How style types communicate deeper meaning in TV and Movies

Note--post may contain spoilers!

This post will discuss how to stereotype people based on how they look. Just kidding—what follows are examples of how style types may symbolize internal qualities of movie and TV characters. I’ll end by reflecting on whether the fact that characters sometimes physically embody their personalities does in fact perpetuate harmful looks-based stereotypes of real people.

Style Type in Breaking Bad

The acclaimed TV series Breaking Bad chronicles the devolution of Walter White, played by Dramatic Natural Classic Bryan Cranston. Throughout the series, Walter transforms from good-natured and law-abiding (visually symbolized by his friendly and proper Natural Classic essences) to villain (visually symbolized by his intimidating Dramatic essence).

Bryan Cranston is a phenomenal actor and would have succeeded in the role regardless of his style type. Still, his type may facilitate his effective portrayal of Walter’s transformation.

Specifically, throughout the series, Walter’s expressions, mannerisms, and styling (such as hair and outfits) change, tending to emphasize his Natural and Classic essences when he’s meant to embody the good guy, and his Dramatic essence when he’s meant to embody the bad guy. These visual alterations produce a visceral transformation for viewers. The fact that Bryan has Dramatic, Natural, and Classic in his face may render his transformation especially fluid and believable and heighten its emotional impact.

Dramatic Natural Classic Bryan Cranston looks intimidating with a straight face and buzz cut. Image credit: "Bryan Cranston" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Less intimidating with a slight smile and longer hair. Image credit: "Bryan Cranston Peabody 2014" by Peabody Awards is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Further, Walter’s accomplice Jesse (played by Aaron Paul) has nearly the same style type as Walter, but with a key difference: whereas Walter is a Dramatic Natural Classic, Jessie is a Natural Classic Ingenue.

Dramatic and Ingenue are visual opposites, with Dramatic appearing elongated, sharp, and potentially dangerous, and Ingenue appearing shortened, circular, and often sweet. When we consider how Walter and Jesse’s personalities evolve through the show, this key visual difference (Dramatic for Walter vs. Ingenue for Jesse) could be said to foreshadow their respective internal transformations.

Natural Classic Ingenue Aaron Paul. Image credit: "Aaron Paul Berlinale 2014 (cropped)" by Siebbi is licensed under CC BY 3.0.

Their facial difference may also symbolize one of the show’s core questions: should you engage in altruistic, humble, humanistic behavior (Ingenue) or prioritize the quest for power and prestige (Dramatic)?

Bryan himself acknowledges his and Aaron’s facial difference in this interview starting at about 1:50. To summarize, Conan remarks that Bryan in real life is such a kind person yet is adept at making “scary” facial expressions. Bryan replies that his resting face is “scary” [Dramatic], and he stares into the camera to demonstrate. Aaron Paul eventually also stares into the camera with a resting face at around 3:35, and Bryan remarks that Aaron’s resting face looks “sweet” [Ingenue].

Style Type in Curb Your Enthusiasm

In the sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm, much of the humor stems from Larry’s tendency to be misanthropic, impolite, and disagreeable. His antics perhaps most exasperate his wife Cheryl, who eventually divorces him.

Cheryl’s personality is in many ways opposite to Larry’s, and this may be underscored by her style type: Cheryl Hines (the actress who plays the fictional Cheryl) is a Natural Classic Ingenue. This means that her face can appear social (Natural), proper (Classic), and kind (Ingenue). She visually embodies the key internal qualities that Larry lacks.

Cheryl Hines. Friendly, sweet, symmetrical and balanced. (Same type as Aaron Paul! Though Cheryl has more Ingenue.) Image credit: "File:Cheryl Hines by David Shankbone.jpg" by David Shankbone is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

So Cheryl’s style type may help to highlight her personality differences from Larry, arguably making those differences more emphatic and humorous.

Style Type in Legally Blonde

In Legally Blonde, Reese Witherspoon’s contradiction-laden style type (Dramatic Gamine Ingenue) may facilitate her portrayal of protagonist Elle Woods.

Reese’s youthful essences (Gamine, Ingenue) correlate to Elle’s playful and unserious vibe. In contrast, her powerful Dramatic essence may visually communicate her abilities as an effective lawyer.

Reese Witherspoon: sweet, round, youthful features. Razor sharp Dramatic bone structure.

Image credit: "Belezas paradoxais - Reese Witherspoon" by Blogpaedia is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Similar to how Bryan’s essences help him to portray his dual nature in Breaking Bad, Reese’s style type helps her to portray the dual roles of party girl and serious academic. And her character is able to marry these diverse sides of herself into a unified whole by using what some would deem trivial, unserious knowledge of hair care to win her critical case.

Additionally, Elle’s initial nemesis Vivian (played by Natural Classic Selma Blair) visually projects a down-to-earth (Natural) and sophisticated vibe (Classic)—everything that Elle is not.

Style Type in Game of Thrones

In Game of Thrones, highly Ethereal characters predominate—Dany, Jon, Robb, Sansa, Arya, Brienne, Margaery, etc. This makes sense given that highly Ethereal faces exude the mystical vibes central to the show’s world.

Strongly Ethereal people also tend to look benevolent rather than malevolent, with their soft, gently curving features. So, do the show’s villains also have the Ethereal essence, or do they lack it to symbolize their villainous qualities?

I think the answer is generally the latter. Villain Cersei (played by Lena Headey) has no significant Ethereal—she’s a Romantic Dramatic, a type that has been nicknamed the femme fatale. Other key villains including Joffrey, Ramsay, and Littlefinger also don’t appear to have significant Ethereal (though I haven’t typed any of them formally).

Romantic Dramatic Lena Headey.

Credit: “Headey, Lena (2007) (headshot)" by pinguino k from North Hollywood, USA is licensed under CC BY 2.0..

We can argue that Dany (played by Emilia Clarke) is also a villain, or that she functions both as hero and villain. She has Dramatic as well as Ethereal (plus Ingenue), which may visually communicate her dual role.

Are actors intentionally cast based on their style types?

Technically probably not, given that style type doesn’t seem to be a widely enough recognized phenomenon to be considered by casting directors. However, we could argue that actors are often indirectly cast based on their style types, given that actors often seem selected at least partly based on their appearances in ways that meaningfully relate to their style types.

Are the examples mentioned above intentional choices?

I don’t know but would guess that many are at least subconsciously intentional. Further, a creator’s intentions don’t fully explain their artwork’s meaning. Viewers’ perceptions, even if they differ from creators’, can also lend valid meaning to art. So, regardless of whether the choice was intentional, it may be fair to say that Bryan Cranston’s style type helps him embody his complex role as Walter White, and that Jesse’s similar yet critically distinct style type (he lacks Walter’s Dramatic and possesses the Ingenue that Walter lacks) is a reasonable symbol for his and Walter’s differences.

Is it wrong to cast actors based on how they look?

In at least certain cases, the answer is probably yes. I haven’t, however, thought enough about this issue to write anything comprehensive on it. I’m also not familiar with any kind of research that examines the effects of such typecasting on real world behavior, although this research could certainly exist.

My revelatory perspective is that in real life, we shouldn’t judge people based on how they look. So if certain forms of typecasting do influence people’s real-life judgments of others, then such forms of typecasting should probably be avoided.

But I also don’t necessarily think it’s wrong that, for instance, a fantasy show employs a heavily Ethereal cast. I don’t know. This is one of the many questions related to style analysis to which I currently have few clear answers.