Word: protagonist
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...fragmented, occasionally surrealistic style meant to reflect the mental state of its protagonist, Deconstructing Harry tells the story of Harry Block (Allen) a--surprise--neurotic writer with a penchant for antidepressants, prostitutes and incorporating the details of his personal life into his literature. For the first time in his life, he's suffering from writer's block--get it? Harry...Block. Via flashbacks and vignettes representing Block's fiction, the film relates the author's psychosexual hangups, difficulties with fidelity and issues with religion. The movie is loosely structured around Block's repeated attempts to find someone to accompany...
Eventually, Dalgliesh emerges victorious, but that certainly isn't a surprise. Nor is it irritating--Dalgliesh is an impressive protagonist in that he doesn't always seem invincible. Hercule poirot and Miss Marple in Christie novels always seemed to transcend the material--solving mysteries was just as nonchalant an activity as having tea every afternoon. Dalgliesh is more caught up in the twists and turns of the story; like the reader, he doesn't have things figured out until the very end. Often, mystery authors cheat by holding back key pieces of evidence and leaving the audience in the dark...
...white mobster who has been intimidating black businesses. In Jackie Brown Grier's character is motivated by necessity and money lust; she's a bagman for a crook, and at one point a cop turns down her offer of a bribe. She's no longer a hero, merely a protagonist...
Because when it's taken on its own terms, of course, Schrab's ridiculous fusion of machismo, humor and popular culture works. And it certainly does generate a lot of attitude. Scud himself realizes this in one of his profounder moments. Meditating that he's one robot protagonist who's never wanted to be a human being, he comes to the conclusion that he should enjoy being what he is. Summing up the central aesthetic of the comic, Scud proclaims, "It's cool to be a robot...
Despite all its deadpan humor, Murakami's novel also probes more serious social and political themes without ever becoming too heavy-handed. Though the protagonist occasionally articulates his feelings through references to American pop-culture, the author never uses these moments to launch into a blatant social critique. They're simply for comic effect...