{"id":239007,"date":"2023-06-08T18:02:15","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T01:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/?p=239007"},"modified":"2024-02-23T05:24:44","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T13:24:44","slug":"unearthing-the-importance-of-sub-characters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/2023\/06\/08\/unearthing-the-importance-of-sub-characters\/","title":{"rendered":"Unearthing the Importance of Sub-Characters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ theme_builder_area=”post_content” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

When plotting and writing a movie, the focus is understandably on the protagonist\/hero, but it’s important to consider sub-characters as part of the overall structure of your film.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sub-characters are the primary means of creating obstacles and reversals. Sub-characters give the hero an opportunity to speak his\/her heart and intent. They generate conflict so exposition can be delivered in a manner that is part of revealing character.<\/span><\/p>\n

Watching a movie like Mafia Mama<\/a>, that takes a high concept and is targeted at audiences looking for sheer escape and entertainment, the first thing one notices is the number of sub-characters in the film. Mild-mannered, empty-nester, Kristen is forced to replace her Grandfather as Mafia boss in Calabria, Italy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The movie is big, funny, violent, and the ultimate example of a fish-out-of-water. Kristen was never prepared to be the boss of anything, and now with her Grandfather’s death, a mob war has been ignited.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But if you look at the movie, every frame is populated with sub-characters who are in place to help tell Kristen’s story. The sub-characters set up comedy moments, action events, obstacles, and complications. It is her growing relationship with the sub-characters that allow the audience to watch her change, grow and find strength.<\/span><\/p>\n

The sub-characters in this film can be described as predictable stereotypes, but it is the bending of old mob movie stereotypes where much of the humor is derived.<\/span><\/p>\n

In looking at the sub-characters, Kristen’s goal is illuminated. Kristen’s transformational arc is fulfilled. Each sub-character is in the film to make her journey to her goal a fun, explosive, exhilarating ride. For all the characters that are part of the film, the story remains focused on Kristen’s goal to the very end.<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When plotting and writing a movie, it’s important to consider your sub-characters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[25,15,19],"class_list":["post-239007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-screenwriting","tag-film-school","tag-screenwriting","tag-screenwriting-class"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239007"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":239012,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239007\/revisions\/239012"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}