Character Exposed

"Does the plot determine the characters, or do the characters determine the plot?"

This is the question that has been posed to us for the last week or so.  We have been talking about, as you can guess, character.  I really didn't know what to write about, so I just tapped my head and let the sap run out.

What kind of characters do I most enjoy?  Why kind of plots do I most enjoy?

I enjoy characters that have depth to them.  I'm not referring to the depth that we talked about when we talked about round characters and flat characters.  A flat character can still have depth.  For instance, even the more simple-minded people have some qualities to reveal.  Perhaps another way to put it: I like to keep getting to know the characters throughout the whole story.  If there are thirteen installments in a series, I had better be getting to know the characters through the last few chapters of number thirteen.

I enjoy plots that have depth to them.  (De ja vu?)  So I don't care for the fact that this seems to be professionally correct answer, but I would rather the characters define the plot.  It just adds a depth to it, therefore the depth of the plot is mostly being determined by the depth of the characters.  But I also like for there to be outside forces at work, as well.  This is the part that makes me happy because I feel like it is disagreeing with the professionally correct answer.  I don't want the characters to be the plot.  I want, say, a natural disaster or a national political scandal or a race against the clock.  Just watching characters live their lives can get tedious.

I like for the plot to unfold to a more and more intricate setting, that reveals more characters and more about characters.  It's just a depth thing.

It's the kind of character I guess I am, perhaps the kind of book or movie in which I would be.  And this my character, continuing to reveal more about myself.  A character exposed.