MARY SUE CHARACTERS IN SCREENWRITING
MARY SUE CHARACTERS IN SCREENWRITING

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of the current article is to explain the meaning of the term Mary Sue character, as well as of its masculine counterparts, Marty Stu or Gary Stu character, and to emphasize the urgent need to avoid the use of such clichés in the construct of screenplays. The article takes into account: the definition of the two terms, i.e. Mary Sue, respectively Marty/ Gary Stu characters; the origins of the term Mary Sue character;the problems raised by the use of such characters; a brief review of Mary Sue/ Gary Sue characters in movies and TV series; analysis of several Mary Sue/ Gary Sue characters;methods to avoid writing Mary Sue characters,and conclusions meant to stress the importance of creating three-dimensional characters as opposed to Mary Sue characters.

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