Welcome to the 'In Character' Blog

Hello there. I'm Elizabeth Blair, and given the nature of this project, I thought I'd introduce myself by way of my two favorite fictional characters. At the moment they are:

Cookie Monster: Such a pop-culture phenom that he made headlines when he confessed to varying his diet now and then.

Theo Wargo, Sesame Workshop

(1) Cookie Monster, thanks to my soon-to-be 3-year-old son, Ben; and (2) Achilles, thanks to Bill Mullen. He's a classics professor at Bard College; I interviewed him for today's All Things Considered story introducing the In Character series.

Why these two? Well, Cookie Monster because he's clear about what he wants.

Achilles because, as Mullen explains it, the raging soldier of Greek myth has a lot to teach us about the psychological trauma of war. There's even a psychiatrist in Boston, Dr. Jonathan Shay, who uses Achilles to help combat veterans heal.

(One note: Achilles, obviously, isn't American -- which is one of the criteria for the characters we'll examine throughout this series. But in this first radio piece, I explore the building blocks of a great character. I also wanted to point out that fictional characters have illuminated human behavior in profound ways for centuries.)

Achilles: Yep, we know he's not American. (Though hey, at least Brad Pitt is.) But we're not rule-bending, we're framing the debate: Unforgettable characters have been around for millennia. And like all truly indelible characters, Achilles has a tragic flaw -- which helps him teach us something about what it means to be human.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Now, Achilles and Cookie Monster might not seem like they have anything in common. But in a way, that's the point: They're a reflection of the range of characters we'll hear from and hear about in the In Character series.

Back to introductions, though: I'm a senior producer, reporter, editor, etc. on the arts desk at NPR. In Character is an extension of two other series I worked on: The NPR 100, which explored American musical works of the 20th century, and Present at the Creation, which examined a range of Americana — from the pinup to the expression "OK."

Among the things I'm looking forward to about In Character are the debates we're sure to have about whether a particular character is really important. It'll also be interesting to hear about different interpretations of the same figure. Can't wait to hear yours.

Another introduction: Trey Graham, my fellow blogger on this project. He's an arts journalist working in NPR's Digital Media shop, and a theater critic for both the local PBS affiliate and the local alt-weekly newspaper here in Washington, D.C.

Both of us are excited about In Character. And both of us want you to let us know about your own favorite American characters.

Just remember, we're talking about fictional characters, not the real-life characters we all know — however entertaining their antics may be.

--Elizabeth Blair

1:40 PM ET | 12-31-2007 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

Frequently Asked Questions

You've got questions? We've got answers.

What is In Character?

The In Character blog is an online companion to NPR's In Character, a radio series exploring the origins and impact of unforgettable characters from American fiction. (We're interpreting "fiction" broadly: Characters from movies, TV, graphic novels, even Web serials are all fair game.) Elizabeth Blair, lead producer on the radio series, co-hosts the blog with Trey Graham, an arts producer in NPR's Digital Media unit.

Why a blog?

Because at the core of In Character is the idea that the best fictional characters reflect something about who we are and how we got here — and because we know that everybody's "we" is different. This blog is where our ideas meet yours; it's where you find out more about our thought processes, offer feedback on our character studies, and introduce your own for the community here to discuss.

It's also a place for us — and you — to offer up examples and multimedia elements (whether that's photos, video, or longer bits of audio) that just won't work on radio, or that make for interesting sidebar discussions. Got one? Send it to us.

Who can comment?

Anyone. If you are reading this, you can post a comment or submit an In Character essay.

Can I only comment about In Character?

Pretty much. Comments should be on topic for each particular blog posting. Political Junkie is over here, for those of you with a burning need to talk about the elections. (But if you want to nominate a fictional politico, this is the place.)

Do you have rules about what can or cannot be said in the comments?

Absolutely. Please see our discussion guidelines.

I've posted a comment and it was removed.

Hmmm. Maybe you should take a look at those discussion guidelines again.

Who writes the blog?

Like its radio companion, the In Character blog is a team effort. Elizabeth Blair and Trey Graham are the lead bloggers. But we're likely to have guest bloggers from time to time.

How do I know which posts are written by whom?

You'll see the author's name in italics under each post.

How often do you post new entries to the blog?

We post at least once a day, Monday through Friday.

What if I want to e-mail the In Character team privately?

Send us a message through our contact form.

Can I nominate characters for discussion on the blog or on the air?

Absolutely — that's one big reason the blog is here. There's a nomination form where you can point out characters you think rate discussion. That discussion will most likely happen here — but it could also end up on the radio.

What if someone's already nominated my character?

Then it's best if you chime in through the comments thread attached to that nomination. If you missed the original post, and use the Web form to submit an essay about a character who's already been featured on the blog, we'll add your essay to the comments. So keep an eye on the "Recent Comments" list in the right-hand sidebar.

Will blog comments be read on the air?

It's possible — all public comments are fair game, and some of what transpires here may inspire a radio piece or two before we're done. If you'd like your comment to be kept private, send it to us through our contact form and specify in the subject line that it's not for air.

Can I link to your blog?

Absolutely!

Will you link to my blog?

We never say never. We're looking to engage in a conversation about indelible American characters; if your blog deals with arts and culture on a regular basis, and much of its content is directly relevant, it's a possibility.

Do I need to sign up to be eligible to post comments?

Not at the moment, but that may change someday as we add new community features to the Web site.

1:35 PM ET | 12-31-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Discussion Guidelines

Every blog has its rules, and these are ours. If you break them, don't be surprised if we block your comments.

First things first: If you can't be polite, don't say it. We don't want to stifle discussion, and we're not always going to agree with each other. And of course the whole point of this blog is that iconic characters inspire passionate loyalties. Still, please try to disagree without being disagreeable. Focus your remarks on positions, not personalities. No name-calling, slander, comments about someone's mother, comparisons to notorious dictators — you get the idea. And under no circumstances should you post anything that could be taken as threatening, harassing, sexist or racist.

Don't use obscenities — even if the word in question is often used in conversation. We're not going to list the words we object to; you know what they are. Remember, this is a public forum, and we want everyone to feel comfortable participating.

Your posts should be your work. You're welcome to link to relevant content and to quote from other people's work with attribution. But that doesn't mean you can copy and paste wholesale.

Please stay on topic. We're here to talk about characters who've left an enduring mark on us and our society. We're willing to allow a certain amount of leeway when it comes to discussing us, or our society, or other topics that the characters lead us to. But let's not stray too far. Think of it this way: If you hosted a book-club meeting at your house, you wouldn't want someone to show up and insist on discussing reality TV.

Rambling is the kiss of death. There is a 150-word limit on character essays. There is no limit on the length of blog comments. But anything beyond a few paragraphs had better be very, very interesting to the larger community. We reserve the right to edit for brevity as well as clarity.

Please respect others' privacy. We love to learn about new and interesting individuals, but most people will not be happy to have their phone numbers or e-mail addresses published. If you need to share someone's contact information, please submit it through our contact form.

Feel free to share your ideas and experiences about religion, politics and relevant products or services you've discovered. But this is not a place for advertising, promotion, recruiting, campaigning, soliciting or proselytizing. We understand that there can be a fine line between discussing and campaigning; please use your best judgment — and we'll use ours.

We appreciate the news tips members of the public send us. However, NPR reserves the right not to publicize allegations, conspiracy theories and other information which we know to be false or unsubstantiated.

Please don't use public forums for private communication. Most of our forums have a link (it's on the right side) for sending private messages to a blogger or host. Similarly, if you have comments about NPR coverage or policies generally, please don't use the blog discussion threads to air them. For issues regarding NPR editorial content or policies, write to the office of the ombudsman. To contact an NPR program or any of our business and technical departments, use the NPR contact form.

If you want to know even more about what is and isn't allowed on NPR.org, please see our terribly official Terms of Use page.

1:30 PM ET | 12-31-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post