Protagonist is an actor who owns the right to play the first role in a tragedy. Some interesting moments in theatrical and cinematographic art are connected with this concept. Also, the protagonist is the main character in an ancient Greek tragedy or drama.
Etymology of the word
This concept originated from Greek roots meaning “first”, “compete”, “fighter”. If you add up all these clues, it would be easier to assume that the meaning of the word "protagonist" lies in the word "winner". After all, the first in wrestling competitions is the one who managed to win. However, this word has a different meaning. And its appearance was connected precisely with the ancient tragedy of Thespis played in Athens in 534 BC.
Who is the protagonist in contemporary art?
Today the meaning of this concept has expanded. The protagonist is already the protagonist of not only a tragedy, but also a film, literary work, and even a computer game. Moreover, sometimes false protagonists appear in the work - heroes who at the beginning give the impression of being the main ones, and then disappear altogether. Something similar happened in the 1960s. It was then on the cinema screenssensational films "Adventure" and "Psycho" were shown.
The difference between the concepts of the protagonist in classical and contemporary art
Usually, a protagonist and an antagonist or a group of antagonists appear in the works. In classical works, the positive hero is opposed by the negative - the villains. They, antagonists, prevent the protagonist from achieving their goals. Either the positive hero himself fights them - this is what the classic plot was based on. In modern art, everything is much more complicated. Often the protagonist is the negative villain that the positive characters are trying to capture and neutralize. However, as, for example, in the film Fantomas, positive antagonists cause laughter and irony, but the viewer sympathizes with the main character himself, despite his position in society. The same is observed in modern criminal action films, for example, in a series of works by Evgeny Sukhov about the thief in law Varyag.
You can't identify the author with the main character
An interesting fact is that most of the reader believes that the writer necessarily puts a piece of his soul into the image of the hero. And the viewer often identifies the actor with the role he played. However, this is not always the case. Or rather, almost always not. The protagonist is a person whom the author observes, as it were, from the side. A good writer will not be able to clearly explain his attitude towards the characters. Suffice it to recall the wonderful phrase that characterizes Leo Tolstoy, that he is a mirror of Russian life. That is, the author is not a protagonist, he evennot sympathetic to him. He's a reflector, a magnifying glass if you will.
The author can raise a topic that excites him in his work, but highlight it in such a way as to attract the attention of the public to it, even going against his moral principles. To make people talk about something, to stir up stagnant water - this is the main purpose of creativity. And how good the protagonist is, how moral his actions are, does not guarantee that the writer himself is a deeply decent person, spiritually perfect. As well as describing the life of prostitutes, their experiences and difficulties - not at all the person who stands up for "moths".
The film "RoboCop" clearly demonstrates this position. The protagonist here changes himself for a while, turning from a good hero into a villain. And the author does not position himself at all as a "cop", or a robot, or a villain. He simply fantasizes, simultaneously planting in the minds of the public the idea that one should not joke with nature, that man is unique, that all experiments on the brain are fraught with dire consequences.
