When we read a book or watch a movie, we may enter into a world created by the author or filmmaker. While we are in this world, we believe that it is real--that the characters are real beings with real problems. In literary terms, this is "the suspension of disbelief". We may suspend our disbelief that people can do magic, for instance, and be entertained by a tale of magicians. When we do not believe that the characters are real, the book or movie seems boring. We may leave the movie or fail to finish the book.
An author or filmmaker may tell a story set in the real world--but if the characters do not seem real, the story is unrealistic to us. The things the characters say, the feelings they express, the way they interact with one another or respond to problems, all serve to make them real and convincing--or flat, unconvincing and boring. Political dramas in which the characters take themselves too seriously are often unconvincing--both the plot, which has the character being the only person alive who can save the world (even most comic books don't go this far), and the characterization, which has an actor trying to portray the only person who can save the world.
The Wizard of Oz is a good example of suspension of disbelief. For the purposes of the film, most people (including me) believe that scarecrows can talk, that there really are wicked witches, and that there is a land somewhere over the rainbow, populated by munchkins. We not only believe that these characters and their problems are real, we care about them and hope that Dorothy gets back to Kansas, and that the wicked witch gets her just deserts.
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