MULTIPROTAGONIST

PART 1- THE GENRE

Definition and types (Multiprotagonist)

1. The protagonist is the main character of the story. Hence the term
Multi-protagonist is self-explanatory. There is more than one main
character who undergoes a physical, emotional, intellectual or spiritual
transformation.

– multi-protagonist films feature a wider group of characters without establishing

a strict narrative hierarchy among them.

Types of Multiprotagonist films

a. Co-Protagonist - A screenplay with co-protagonists has a narrative with

two or more characters with the same goal that pushes the story
together in unison. This is a common storytelling convention for buddy
comedies, romantic comedies, and action/adventure. For Example -
Thelma and Louise
b. Dual- Protagonist - A dual protagonist narrative is when two characters
with different goals have their own unique transformation. The
characters might not be in direct conflict with one another, yet their
motivations and ultimate goals are different. For Example - Brokeback
Mountain, Prisoners
c. Conflicting Protagonist - This subset of a dual protagonist narrative is
the most widely used. The motivations of both characters aren’t blurred
because they are opposing forces. Mowery explains that conflicting
protagonist narratives are when “the audience roots for and follows two
 protagonists who drive the story forward but those characters are one
another’s antagonist.” For Example - Kung Fu Panda 2, Prestige
d. Ensemble Narrative - Another type of narrative with multiple
protagonists is the ensemble narrative. An ensemble narrative is
centered around a group of friends who are usually reuniting for a
vacation, event, or celebration. For Example - Hangover, Death at a
Funeral.
e. Tandem Narratives - These narratives are often told through equally
important individual character storylines (micro-plots). Multiple protagonists
have their own stories that serve the macro-plot — the overarching plotline
that ties them together. For Example - Pulp Fiction, Amorres Perros
f. Dual Journeys - When two equally important protagonists journey towards,
away, or parallel with each other either physically, emotionally, or both.
These double journeys often have an A, B, & C set of storylines.
A – Character 1
B – Character 2
C – Shared Journey
Other Terms - ensemble and mosaic films, sequential and tandem narratives,
Hyperlink cinema, polyphonic, parallel, and daisy-chain plots or network
narratives.
Syd Field’s take: There is always a main character: “[I]f your story is about three
guys preparing to steal moon rocks, which one of the three is the main
character?” Ex: In a buddy film like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969),
he regards Butch as the main character because he is the one making the
decisions. Sundance is “a major character, not the main character”

PART 2. HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF THE GENRE

- Stories have oral tradition and that is why it was hard to imagine multi
protagonist story. – campbalian hero, monomyth, hero’s journey.

- After the length of films increased, Film demanded longer story and thus a
protagonist. Which resulted into a classical hollywood narrative system.

- However, the multi-protagonist film as a narrative structure is not a recent

invention and it cannot be solely explained as an attempt on the part of certain
sectors of the industry to tell stories in new, original ways (Murphy 2007). Its
antecedents can be traced back to silent films such as D.W. Griffith’s
Intolerance (1916) and, later on, to the early days of the classical period,
 when Metro Goldwyn Mayer, the studio that boasted of having “more stars
than there are in heaven,” decided to gather some of them under a single roof
in Grand Hotel (1932).

- Like Grand Hotel and the films that followed its lead in the 1930s and 1940s,
disaster movies depended to a great extent on the star power of their
ensemble casts. Airport, for instance, was advertised in the trailers as “the
biggest all-star cast ever assembled for a single Universal motion picture.”

- 1960s - caper movies, escape movies, where each character has assigned
role. The great escape, Ocean’s eleven, etc.

- 1970s- disaster and all-star cast movies.

- Yet, the use of an all-star cast in disaster movies does not only provide rapid
recognition of the characters in the narrative – since spectators are already
familiar with the actors and actresses playing the characters, it is easier for
them to make sense of who is who in the filmic tapestry – but also endows
these characters with certain connotations conjured up by the stars’ personae
behind them.

- Since the number of characters in a movie reduces the amount of time that
the movie can devote to any single character, the films may indulge in a
tendency towards stereotyping, while the use of stars may, somehow,
counteract this process with the amount of information that the star personae
bring with them. In addition, it is also a suspense-preserving mechanism. As
some of the promotional posters and Arroyo’s comment show, part of the
appeal of multi-protagonist movies was to try to guess which stars would live
and which would not.

- Later it helped in appearance of “animal comedy”.

- 1970s & 1980s - Movies about “Group” - Hannah and her sisters, The breakfast
club, teenpic, sex-comedies

- 1990s - multiprotagonist films with independent storylines or based on

coincidence - mosaic films. Short cuts, Boogie nights, Magnolia.

- Indian context:

- Waqt (1965) - first mainstream hindi multi-protagonist film

Indian films have always been star-centric. - In India, you dont make Multi-pro.
Films only because you want to show multiple facets of the story but also
because you want multiple star to cast.
Sholay, Amar Akbar Anthony, deewar

Suraj Barjatya films - 1990s

NRI films - Kabhi Khushi Kabhi gham, Kal Ho na Ho, etc. - 1990s

Priyadarshan films - 2000s

Next game changer - dil chahta hai, ZNMD

2020s - Modern Love series, Lust stories, Ajeeb dastaans, etc.

Part 3 - Classification of Multi-protagonist movies

- An alternative approach is that proposed by Kristin Thompson in the

introduction to Storytelling in the New Hollywood (1999), where she arranges
films with multiple protagonists along a continuum – from minimum to
maximum interaction between the characters.

- Types: -

1. other end of the spectrum: a group of people, several or all of whom are
roughly equal in prominence and who work toward a shared goal.

Equal importance - Glengarry Glen Ross, The Breakfast club, death at a funeral

Unequal importance - Ex: Ocean’s Eleven,, Avengers, Monsoon wedding,

2. one end of the spectrum: a series of plotlines which are connected by some
shared situation but which do not have significant causal impact on each other.

Ex: Ammoress Perros, Ship of Theseus, Masaan,

3. In the middle of the spectrum we find the multiple-protagonist narrative

involving several major characters and plotlines which have independent
resolutions, but which crisscross and affect each other.

Ex: Ludo, 2018, Pulp fiction, Black Friday

Part 4 - Themes

The presence of several, often contradictory, points of view suggests the

complexity and multi-sidedness of the issues dealt with; the impossibility of a
traditional resolution results in open endings and circular narratives.

Ammores Perros - Love is Bitch.

Ludo -Stories about unrequited love to fulfilment.

Glengarry Glen Ross - Old age, work ethic, Throatcutting competitions, etc.

Ship of Theseus - Different themes weaved through one incident.

PART 5 - THE GENRE CONVENTIONS

1. Stereotype Characters -
Why do we need them?
The Women - 1939 opening sequence – how to introduce multiple
characters and their traits.
Example of ensemble cast - the Avengers movies. Known characters are
reduced to few traits.
2. Narration - Voice over.
Example: Ludo
3. Coincidence - Unexpected or unlikely connections are frequently
established between characters in different storylines through the use of
synchronicity as another principle of narrative organization. This is often
linked to the “small world phenomenon,” the global interconnectedness
between human beings, and the butterfly effect.
4. Group dynamics - Glengarry Glen Ross.
5. Visual motif - Transitions - Ludo
 6. Colour scheme - Ludo
7. Robert Altman films - “Altmanesque” - - These narratives all have in
common their ambling episodic nature and a relative disregard for the
individual predicaments of their protagonists. That lead to auture
recognition of Robert Altman.

Part 6 - Subversion of the genre

Glengarry Glen Ross, Psycho, Fargo, Talk to her

Part 7 - Writing a multi protagonist - Tips and problems.

a. Interesting characters. Robert Mckee - “Protagonist creates the cast”. In

our case, it would be the theme. Complementing or contradictory
characters should be there. They can't be repetitive because then the
characters would be useless to the plot. Example - Dhamaal, Revenant
b. Whether you're using tandem narrative or multiple protagonist narrative (or
any other kind of parallel narrative for that matter) it's not enough simply to
have fascinating characters. If there is no proper connection, people will
feel resentful.
c. https://www.lindaaronson.com/blog/category/multiple-protagonist
d. https://www.writeyourscreenplay.com/more-than-one-main-character-podc
ast/

PART 8 - EXERCISE

- Come up with 4-5 protagonists through whom you would want to tell the
story related to the events of 23rd Jan.
- What kind of theme do you want to explore with this set of protagonists?

PART 9 - Future of Multi-protagonist films.

- Shortening of attention span, moving to the next story and its
emotion, growing viewing of web shows, understanding of cinema.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Survival

1. https://youtu.be/fMoFmICrISE?feature=shared
2. Definition
Cast Away Soundtrack - Main Theme
3. Major survival films
 4. Major event that made the journey of the protagonist into a survival. ( Add
the script of life of pi)
5.
6. Jungle survival

7. Sea survival
8. Why survival movies are money Making movies?
How real incident have a different impact on audience?

9.
10. https://youtu.be/PLWOTzIx4Bw?feature=shared

11.https://youtu.be/PLWOTzIx4Bw?feature=shared

12. How to write survival movies?

There needs to be high stakes conflict

Conflict needs to be both internal and external

There needs to be urgency

It needs to be plausible

13. Some emotional scenes that makes the audience sticks to the film

14. Create images in which to give a complete survival mood to the

audience
15. 'life is a survival movie directed by God’