And part of the trick, I think, is to have the narrative itself call the characters on their bullshit when needed-- have the verbal abuse blow up in their face, have the homophobic remark hurt someone they care about, have their racism lose them a contact or opportunity. You can't always do that in a short story, of course, but I do think it's an effective tool.
That's one of the things Life On Mars did do very effectively in the first season - it had Gene's prejudices threaten the investigation and put innocent people in danger at times. It's a good tactic if you can pull it off subtly, I reckon.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-02-21 07:33 pm (UTC)That's one of the things Life On Mars did do very effectively in the first season - it had Gene's prejudices threaten the investigation and put innocent people in danger at times. It's a good tactic if you can pull it off subtly, I reckon.