Influence character who is also protagonist

questions
#21

Melanie has a recent blog post, The Dramatic Triangle, which is fascinating – a different way of explaining some well-known Dramatica concepts.

One section deals specifically with the topic of this thread, the Influence Character who is also the protagonist:

A variation of this is for the protagonist to also be the influence character, rather than the main character. Then, he would be fighting against the antagonist in the overall story, but he would also be trying to change the beliefs of the main character, who is the third corner of the triangle.

In this arrangement, we would not be seeing things through the eyes of the protagonist, but through the eyes of the main character. We stand in the shoes of the main character and watch the protagonist/influence character, but be personally challenged to change our beliefs by him.

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#22

Cool way to emphasize a change of thought, without it getting lost in the edit!

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#23

I just walked in the door, while the husband was watching The Legend of Tarzan movie. The Samuel Jackson character was following everyone who had jumped down a mountain to a forest top. He was definitely the MC (at least for that scene) Tarzan seemed the IC at least for that scene. You might want to check the movie out.

#24

OMG. Haha you beat me to it.

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#25

@narrativebeast Sorry bro. I’m a Sanderson junkie. :joy:

#26

What about Morpheus in The Matrix?

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#28

There’s no official Dramatica storyform for it, but I’m willing to argue that Elijah Price in Unbreakable is an IC Protagonist.

#29

Scent of a Woman jumps into mind at the words, “along for the ride”. I haven’t seen it, all, but it might fit. w/Al Pacino, Chris O’Donnell

#30

Spotlight is another possibility for “MC/IC/pro/ant = 4 different characters” (MC Robby, IC Jim, protag Walter/Mike, antag Law)

Ditto for Casablanca.