The Perfect Victim: How We Interpret Characters With Trauma

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Geek Remix

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Published on August 4, 2018 1:25:32 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvwRZ8gQu_I

Game:

Life Is Strange (2015)

Duration: 6:24

48,953 views

4,985

There are different types of victims in video games. Ones we love and want to protect, and others that are harder to open our hearts to. Why? How?

Script:

I’ve been playing video games on the internet for some time now and there are many patterns I have noticed in people’s reactions to different characters. The one I will focus on today is how people react to victimhood and how well they empathize with a character.

It seems to me that the more passive a victim is, the easier it is for a viewer or player to feel sympathy for them. But any sort anger or defiance will end in many people thinking the character is unworthy of their empathy. That somehow they deserve the bad life they’ve had.

Some fandom sweethearts I have noticed are kate from Life is Strange 1, Connor from Detroit Become Human, and Chris from Captain Spirit.

All these characters share a passive and submissive attitude even in the face of extreme abuse. And I will be honest it does pull at my heartstrings as well.

I suppose these characters seem completely not at fault for their situation. They act perfectly and without blame. There is no possible way for us, the observer, to find a way that they deserve the bad things that are happening to them. The perfect victim.

But life is not always like that. And characters that drive an interesting story cannot always be perfect and passive. Sometimes they get angry or lash out in unhelpful ways.

For example we have Chloe from Life is Strange. A girl who went through the same experience as kate, being drugged and not know what happened to her, and more. Chloe has also lost her father in a car accident, and her girlfriend has been missing for months. And things only get worse from there.

And yet the reactions to her character are largely negative. Be it people saying she deserves to by physically assaulted by her stepfather. To saying she is just a loser who deserves everything that happens to her. Only when her character was softened in before the storm did people find more sympathy for her. When her trauma was fresher and more current. As if the passing of time made people blind to the pain she went through when season one happened.

Another similar character is Jack Zero from Mass Effect. Maybe I have a soft spot for punk girls. But many other people do not and find her personality to be grating. But yet again this is a woman who has gone through things our nightmares cannot even touch. Kidnapped as a child and experimented on. Forced into a child fight club. Escaped and exploited physically and sexually by the first people who semi tried to take care of her. And finally imprisoned then sexually assaulted in terrible ways.

And yet, many people don’t like her for being an angry and defensive person who pushes people away due to a lifetime of being abused and used.

So what is the difference between our perfect victims and the ones we cannot stand? I think it’s time. Time between the trauma and the present. Chloe has been living with that pain with no help for a long time, and she’s turned angry and bitter. Same for Jack Zero. And that can be harder to get past and harder to understand. You don’t get the chance to see the pain, only the result.

While with our perfect victims the trauma is fresh. They are still trying to understand what is even happening to them. So they barely react. Maybe their faith in people is somewhat intact. Which causes them to still hope for a good outcome.

But the important thing here is that our perfect cinnamon rolls that we want to love and protect are going to become just like the characters we don’t like as much. It’s only a matter of time. If kate never got justice, would she have dove deeper into religion and expressed slut shaming in a harsher way? If Connor was continually mistreated without the revolution, would he deviate and become an asshole to all humans?

Would our sweet baby chris grow up to be just like Chloe?

In real life, most likely, yes.

I guess my point is that the reactions to trauma are long lasting. The longer it’s there, the bigger it grows. Pain makes people assholes. They put of defenses to stop anymore pain from happening. Pushing people away, doing irrational things, and being self destructive are all very common among people who have been through something terrible. So while our perfect little angels are there to make us want to care for them, not everyone can be like that. And writing a real character will sometimes make something that is uncomfortable to look at.


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