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The Protagonist
The Protagonist is the character that pushes the story forward. The Protagonist is the only character in the story that is allowed to fundamentally change before the very last scenes of the film. (By then all bets are off.) The Protagonist has to make choices constantly, bad and good ones. The Protagonist is the character that gets to live THE Theme:
THE Theme: To reach Heaven on Earth, our Protagonist should do Y, not Z
But ultimately, the Protagonist is the only Character that always actively reaches for Heaven on Earth.
The Hero
The Hero is simply the character that saves the day. These two things - Protagonist and Hero- are often, but not always, the same. A Hero just has to save the day, they don't always have to save themselves.
In Ratatouille, Remy is the lead character, the Hero and the Protagonist. He is the one that doesn't accept his fate as a poison checker for his dad but wants more. He is the one that gets pushed into the sewers of Paris and decides to become a chef, instead of staying "just" a rat. He is making all the choices that push Skinner out of the business, that give Linguini a purpose in his life, and that make Ego a happy man again. Nobody could have done any of that but Remy. Same goes for Aladdin, Harry Potter, Bruce Willis in Die Hard and Michael Douglas both in The Game and in Wonder Boys. In short: most leads in most films.
But now let's look at the movie In Bruges. Colin Farrell is the lead of this movie: Most Star Power. Most lines. Most Handsome. Top Billing. His character - Ray - also has the most screen time, and the movie both opens and closes on his voice-over. But Ray doesn't know what he wants. He's a hired gun that then wants to kill himself. But after a while he finds his way back to a form of happiness and now he wants to survive and get out of Bruges. He kills a boy, causes the death of his friend, mutilates several people, and ultimately gets shot in the stomach. And we feel bad for him! But all of these things happen to him, not because of him. He doesn't seem to have a lot of agency over his own life. He doesn't make any decisions in this movie. Hardly an inspiring story or a good lesson.
However, when you look at Ken (Brendan Gleeson's character) you will start to see glimmers of what I was talking about before; Ken follows his temperamental boss' instructions to a tee but only for the first two thirds of the film. After that he starts thinking for himself, and makes his own decisions. He comes clean and both fights and makes up with his boss, until he finally decides to die in order to save the person he cares about most - something he couldn't do for his wife.
We will discuss the intricacies of this movie later, and I will show you how this movie is more similar to Ratatouille than to Sicario, even though Sicario and In Bruges both end with the "death" of the Protagonist. But for now, just notice how Ken is the real Protagonist of this film, as he is the only one clearly reaching for-, and achieving his Heaven on Earth: dying with a clear conscience.
For another variant of this Hero vs Protagonist idea, look again at Training Day; the opening scene shows Jake and his happy family. But notice how at no point in the movie is this family situation at risk for Jake. Sure, he might die, but he is a cop - this danger comes with the job. Nobody threatens Jake’s wife or child - his Heaven on Earth. Jake is in danger, but his family is not. At most times, Jake could walk away and go back to his wife and kid. He can go back to his Heaven on Earth as he has already achieved it before the movie started. So he is not the character that is reaching for Heaven on Earth. He is not the Protagonist. He does eventually “save the day”, so he is the Hero. But those things are not the same.
Instead, the Protagonist in Training Day is Denzel Washington’s character Alonzo. Alonzo also has a girlfriend and a child. His Heaven on Earth is to wake up next to them like Jake did in the first scene; carefree. Unbothered. And preferably alive. Except that he has the Russian mob chasing him, and he is surrounded by gang-bangers and corrupt cops - none of whom really like him. His family gets caught in an actual crossfire. He is trying to get to his Heaven on Earth but he doesn’t reach it, and literally dies in the process. After which, Jake, the Hero, can go home. So while it has a happy ending for the audience, structurally Training Day is a Tragedy, as the Protagonist Alonzo does not reach Heaven on Earth but dies in the process of reaching for it.
It is also worth noticing that the Protagonist Alonzo is not in the opening scene of the film. This moment is there for the audience; to reveal the Heaven on Earth that the Protagonist has to reach for, before they even know what they want themselves. Remember: it sets up the end at the beginning.
So, if a Protagonist reaches Heaven on Earth, the story is a Comedy. If the Protagonist doesn't reach Heaven on Earth, the story is a tragedy. Let's dive a little deeper into that distinction.
Fundamentals Course Navigation
<< 02. Heaven on Earth || 03. Protagonist vs Hero || 04. Comedy vs Tragedy >>