Character

L/O: To explore the use of characterisation in a film

Case Study: Characters

Main character actors: Chris Pratt, Kurt Russell

Protagonist Outline: Name - Peter Quill, Age - 34, Personality - he's hot headed and doesn't always make the right decisions, Job - he gets hired for various jobs throughout the Galaxy

Antagonist Outline: Name - Ego, Age - Millions of years old, Personality - Manipulative and egotistical, Job - His goal is to make the entire galaxy him.

Characters

The main characters are Peter, Gamora, Groot, Drax and Rocket.

The story is mainly about Peter coming to terms with his heritage.

No one is really "telling" the story.

The main characters are of varying species and backgrounds.

The main characters are mostly comedic with the exception of Gamora.

They behave in a way that allows them to make fun of other characters in the story.

There are particular motifs for the group and individual characters.

Rocket interests me the most as he is the most detached from everything but deep down just wants people to care about him.

The story would be extremely different if Peter was taken away as he is integral to the story as it is about his Dad. It would probably have just been a typical kill the bad guy story.

Character Theory: Propp

Vladimir Propp stated that within any narrative, there would appear the following 8 broad character types: 

• The Hero
• The Villain
• The Donor
• The Helper
• The Princess
• The Dispatcher
• The Father
• The False Hero

The Hero - Generally leads the narrative; has a quest or has to solve something; wants to succeed; can be any gender.

The Villain - Struggles against the hero; seen as morally bad; attempts to stop the hero from achieving goal.

The Donor - Gives the hero something special (Power/Weapon/Wisdom etc); enables hero to complete the quest.

The Helper - Supports hero (sidekick); appears at critical moments; their limitations help define the hero.

The Princess - Can take two forms; the object sought by the hero or the reward/

The Dispatcher - Sends hero on the mission (can be combined with another role)

The Princess' Father - Gives task to the hero; authority figure; protective over princess (doesn't have to be her biological father)

The False Hero - Appears to act heroically and often mistaken for the real hero; gets credit for the work; gains respect from the father.

Propps Theory: Applied to your film

The Hero - Peter Quill, he wants to find his place in the universe and believes that it's with his father.

The Villain - Ego, he wants to use Peter to conquer the universe as Peter is part celestial

The Donor - Ego, teaches Peter the power that is eventually used to defeat him

The Helper - Gamora, supports Peter in his quest to find a family.

The Princess - Ego/Yondu, they have the familial bonds that Peter wants

The Dispatcher - Gamora, convinces Peter to go with Ego to his planet because he might be Peter's father.

The Princess' Father - N/A

The False Hero - N/A