One effective technique is to establish an emotional relationship between the character and a specific object. Display this during a moment of privacy, when the character is alone on the screen. It becomes a secret moment shared by the audience. This will increase the audience’s empathy for the character and establish an intimate bond between them that is not shared by other characters in the story. Then at another time, this object can be used to evoke an emotional response from the audience.
E.T’s relationship with the potted flower, which becomes healthy or sickly depending on E.T.’s own state of health, is a prime example of this technique. The audience understands the significance of the flower and shares this secret relationship with E.T., Elliott, and the other children, as opposed to the adult characters who are unaware of its significance.
Titanic
Rose wears the clothing of an aristocratic lady living in the beginning of the twentieth century. Molly Brown is the loud and down-to-earth “new rich” member of the aristocracy.
Star Wars
Luke has a boyish innocence. Darth Vader is faceless, has heavy breathing, and an artificially amplified voice. Obi-Wan Kenobe wears monkish clothing and speaks like a mystic. Princess Leia is domineering and combative in her relationships. Han Solo has the mannerisms of a western gunslinger.
The Phantom Menace
Queen Amidala wears exotic costumes when not disguising herself as the handmaiden Padme.
E.T.
Elliott is a wholesome, yet lonely child. ET has alien features, is childlike in size and mannerisms, yet appears to be old and wise. The government agents are ubiquitous, yet faceless.
The Lion King
Simba is the young lion cub that leads a carefree life in the jungle. Return of the Jedi
Luke has an artificial right hand received after his hand was cut off in a fight with his father, Darth Vader.
Independence Day
Captain Steve Hillier is a wise cracking, “street smart” airman. Russell Casse is a broken down drunk. David Levinson is a MIT graduate who decides to work as a Cable TV repairman. David is upset over the divorce from his wife. David still wears their wedding ring. President Tom Whitmore is a devoted father and husband.
Batman
Bruce Wayne leads a dual life and has a fetish for bat paraphernalia. The Joker has insane mannerisms, a terrible color coordinated wardrobe, and a murderous sense of humor.
Jurassic Park
Dr. Grant does not care for children, an attitude that will change during the story.
Home Alone
Kevin is a scrawny inept young man who can’t do anything right. The two burglars are complete reprobates, whose ineptness makes them humorous.
Forrest Gump
Forrest became handicapped as a young boy. He then developed the ability to run fast as a reaction to the boys who would chase him when he was a child.
Men In Black
K is a cold and emotionally unresponsive agent, who is extremely effective in his work. J is a wisecracking street smart former NYPD cop.
Jaws
Capt. Brody is afraid of the water and doesn’t like to ride on boats. Quint has his living quarters filled with the mounted jaws of the sharks he has killed.
Sixth Sense
Cole Sears is a small vulnerable boy who is picked on by the other boys in his class. Dr. Malcolm is a mild mannered, kind middle-aged man who wants to help sick children.
Empire Strikes Back
Luke receives cuts and scars on his face from the white snow creature. Luke has his hand cut off in the fight with Darth Vader and has it replaced with a mechanical hand.
The Grinch
The Grinch is a green hairy beast with a potbelly and long hairs on his fingers. It is the hair on his face that he tried to remove in school that lead to him cutting his face and being humiliated by the other children.
The Wizard of Oz
Dorothy is weak and worrisome, always hugging Toto for security. The Wicked Witch of the West is ugly, has a greenish face, and a cackling voice. The Scarecrow has clumsy movements because he is made of straw. The Tin Man has stiff, rigid movements since he is made of metal. The Lion is fearful. He constantly rubs his hands and twists his tail.
Shrek
Shrek is a huge, green, ugly ogre. Donkey is a donkey that talks.
Spider-Man
Peter is a lonely young nerd who accidentally gains superpowers. Finding Nemo
Nemo is a small clown fish with a damaged fin. Marlin is a nervous overprotective father. Dory is a blue fish with short-term memory problems.
Monsters, Inc.
Sulley is a big furry turquoise bear-like beast. Mikey is a short, green, one-eyed monster.
Bruce Almighty
Wacky Bruce is a news reporter who gets no respect.
Matrix Trilogy
Neo is a monk-like psycho-computer-tech martial arts messiah. Pirates of the Caribbean
Captain Jack Sparrow is either “the worst pirate” or “the best pirate” that the British Sailors have ever seen. His ineptness enables him to excel beyond all reasonable expectations. To show his respect, Barbossa names his monkey “Jack.”
Harry Potter: The Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry is a mild mannered young Brit destined to become a great wizard. Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Frodo, the small Hobbit with hairy feet, ends up saving Middle Earth from the evil Lord Sauron, in spite of his desire to keep the Ring for himself.
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS Supporting characters interact with the primary characters and help to define them. Some are supportive of either the protagonist or the antagonist. The main characters gather around them the key minor characters that they need to accomplish their goals. These minor characters force the protagonist to reveal their true nature and values. They also usually have qualities that are radically different from the protagonist and the antagonist.
The minor character is often used as someone with whom the protagonist or antagonist can talk in confidence, thereby, expressing his plans to the audience. This also allows him to convey his feelings about situations to the audience.
A solely one-on-one conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist is usually too limiting for the audience and can quickly become boring. Most of the popular films involve several minor characters: supporters that hinder their opponents by creating obstacles and minor villains that support the antagonist. The villain’s supporters are usually more nasty and vicious than the antagonist.
The minimal number of characters usually found in these films is five: the protagonist, the antagonist, the love interest, a minor character that supports the protagonist, and a minor character who supports the antagonist. The protagonist supporter may have objectives that are different from the protagonist, but they work together to achieve the protagonist’s primary objective, which is also the primary objective of the story. For example, in The Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow’s objective is to get a brain, the Tin Man a heart, and the Lion courage, but they all work together to get to Oz and to help Dorothy obtain her primary objective, to get back home. The antagonist supporter usually does the vicious and dirty work for the antagonist.
Although their parts are small, minor characters still should be threedimensional so that the story won’t lose credibility for the audience. This is accomplished by having these minor characters go through changes as they attempt to resolve personal conflicts. One common way of introducing minor characters is to show them at work. In this way, the audience immediately learns their profession. You could introduce them while they are having a conflict with a co-worker or with another character with whom they have a personal relationship. Another technique used to create memorable characters is to exaggerate them as obsessive or eccentric. The easiest way to do this is to make them atypical to their profession’s stereotype. As the minor characters become more involved in the scene, their personality will set a mood or make the situation more emotionally engrossing. The protagoni
st supporter, with a good sense of humor, will make the audience laugh and emotionally feel good about him and the protagonist. The antagonist supporter will be mean and vicious, do something terrible to another character in the story, and cause the audience to emotionally feel anger and hatred toward the antagonist and his supporters.
Spielberg often uses minor characters to manipulate the audience’s emotional reactions to either the scene or the main character. The emotions that the minor character expresses are those that Spielberg wants the audience to feel. Every crowd has a personality. He often displays the emotional reactions of one or two specific members of the crowd to the characters in the scene. Crowds are often used during celebration scenes in movies, with the hope that the joy and happiness these crowds express for the protagonist will also become the audience’s feelings.
Titanic
Molly Brown is supportive of Jack and Rose. The ship’s captain and Mr. Andrews, the designer of the Titanic, are also supporting characters. A crowd waves goodbye as the Titanic embarks on its sea voyage. They are happy about the departure of the Titanic and express their joy. Crowds of people mob the lifeboats as the Titanic sinks. In this scene, the feeling of the crowd is that of terror.
Star Wars
The Death Star Commander, Imperial Storm Troopers, Obie Won Kenobe, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3P0 are all minor characters in this movie. Crowds of rebels celebrate the victory of Luke Skywalker and his supporters in the final scene of the movie.
The Phantom Menace
There are many interesting minor characters in this story, such as Jar Jar Binks and Boss Nass of the Gungans, Sebula of the Podrace, and Watto, the owner of the junk shop. During the battle scenes, there are crowds of Gungan Warriors and Battle Droids. A crowd celebrates the victory at the end of the movie.
E.T.
Michael and his friends, the faceless government agents, and the schoolteacher are all minor characters.
The Lion King
Timon and Pumbaa romp through the jungle and show Simba the ways of a carefree life. Rafiki, the mystic baboon, shows Simba his true nature and destiny.
Return of the Jedi
The spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobe gives advice to Luke. Yoda mentors Luke in the ways of the force before he dies. Lando Cairissian helps the rebels defeat the Empire. Imperial Storm Troopers, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3P0, and the Ewoks are all minor characters in this movie.
Men In Black
Agent Zed, who supervises K and J, is an important minor character. The friendly aliens who are living on Earth are also minor characters.
Independence Day
The owner of the Cable TV station at which David Levinson works, the Secretary of Defense, the General, and other military personnel are all supporting characters. The panicked people on the streets of New York City are important characters.
Batman
The Butler, Alexander Knox (the newspaper reporter), Bob (the Joker’s goon), and the Police Commissioner are all minor characters.
Jurassic Park
Dennis, the fat computer technician who steals the dinosaur embryos from Jurassic Park and later gets devoured by a dinosaur is an important minor character. The lawyer who gets eaten by a dinosaur while sitting on a toilet is another character. Both exhibit values of greed that lead to their destruction. John’s two grandchildren are the love interests that he wants to survive. Ian, the chaos theory scientist, is supportive of the protagonist.
Home Alone
Store clerks, police officers, the pizza delivery boy, and airport ticket agents are all minor characters.
Forrest Gump
Bubba and Lt. Dan are supporting characters as is Forrest’s mother. Jaws
The beaches of Amity are filled with swimmers on holiday. It is their terror of the shark that is transferred to the members of the audience.
Sixth Sense
All the dead people that Cole sees are important minor characters. At first he feels terrorized by the dead. They are obstacles and problems from which he attempts to escape. But later, with the help of Dr. Malcolm, he realizes that these dead people come to him for help. They have problems they believe Cole can help them solve.
Empire Strikes Back
The spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobe tells Luke to seek Yoda. He also gives advice to Luke throughout this story. Yoda mentors Luke in the ways of the force. Lando Cairissian helps the rebels fight the Empire.
The Grinch
All the people in Whoville are the minor characters that the Grinch hates. He hates them because they are happy and content with their lives. The crowd at the Whobilation expresses joy with the Grinch being chosen as the Cheermeister, then disappointment and anger with him when he goes on a rage and destroys their Christmas Tree.
The Wizard of Oz
The Winged Monkeys, Castle Guards, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, Glinda, and Munchkins are all important minor characters. The crowds of Munchkins express happiness with Dorothy and characterize her as their liberator. The crowds of people in Oz express terror of the Wicked Witch of the West as she writes on the sky that they should surrender Dorothy.
Shrek
Donkey wants to get Shrek and Fiona back together again. Donkey helps Shrek to stop the marriage.
Spider-Man
Harry Osborn, the son of the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn), dates Peter’s love, MJ, and vows to kill Spider-Man.
Finding Nemo
Dory helps Marlin find Nemo. Gill helps Nemo escape from the fish tank. Monsters, Inc.
Randall’s assistant manipulates the “scream extraction” machine of Mikey. Mike helps Sulley to get Boo back home.
Bruce Almighty
The Janitor and Homeless Man (God) help Bruce. Matrix Trilogy
Morpheus, Trinity, and the Oracle help Neo. The Agent Smiths try to destroy Neo.
Pirates of the Caribbean
The good pirates (like Gibbs) help Will, Liz, and Jack, while the cursed pirates help Barbossa.
Harry Potter:The Sorcerer’s Stone Ron and Hermione help Harry. Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Gandalf, Sam, Aragorn, Elrond, Theoden, Legolas, Gimli, Pippin, Merry and the good people of Middle Earth help Frodo, while Saruman, Orcs, Uruk-hai, the Witch-King, Ringwraiths, and Fell-Beasts help the Dark Lord Sauron.
SUBGOALS AND PLOT TWISTS CREATING UNPREDICTABILITY
The Story Objective
Concrete Objects
Personal Values
Subgoals & Subtasks
Strategies & Plans THE STORY OBJECTIVE “In order to cause any kind of forward movement, a goal must be set. The setting of a goal is the preliminary condition for the forward movement. As soon as the goal is set, the spectator anticipates the possibility of its attainment. This anticipation expresses itself as a desire to arrive at the goal. And this desire causes the forward movement in the mind of the spectator.”
—Eugene Vale, The Technique of Screen and Television Writing
The concepts of story objective, concrete object, abstract value and subgoal can be separated in analysis, but are closely connected in any story. These concepts essentially contribute to the theme of the story. The primary objective of the protagonist is identical to the story objective.
Each character has a primary objective, something that he desperately desires that is the focus of most of his actions. The dramatic objective of the story is the primary objective that is sought by both the protagonist and the antagonist. In the megahit movies, this is very often a unique concrete object which only one of the characters can possess. It is “concrete” in the sense that it can be physically held by the characters, and can be visually seen on the screen by members of the audience. Obtaining this unique object is of extreme importance and urgency to all the characters involved. It becomes an issue of life or death not only for the protagonist and the antagonist, but very often for the community as well. We will list examples of concrete objects found in the megahit movies in the next section.
Titanic<
br />
The primary objective of both Jack and Rose is to live a creative artistic life, while the primary objective of the treasure hunters is the jewel, the “heart of the ocean.”
Star Wars
Luke and the rebels’ primary objective is to be free from fear of destruction by the Empire.
The Phantom Menace
The primary objective of Anakin Skywalker and Queen Amidala is to be free from enslavement. Anakin wants to be free from Watto, the owner of the junk store, and Amidala wants freedom from the Trade Federation.
E.T.
E.T. wants to get back home where he will be safe with his own people. Jurassic Park
Dr. Grant is a scientist who wants to gain knowledge about dinosaurs. Later, his primary objective is to save the children from the dinosaurs.
The Lion King
Simba wants to become a great and powerful king like his father and the ruler of the Pride Lands.
Return of the Jedi
Luke Skywalker wants to fully develop his powers, learn the ways of the force, become a Jedi Knight, and fight with the rebellion against the Empire. Both Darth Vader and the Emperor want to persuade Luke to use his Jedi powers for the Empire.
Independence Day
All of the four protagonists, Captain Steve Hiller, David Levinson, President Whitmore, Russell Casse want to save the human race from destruction by the aliens.
Batman
Batman wants to save his home, Gotham City, from the criminals.
Home Alone
Kevin wants to feel safe in his home and to protect it from the thieves. Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump’s objective is to stay completely focused in the moment, where he feels safe and secure.
Jaws
Capt. Brody wants to kill the Great White Shark because it is terrorizing his home: the village and beaches of Amity.
Men In Black
J and K want to save their home, the planet Earth, from destruction. Sixth Sense
Cole Sears wants to stop seeing dead people. Dr. Malcolm Crowe’s primary objective is to help Cole Sears feel safe and not feel terrorized by the dead people. He wants to help the child to feel “at home with himself.”
The Megahit Movies Page 10