Thriller Conventions- (Protagonist vs Antagonist)

PROTAGONISTS:

The protagonists in Thrillers are often men and women accustomed to danger such as Police Officers or detectives or are ordinary people that have been incidentally pulled into danger. The protagonist usually has an aim to defeat the evil/oppression. Heroes (whether male or female) tend to be brave, clever, determined and strong- physically and mentally. Characters such as Bruce Wayne from the Dark Knight series and Clarice Starling from

Silence of the Lambs spring to mind. However, this “strength” is often played with by Thriller directors as a weakness seen in films such as Shutter Island where the protagonist is indeed suffering psychologically. The protagonist’s family members and loved ones, the appearance of being ahead of the antagonist, and negative character traits are often discovered and exploited by the antagonist. This gives the film another level of excitement and tension as the antagonist strives to overcome, beat and often kill the protagonist. Female roles are often represented as being helpless and innocent (eg.  Irene from Drive) and requires the hero’s help to support them. Exceptions that see females as the main, independent protagonist include films such as Panic Room, Tomb Raider and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Generally protagonists will appear dressed suited most to the character’s occupation. The British spy James Bond and the driver for a rich family in The Transporter, Frank Martin are seen in suits and tuxedos; Detectives would be seen in trench coats (Sherlock Holmes and Se7en); and normal citizen type characters appear in casual, modern clothes like in Memento where the main character wears a t-shirt and smart bottoms to achieve a casual look. The colour pallet of character clothing is often selectively chosen, typically villains will draw a darker colour set whilst young, innocent children will wear bright, light clothing to emphasise their innocence and youthfulness. Red is often worn by alluring women in some form or another, this is often done to emphasis their femininity and increase their sex appeal (the male gaze theory is relevant here).

ANTAGONISTS:

The antagonists in Thrillers are typically male, usually tall or well-built like Bane in The Dark Knight Rises and with a shady of sense surrounding and may look deformed, often originating from a traumatic experience such as the Joker in the Dark Knight and Silas from The Da Vinci Code. Antagonists are often depicted as psychologically unwell characters, often incorporating themes from crime, religious or horror genres such as danger, serial murders, anarchy, possession and hauntings into the Thriller. They are seen as evil characters that don’t conform to society’s law, fashion or morals. Hannibal ‘the cannibal’ Lecter from Silence of the Lambs is a perfect example of this. The antagonist usually has an aim to kill, torture, frighten, or play with the protagonist on a personal level or uses sadistic and cruel plans for personal gain from society which happens to affect the protagonist. Often, there is only one antagonist but may have another assistants to help them. In films such as Dawn of the Dead and World War Z, zombies in great hordes are the antagonists where the force of them poses a threat to the protagonists. It is more common in Horror-Thrillers to have multiple antagonists. At the climax of a Thriller, the antagonist and the protagonist go head to head in some sort of fight or battle situation. Usually, the protagonist defeats the antagonist but in some Thrillers such as Se7en, the antagonist has already done enough damage to cause the heroes and the audience to feel upset, angered or otherwise sad due to their actions.

Protagonists and Antagonists are binary opposites. (Please see Binary Opposite post for more detail)

OTHER TYPES OF CHARACTER:

• Flat Characters: A flat character has one or two personality traits that don't change. The flat character can play a major or a minor role.
• Round Characters: A round character has many complex traits and those traits develop and change in a story. A round character will seem more real than a flat character, because people are complex.
• Stock/Stereotype Characters: A character who represents a stereotype is a stock character. These characters exist to maintain widespread belief in stereotypes, such as hot-tempered redheads, stingy businessmen and absent-minded professors.
• Static Characters: A static character never changes. A loud, obnoxious "background" character who remains the same throughout the story is static. A boring character who is never changed by events is also static.
• Dynamic Characters: Unlike a static character, a dynamic character does change and grow as the story unfolds. Dynamic characters respond to events and experience a change in attitude or outlook.