Character Deconstruction

Character Deconstruction

            Characters are one of the most important aspects of a film and thus, character types/personalities vary for each genre.

Action

·         The Hero –

·         Many Heroes are often ‘tall, Dark and Handsome’.

·         In many cases, they are rich; take Iron Man for example.

·         The main initiator of the action

·         They can often suffer with underlying problems, or are troubled, such as alcoholism or familial issues.

·         Some heroes, particularly superheroes, are associated with code names, which reflect their skills or ‘powers’, such as Spiderman.

·         EXAMPLE: Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible Franchise.

·         The Villain –

·         In many action films, the villain is ex-military or ex-convicts.

·         If the hero subverts the common representation of being rich, then usually the villain would be rich, take Red Mist from Kick Ass for example.

·         Many have foreign accents or names to make them appear more menacing and evil, such as Silva in Skyfall

·         Many are ruthless characters with no remorse.

·         In some action movies, the villains are kept secret until later in the film, where the main protagonist discovers it was a close friend all along, such as in Get Smart where the villain was Agent 23.

·         EXAMPLE: Richmond Valentine, Samuel L. Jackson in Kingsman: the Secret Service.

Richmond Valentine, played by Samuel L. Jackson,

Kingsman: the Secret Service.

·         The Companion –

·         This character is normally considered important but of a lower significance compared to the main protagonist.

·         In most cases, they are ‘nerdy’ and tech-smart characters or good with technology, such as Riley Poole, played by Justin Lee Bartha in the National Treasure franchise.

·         In most scenarios, the companion and the hero are seen to have a brotherly/sisterly type relationship, where they have been friends since they were younger and experienced many things.

·         Sometimes they are clumsy and only able to help at the necessary time.

·         EXAMPLE: Benji, played by Simon Pegg, in the recent Mission Impossible movies.

·         The Damsel in Distress –

·         Nearly always a woman, however, sometimes producers make it more interesting with the victim being a man.

·         There is often some kind of romantic relationship between the Damsel and the hero in the film, such as in the James Bond movies.

·         They are usually pretty, angelic and innocent looking; in action movies where the hero or villain is a woman, she is normally represented as sexy and sultry, such as, Halle Berry in Catwoman.

·         EXAMPLE: Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) wife, played by Keri Russell in Mission Impossible 3.  

Romance

·         The Female Protagonist –  

·         The Loner; Renee Zellweger, Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001)

·         The Prude; Katherine Heigl, the Ugly Truth (2009)

·         The Wild One; Mila Kunis, Friends with Benefits (2011)

·         The Hot Girl; Alice Eve, She’s Out of my League (2010)

·         The ‘Normal’ One; Rachel McAdams, the Notebook (2004)

·         The Geek; Mae Whitman, the Duff (2015)

·         The Male Protagonist –

·         The Bad Boy; Jesse Metcalfe, John Tucker Must Die (2006)

·         The Nerd; Dylan O’Brien, the First Time (2012)

·         The Businessman; Jamie Dornan, 50 shades of Grey (2015)

·         The Billionaire; Ed Westwick, Chalet Girl (2011)

·         The Love Expert; Gerard Butler, the Ugly Truth (2009)

·         The Hot Guy; Robbie Amell, the Duff (2015)

·         The Soldier; James McAvoy, Atonement (2007)

·         The Best Friend –

Krysten Ritter, She’s

Out of my League

·         Often more common with the female protagonist as the males are usually associated with a group.

·         Often pretty but minimally compared to the main character so as to not take the attention away.

·         Normally more sex-obsessed.

·         Close with the main character, usually having a friendship that stems from early years.

·         EXAMPLE: Patty, played by Krysten Ritter as Alive Eve’s best friend in She’s Out of my League, 2010).

·         The Mother –

Patricia Clarkson,

Friends with Benefits

·         The mother is often considered to be more crazy or over the top.

·         Often more wild, considered irresponsible.

·         Can often be seen as an alcoholic/drug addict.

·         Usually embarrasses the main protagonist upon the meeting with the ‘boyfriend’.

·         EXAMPLE: Lorna, Patricia Clarkson, who is Mila Kunis’ character’s mum in Friends with Benefits (2011)

Hardy and Pine, This Means War

·         The Competition –

·         This character is usually always ‘hot’.

·         Can be either male or female, depending on which character they are friends with.



·         Often the reason behind the mid crisis, e.g. the breakup.

·         EXAMPLE: Tom Hardy and Chris Pine in This Means War, 2012, two spy partners who fall for the same girl.

Horror

·         The Murderer –

·         In more or less all slasher horror films, there is a psychopathic killer out to find his next victims.

·         In many cases, the murderer will wear a mask or some form of disguise to hide their face from their victims.

·         They are usually always associated with some kind of issue which led them to become the psychopath that they are, such as mental health issues or childhood troubles.

·         The Victim –

·         In many horror films, the victim is usually a woman as producers can portray them to be more vulnerable and weak.

·         They are often assumed to be pretty and thus, catching the eye of their murder.

·         This is the character that helps to build the suspense throughout the movie as the film creates enigma in terms of what is going to happen to them.

·         The Non-Believer –

·         This is usually the cocky or arrogant character, who insists that everyone is overreacting.

·         In many slasher horrors, this character is the first to be killed off as they do not take the safety precautions that the other characters take, thus falling into the killer’s trap.

·         More frequently these are males and men are more likely to play off dangers in order to bigger themselves and make them look more ‘manly’.

·          The Detective –

·         This is the person who is normally put on a case, such as a missing person’s case, in order to find the victim.

·         They help build additional suspense throughout the movie as the audience is constantly wondering whether or not they will catch the killer before it is too late.

·         The Helper –

·         This is the character that is either a known companion of the detective, i.e. their partner, or is associated with the killer himself/herself.

·         They often have a smaller role, whilst being less important than the main detective but still important in terms of the suspense.

·         The Evil Figure –

Saw, featuring the Jigsaw puppet.

·         This can be from the following: 1. Monster, such as werewolf, 2. Ghost or 3. Serial Killer.

·         Each horror film is usually based on this evil character, with many of the events which occur being of a result of this character.

·         Saw Films –

·         The saw films are an excellent example of the horror genre in terms of characters, as featured is an example of every stereotype: The Killer (Jigsaw), the victim (both male and female), the detective and their partner, and finally, each victim usually has a moment of non-believing.

Comedy

·         The Cynical One –

·         They are often mean or spiteful to the surrounding characters.

·         Audiences may find this funny due to the language and actions they do or say to the other characters, which can often be seen as petty or meaningless, thus creating humour.

·         The cynical character is usually always unhappy or complaining about something and viewers may find this funny as they can, in a sense, laugh at their misfortunes/attitude.

·         In some movies, this character is depicted as the bully or ‘mean girl.

·         The Socially Awkward –

·         This character is usually exceptionally smart with little interaction with fellow students.

·         In the films, they are normally portrayed with a group of more ‘normal’ people in order to show the contrast between the two personalities and thus, emphasises the awkwardness of that character.

·         For example, Josh Gad who plays the character known as ‘Headphones’ in the Internship.

·         The Gay one –

·         In many comedies, particularly romantic comedies, there is usually a Gay character, often the best friend, due to the stereotypically eccentric personality and to add variety to the film.

·         They are often blunt and to the point, which in many cases is more humorous as the viewer is able to see the effect it has, such as the reactions on the other characters.

·         For example, Damien in Mean Girls.

·         The ‘Dumb Blonde’ –

·         The ‘Dumb Blonde’ is abundantly clear: the stereotypical pretty blonde who has little to know intelligence.

·         This character makes for funny jokes and laughs for the audience due to their mannerism which make them appear to be completely serious despite their remarks being ludicrous.

·         One of the more famous examples of this is Karen, played by Amanda Seyfried, also in Mean Girls.

·         The Kids –

·         Many comedy films often feature children as they are usually considered innocent and carefree.

·         They say what is on their mind not caring and the older audiences often find this humorous and relatable, especially if they have children of their own.

·         Adults are perceived as generally more serious, however, children add light humour in a more subtle way to appeal to the audience.

A scene from Mean Girls, 2004, with stereotypical comedy

characters: the ‘Dumb Blonde’, second along, and the ‘Cynical/Bully’, far right.

Urban Drama

                Many urban dramas are focused around gangs or groups belonging to a certain collective identity. For example, in Snatch.

·         Protagonist –

·         As mentioned, characters are either portrayed singularly, perhaps dealing with their own social taboo in terms of problems, or they are part of a group.

·         They are often boisterous and can be immature when with their friends but then when necessary, such as in fights, they become harsh and serious.

·         The lead of the gang is usually associated with some example of an underlying problem, such as issues at home like no father figure.

·         At least one member of the group, usually the lead, would have a relationship with their partner and the audience is able to see their interactions in some scenes. The partner is often more ‘chavvy’ or referred to as unclean, ‘trashy’ or even in some cases, the prostitute or ‘slut’.

·         In general, the main character may have a negative outlook on life due to their class as the urban drama films, particularly crime based films, are typically lower or working class.

·         Antagonist –

·         This is the character or group who is essentially the opposing team, or the rival.

·         In many cases, they are dangerous, impulsive and show no remorse.

·         They are often depicted as an old friend or traitor; such as a disagreement between the lead of the protagonist’s group and a former member which encouraged him to leave and start his own gang.

·         This often creates more tension for the viewer as it is clear on screen that they once had a previous relationship and so are angrier towards the other.

·         The ‘Friends’ –

·         These are the characters that are shown throughout films as the companions or ‘fans’.

·         They are often seen to be lower hierarchy than the leader(s) of the gang and thus, are often depicted as pushovers or obedient.

·         Usually follow the gang around to build up their status despite being of less importance.

A scene from the 2000 Urban Drama, showing the Irish Travellers in the film Snatch. Pictured clearly identifies the protagonist lead front and centre, the gang members closely surrounding the lead and the ‘friends’ in the far back of the image.