현대영화의 프로타고니스트 활용방법

How to Use Characters as ‘Protagonists’ in Modern Films

The movie <Joker> has finally been released and has been playing in the theater since October 2, 2019. Upon release, it's been the top of the box office with ticket sales of 3.5 billion Korean won and over 4 million viewers as of October 17th. Consider these questions: Has the Joker as a movie character been a real protagonist all along? Or, can it be considered to be a character fit to be a protagonist? The <Joker> would have been one of the most notorious villains along with the character Dr. Hannibal from the 2001 movie <Hannibal> directed by Ridley Scott. Then, how can the Joker who is the most brutal and hideous figure ever become a protagonist? What are the things in a movie that make a character a protagonist? How does a character need to act to be a protagonist? What are the processes by which a character becomes a protagonist? This paper will examine the basic and conventional components that construct the character of protagonist in films. Specifically, this paper will investigate how protagonists are constructed and employed in films in terms of the link between the demolition of the concepts of agency and reasons in modern philosophy and shifting concepts of protagonist. There will certainly be controversy and differing ideas on the concept of villain identified with the one of antagonist. Yet, it is an undeniable fact that most of villains in films play the role of antagonist and antagonists have taken the job of playing villains. This paper challenges the clear character divisions between protagonists and antagonists by dealing with the loose and fuzzy boundaries between the two. It will discuss the historical backgrounds of the demolition of such divisions and their implications and how modern films utilize the chaotic reality coming from them.