James asked us to write up a character bio for our protagonist of our short film so I did just that, behold:
My main character is the younger sister of a two-child home, her older sister has been sent off to college and had a big falling out with their parents regarding her faith. Olive, our protagonist and the younger of the two sisters, remembers this argument clearly, she sat by and awkwardly watched it happen before eventually scuttling off to her room. Her sister is a whole 5 years older than her and at the time she was only 11 years of age.
The discussion was above her own understanding, she thought little of it and as a child still accepted things for what they were as you do before puberty hits. Her sister, Elisabeth, or as she always addressed her as, Ellie, left the house soon after - at the age of 16 her sister was legally allowed to leave home and that's exactly what she did. Her sister's actions did not leave Olive unscathed, with her parents becoming more focused on her upbringing.
They often asked Olive the typical adult line of questioning, about how she was doing and trying to relate to what she was going through on a day to day basis. It had become obvious to her that mum and dad didn't want to repeat what happened to Ellie and were making sure to take all the pastor's advice on board. Ellie had even been allowed to choose what school she attended, not having to go to the same catholic school as her older sister. They were giving her more choice in order to prevent her from feeling trapped in her Christian upbringing.
In Olive's opinion, it had never been determined by how forcibly she was brought up in the church, rather by her own naturally given tolerance for her parents and other authoritarian figures. Ellie was a rebel inside and out, someone who had always been far less agreeable than her. Olive didn't claim to understand why her sister stood up so strongly for what she believed, or rather so strongly against the beliefs of others, but she did sincerely feel that she, Olive, had a better way with people and could sympathize better with a different point of view.
She didn't know if she actually believed in the God of the Bible or not, she was very much on the fence, however, that was a little detail her parents would never be privy to. See Olive was good at hiding things - not dishonest in her mind, she saw it more as just being able to project herself in the appropriate manner so that she appeared in the best light to whoever she was interacting with.
Ellie was the opposite, not caring what others thought and not complying with rules she felt was unnecessary. Olive was obedient, she did what others wanted to keep the peace, she didn't always agree with it but somewhere deep down felt a need to fo the right thing - or at least what others said the right thing was. She is a person never fully convinced of something, but because of others will stick to believing a thing and adhere to the rules of said thing - she always writes God with a capital G, even though she's not even sure she believes in him.
When Olive goes to visit her sister Ellie she is excited, she's excited at the idea of seeing what life is like outside of the home. Her sister has managed to straighten her life up and get into college, even after leaving school. She assumes that must be rare and looks up to her older sister, she is also captivated by the life that lies beyond the high walls that her parents have built. She had never had the same desire to escape as Ellie, but curiosity nonetheless burns within her. The thing she hears in school from her friends about drugs, sex and alcohol are something she looks down on and feel she would never do, but at the same time, if her older sister did, Olive would be more then willing to accept and explore it herself.
Olive is excited going to visit her sister because it is a form of adult authority that is a completely different path than what her own up bringers chose. She feels like she can relate to anyone and is excited to see a different side of the world.
She has no idea how different it actually is.
My main character is the younger sister of a two-child home, her older sister has been sent off to college and had a big falling out with their parents regarding her faith. Olive, our protagonist and the younger of the two sisters, remembers this argument clearly, she sat by and awkwardly watched it happen before eventually scuttling off to her room. Her sister is a whole 5 years older than her and at the time she was only 11 years of age.
The discussion was above her own understanding, she thought little of it and as a child still accepted things for what they were as you do before puberty hits. Her sister, Elisabeth, or as she always addressed her as, Ellie, left the house soon after - at the age of 16 her sister was legally allowed to leave home and that's exactly what she did. Her sister's actions did not leave Olive unscathed, with her parents becoming more focused on her upbringing.
They often asked Olive the typical adult line of questioning, about how she was doing and trying to relate to what she was going through on a day to day basis. It had become obvious to her that mum and dad didn't want to repeat what happened to Ellie and were making sure to take all the pastor's advice on board. Ellie had even been allowed to choose what school she attended, not having to go to the same catholic school as her older sister. They were giving her more choice in order to prevent her from feeling trapped in her Christian upbringing.
In Olive's opinion, it had never been determined by how forcibly she was brought up in the church, rather by her own naturally given tolerance for her parents and other authoritarian figures. Ellie was a rebel inside and out, someone who had always been far less agreeable than her. Olive didn't claim to understand why her sister stood up so strongly for what she believed, or rather so strongly against the beliefs of others, but she did sincerely feel that she, Olive, had a better way with people and could sympathize better with a different point of view.
She didn't know if she actually believed in the God of the Bible or not, she was very much on the fence, however, that was a little detail her parents would never be privy to. See Olive was good at hiding things - not dishonest in her mind, she saw it more as just being able to project herself in the appropriate manner so that she appeared in the best light to whoever she was interacting with.
Ellie was the opposite, not caring what others thought and not complying with rules she felt was unnecessary. Olive was obedient, she did what others wanted to keep the peace, she didn't always agree with it but somewhere deep down felt a need to fo the right thing - or at least what others said the right thing was. She is a person never fully convinced of something, but because of others will stick to believing a thing and adhere to the rules of said thing - she always writes God with a capital G, even though she's not even sure she believes in him.
When Olive goes to visit her sister Ellie she is excited, she's excited at the idea of seeing what life is like outside of the home. Her sister has managed to straighten her life up and get into college, even after leaving school. She assumes that must be rare and looks up to her older sister, she is also captivated by the life that lies beyond the high walls that her parents have built. She had never had the same desire to escape as Ellie, but curiosity nonetheless burns within her. The thing she hears in school from her friends about drugs, sex and alcohol are something she looks down on and feel she would never do, but at the same time, if her older sister did, Olive would be more then willing to accept and explore it herself.
Olive is excited going to visit her sister because it is a form of adult authority that is a completely different path than what her own up bringers chose. She feels like she can relate to anyone and is excited to see a different side of the world.
She has no idea how different it actually is.
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