Can ‘Stupid’ Characters Make Plot Narratives Memorable?

Question

Characters in movies ‘28 Days Later’, ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ made terrible impulsive choices that cost other characters their lives, but if it weren’t for any of those choices made in the films, they wouldn’t have had any significant drama- Ignoring an expert about releasing an infectious chimpanzee causing widespread infection in the UK- Releasing some random dinosaurs causing nearly all of the workers to get caught and eaten- Giving up and leading other humans out in the Artic cold with a low-risk chance of surviving - causing a sad scene upon finding their bodies later onNOTE: Mistakes are natural and are what make us human, but logically some of the events could’ve been avoided, that’s why the consequences are annoying.Am I right?

Answer 1

I think you might have accidentally answered your own question without realizing it: humans make mistakes. When writers choose to have the characters do something different, that decision has to be in line with the character's personality and motives. That way, all the outcomes are seen as human.

Now, that isn't to say "28 Days Later" did it right. It's just an example of a character whose stupid decision was in line with their character's motives. Personally, when I write, I like my character's to see the error in their ways and make the wrong decision anyways based on an emotional component.

For example (I'm sticking to the zombie theme for parallelism): John Smith is a side character in a party of apocalypse survivors. He's partied with people who are looking to escape their infected city and find a cure to the disease. He wants the same thing, for his own reasons. But, John sees the zombie of his wife, the wife he's been trying to save for the entire plot. All the things he's been through, all the people he watched die, all the terrible things he's done, are all in vain. His wife is dead, she's right there with eyes glazed over and exposed skull, still scuffling in his direction. John knows he needs to kill her. He knows that in order to survive the apocalypse, in order to help the main character's goal of making it out alive, he must kill his wife and aid in finding a cure. He might raise his gun, he might not. Regardless, he lets himself fall. This is his wife. And by making the choice to die by zombie bride, the main character must work harder to survive.

Adding in the human element makes all the difference in whether or not a dumb decision holds water in the larger plot. It also forces the audience to put themselves in the shoes of the character. The more human the choice, the harder it is for the audience to choose.