A protagonist is an actor who owns the right to play the first role in a tragedy. Some interesting points in theatrical and cinematic art are associated with this concept. Also, the protagonist is the main character in ancient Greek tragedy or drama.
Etymology of the word
This concept came from Greek roots, meaning "first", "compete", "wrestler". If all these hints were added up, it would be easier to assume that the meaning of the word “protagonist” lies in the word “winner”. After all, the first in the wrestling competitions is the one who managed to win. However, the meaning of this word got a different one. And its appearance was connected precisely with the ancient tragedy of Thespis played in Athens in 534 BC.
Who is a protagonist in contemporary art?
Today, the meaning of this concept has expanded. The protagonist is already the main character of not only tragedy, but also a film, a literary work and even a computer game. And sometimes false protagonists appear in the work - heroes who at the beginning give the impression of the main ones, and then disappear altogether. This was the case in 1960. It was then that the sensational films "Adventure" and "Psycho" were shown on the screens of movie theaters.
The difference between the concepts of the protagonist in classic and contemporary art
Typically, the protagonist and antagonist or group of antagonists appear in the works. In classical creations, the negative hero is opposed by the negative - villains. They, antagonists, prevent the protagonist from achieving his goals. Or the positive hero himself fights with them - this was the basis of the classic storyline. In contemporary art, everything is much more complicated. Often, the protagonist is the negative villain whom positive heroes try to seize and neutralize. However, as, for example, in the film Fantomas, positive antagonists cause laughter and irony, but the viewer sympathizes with the main character, despite his position in society. The same is observed in modern crime fighters, for example, in a series of works by Evgeny Sukhov, the thief in law of the Varyag.
You can not identify the author with the main character!
An interesting fact is this: the majority of the reader believes that the writer necessarily invests a piece of his soul in the image of the hero. And the viewer often identifies the actor with the role played by him. However, this is not always the case. Or rather, it is almost always wrong. The protagonist is a person whom the author is observing as if from outside. A good writer will not be able to clearly explain his attitude to the heroes. It is enough to recall the wonderful phrase characterizing Leo Tolstoy that he is a mirror of Russian life. That is, the author is not a protagonist, he is not even sympathetic to him. He is a reflector, a magnifying glass, if you want.
In his work, the author can raise a topic that excites him, but illuminate it in such a way as to attract the attention of the public, even going against his moral principles. To make people talk about something, to agitate still water is the main purpose of creativity. And just how good the protagonist is, how moral his actions are, does not guarantee that the writer himself is a deeply decent, spiritually perfect person. As describing the life of prostitutes, their experiences and difficulties are not the kind of person who stands for “nocturnal butterflies”.
The film "RoboCop" clearly demonstrates this position. The protagonist here for a while is cheating on himself, turning from a positive hero into a villain. And the author does not position himself at all as a "cop", nor a robot, nor a villain. He just fantasizes, simultaneously laying in the minds of the public the idea that one should not joke with nature, that a person is unique, that all kinds of experiments on the brain are fraught with terrible consequences.