On Redemption and Perpendicular Enlightenment

Everyone wants to get something without earning it.  Come on, admit it.  This is where the impulse to gamble comes from; you might get something for free!  Of course, just like gambling, in the end we all pay for the things we receive.  Redemption is exactly like this.  Redemption is the mode by which a flawed character is forgiven.  This is no small task of course – the bigger the flaw, the deeper the cut, the more horrific the sin, the more difficult it will be for your character to find redemption.  But of course, the more difficult the road to redemption, the better the story.  But it’s so much work!  Can’t a person just realize something and become better?  Doesn’t this happen all the time?  Writers sometimes take shortcuts and characters will realize the error of their ways seemingly by magic.  Zen Buddhists might call this Perpendicular Enlightenment- which is the concept by which one does not seek out enlightenment, for such a thing cannot be predicted.  Enlightenment comes on its own, like a ton of bricks falling on your head as you stroll down 7th avenue one sunny afternoon.  So, in an L-shaped motion, a Zen Buddhist might hear a Kone and experience revelation.  This expressed through drama, however, often feels unearned, and perhaps even worse, it feels suspect.  If a person did something bad, and then one day just realizes that it was bad, did they REALLY realize it was bad?  Or are they faking it?  Putting on a show?  Getting what they want, which is fast food forgiveness, quick and dirty redemption.  So, what is our other option?  Earning redemption.  Proving it to us.  And how does a person do that? 

A small diversion that may help us with that question: I was recently in a meeting with a producer, talking about an exciting project that they wanted to find a director for.  The producer suggested to me that they hire a noted director, who had a long career and was well respected until it had come to light that they had been sexually harassing staff and artists for years.  The director’s reputation was tarnished, they had lost their job and all other job opportunities going forward.  This incident had occurred, perhaps a year or so before, so you can imagine my surprise when the producer suggested hiring this director.  I protested, I talked about the frankly obvious arguments why we wouldn’t want to become involved with this director, so obvious I won’t insult your intelligence by repeating them.  The interesting part was the producer’s rebuttal: “What about redemption Jesse?”.  The producer argued that the director had lost his prestigious jobs, had been publicly embarrassed and shamed and cancelled, had not been offered any jobs by anyone since.  Surely that was punishment enough.  Surely redemption had been “achieved”.  “Jesse, you yourself work with incarcerated playwrights and the recently incarcerated – are you saying what this director did was worse than murder?  Do you not believe in redemption with him equally?”  I will admit to you, I was fluxommed.  I think I managed to stammer out “Well, it’s not the same thing!” but I was unable to describe why it wasn’t the same thing in the moment.  As with all of us, I thought of the BEST response an hour later: What the director experienced was not redemption.  He experienced consequences for his actions.  The power he had abused was taken away.  Justice, or as close as we can get to it, was served.  That is not redemption.  Has that director sought out counseling?  Talked to his community about his actions?  Had he learned how he could make amends with his victims?  Had he sought out organizations he could support that stopped behavior he perpetuated?  In short, how had the director CHANGED? 

And this is what we are talking about when we are talking about drama; How people change?  What combination of hardship, humility, learning and grace get us to change, get us to redemption?  Well, there’s no formula, so all I can tell you is that it takes work.  Don’t steal that from your characters.  Make them work to change.  Make them face the wind in their faces.  Make them earn it.  They will be better people for it.  As we all are.