The protagonist’s goal. I think everyone would agree it is central to a story’s success. <\/p>\n
In previous scripts I’ve thought about how the protagonist can win – that is, what specific action\/event let’s the audience know the protagonist has achieved it. But I hadn’t really thought if there is a specific action\/event that lets the audience know the protagonist has lost. It’s been in the back of my mind, because it has to look like the good guy is going to lose, but I’ve never really focused on it. <\/p>\n
What I really mean when talking about the protagonist losing, is the antagonist winning. I suppose, to a certain extent, I haven’t thought too much about the antagonist’s goal because I’ve been preoccupied with the hero’s journey.<\/p>\n
I think it is important, though, that I give more thought to the antagonist’s goal and how it fits in with the story.<\/p>\n
Is the antagonist’s goal always simply the opposite of the protagonist’s goal? Can it also work, story-wise, if the antagonist’s goal simply blocks the protagonist, if the antagonist is successful. Basically, must the antagonist be after what the hero is after? Or can they have their own goal that is at a cross-purpose with the protagonist’s goal?<\/p>\n
Take, for example, a terrorist attack movie. The antagonist and protagonist are after the exact opposite things – The antagonist wants to destroy a particular building so he plants a bomb. The protagonist must defuse it. The antagonist succeeds if the bomb blows up. The protagonist succeeds if it is defused. I think movies where it is good guy versus bad guy certainly suit the protagonist and antagonist chasing goals that are inversely centred on the same thing.<\/p>\n
But what if a story isn’t about good guys verse bad guys? In some movies the antagonist is not a villain, but simply in opposition to the protagonist. These scenarios can, of course, have a direct opposition. The protagonist wants the girl, the antagonist wants the girl. If one wins, the other fails. But must the protagonist and antagonist always be in direct competition?<\/p>\n
I don’t know.<\/p>\n
Is there a place in story for the antagonist’s to have a goal that, if successful, simply blocks the protagonist? Or does it weaken a story if the protagonist and antagonist are not in direct competition?<\/p>\n
What I do know is that I need to give more thought to my antagonists and their goals, and keep these three thing in mind:<\/p>\n
If I follow those three guidelines, when the climactic showdown reveals who has won and who has lost, the audience will have been through one helluva ride. And that’s what story is all about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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