The Importance of Fear
What could possibly be scarier then admitting your vulnerabilities and fears? When doing so means giving anyone out to harm you an easy target. One never goes into battle without their armor! A fear of spiders will leave you in a Ron Weasley situation as fast as a vulnerability to silver bullets will lead one right to your chest.
Just as humans have vulnerabilities and fears, characters do too. Pick any character and try to see their vulnerabilities, their weaknesses, maybe even find whatever they are trying to hide. It can also be interesting to see what fear can lead to. Sometimes its obvious, especially in children’s movies. Mufasa’s vulnerability lies in his lion cub. Ariels secret desire is to have legs instead of fins, and in a sequel is afraid to tell her daughter what she once was. Cinderella is afraid of being a servant all her life. Snow White is afraid to be alone. Dory has an embarrassing memory disorder. Mufasa, Ariel, Cinderella, Snow White and Dory all of them try to hide their vulnerability from others; knowing that if discovered it will certainly be used against them.
Mature movie characters still have those vulnerabilities of course! Joel and Clementine ( Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) are afraid of the positive memories of their ex, fearing they are so powerful they will never except the end of their relationship. Nina Sayers (Black Swan) weakness lies in her refusal to let her dark side exist, leading to her darkness taking over her completely and literally taking her life. ‘Jack’ (Fight Club) has a sickeningly normal life that leaves him in fear of every tomorrow, leading to the uprising of a group that brings anarchy and demolishes a city.
While they should be kept to ourselves, there is so much power and motivation to be found in fear! Fear can take our voice or give us legs. Fear can create a beautiful ballet or lead to suicide. It can hold us in the wrong relationship or help push us out. It can bring a group of men together or destroy buildings. And in the right world it can turn a slave into a princess. Hope can only exist with fear, for there is no need for light if there is no darkness.
