What Makes A Compelling Movie Hero Or Protagonist?

[@alexandresobreiramartins9461]

Georg mentioning Falling Down is interesting, because, regardless of how much I like the movie, from the moment the MC's mother says he's crazy (he is on medication and has some kind of mental problem) the whole argument of the movie of an individual rising against an unjust society comes crashing down. It's not that he's outraged at the unjust world around him, he just stopped taking his medication and now is reacting absurdly violently. The same thing happens in Law Abiding Citizen, when the movie turns the corrupt lawyer into the hero (or rather superhero) of the story, against the man who is rebelling against a corrupt justice system. In the end, both movies are just saying the world is all right as it is and anyone that raises against it is just plain wrong and should be stamped out, instead of pursuing the very interesting themes of whether society is just or unjust, how far do an individual's rights extend in relation to the collective, and whether rebelling against such a system is (and to what extent) valid or not.

[@ShawnTBell]

Duvall's wife is also crazy suffering from anxiety which should drive Duvall nuts, but he deals with it and stays calm. Now contrast that with Douglas' character who let's himself act on his anger.

[@georgebailey8179]

Does that imply that he's wrong? Clearly he does act absurdly violently at times, but you could take the implication about the medication being that it was keeping him docile, and that by no longer taking it he is finally able to stand up to the system.

[@GeorgRockallSchmidt]

Correction: A Fistful Of Dollars was made in 1964. Thanks for watching guys. Edit: Also yes, the podcast episodes will be here on my channel, and also on soundcloud shortly after that.

[@chartreux1532]

+Georg Rockall-Schmidt Longtime fan from Bavaria, Germany here. May i ask if one part of your family is german or austrian? Why do i ask? "Georg" instead of "George" which is the germanized version of "George" here and is pronounced: "Geh-or-g" and the german family name "Schmidt" which is from the 15th century and was given to what english-speaking countries call "Smith", like a black smith etc. Can i claim you partly as one of us? ONE OF US? ONE OF US?!

[@1978pq]

Georg Rockall-Schmidt Hey man. Just want to let you know I really like your videos. There's something really good about your simple format and of course your very well informed opinions . Even if i disagree with someone's point of view I appreciate hearing well thought out viewpoints. Keep up the great work. I look forward to all your videos.

[@bone9695]

is ok Georg Rockall-Schmidt

[@InfernoBlade64]

Georg Rockall-Schmidt Superman is still boring as Clark kent

[@chrisbrasel9049]

Man I love that film.

[@BennoRob95]

One of thee best channels on the entire internet i swear to God

[@Derrikbulginheadin]

Lava Lamp is the hero of this story.

[@dr.raymondstantzph.d.2293]

Anti-hero. Always sitting there actively trying to steal the spotlight from Georg, the real hero. Yet Lava Lamp is somehow so damn likable anyway.

[@rexmundi3108]

You mean protagonist.

[@dr.penguins9953]

Indeed

[@alexthemoviemanoutofmymind7897]

One word swag

[@weston407]

every person needs to see Falling Down at some point in their life

[@00Boogie]

Six donuts for a dollar and twelve cents? That's a damn good with how bad inflation is. In fact, it's such a good deal that I'd be inclined not to take it for fear of what kind of junk would be in the donuts.

[@jcohasset23]

Remember that was also done in 1993. Factoring inflation that same pack of donuts would cost $1.89 now and I'm assuming it's one of those 6 packs of mini donuts that you can get nowadays at the grocery store for $1-$1.25 and which went for 60-70 cents back then.

[@trje246]

I love lamp

[@eli88958]

thanks

[@x-x-X-B.r.o.o.m.L.o.r.d-X-x-x]

Moth

[@infernoimp]

I think your channel is brilliant, witty and very informative. No silly transitions, all the information presented clearly and effectively. I look forward to your podcasts.

[@AnimeFreakatyoutube]

You are so close to the Silver Play Button! You deserve a Diamond one, but one step at a time! Keep uploading and I'll keep watching! :D

[@L0LWTF1337]

It's so funny. English speakers call it "Bildungsroman" and in Germany we call it "coming of age story". It's just to fuck with students I suppose.

[@wedgeGTX]

Riddick (Vin Diesel) in Pitch Black (not in the sequels) is a good example too. A serial killer on the loose became the last hope for the survivors of a spaceship crash...

[@Strideo1]

Is he really a serial killer? They say he is but I feel like that trait is never shown to the audience. I mean he is a killer in that he won't hesitate to kill to achieve his aims but that's not what we usually mean by "serial killer".

[@DGP406]

never miss your videos man, they are great, god bless you

[@masteriangamer]

Yes! Super excited for the new podcast! I loved the Boisterous Brothers

[@yamozaki1]

Really looking forward to the podcast. You give some of the cleverest movie breakdowns around.

[@daithiocinnsealach1982]

"Schmidt endures and suffers hardships that are both out of his control and of his making." My life in a nutshell.

[@TheXeldrak]

All hail the lava lamp! The lava lamp is live! The lava lamp is wisdom! All hail the lava lamp!

[@SogoTX]

+ Xeldrak The Power of Lamp COMPELS you!!!! ;)

[@caiosoares2834]

*LAVA LAMP SPEAKS TO YOU!*

[@_yellow]

I knew someone was going to reference Zardoz, knew it

[@jeffreyrussell4874]

Hey, some advice about the podcast (which I am very much looking forward to) 30 mins is a really short podcast. And many of them start out at around that, and eventually they do more and more until they get to about an hour or longer. I think youll find that once you get used to doing it and find your format, 30 mins is just too short. That's just my take on it, I listen to podcasts pretty much 8 hours a day m-f, I drive a truck, so that's the only entertainment I have during the day, and I can say my favorite podcasts, are the long ones. It lets you dive deep into whatever it is youre talking about, and gives you time to chase the rabbit, which most of your audience will really enjoy. It lets them into your world, and the way you think about things, rather than just staying on your bullet points the whole time. Anyway, I am really looking forward to hearing the new show, and I hope it really takes off for you!! There is a podcast called "Why press/push play" I cant remember if its press or push...anyway, they talk about movies, one per episode, its pretty good, lot of dick jokes, but its good. Best of luck!

[@scattysafari7742]

I Think I learn more from you than I ever did in film school, Georg. Brilliant show. You should be a film school prof.

[@Strideo1]

Protagonists are overrated. I like stories with amateurtagonists.

[@jasoncase9481]

Really no they aren't if that were true then persons would make so many videos about protagonists

[@x-x-X-B.r.o.o.m.L.o.r.d-X-x-x]

Not liking protagonists as much as amateurtagonist is one thing, thinking that protagonists are overrated is another. There's a reason why people like protagonists so much. He discussed it in the video. They're not overrated, u just don't like them, and that's ok, but its factually wrong to say that protagonists are overrated. I wanna make it clear that I don't think ur stupid, I'm just correcting u.

[@Infektedshroom]

A little too casual, I’m more partial to semi-protagonist

[@oxymoron02]

Did people take your comment seriously?

[@Strideo1]

@@oxymoron02 They shouldn't have. 😆

[@justcallmecaligula]

on the same day as super eyepatch wolf's video on the same subject? that's an amazing coincidence!

[@jayhernandez210]

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus I was thinking the same thing!

[@testingmysoup5678]

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus maybe I should hold off watching it then haha

[@ViktorKruger99]

Super eyepatch wolf's voice annoys me to no end.

[@MrCactuar13]

Just about to say the same thing

[@justfrank5661]

I like your profile name!

[@MisterDutch93]

It'a crazy to think that Georg's channel is going to hit 100k subscribers really soon. I subscribed like 2,5 months ago and then he was at like 11k! Great content really makes a difference when it comes to sub-count!

[@tedkraan9348]

These things go exponential, I would reckon. every view leads to more exposure and more views.

[@Football__Junkie]

I must say that I resent that you left out the most relatable hero/anti-hero/versatile character put to film... The Dude

[@brotherbisquick]

I'm very excited about your podcast & look forward to listening. Thanks for all you do!

[@inventsable]

Will definitely be listening to your podcast!

[@DProductions0]

Another great video, Georg. The amount of thought you put into creating a discussion that flows well in terms of theme and argument is evident in many of your videos, and this is definitely no exception. One of my favourite anti-heroes is Deadpool, which among the superhero crowd is usually among the first to spring to mind (well, him and Punisher). Taking his movie, what made the plot work is that he wasn't fighting for noble goals such as justice or selflessly trying to save others- his goals were purely selfish, as for a majority of the time post-mutation he was merely trying to fix his appearance. An understandable motive to be sure, and it helped make his character sympathetic, but it was a more personal, smaller goal than the sort of objectives that, say, Thor takes on.

[@Onetruescotty]

"The first episode will be us talking about the phantom menace, and what could have been" Georg, I admire the optimism of this Podcast announcement. Keep up the good work xD

[@courtwalnut6652]

really happy this channel took off and i welcome back the boisterous bros

[@hookedonphoenix3112]

I’m really looking forward to the GRS show. I expect it to be very informative, strictly on topic and respectfully concise to its subjects.

[@OfficialAndies]

Awesome, can't wait for the podcast

[@MonikaiMoniker]

i loved your previous podcast, thanks for making more

[@senseisadness9836]

You always give me some new good movies to watch. I watched The Lobster because of you and that was amazing.

[@Arkham8076]

I'm so excited for the podcast!

[@cristofercovacevich7200]

really exited to hear the podcast!

[@reviewmegamind6154]

I swear to fuck this next Podcast better last longer than the last one. You and damian are hilarious together.

[@slocrump]

haha another excellent video. ill definitely b checking out the podcast. cant wait.

[@Votesaxon07Reviews]

Looking forward to the podcast!

[@rwd76]

'1991's Falling Down'.. 'Falling Down 1993' comes up on screen. Damn I wish I didn't have to correct reports for work, I could turn off for the weekend. Keep up the good work.

[@tooold8549]

Is just me, or does anyone else love the little asides?

[@noyesharrigan6217]

Insightful and entertaining as usual. Looking forward to the podcast. Keep up the good work!

[@9ZenMedia]

Yay Damian's back! I enjoy the dynamic of the two of you.

[@jocojuri]

Thanks for an excellent show. I too really enjoy the lamp.

[@xxnathxx8549]

Can't wait for the podcast !

[@saigokun]

This was a well thought-out and very informative video. Thanks for creating this.

[@destinycaptain247]

Loved it as usual. I am excited about the podcast.

[@ub3rfr3nzy94]

In death note (the anime) Light Yagami is an evil psychopath who murders without remorse, yet he's teh protagonist and near to the end despite all he's done you end up rooting for him. I'd say that's a good example of an anti-hero; his goals of bringing peace around the world would be seen as noble, even though he also wishes to become god on earth, but does his ends justify his means?

[@DBSG1976]

The character's arc seems to be at the heart of so many successful films. I truly believe you can take the most unlikable antihero and with a strongly written arc, have the audience actively rooting for that character. On a deep level I think people respond to people changing because circumstances and/or experiences force them to. This ties into the argument you made during the video that people can relate to certain aspects of character, even if that character is Travis from "Taxi Driver". People can relate to becoming a better person due to: having to adapt to a new hardship in life, a new relationship, romantic or otherwise, or a selfless act (like killing lots of lowlifes to save an underage prostitute you are obsessed with, who hasn't been there before...). The main character's arc in an obscure film called "The Secret Lives of Dentists" is the main reason that it is one of my personal favorites. Also Hope Davis plays the main character's wife and I have a severe attraction to her.

[@crazziemonkke]

I think (if you don't already have it planned), that you should upload a short reminder video with download links to the first episode of the podcast. I'm pretty stoked to hear you talk in a longer format over radio. the reason for my asking is that I'm sure I'll forget by the time the podcast goes live...I don't wanna miss it. aah heck I'm drunk.

[@infernocanuck]

I had to rewind the first part of the video, because instead of listening to what Gerog was saying, I had "I. DRINK. YOUR. MILKSHAKE" screaming in my head.

[@TheofficialDevinCrawford]

I love how the podcast went from talking about movies to talking about whatever was on George's and his friends mind.

[@Dendelin007]

what a great video and insights. and I get to watch and absorb it for free. what a time to be alive,

[@KMHill]

Sorry to hear you're launching a film podcast, but only because no matter how hard I try, I have never warmed to podcasts. I wish that new project had been video-based. But my loss, I suppose. Best of luck with it!

[@gabrielgonzales5907]

You should juxtapose how Lara Croft could use every piece of technical equipment known to man (boring), to the scene in "Temple of Doom" where the woman asks Indiana Jones whether he can fly a plane (the pilots abandoned them midair) and he replies, "No, can you?" (very enjoyable and relatable).

[@ETBrooD]

Gabriel Gonzales Well, Ms. Croft was made as an amazing video game heroine, not for movies.

[@gabrielgonzales5907]

I love the Tomb Raider games. I'm just talking about the movies.

[@viperswhip]

Well, ya that's the problem with bringing video games to the screen. If you look at Lara Croft from the games (the old ones the Jolie movies were based on), Lara Croft of the games had been around for 20 years and ya, had done basically everything by that point. The new Tomb Raider movie is more compelling because it is based off the new Tomb Raider from those games. Lara, at the beginning.

[@lightvalve]

Excellent as always.

[@shaneoneilani]

[@alexgrafe]

"Bildungsroman" simply means "education(al) novel" and as an English speaker you would pronounce it as "BILL-doongs-ro-mahn" (the oo pronounced as a short oo though). Great video, as always.

[@DodZz666]

I really like your videos man, keep em coming

[@JoJoJoker]

"1991's Falling Down...Falling Down (1993)"

[@they_are_all_gone]

For me First blood had the feel of being 2 movies. You thought it was done, and he attacked the town. All he wanted was some cookie pieces, wings and Old English 800. Nothing was more satisfying than seeing that sunglass removing ginger guy from "Jade" & CSI get his face split. Hes beyond ginger. It's Like animated bright orange hair.

[@Gryfflovesmemes]

I think the reason I'm so fascinated by the lava lamp is how totally George ignores it.

[@embryon1111]

Thanks again GRS! :o)

[@Jon-gs4iy]

LOVE your videos

[@Peepholecircus]

Very good, thank you

[@DrVicVonDoom]

Alex from a clockwork orange would of fit in here nicely

[@Thebabybadass101]

I'm excited for the podcast

[@WatchVidsMakeLists]

I think I'd like to see your take on Nolan's "Dunkirk," how it utilizes soundtrack and cinematography to create suspense, and perhaps you could talk about other movies that use similar or different techniques. Just a thought.

[@TheAutistWhisperer]

Deku from the anime/manga My Hero Academia for me personally is the perfect protagonist, he doesn't have plot armour, he loses most of his fights, learns from his mistakes and when he wins the reasons are very convincing. Whilst he's also the narrator of the story which indicates he will become the greatest hero he aspires to be and it's obvious he's not going to die, but he gets punished for his mistakes and also finds himself in situation where he is really powerless. He works hard to earn his powers and I really dig that. Its odd because I'm more in favour of the darker side of protagonists like the anti-heroes like Guts from Berserk, but I really took a liking to Deku and he joins that rare distinction of main protagonists that are my favourite characters, normally its a supporting character that are my favourites.

[@grawman67]

Kesyabasturd I agree. I really like how he and the anime/manga are structured for a shonen and Deku really grows throughout it convincingly.

[@TheAutistWhisperer]

Grawman67 indeed, plus All Might is a great mentor character and even acknowledges his own mistakes and strives to be a better teacher to Deku.

[@Unholy_Holywarrior]

rambo: a whole town destroyed because a cop wouldnt let a veteran buy a sandwich falling down: a good man used and cast aside by a sick society, just trying to see his daughter on her birthday.

[@mroctober2978]

The sandwich deserves it's own spinoff movie.

[@mantistoboggan5171]

i thought the character in falling down had a restraining order against him

[@nanaya7e433]

One thing I hate is when people cut off a conversation about a character by saying that it's unlikable or unrelatable like it automatically means that it's a badly written character. There's just so much more to characters in fiction.

[@aesircorporation1924]

Time to find new people.

[@joj3734]

you should do something like talking about your top 10 favourite films - i know thats overdone, but it'd be interesting.

[@TheHobgoblyn]

Indiana Jones never prevented the Nazis from obtaining anything. In fact, he helped the Nazis obtain both the Arc and the Grail. It just so happened that the Nazis killed themselves upon obtaining them.

[@TheHobgoblyn]

oh, sure-- his "help" was generally either entirely accidental or coerced at gunpoint for the most part. But it still remains that it is an untrue statement to say that his adventures ever involved him "preventing" someone from obtaining some artifact. Each of his stories basically involve him being instrumental in the people he was trying to stop from actually obtaining the object. Temple of Doom is the only exception, I believe. Otherwise his adventures are typically "he finds out that people are looking for an ancient relic for nefarious purposes, he sets out to find it first, he finds the clue the others overlooked and then hands them the location or the object itself, the nefarious people kill themselves, everyone but him and a couple close compatriots die, he walks away empty handed after having spent quite a lot traveling the globe on this misadventure with no proof and basically no witnesses that he found anything."

[@mantistoboggan5171]

if he did nothing, it would've been better (in the context of the nazis struggling to get the ark).

[@JamesCarmichael]

Batman always interested me. You essentially have one character with 2 masked characters. Bruce Wayne as he is. Bruce Wayne with his public persona (a mask of sorts). And Batman himself who uses the darker side of his psyche to battle his enemies. He's a hero who embraces suffering rather than hides from or suppresses it.

[@inigogw]

exited for the podcast

[@cameron1432]

Looking forward to the new podcast, any chance you'd entertain releasing it on stitcher as well?

[@Oldcollegework]

My favourite type of characters are really characters that reflect everyday life in everyday life scenarios.

[@Shutter-Writer]

When I'm looking at movies, I always want to understand the story and Where it goes. Depending on who is casted , I always have some trust who is the main character and if I can enjoy the person's decisions. Maybe in a few years, we will finally get a different and unique character in cinema

[@AsciiKid]

I listen to that podcast for sure

[@naptownrandb]

Indianapolis! Ha ha Ha what a strange way to get a shout out for my hometown. Naptown!

[@thethinkingcatakaneonormie3527]

The most interesting challenges to the protagonist hero story for me are those characters in the film's of Kubrick and Christopher Nolan

[@kurtdenter1799]

The podcast sounds already interesting :D

[@Ottrond]

I love your stuff

[@WordUnheard]

A great protagonist needs only a lava lamp and a desk.

[@CTyler84]

Thank you. I don't need relatable. I don't need to identify with any movie characters. What I DO need is something interesting, with a modicum of depth and thought behind it. I don't even care if it's the hero, antihero, protagonist or antagonist.

[@laurena227]

One of my favourites is Lester from American Beauty , I dunno how to explain why though.

[@mikespearwood3914]

because he's one of the most sympathetic characters in a movie ever.

[@handsomebrick]

I find Rick Sanchez really interesting, but can't explain why.

[@SagaciousCat]

handsomebrick I relate to his cynicism.

[@seiban8455]

6:19 The amount of rule 34 content I can only assume you were trying to depict with that head tilt downward could fill three hard drives.

[@okarowarrior]

You should watch your audio levels. In this video the audio is quite low. Compare to other youtube videos. Always try to compress it a little and make your peaks at -3dBFs/-1.5

[@toverkleet]

Awesome podcast idea. Will u publish it on youtube?

[@GeorgRockallSchmidt]

Yes it will be on youtube.

[@maxbrosig8986]

Super Eyepatch Wolf just made a video shortly before this one was out, where he discussed a very similar topic, but in anime. Might be an interesting watch for everybody who liked this video.

[@handsomebrick]

I think the most heroic and identifiable protagonist is Frank Drebin. For most heroic characters, even when they screw up it's meaningful and significant, but in Frank's case it only makes him look like an idiot, like he can't even do basic tasks without constantly making dumb mistakes, but still he persists out of sheer love of justice. This is more admirable, and also more true to real life where mistakes don't really exist to tell you anything or establish anything about your character.

[@Blackeye808]

You are the best! It's like studying film under John Cleese. More Bizarre Summaries!

[@Masteroogway40]

How do you use movie clips in your videos? I'm trying to make my first KZbin video and have no idea how to do that without copyright things. Loved this by the way.

[@pssurvivor]

Yay! Damian is back!!

[@gumbyman1969]

I always found Alexander DeLarge compelling. Right on the line between hero/anti-hero.

[@slobiden.2593]

Game of thrones has some of the greatest characters. Tywin being my favourite. You watch him with Arya then watch him with Tyrion. My favourite tyrion one is the one where he asks after leading a great victory for his father to make him his heir to casterly rock.

[@sup3rst0k3r]

You obviously know how these things work g. Im going to attempt my own short story soon but i suspect you would be better. So why not?

[@godlaydying]

"You can look at RoboCop. You can listen to him for five seconds, and you know what he is." Yes. He's Judge Dredd.

[@jonesey251]

in regards to Falling Down: I think the characterization of the protagonist as good man gone bad is wrong. The scenes with his wife indicate he was an angry, borderline violent man. While not openly abusive (at least not that they said). His wife was clearly terrified of him. While I would concede that perhaps we (the audience) are supposed to believe he's just a guy who snapped and went rouge at the beginning, after the scenes with his wife are layered in, he was clearly a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off.

[@HebaruSan]

I tried to subscribe to your podcast but it was not found. You tease! I need someone to fix the Phantom Menace.

[@condatis6175]

then watch star wars: the blackened mantle

[@DafyddBrooks]

my mistake, 4 coffins :) . great video george

[@Cp-71]

This discussion reminds me of the movie Dzień Świra... Does it have an English title?

[@Vaggeli]

Sounds like it's going to be an absolute Schmidt show... eh!?!!? EH COMRADES!?!?!