Unexpressed emotion and retained dignity move audiences more than drama does

Evidence

It can be much more effective and moving if someone tells the story in an unemotional or undramatic way. You find that in Ishiguro. Remains of the Day or Never Let Me Go are good examples of that kind of writing, where the most important components remain unstated. The Leopard is suffused with, and is dependent on a variant of this. It’s also allied to a device used in different ways by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Cary Grant. – An archetypical figure attempts to retain dignity in the face of the worldly chaos while remaining ever hopeful of romance. — Mark Fisher, Ghosts of My Life, 443

Categorization

• SHARE: For a friend who loves Ishiguro or The Leopard: Foxx triangulates their understated-dignity mode with Chaplin, Keaton, and Ballard/Burroughs as one continuous stylistic stance.
• ADDENDUM: Relates to the Complaints About Immodesty and general craft theme only loosely; stronger fit is with any meditation on restraint.
• XREF: connects to: Mainstream media commodities simulated emotion while Burial severs voices from biography — Mark Fisher, Ghosts of My Life: Writings on…, 223; Audiences crave permission to feel suppressed emotions more than persuasion — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 392; What a story omits shapes audience sympathy as much as what it shows. — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race…, 170 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Audiences crave permission to feel suppressed emotions more than persuasion #corroborates (0.80) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 392
• What a story omits shapes audience sympathy as much as what it shows. #qualifies (0.75) — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 170
• Compelling drama needs conflict but not on-screen violence #qualifies (0.70)