# Can a photoplay character change during the story or must he stay the same, and what do Phillips (1914) and Münsterberg (1916) say?

- id: art_01M5MVR8FKKRGBWP3F7CN30C67
- type: article · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T01 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-23T17:08:19.565Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5MVR8FKKRGBWP3F7CN30C67

Both authors allow change but ask for consistency, and neither gives a preparation method. Phillips says a character 'may develop from weakness to strength' (adding that each bit of action is itself weak or strong), that a hero may act wrongly 'in that stage of his character development before the elements of the story itself change him from weak to strong', and, in rows already published (C3-B256-S71-04 E9, E10), that a thoroughly bad character must remain bad while a good one who goes bad may be bettered but must suffer. He also wants each person's characteristics maintained throughout, a character with consistent traits, characters subservient to the climax, and calls a character study 'next to impossible' in photodrama. Münsterberg's chief demand is that the characters remain consistent and the action develop by inner necessity; he doubts the theorists' view that development of character is for drama alone and the photoplay must use types. Phillips offers one example of a motive...

Both authors allow change but ask for consistency, and neither gives a preparation method. Phillips says a character 'may develop from weakness to strength' (adding that each bit of action is itself weak or strong), that a hero may act wrongly 'in that stage of his character development before the elements of the story itself change him from weak to strong', and, in rows already published (C3-B256-S71-04 E9, E10), that a thoroughly bad character must remain bad while a good one who goes bad may be bettered but must suffer. He also wants each person's characteristics maintained throughout, a character with consistent traits, characters subservient to the climax, and calls a character study 'next to impossible' in photodrama. Münsterberg's chief demand is that the characters remain consistent and the action develop by inner necessity; he doubts the theorists' view that development of character is for drama alone and the photoplay must use types. Phillips offers one example of a motive for a change (a letter insert); neither author gives a count of scenes or a device list.

Curator qualifications: Phillips allows weak-to-strong development with consistency, and gives no preparation method (bounded counts reproduce).

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/70937/pg70937.txt",
      "note": "candidate evidence excerpts"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/15383/pg15383.txt",
      "note": "candidate evidence excerpts"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] Both authors allow change but ask for consistency, and neither gives a preparation method. Phillips says a character 'may develop from weakness to strength' (adding that each bit of action is itself weak or strong), that a hero may act wrongly 'in that stage of his character development before the elements of the story itself change him from weak to strong', and, in rows already published (C3-B256-S71-04 E9, E10), that a thoroughly bad character must remain bad while a good one who goes bad may be bettered but must suffer. He also wants each person's characteristics maintained throughout, a character with consistent traits, characters subservient to the climax, and calls a character study 'next to impossible' in photodrama. Münsterberg's chief demand is that the characters remain consistent and the action develop by inner necessity; he doubts the theorists' view that development of character is for drama alone and the photoplay must use types. Phillips offers one example of a motive for a change (a letter insert); neither author gives a count of scenes or a device list. · locator: candidate evidence excerpts · source: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/70937/pg70937.txt

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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