Loyal and stubborn heroes: the main character’s personality in Classic Hollywood cinema

This research aims to analyze the main characters’ construction in classic Hollywood cinema by focusing on their personalities. This work follows Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson’s notions of classic cinema. The sample includes films from 1930 to 1960. Character is understood as personality and as a psychological unit. Characterization is defined by each trait that refers to the totality of their character. We start with the hypothesis that there are central tendencies for creating heroes and heroines in classic cinema. However, these tendencies also correspond with the film narrative model, which is shaped by the functionality of the narrative categories in the story. Personality is among those factors that shape the construction of the character. We applied a methodology of film narrative analysis to a sample of 64 films from six extensive genres in classic Hollywood cinema. The results confirm that the main character in classic cinema is conditioned and shaped by their adaptation to the film’s genre. The hero is usually positive according to what is considered socially acceptable values; the dramatic needs of the plot predetermine their definition. The Hollywood main character’s personality is based on their functionality as they serve the narrative needs of the story.

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The photography in the novel by Serbian writer Ivan Tokin “The Most Normal Man in the World”

Slavic Almanac ◽

10.31168/2073-5731.2021.3-4.4.06 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 344-352

Author(s):

Yevgeniya V. Shatko ◽

Keyword(s):

First Person ◽

The Novel ◽

Main Character ◽

The World ◽

Main Plot ◽

Normal Man ◽

Narrative Model

Tokin’s debut novel “The Most Normal Man in the World” was released in 2014 and has gone through more than ten reprints. Written in the first person, it resembles a diary describing certain events in the life of the main character. The novel consists of 49 small chapters, each of which is divided into 2 parts, the first is always designated by a sequential number, and the second with the same number with the letter “a”, for example, the first chapter consists of the parts “1” and “1a”. At the same time, the first part of each chapter is a detailed description of one photograph from the childhood (less often youth) of the hero, and the second is a deeply intimate story about the life of a Belgrade citizen. While at the beginning of the novel the photographs rather carry the function of lyrical digressions, or pauses in the main narrative, later they cease to be only descriptions of the images. They become micro-stories, explaining and complementing the main plot line. The article presents an analysis of the change in the narrative model in the “photographic” chapters of the novel.

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An Analysis of The Image of Woman Based on Yukiguni Novel by Kawabata Yasunari

J-Litera: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra dan Budaya Jepang ◽

10.20884/1.jlitera.2021.3.1.2397 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 7

Author(s):

Ainsya Rakhmidianty Pramadityas ◽

Idah Hamidah ◽

Hartati Hartati

Keyword(s):

Narrative Analysis ◽

Descriptive Study ◽

Japanese Woman ◽

Main Character ◽

Social Image ◽

Woman Character ◽

Reading Technique ◽

Qualitative Descriptive ◽

Kawabata Yasunari ◽

High Sense

This study is entitled with “An Analysis of the Image of Woman Based on Yukiguni Novel by Kawabata Yasunari” which purposes are to describe the characterization and the image of woman reflected on the main character, Komako. This is a qualitative descriptive study. The data are based on one of Kawabata Yasunari works, Yukiguni, 1971, which presented in narration and dialog to reflect the characterization and describe the image of woman from Komako. The data collecting method chosen is close reading technique (repeat reading). To analyse the finding, the method used in this study is narrative analysis. The findings of this study shown that the main woman character, Komako is described as a person who is easily offended, a drunkard, careless, yet neat. Her profession as Geisha displays a neat and beautiful physical image. Komako, either as a Geisha or Japanese woman, has a physic image who is easily offended, disliking liars, feeling guilty and careless. Other than that, she has a famous social image, as being well know by others, having a high sense of empathy, yet a rule breaker in which resulting her relationship between the environment she is living and herself as a person is inharmonious. To sum up, the physical images possessed by Komako is contrary with her psychic image and social.

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JAKOB narrative analysis: The psychodynamic conflict as a narrative model

Psychotherapy Research ◽

10.1080/10503307.2010.490244 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 20 (5) ◽

pp. 511-525 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Brigitte Boothe ◽

Geneviève Grimm ◽

Marie-Luise Hermann ◽

Marc Luder

Keyword(s):

Narrative Analysis ◽

Narrative Model

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Experiment with the images containing a recurring character: bilingual narrative analysis

Litera ◽

10.25136/2409-8698.2020.10.33904 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 37-50

Author(s):

Stella Ervandovna Boykova

Keyword(s):

Narrative Analysis ◽

Russian Language ◽

French Language ◽

Bilingual Children ◽

Time Variability ◽

Main Character ◽

Indefinite Article ◽

Language Discourse ◽

Different Types ◽

The Russian Language

This article analyzes the French-language and Russian-language discourse of bilingual children of different types. The goal consists in examination of specificity of correlation between the name and image in a bilingual discourse, as well as in description of the action depicted on the image. The respondents for this research became the natural bilinguals from mixed Russian-French or Russian families in France. The authorial corpus of Russian-French speech of bilingual children served as the material for this study. The corpus consists of the stories based on stimulus material. The research was conducted individually with each respondent in Russian and French separately. The respondents could select the initial language for conversation (Russian or French). The scientific novelty of this work is defined by the fact that the tradition of studying narrative was applied in the context of analysis of the bilingual French-Russian speech. The author examined the Russian-language and French-language names of characters and objects in different groups, and drew parallels between them. The results demonstrate that the name of a character within the framework of a single language could vary from image to image. At the same time, variability of names of the main character is greater in the Russian-language block. The most frequent name version for the main character in the Russian-language block was the cat, while in the French-language block it was “chat” with the definite or indefinite article. It is notable that initially some respondents had other options (cat, squirrel), but in the process of the experiment, they also changed the name of the character to corresponding to the author's concept of the name of cat. Due to the fact that the respondents were asked to adhere to the selected language, there was very few instances of code switching. However, their presence indicates that the respondents are lacking lexical tools in their weaker language.

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The Role of the Homilistic Disputes with Appion (Hom. 4-6)

Vigiliae Christianae ◽

10.1163/15700720-12341369 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 73 (1) ◽

pp. 54-88

Author(s):

Benjamin De Vos

Keyword(s):

Narrative Analysis ◽

Main Character ◽

Greek Version ◽

Source Criticism ◽

Reading Experience

Abstract The Pseudo-Clementines is the traditional title of a unique Christian novel (3rd- 4th century) transmitted in several versions. This article focuses on the Greek version, called the Homilies, and more specifically on a much discussed part of these, namely the discussions with the pagan Appion. The passage in which the main character Clement enters into discussion with Appion shows us how those characters claim truth and argue about true culture, philosophy, education, sexuality etc.. This passage is all too often considered as “separate” and “alien” in Pseudo-Clementine source criticism, making it underexposed territory in rhetorical and literary but also philosophical research. This contribution offers a rhetorical and narrative analysis of those disputes with Appion including some philosophical insights. This analysis also serves as a case study for the overall reading experience and the general interpretation of the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies.

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Interactive Experience and Identification as Predictors of Attributing Responsibility in Video Games

Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications ◽

10.1027/1864-1105/a000168 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 3-15

Author(s):

Nathan Walter ◽

Yariv Tsfati

Keyword(s):

Video Game ◽

Psychological Research ◽

External Factors ◽

Theoretical Expectation ◽

Main Character ◽

Attribution Of Responsibility ◽

Attributions Of Responsibility ◽

Violent Video Game ◽

Grand Theft Auto Iv ◽

Interactive Experience

Abstract. This study examines the effect of interactivity on the attribution of responsibility for the character’s actions in a violent video game. Through an experiment, we tested the hypothesis that identification with the main character in Grand Theft Auto IV mediates the effect of interactivity on attributions of responsibility for the main character’s antisocial behavior. Using the framework of the fundamental attribution error, we demonstrated that those who actually played the game, as opposed to those who simply watched someone else playing it, identified with the main character. In accordance with the theoretical expectation, those who played the game and came to identify with the main character attributed the responsibility for his actions to external factors such as “living in a violent society.” By contrast, those who did not interact with the game attributed responsibility for the character’s actions to his personality traits. These findings could be viewed as contrasting with psychological research suggesting that respondents should have distanced themselves from the violent protagonist rather than identifying with him, and with Iyengar’s (1991) expectation that more personalized episodic framing would be associated with attributing responsibility to the protagonist.

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