David Joyner at 2016-06-16 16:53:24:
I'm still not caught up yet, but I have a question. It seems to me that often a rom-com is a dual protag, or the male is the protag. Does that seem reasonable? However, in this case, isn't the female the protag? I'm guessing when we talk about mentor role (eg, Bert and Fran) it is w.r.t. Nancy. Is that correct?
Scott at 2016-06-17 02:32:51:
David, good question. Obviously rom-coms vary. For example, who would we say is the protagonist in When Harry Met Sally. It tilts toward Harry -- after all, even the title suggests the focus is on him -- however there is ample time spent with both characters. Then there are cases like Man Up which is told from the POV of Nancy. Yes, there is a nice twist where Jack becomes the active player in the story (Act III), but I'd consider Nancy the Protagonist. In that light, here's my archetype breakdown: Protagonist: Nancy Attractor: Jack Mentor: Jessica Trickster: Sean And who is the Nemesis? It's Nancy's own psychological fear of relationships and general insecurities. It's couched in The Lie which provides a nifty framework for the structure in Act Two -- the first half living out the lie, the second half living with the consequences of the lie -- but one could argue that by going through The Lie experience of Act Two, what Nancy is doing in effect is confronting her insecurities, so by the end when Jack confesses his affection for her, she is ready to hear it. I'll reach out to Tess and ask her what she thinks about Nancy and Jack re the Protagonist question. Final thought: Stories are organic. Characters are, too. So while it can be helpful to use archetypes as tools to dig into our stories, ultimately characters transcend type. They exist as individuals.