On August 12, 2023, Kasie and Rex continued character month with a study of antagonists. Here are the show notes:

Theme for the day

What makes a good antagonist?

Agenda

• Character types
• Antagonist must-haves
• How to write a good antagonist

Segment 1

First, Kasie finally got around to that whole cache of recordings and put them all up on Simplecast through June 30th. July to come. It starts here with “The Write Stuff” from last fall. (I know. I told you it had been a while).

In August, we’re doing a series. We haven’t done this for a few months. We’re focusing on Characters this month:

• Protagonist (8/5)
• Antagonist (8/12)
• Best friends & love interests (8/19)

To recap the protagonist, s/he’s one of these four types:

1. Hero / heroine – achieves things because of their own means
2. Antihero – lacks the qualities found in the hero, distinctly unlike the hero
3. Villain – unequivocally the bad guy – The Joker, Joe Exotic The Tiger King
4. Supporting protagonist – less common than other types, when the story is told from the minor role’s perspective – Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby

And has these 10 attributes:

1. Has a problem that needs solving
2. Has the ability to act
3. Has reasons to act
4. Has something to lose
5. Has something to gain
6. Has the capacity to change
7. Has a compelling quality
8. Has an interesting flaw
9. Has a secret
10. Has someone or something trying to stop them

If your protagonist doesn’t have all of those things figured out, better get revising.

So, for the Antagonist, here’s the basics:

• The principal opponent or foil to the main character
• The person, group, force, or idea that opposes the interests of the protagonist (link)
• Complete opposite of the protagonist (sometimes) i.e. good vs. evil, justice vs. injustice
• More realistically, it’s juxtaposed goals and/or motivations: Rocky vs. Apollo Creed

Four types from Masterclass (link):

1. A villain – bad guy working for evil purposes; 
2. A conflict-creator – someone who opposes the protagonist but not out of evil intent; Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, Javert in Les Miserables
3. Inanimate forces – terrain (the sea, a mountain, the woods), weather (tornado, hurricane, snowstorm)
4. The Protagonist themselves – a character flaw (ambition, pride) 

More examples of protagonists and their antagonists:

• Aladdin vs. Jafar
• Rocky vs. Apollo Creed
• Westley vs. Prince Humperdink
• Peter Pan vs. Captain Hook
• Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader
• Scarlett O’Hara vs. Rhett Butler
• Officer Brody vs. Bruce (the shark) vs. the town
• Belle vs. Gaston

Section 2

Non-person antagonists:

• Society’s expectations – The Portrait of a Lady, House of Mirth, The Rise of Silas Lapham, Sister Carrie, basically all those determinism novels from the late 19th century
• Racism – To Kill a Mockingbird
• Sexism – The Handmaid’s Tale
• Family expectations – Encanto (cousins with abilities have to be ‘perfect’ but Mirabel doesn’t have powers and is trying to prove herself useful)
• Noble cause – environmentalists, rebellion
• Natural disaster
• The protagonist’s own character flaw

Archetype antagonists:

• Bully – Hopper in A Bug’s Life
• The usurper – Scar in The Lion King, Fredo in The Godfather
• Jealous lover / unrequited crush – Fatal Attraction, The Crush
• Revenge-seeker – The Vulture from the Spiderman comics; Maleficent
• Power roles – dictators, tyrants, rulers
• Idealists and/or martyrs – believe they’re working for a bigger cause; Frollo from Hunchback of Notre Dame; Doc Ock

This was as far as we got on August 11th so we’re having a Part 2 on this topic on the 19th. See you then.