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Acting in concert, birds start attacking people for no apparent reason.
Commodus is riddled with flaws including the hots for his sister. But for the purpose of the plot, I think the crucial positive-negative value dyad is political ambition, the desire for power. Maximus has no political ambition; his initially refuses the emperor's offer; he just wants to go home to hRead more
Commodus is riddled with flaws including the hots for his sister.
But for the purpose of the plot, I think the crucial positive-negative value dyad is political ambition, the desire for power. Maximus has no political ambition; his initially refuses the emperor’s offer; he just wants to go home to his family. Which is why, Marcus Aurelius points out, he is the right man for the job.
In contrast, Commodus is exceedingly ambitious (he says as much in his showdown with his father, Marcus Aurelius). He lusts for power. Allied with that ambition is a lack of scruples; he’ll do whatever it takes to get what he wants.
See lessActing in concert, birds start attacking people for no apparent reason.
>>In ?Liar Liar? Honesty is not Jim C?s flaw, it?s the fact that he is a Liar, That's the way I see it. I have come to view the whole notion of "flaw" somewhat differently than what is taught by script writing gurus. Jean-Marie pointed out that franchise heroes like James Bond essentially haveRead more
>>In ?Liar Liar? Honesty is not Jim C?s flaw, it?s the fact that he is a Liar,
That’s the way I see it.
I have come to view the whole notion of “flaw” somewhat differently than what is taught by script writing gurus. Jean-Marie pointed out that franchise heroes like James Bond essentially have no dramatic flaw.
And I can think of some non-franchise movies where the protagonist has no dramatic flaw in the conventional sense; that is, a character defect, a moral weakness that gets them into deep trouble. Yet they get into deep trouble. How can that happen?
Case in point: in the movie “Gladiator”, what is Maximus’ character flaw in Act 1 that gets him in deep trouble for the rest of the film?
See lessOn the run from a determined street enforcer, a young Londoner will do anything and everything to avoid capture but the enforcer has pledged to kill himself in the event of failure.
kuramo bay: I am familiar with Campbell, Jung and others. Do you have in mind a particular myth to serve as a template for your story? Back to "Money for Nothing" for a moment. The movie didn't do well at the box-office and the story never engaged my sympathy for the protagonist. Pity in the worst sRead more
kuramo bay:
I am familiar with Campbell, Jung and others. Do you have in mind a particular myth to serve as a template for your story?
Back to “Money for Nothing” for a moment. The movie didn’t do well at the box-office and the story never engaged my sympathy for the protagonist. Pity in the worst sense of the word, yes — because the kid was such a schmuck. I felt sorry for him; I did not feel sorry with him.
I was unable to root for him because 1] He was only trying to keep the money for himself. Consequently, 2] There was no overarching virtue or principle at stake; 3] There was no stake character either, someone who needed the money –like for an life-saving operation.
(In contrast, the protagonist in “Dog Day Afternoon”, also based upon a real event, wants the money so his boy-friend can have a sex change operation. Misguided, to be sure, utterly weird in that time period — but at least he had a motive besides mere greed.)
4] There was no epiphany — he didn’t learn a damn thing other than (maybe) he was too stupid to pull off the heist.
Okay, I’m old school. (Aristotle is my screen writing guru.)
So what’s at stake for your protagonist besides the money?
What is there about him that would make me care whether he succeeds or fails, lives or dies?
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