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protagonist
Roles often perform multiple functions. A character may be a romantic object, a catalyst event, and a close friend. However, in the vast majority of cases, different roles perform different functions. If several characters perform the same function, the effect of each character will be diluted.
Five detectives come to do the work of a detective (protagonist), which only reduces the importance of the protagonist. It also seems unnecessary to have three people pass on the same message. If one or two love fun romantic plots can play a role, then five must be a little more.
Repeating the same type of character would run out of screen time for the writer, so he wouldn't be able to complete any of the characters well.
We can divide the functions of the characters into five categories: main characters, supporting roles, roles that increase the dimension of hierarchy, thematic roles, and foil roles.
The primary character performs the action. They are responsible for driving the story. This is their story, they are the focus of the story. They provide the main conflict, and they're funny enough that it keeps us interested in the story for two or three hours.
Hero
The main character of the script is the protagonist. He is the object of the whole story. We want to follow Him, support Him, empathize with Him, and care about Him. We want the protagonist to win, achieve his goals, and realize his dreams. Usually, we look at the story through the eyes of the protagonist.
Usually, the protagonist is a positive person, he is the hero of the story.
James Bond; or Jason Byrne (Spy Series); Erin in Uncompromising, Chapter 13 Character Functions 205; Ruth from Titanic; John McLean in Die Hard; Benjamin Barton in "Rejuvenation"; Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird;
Still, this does not mean that the protagonist does not have flaws. The protagonist may have some characteristics that we don't like, and they may make decisions that we don't approve of, but the protagonist grabs our attention and he looks so pleasing to the eye. In the vast majority of cases, we don't have questions about who the protagonist is. In addition, if the protagonist is well shaped and profound, we may also go to the movie for the protagonist.
Occasionally, the protagonist is a negative character. The protagonists in all noir genre films have flaws, and in general, their pros and cons are mixed.
A Clockwork Orange (1971); "Taxi Driver"; thank you for smoking (2005); "Blood is Coming"; Mozart; The protagonist of Gone with the Wind;
It is difficult for the audience to sympathize with such a character, and it is also difficult to empathize. However, they are able to draw us into the story. We look at the story through their point of view.
Adversary angle
In order to form a dramatic conflict, each protagonist needs an opponent - a counter-angle.
In the vast majority of cases, the villain is a villain, an evil character, a villain who tries to prevent the protagonist from completing his task. But the antagon doesn't always need to be portrayed as a negative character. The anti-angle only needs to stand on the opposite side of the protagonist.
In Mozart, the protagonist is Salieri and the opposite is Mozart. Audiences prefer Mozart to Salieri. In Child Abuse, we look at the story through the perspective of the protagonist, Sister Alois Bevel. But she is also a counterpoint to Father Brandon Flynn, who does not want to be accused of abusing altar aides. We can also say in reverse that Father Flynn was also a villain of Sister Beville. In "Soldiers In the City", we see the use of the protagonist's anti-angle duet: the competing snipers are each other's anti-angles.
Sometimes, the antagonist is the person who tries to prevent the protagonist from achieving a certain goal (the main character or supporting character).
In Jaws, the antagonists are the townspeople; In Ghostbusters (1989), the regurgitation is a ghost; In Poseidon, the antagonists are competing survivors; The anti-angle may also be the big drug lord in the Drug Network; A team of police officers in Crash (2004); Competitors in sports movies (The Glory Days; "Ten Perfect Men" or "Challenge Sunday";
Love object
The protagonist usually has a love object, he or she can increase the quality of the protagonist, but also add luster to the story. Sometimes, the object of love helps the protagonist achieve transformation. Sometimes, the object of love is also a contrasting role, or a thematic role.
In Fight Club, Marat is a stable character, she is the possibility of letting the narrator (the protagonist) try and the courage to continue; In American Beauty, the young cheerleader is a catalytic event character who facilitates Leicester Bourneham's exercise to try to become more engaging, to think deeply about what kind of life he really wants to live, and to overcome his midlife crisis; In Titanic, Jack inspires Ruth to break the mold and embrace life; In Pirates of the Caribbean, Elizabeth Swan is Will Turner's main target. Jack Sparrow uses this for his own benefit;
supporting
The protagonist cannot complete his story alone. They need supporting characters who support them and oppose them. They need someone to listen to them, give them advice, help them, push them, support them, nurture them, make them difficult, or encourage them.
Catalytic role
Catalyst characters can be any kind of character—the protagonist, a supporting character, or even a minor character—whose function is to create an event and force the protagonist to take action.
In The Graduate, Mrs. Robinson is just a supporting character, but she makes the whole story happen; In Midnight in Barcelona, Juan Antonio is the catalytic character who makes the girl fall in love and then falls out of love; In The Sixth Sense, the Catalytic character is a very minor supporting character — the young man who shoots Malcolm Crowe; In "Out of My World", the dance teacher drives the story forward. In Jaws, the catalytic character is Jaws;
The catalytic role can be an unimportant person. In Outlaw, the bus driver who hit the prison car because of coughing is the catalyst for the incident, and because of this, Jimble escapes. The minor character who gives clues to the detective can also be a catalytic character, and he has pushed the detective down the opposite path.
Sometimes, the catalytic character forces the protagonist to change. In this case, the catalytic character may be a physical therapist, father, or friend who meets with the protagonist, or it may be the policeman who hunts down the protagonist, or the judge who sentences him to death by hanging.
Almost every story has catalytic characters. In order for the story to start working and keep it moving forward, the protagonist needs help. It's important to energize them when creating catalytic characters so that they can move the story forward through action, not dialogue.
Close friends
In plays, we often see confidants, especially in cheerful eighteenth-century English comedies, where the maid is usually the object of the heroine's most secret and darkest secrets. Our heroine trusts her close friends, tells her lover, her trepidation about upcoming dates, her jealousy, and her concerns. She shed tears with her close friend, laughed loudly together, and asked her close friend to help her with advice in order to snuggle in the arms of her lover.
In movies, close friends are usually a less interesting character. This is not always the case, but unfortunately, close friends are often considered to be the object of the protagonist's talk. And that's enough to make the scene seem too nagging.
Close friends are often used to convey information to the audience. As a result, scenes of close friends are often mired in quagmire, full of explanatory speeches, and when scenes are difficult to present in a dramatic way, they are often seen as opportunities to provide information.
But close friends don't need to be so dull. Think of your close friend as the one who shows his true self to them. This is a trustworthy character, with him or her present, the heroine can be draped out, and the hero can show his vulnerable side. Close friends give the protagonist the opportunity to cry, laugh, or be vulnerable, revealing other dimensions of the protagonist.
Sometimes, a close friend is a partner, or even another protagonist.
In Dragon tiger bully, Brokeback Mountain and Glorious Years, the protagonists are each other's close friends; In The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter (among other functions) is a close friend of Clarice Stalin, who tells him that she saw the lamb being slaughtered and the impact of the scene on herself; In many TV series, such as "The Office", "Line of Fire Rescue", and the countless medical dramas and police dramas, even if the main function of the companions or colleagues in the play may be to move the story forward, they will also play the role of close friends when necessary;
Some actors often play the role of close friends. Joan Cusack, for example, often plays a close friend of a female friend, has a gentle shoulder on which to cry, and she is always ready to laugh with them or share with them (such as "The Bride Who Ran Away", "Lost Love List" and "Working Girl").
Characters who add dimension to the story
If the story is monolinear and the protagonist achieves his goal with the help of one or two catalytic characters, it will quickly make you lose interest.
In movies, there are always characters who provide dimensions to the story and the protagonist. However, this does not mean that the characters themselves are full of layers, but their presence makes the film multi-dimensional.
Gag character
We've all seen a couple of movies with gag characters. The function of this character is to decompress the story so that the audience can get a chance to relax.
In Star Wars, we see the joy of r2-d2 and c-3po, who always complain, "We're done." "We also reap the joy from Chubaka, who Princess Lilia calls him the "Furry Carpet"; In Omens, Meryl Hess buffers tension with humorous dialogue;
If you've read many of Shakespeare's works, you may remember that even in his most serious plays, there were people who could make us laugh.
Falstaff in Parts I and II of Henry IV; There is a mouthy concierge in Macbeth; There is a nurse in Romeo and Juliet; In King Lear, there is a fool;
Contrasting roles
Contrasting characters help define the protagonist (and sometimes the supporting characters have the same function) through their differences from the protagonist. Sometimes this contrast is expressed through differences in ethnic backgrounds:
A Caucasian police officer and a North American Native policeman; A Spanish detective and African-American sheriff; Comparison of tall and short characters; A surprise contrast between a very feminine girl and a tomboy; Or contrast brave and cowardly characters; Homosexual, the role of contrast is heterosexual;
If the characters in the story are suspicious, then the contrasting characters will be very upright (like Carl Fox in Wall Street). While expanding the depth and texture of the story, the contrasting characters can help us see the subtle features of the protagonist more clearly.
Sometimes contrasting roles are also the main characters. Two contrasting characters may be equal characters.
In Brokeback Mountain, Ennis Delmar and Jack Terwester are contrasting characters. Although they all suffer from the same desires, they deal with emotions differently because they have different views on their love; In Foster's Conversation with Nixon, Foster's sense of fairness and integrity contrasts with Nixon's vague sense of morality; In Child Abuse, Sister James has compassion, which contrasts with Sister Bayville's stiffness.
Source: Houlang Film Academy Linda Sig/Wen Cao Yiping/Translation
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