Re: human stories
I think of Red's type of character as the Ally which is the opposite of the Nemesis. In the same way the Nemesis may be a prominent hindrance to the protagonist but is not the true antagonist, the Ally may be a prominent character who also has the same goals as the protagonist but the ally is not the true protagonist.
I think Red is not only the Ally, he is like Rose in Titanic or the girl in T2 or even the Marshall in The Fugitive and experiences an arc which is not only their own arc but is also the protagonist's arc by Proxy.
In a lot of ways Andy is no different from Forest Gump, or the Man with No Name in Clint's spaghetti westerns or Kimble or Jack who are essentially traveling angels or what Vogler calls a "Catalyst Hero" who unlike the typical hero that is changed by the story, the Catalyst Hero does not change but causes those he encounters to be changed and how he changes them is a reflection of the values the Catalyst Hero embodies.
In the case of Red, it is Andy's values of not giving up on life and refusing to allow the prison to define who he is that is passes on to red and all the cons who are changed in varying degrees because of their contact with Andy.
Red is most definitely telling Andy's story, and Andy is most definitely the protagonist of that story.
But Red is certainly an important part of that story. He is the ally character who helps Andy and is changed by Andy into arcing toward the same goal as Andy, but everything Red does and how he grows is all because of Andy's actions.
Andy is the "catalyst" protagonist.
Red is the ally.
That's my take on it.
I think of Red's type of character as the Ally which is the opposite of the Nemesis. In the same way the Nemesis may be a prominent hindrance to the protagonist but is not the true antagonist, the Ally may be a prominent character who also has the same goals as the protagonist but the ally is not the true protagonist.
I think Red is not only the Ally, he is like Rose in Titanic or the girl in T2 or even the Marshall in The Fugitive and experiences an arc which is not only their own arc but is also the protagonist's arc by Proxy.
In a lot of ways Andy is no different from Forest Gump, or the Man with No Name in Clint's spaghetti westerns or Kimble or Jack who are essentially traveling angels or what Vogler calls a "Catalyst Hero" who unlike the typical hero that is changed by the story, the Catalyst Hero does not change but causes those he encounters to be changed and how he changes them is a reflection of the values the Catalyst Hero embodies.
In the case of Red, it is Andy's values of not giving up on life and refusing to allow the prison to define who he is that is passes on to red and all the cons who are changed in varying degrees because of their contact with Andy.
Red is most definitely telling Andy's story, and Andy is most definitely the protagonist of that story.
But Red is certainly an important part of that story. He is the ally character who helps Andy and is changed by Andy into arcing toward the same goal as Andy, but everything Red does and how he grows is all because of Andy's actions.
Andy is the "catalyst" protagonist.
Red is the ally.
That's my take on it.
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