For another example of corporate climber character sympathy, see my digital book analyzing Kramer vs. Kramer: screentakes.com/kramer-vs-kramer-screenbook-2023/
It is widely held in the movie industry that in order for a character to be sympathetic they must be a likable character. This ignores the many films with morally compromised main characters – from The People vs. Larry Flynt to The Wolf of Wall Street and many others – who we nonetheless become engaged with enough to stick with through the end of their story. It is not likability that gets us on board. It is power disadvantage. See how this sympathetic character engagement is engineered in a wide variety of characters, including James Bond.
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Jennine Lanouette is a screenwriting and script analysis instructor and story consultant. She has taught at Pixar, Lucasfilm and Sundance Collab, as well as colleges and universities. She has produced media-rich, interactive digital books analyzing Thelma & Louise, Kramer vs. Kramer and The African Queen. In her online course Extraordinary Structure: Analyzing Hidden Story Patterns in the Great Films she analyzes Sunset Boulevard, Network, Parasite, The Farewell and Joker. Additional courses are yet to come.
To subscribe for course updates, go here: screentakes.com.
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Connect with me:
Website:screentakes.com/
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