Characters
The short film “Up and Down” by Jason Karman features three important characters – Emily, Joel and Kristie, as well as the secondary characters of Joel’s friends who are defined by the same passion for yo-yoing, and an absent character, Emily and Kristie’s mother. In this section, we will focus on the characterisation of Emily, Joel and Kristie.
Emily
Emily is the protagonist of the short film, who appears from the first frame of the movie. Her outer characterisation shows her as a boyishly-dressed teenager, with short blond hair and blue eyes. From the dialogue between the characters, we find out that she lives with her older sister Kristie and her mother (which appears to be always absent), and that her French father, who was a chef, had died some years ago ‘overseas’.
Inner characterisation
Emily’s inner characterisation surfaces through her gestures and interactions with the other characters. From the initial interactions with her sister, Emily comes across as shy and preferring to hide her body in boyish clothes.
Emily likes a boy at school so much that she is willing to learn his favourite game, yo-yoing, and gathers the courage to approach the boy and ask him to teach her how to yo-yo.
...
Joel
Joel is another important character in the short film, as he is the object of Emily’s affection. His outer characterisation presents him as a regular teenager, with light hair and light eyes, who enjoys playing with the yo-yo with his friends.
Inner characterisation
His inner characterisation is reflected through his gestures and interactions with the other characters. In the beginning, he does not seem to notice Emily and is surprised when she asks him to teach her how to yo-yo, claiming that he is not such a good player.
...
Kristie
Kristie is Emily’s older sister and an important character for the conflicts of the short film. The girl’s outer characterisation shows her to be very girly, with long dark hair and wearing revealing clothes. In the beginning, she seems to be dating a boy named John, but he never appears in the movie. Also, later on, we find out that she also has a job.
Inner characterisation
Kristie’s inner characterisation indicates that she is a flirty girl and, as soon as she sees Joel, her attitude changes because she finds him attractive. Even if she is aware that her sister likes the boy, this does not prevent her from flirting with him when they met.
...
