound functioned as a response to the controversial reception of Portnoy's Complaint, with Roth's protagonist expressing regret over writing sexually explicit material that drew accusations of anti-Semitism and misogyny.
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

A Biography Without 'The Boring Bits'

Sophia Stewart poses a choice that many biographers struggle with: "what to do with the boring bits."
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

A cowardly, deluded drunken waster': readers on their favourite unlikable movie characters

A murderer, a gleefully sadistic rapist, an unapologetic sociopathic who treats human beings as playthings and a menace to every value in moral society. And yet Malcolm McDowell brings him to life with such panache and fun, he is irresistibly charming and likable throughout his horrors. You even feel happy for him at the end when he gets away with the whole thing.
Film
Books
fromPsychology Today
2 months ago

Curing Zombies in "The Bone Temple"

Monsters evolve to mirror the cultural anxieties and ambitions of their eras, revealing societal fears about race, empire, mental health, and scientific cure.
Books
fromMedium
1 month ago

How to start writing (like it's easy)

A profoundly immersive book can deeply alter readers and provoke self-doubt about one's own creative abilities.
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Wise by Frank Tallis review how to turn your midlife crisis into a hero's journey

Following some of the arguments in Ernest Becker's 1973 study The Denial of Death, he proposes that such crises are at least partly the result of the western reluctance to face mortality. In Britain, we eschew open coffins, for instance. When our relatives die, as my mother did two years ago, they die in a hospital rather than at home. We can hardly even bring ourselves to say die, preferring euphemisms such as pass away.
Books
Books
fromwww.nytimes.com
1 month ago

Romance Glossary: An A-Z Guide of Tropes and Themes to Find Your Next Book

Lists 101 romance-genre terms (e.g., cinnamon roll, shadow daddy, fae) to help readers identify subgenres and find recommended books.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman review a perfect fairytale for our times

A dislocated professor abandons institutional life and retreats toward neo‑transcendental solitude in nature after losing job, spouse, and social standing.
Books
fromEngadget
1 month ago

What to read this weekend: The unsettling new horror novel, Persona

A trans woman uncovers non-consensual pornography of herself and is drawn into escalating horrors involving identity, exploitation, internet influence, and economic precarity.
Books
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

How Do You Write About the Inexplicable?

Rational skepticism coexists with a persistent tendency to personify evil and read coincidences as omens.
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