False protagonist

In fiction, a false protagonist is a literary technique, often used to make the plot more jarring or more memorable by fooling the audience's preconceptions, that constructs a character who the audience assumes is the protagonist but is later revealed not to be.

A false protagonist is presented at the start of the fictional work as the main character, but then is eradicated, often by killing them (usually for shock value or as a plot twist) or changed in terms of their role in the story (i.e. making them a lesser character, a character who leaves the story, or revealing them to actually be the antagonist).[1]

Overview

In film, a character can be made to seem like the main protagonist based on a number of techniques (beyond just simply focusing the plot on their role). Star power is a very effective method; audience members generally assume that the biggest "name" in a movie will have a significant part to play. An abundance of close-ups can also be used as a subliminal method. Generally, the star of a film will get longer-lasting and more frequent close-ups than any other character, but this is rarely immediately apparent to viewers during the film. Alternatively, the false protagonist can serve as a narrator to the movie, encouraging the audience to assume that the character survives to tell their tale later.[2]

Many of the same techniques used in film can also apply to television, but the episodic nature adds an additional possibility. By ending one or more episodes with the false protagonist still in place, the show can reinforce the viewers' belief in the character's protagonist status. Also, because TV shows often have changes of cast between seasons, some series can have unintentional false protagonists: characters who begin the series as the main character but then are replaced early in the show's run by another character entirely. When the series is viewed as a whole, this can lead to the appearance of a false protagonist.

In video games, a false protagonist may initially be a playable character, only to be killed or revealed to be the antagonist. One key way in which video games employ the method that differs from uses in non-interactive fiction is by granting the player direct control over the false protagonist. Since most video games allow a player to control only the main characters (and their success or failure is based on playing skill, not pre-determined story), the sudden demise of the character that is being controlled serves to surprise the player.

Examples

Literature

The Book of Samuel starts with Samuel as a young boy. He was the main focus in the first few chapters until he eventually becomes a minor character.
  • The Book of Samuel begins with Samuel's birth and God's call to him as a boy. At this point, the readers are led to believe that Samuel is the central figure in the book. Though by the sixteenth chapter, the book starts to primarily focus on David.[3]
  • George R. R. Martin's novel A Game of Thrones, the first entry in the A Song of Ice and Fire epic fantasy series, features chapters told from the point of view of numerous characters, though the most prominent is Ned Stark, who is generally assumed to be the novel's main protagonist until the final chapters where he is unexpectedly executed.[4][5]

Film

  • Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho opens with Marion Crane as the main character. However, she is killed partway through the film, making the murder far more unexpected and shocking. Hitchcock felt that the opening scenes with Marion as the false protagonist were so important to the film that when it was released in theaters, he compelled theater owners to enforce a "no late admission" policy.[6]
  • The film Arachnophobia opens with Mark L. Taylor's character, nature photographer Jerry Manley, as its focus. However, he is killed a mere ten minutes into the film by a seizure caused by a spider bite, after which the focus shifts to Jeff Daniels's character, Dr. Ross Jennings.
  • Halloween: Resurrection opens with Jamie Lee Curtis's character, Laurie Strode, who was the main protagonist in the previous Halloween films, only to be murdered by the antagonist (Michael Myers) ten minutes into the film.

Video Games

  • In Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet, the games opens with the character Krystal. However, she is ambushed and sealed in a crystal just minutes into the game, at which point the game shifts to protagonist Fox McCloud.
  • In the Square Enix game Final Fantasy XII, the game opens with a focus on the character of Reks. However, he is killed a few minutes into the game by the evil Gabranth, who is masquerading as his twin brother, Basch, at the time. Soon after, the game's focus shifts to his younger brother, Vaan, the true protagonist of the story.
  • The game Kingdom Hearts II begins with the character Roxas as its focal character. However, more than an hour into the game, he finds the pods containing Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy and vanishes immediately after (as he is actually a part of Sora), prompting the shift to focusing on Sora for the remainder of the game.
  • In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, the game starts with series protagonist Solid Snake. But after the opening chapter, the game shifts to protagonist Raiden. Players were unaware of this shift at the time, as developers kept it a secret by only showing Solid Snake in the trailers.
  • In Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, the Prologue and Chapter 01 of the game is played from the view of Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist. However, after she is voted as the culprit and then executed at the End of Chapter 1's Class Trial, the rest of the Game is played from the view of Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective.
  • In “Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War”, the first half of the game is played as the character Sigurd. However, halfway through the game, Sigurd is killed, and his son Seliph inherits the role of protagonist.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Christopher W. Tindale (2007). Fallacies and Argument Appraisal. Cambridge University Press. pp. 28–33. ISBN 978-0-521-84208-2.
  2. ↑ Jonason, Peter K.; Webster, Gregory D.; Schmitt, David P.; Li, Norman P.; Crysel, Laura. "The antihero in popular culture: Life history theory and the dark triad personality traits". Review of General Psychology. 16 (2): 192–199. doi:10.1037/a0027914.
  3. ↑ Gordon 1986, p. 18.
  4. ↑ Hibberd, James (June 12, 2011). "Game of Thrones recap: The Killing". Entertainment Weekly. p. 1. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  5. ↑ Poniewozik, James (June 13, 2011). "Game of Thrones Watch: The Unkindest Cut". Time. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  6. ↑ Leigh, Janet. Psycho : Behind the Scenes of the Classic Thriller. Harmony Press, 1995. ISBN 0-517-70112-X.
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