No. 02/ Robert McKee, a wise voice on storytelling, highlights an important point:
An ACTIVE PROTAGONIST, in the pursuit of desire, takes action in direct conflict with the people and the world around him.
A PASSIVE PROTAGONIST is outwardly inactive while pursuing desire inwardly, in conflict with aspects of his or her own nature.
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I always write active protagonists, Ehsan Rahimpour. I have some script ideas that might work better with inactive protagonists though. You gave me something to think about. Thanks.
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Maurice Vaughan You’re welcome.
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Maybe a mixture of both. Start the story with a passive protagonist and as the story develops the protagonist becomes more active. Like the wake up moment in the story.
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Passive honestly comes more naturally to me, mainly because that’s how I tend to be in real life. That being said though I try to make them more active, at least as much as I’m comfortable with (too active wouldn’t be relatable to me).
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John Fife I think McKee’s sharp insight names the conflict’s general vector — in a passive protagonist, that conflict is fundamentally turned inward, a pattern more common in modern characters, with the inner conflict running from beginning to end.
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Banafsheh Esmailzadeh Yeah, that’s true. In the end, we’re all just writing about our real lives.
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Pretty much Ehsan Rahimpour. I like to challenge myself but within reason. I’m primarily the kind of person who believes in playing the hand you’re dealt (whether it’s your fault or not), so my characters tend to deal with things that happen to them alongside making things happen. Both are important to me so I can’t always relate to pure external conflict.
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Maybe we can Banafsheh Esmailzadeh, expand it like this: In contemporary times, this dual situation almost always prevails, and our art is a way of playing between the two.
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Thread reminds me too, a passive or active protagonist can be their own worst enemy & antagonist not another human, ghost, monster, society or bad environment etc. I write active protagonists who arc to become Pro active by being forced into a crucible during set up or midway. Even if they don’t “physically” act, their “psychological” choices determine their outcomes. Films with totally passive protagonists, often have an element of tragedy. Comedies however, often have a protagonist who refuses to change, completely unaware of their flaws or does not challenge the status quo of world around them.