Word: protagonists
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...lets his readers know that his celebrated wit survived the stroke by pointing up the ironic aspects of his condition. Bauby recalls a contract he signed before his illness to write an updated version of the Alexandre Dumas classic The Count of Monte Cristo--a tale involving a paralyzed protagonist who communicates by blinking. "The gods of literature and neurology decided otherwise," Bauby laments, adding a twist. "To reverse the decrees of fate, I now have in mind a story whose main character is a runner instead of a paralytic. Who knows? It might work...
Perhaps the most intriguing character to ID is Andy Caspar, the 26-year-old protagonist whose exit interview ("You understand that your memory ... is also the property of Omega Logic?") opens the book. His tireless idealism is the catalyst that creates the low-cost alternative to Omega's overpriced computers. In the end, Omega is forced to hire Caspar back to lead the company's Internet effort. Does the name of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs--whose public grudge against his old firm disappeared as soon as he was rehired to provide Apple with a badly needed Internet-friendly operating...
...first of Hoffmann's loves is an alluring Little Bo Peep-esque automaton named Olympia (Jennifer Little), the "daughter" of the wacky Dr. Spalanzani (Joel Pollack). Hoffmann tries to romance her, but as he dances with this red-cheeked robot sexpot, she spins out of control, and the protagonist becomes painfully aware of how unnatural his lust is. Little sang some breathtaking runs, imbuing her vocal acrobatics with a fine coloratura and marvelous control...
Like "Gump," "Sling Blade" creates a fascinating protagonist but never fully decides what to do with him. Thornton is nonetheless a wonder to behold in the role, the rare actor who turns obvious mannerisms into a palpable personality. Karl ends all of his sentences with a guttural self-affirmation ("I don't reckon I got no reason to kill nobody, mmmhmmm") as though all of his statements contained a deeper truth that he alone fully appreciates...
...dirty magazines in order to debunk them, The People vs. Larry Flynt wants to have it both ways. A relevant point of comparison is with A Clockwork Orange, a far riskier and more complicated film that in arguing for the sanctity of free will dared to create a charismatic protagonist whose exercise of that free will was pointedly horrific. Larry Flynt has the nerve to argue for the sanctity of free speech but--for lack of a better word--censors its excesses. Fortunately, moviegoers who feel compelled to test their First Amendment absolutism need not despair. A more honest view...