Writing supporting characters that build conflict creates much more dynamic on-screen relationships than tired old tropes. hat are the types of characters in a story? Your main character cant carry the entire story themselves! The simplest explanation is that an antagonist represents the opposite of the protagonist. Some of the most common situations that can make it a bit more complicated to identify the protagonist of a story are: In order to better understand what makes a character a protagonist, it's helpful to also understand its opposite: antagonist. Sadness always tries to bring the mood down, and it impedes a lot of what Joys entire mission is to make Riley happy. Last updated: Sep 30, 2021 2 min read Antagonism is one of the critical tools of storytelling. And if thats not the case, then its likely those characters may not need to be in the story at all. They are nameless, sometimes faceless, and have no direct impact on the course of the story. Supporting characters take as much effort to create as main characters. Our examples of this would be Sauron from The Lord of the Rings, Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader from Star Wars, and Captain Barbossa from Pirates of the Caribbean, to be replaced later by Davy Jones and Lord Cutler Beckett. So you have to do your due diligence to throw as much conflict at the protagonist as possible. Even with a small cast, its easy to forget about certain aspects. In all the examples above of supporting protagonists, these characters were simply sidekicks who also took over the job of providing a point of view. Decorated Vase, August Dahlstein & Sir William Hamilton, (circa) 1760-1780CC4.0, Alexander the Great in the Temple of Jerusalem by Sebastiano Conca, Juliet oil painting, Thomas Francis Dicksee, 1877. Think of the animated film Inside Out. The exact place of the tritagonist is no longer as well defined in modern literature and cinema. The novel follows the lonely, angry Holden as he abandons his school and wanders around New York City and searches for some form of companionship or comfort. Writing supporting characters that build conflict creates much more dynamic on-screen relationships than tired old tropes. Sadness became Joys teacher. The Intelligence Community Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity (EEOD) Office is responsible for the overall management of the ODNI EEO and Diversity Program, and provides IC-wide oversight and guidance in developing, implementing, and measuring progress in EEO, diversity, and inclusion. Readers will frequently backtrack to reread information about forgettable characters. Your email address will not be published. If you can't find them or don't have enough of them, create them. :), Your email address will not be published. Be they commuters in the hustle and bustle of a modern city or farmers working the land of a medieval manor, it is the extras and background characters that fill our worlds and breathe life into them. The information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, tax, or legal advice. Bass is the author of over a dozen works of science fiction, fantasy, and horror inspired by the pulp fiction magazines of the early 20th century and classic speculative fiction. This is by no means an exhaustive list but should cover the most prominent characters in most stories. Finally, in Pirates of the Caribbean, I would suggest that Captain Barbossa neatly fills the role of tritagonist, fluctuating between antagonist and ally. If they fall behind, theres going to be a noticeable imbalance to the narrative. Thanos from the Marvel Cinematic Universe is one such example of an anti-villain. Even though the stories follow the actions of Holmes, the fact that Dr. Watson is delivering this narrative makes him as essential to the story as Holmes himself. The reason? Write and collaborate on your scripts FREE. Ron and Hermione exist within two kinds of character archetypes Ron being the comic-relief/fool while Hermione is a kind of caregiver. Its important to remember that antagonistic characters can be genuinely good; they are only defined by their contention to the protagonist. The Main Character Definition. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Its an opportunity to show the audience just how far the antagonist will go and this can heighten tension as it shows exactly what the protagonist is up against. More and more people are flocking to the small screen to find daily entertainment. The term is derived from the prefix anti- (-), meaning against. A heroic protagonist is the traditional "good guy" of the story. Jason Sudeikis stars as David Clark in We're the Millers, the street-level drug dealer that has the opportunity to become a drug smuggler. What is a supporting character? Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. ago The term protagonist originally referred to the character who engaged with the chorus in Ancient Greek tragedies (the chorus is a group of actors who recite their lines in unison and represent "the masses," or the general public). The antagonist is either doing everything in their power to thwart the protagonist or are the one who put the situation in place to spur the protagonist to action. Most protagonists fit into one of the following four protagonist types: heroes, antiheroes, villain protagonists, and supporting protagonists. She allows Joy to see a new side that life cant exist without sadness both joy and sadness are needed. Which leads to the next kind of supporting character. https://registry.screencraft.org?utm_source=screencraft-blog&utm_medium=side-bar&utm_campaign=&utm_campaign=3 Types of Supporting Characters Your Protagonist Needs. Clementine in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, may be Joels love interest and vice versa, but they are both the other ones antagonists without question. Supporting characters should have a backstory that makes sense for their current state of being, flaws, likes and dislikes, and character arcs of their own. The protagonist no matter whether theyre a hero or a villain is the central focus of most stories. Though its great to make your protagonists proactive by making them move on their own, sometimes its good to slowly feed your readers information by offering your protagonists tidbits of knowledge as they progress and meet people. While Gru does grow and change over the course of the story (he comes to love the girls he initially adopts and saves them from his rival), he never actually gives up being a villain. ), Antagonists are also support (the henchmen, the nemesis, even a love interest, etc. We now know that a protagonist is the leading character in a story, while an antagonist is their main opponent. No strings attached. Though the most realistic and enjoyable characters are those that have full back stories with fully formed goals, desires, and needs. Protagonists aren't always "good"many are dishonest or even criminalbut they always have the sympathy and support of the audience. Get this guide to Protagonist as an easy-to-print PDF. These umbrella terms of modern parlance encompass both the deuteragonists and tritagonistsand sometimes beyond. Watching to see what a supporting character is capable of by themselves and how they relate to the main character, is much more interesting. Character types and character archetypes are not the same thing. While the skeptic could be a supporter by being the voice of reason one minute, they could truly challenge the protagonist later with their pessimism. In Stephen King's Misery, a writer named Paul crashes his car on his way to Los Angeles, shattering both of his legs. The antagonist is most often the protagonist's opponent in the storysuch as a villain in a superhero movie, or the high school bully in an 80s teen movie. 1. Here are a few things to keep in mind when constructing supporting characters. Christie began his run with a town hall in New Hampshire Tuesday night. Danny Ocean could not have had an Oceans Eleven without a supporting cast, much in the same way Frodo Baggins could not have had a Fellowship of the Ring without side characters. Want to learn more about character archetypes? Check them out below. A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo appearance. These characters are usually not as fleshed out as your main character, but they do have a purpose in the plot. She resides on Earth-65, a world in which Peter Parker doesn't become Spider-Man but rather Gwen is . This can be a very powerful way to approach the antagonist, . In some cases, this is the entire point of the story! Theres no suspense to a story when you already know how theyll speak and act. positive change arc. They would often be introduced to the stage as their principal character, and their entrance coincided with this characters role in the story. Best Movies on Netflix A Playlist for Filmmakers (August 2020), What is Abductive Reasoning Problem Solving for Writers. And those types are necessary to create a better protagonist. Archetypes arent a bad thing in the general sense. Aside from ordinary heroes, there are reluctant heroes, antiheroes, everyman heroes, the tragic hero, the superhero, and so on. But there would be one stark difference that makes these two extremely different versions of the same place: The people, or lack thereof. But a single antagonizer isn't enough. If you're an antagonist, you antagonize it's what you do. When an author uses a foil, they want to make sure that the reader is picking up on important attributes and characteristics of a . Often, the third most prominent character in a story is the antagonist, but in cases where they are given more of the spotlight, and the tritagonist might be an important character supporting the protagonist or the focus of a secondary plot (such as a romance). Dialogue is a great way of separating characters from each other. Affiliate Disclosure: We may be compensated from the retailer if you purchase a book or product recommended on this website. Thats how important they are. Rather, they serve primarily as an observer, creating a foil for the true protagonist and serving as a readers advocate. Conflict is what drives the story, the plot, and the protagonist. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Rod was able to turn off his fears, and take charge to save his best friend at the end of the film. Your success is our #1 priority. Without supporters acting as voices of reason, its easier for your heroes to turn into villains. If theres an ultimate enemy, then there should be some smaller ones too. If the answer is move the plot forward, then theyre either a protagonist or supporting character; the former differentiated from the latter simply by narrative focus. Likewise, the main character in a book is the soul of many a story, the intrepid spirit who propels the plot forward and tugs at our heartsthe character with whom we create an emotional bond to become immersed in the world beyond the page. In novels, you can explore that element through inner dialogue and inner thoughts. Many supporting characters serve as sidekicks of sorts for the protagonist. What are the best types of supporting characters that can create a better protagonist? But as a screenwriter, you don't have that luxury. Stories cannot exist without characters. . W hat is an antagonist? New ScreenCraft online events Have you created your own supporting characters? Below we've provided an example of each of the four main protagonist types: heroes, antiheroes, villain protagonists, and supporting protagonists. They should be able to stand side-by-side with your protagonists. Read More: What Mickey, Donald, and Goofy Teach Us About Character Development. When a story has one central figure for an audience to follow, the story feels more cohesive. And when you have a better protagonist, your story prospers even more. However, what is an -agonist? Informers do just that inform. . As mentioned in the introduction, the protagonist is often the hero of the story, but there are some exceptions to this. The DC antagonist is never shy to a fight, making her perfect for Street Fighter 6. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. hile many films include archetypal supporting characters, these molds are a little worn out. However, the definition expanded over time. Most stories contain one protagonist. By nature of being a fully developed character, the nuances naturally break the mold of the archetype. They can make the protagonist question their own worth and skills. This next video from Film Courage and Professor Eric Edson at California State University Northridge takes a look at how to write a good antagonist. Appearing in the cast of Talk to Me, Zoe Terakes plays Hayley, a mean-spirited classmate of Mia and Jade's who has an aloof and confrontational demeanor while at the party. However, if a narrative contains a subplot or several different stories, it's possible for each story to contain its own protagonist. In cases where an adversarial relationship is central to a story, the deuteragonist may also be the Antagonist, making these two terms not mutually exclusive. Events are meaningless until we measure a characters relationship to it. And what parallels, if any, do these have to Aristotles hierarchy? He's found by a woman, Annie, who takes him to her house to nurse him back to health. In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Maz helps to offer Rey insight into the Force. The interplay between archetypes is the most fun to watch on screen as it creates more nuanced and dynamic relationships that we actually care about. Latest News. 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