2. Task
• In groups you have fifteen minutes.
• Choose a recent film you have watched.
• Name the characters in that film.
• What type of character are they and how do you know?
• You could do this as a brainstorm.
• You can choose any recent film you have watched.
• You are going to feedback back to the group.
3. Types of characters
• These are some of the main characters you could have within
a film:
• Protagonist – hero of the film.
• Antagonist – Villain of the film.
• Sidekick – friend of the main character
• Damsel / love interest – object of desire pursuit.
• Do these roles match the characters you have identified?
4. Character Theory
• Vladmir Propp analysed over one hundered texts/media and
he identified seven broad character types.
• He believed that you could adapt these types to fit the
characters in all text/media.
5. Character Theroy
• Propps Theory
• The villain (struggles against the hero)
• The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical
object)
• The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)
• The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during
the narrative)
• The false hero (perceived as good character in beginning but
emerges as evil)
• The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and
sends the hero off)
• The hero or victim/seeker hero, reacts to the donor, weds the
princess
6. Thor
• Who would the characters be in the film.
• Watch the trailer
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOddp-nlNvQ
7. Thor
• The villain
• The donor
• The (magical) helper
• The princess
• The false hero
• The dispatcher
• The hero or victim/seeker hero
• Characters are:
• Thor, Odin, Jane, Destroyer, Loki, Heimdall, Erik
Selvig
8. Other Characters
• Stories alter and change over time consider some of these
roles can you name some film examples of these roles.
• Reluctant Hero
• Anti-hero
• Corrupted villain – may have honourable origin or intention.
• Femme Fatale
• Henchman
• Patriarch
• Matriarch
• In groups you have ten minutes can you identfify any of these
characters.
