One of the criticisms I've seen of Guardians of the Galaxy is that Drax's literal-mindedness isn't consistent. For example, when Quill says, "This is our chance to give a shit," Drax's response should be more like what is shown in this HISHE video.
But I don't agree with that. He isn't magically literal-minded. He hasn't been enchanted with some sort of anti-slang spell. He just grew up in a culture that didn't use metaphors. He's since been living among people with more normal speech patterns, and some of it is creeping in. His first instinct is still to take everything literally, but he's spent enough time away from his people that his instincts are going to be inconsistent.
That's kind of the problem with intentionally one-dimensional characters, though. If they truly adhered to their defining character trait at all times, most of them wouldn't survive a week. A 100% literal version of Drax would have starved to death the first time he saw a stop sign.
It's said that Drax is in prison for 22 counts of murder, which he probably committed while on his quest to avenge his family. But I'd rather believe he just accidentally broke a few laws based on his misunderstanding of some culture's metaphors. Maybe he heard an actor say "break a leg", or complied with a valley girl's request to "gag her with a spoon."
One dimensional characters make me think of those "One of us always lies, the other always tells the truth" people they have guarding dungeons. I mean, what are these people like at home? How do they even begin to live a normal life, if they can't control their honesty/dishonesty? Or do they only follow that rule when they're on the clock?
I'm currently reading the Divergent series, which is all about one dimensional characters. It features an entire society of people who each have one of five personalities. You're either brave, kind, selfless, honest, or inquisitive, and if you're more than one of those, you're considered a criminal.
Of course such a society could not work. In fact, that might be the point of the series - it shows us why such a system couldn't work, by showing us how it breaks down. But I'm also finding the story a bit inconsistent. At the choosing ceremony, 16-year-olds are expected to commit to a faction, a decision that they will have to live with for the rest of their lives.
But they're still allowed to choose. Even though they're given tests that tell them which personality type they have (which should be obvious by that age anyway), they're given the freedom to pick the wrong faction, which will undoubtedly lead to them being factionless.
To me, this is where Divergent fails as a dystopia. In the totalitarian dystopia the author was going for, the tests should indicate where the kids go, period. You obviously want this society to work like a machine, so why give them free will? You might say that giving the kids the illusion of free will makes them less likely to revolt, but they already know they don't have a real choice. They know their lives will be ruined if they choose the wrong faction, fail, and become factionless. Just going with the computer assessment would be more efficient.
And it's obvious why the author couldn't do that. It's a form of the Anthropic Principle. If Tris hadn't been allowed to choose her own faction, the story couldn't happen. And if she'd been required to retake the computer test until they got a clear result, she would have been executed before she even knew what a Divergent was.
Also, in a true dystopia, the factionless would just be executed. For one thing, they would be considered a drain on society's resources. Secondly, they're statistically more likely to be Divergent (who are executed), since they obviously couldn't cut it in their own factions. And third, they have the most reason to rise up and overthrow the system.
Anyway, I've finished the first book, and I'm a couple of chapters into the second. I'm taking a break at the moment because my attention is too divided by D&D stuff. I don't know if I'm going to bother reading the third book, because I've heard bad things about it. The third movie sure didn't impress me.
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