1. Character ethos in a thriller
Character ethos is what the characters show with actions usually rather than expressing it through
emotions. We can identify characters traits and personality though the characters ethos. As nearly
all thriller films contain a protagonist and an antagonist, I will be telling you how we could spot them
just by looking at their ethos.
Protagonist; protagonists are usually just an ordinary person that has been caught in the middle of a
situation and feels like they can resolve that situation by getting involved in it. They are also usually
un-aware of the scale of danger they could put their selves in and hasn’t got much knowledge about
the situation but go for it unselfishly with out thinking of their own health. The situation usually
comes all suddenly which means the protagonist is most likelynot ready to face it but also have no
plan in fixing it, therefore everything is done during a short period of time in order to make the film
thrilling. They have to go through many obstacles to complete their mission in order to destroy the
antagonist. By going through this process we can see the protagonist’s personality and their feelings
and emotions each stage whilst they’re going on their quest. The protagonist will need to have a
willingness to stay alive as he/she will be in life threatening situations but also isolated so need to
believe in their selves to succeed. The protagonist don’t even really have special powers or anything
to defeat the antagonist, they usually have just one special attribute which helps them succeed.
Furthermore as they don’t have special powers they usually don’t even really have a status such as a
police man, army officer or part in any organisations which will help them succeed. They may have
little experience but no real help from them and the help is very minimal but can have a big effect on
the protagonist’s journey. Therefore the protagonist has to act like a normal citizen and is only
allowed to fight back if in need of self defence or life treating procedures. As the protagonist has
much knowledge of the situation they’re getting their selves into as much as the audience, it builds a
bond between them, making the audience feel as if they are going to be going with to protagonist to
a journey to defeat the antagonist.
Antagonist; the antagonist has a completely different aspect into the way the antagonist can
succeed in defeating the protagonist. As they are frequently labelled as the ‘bad guy’ they usually
have nothing to loose because of the situation they are in. they usually create obstacles and try’s to
kill the protagonist in order for him/her to succeed and prove a point. They have nothing to loose, so
even if they die they wouldn’t regret it, however they have a lot to gain. This is the main reason why
the antagonist fights as they catch try to catch their opportunities to become bigger in what they are
but it wouldn’t really effect them if they didn’t succeed however want to succeed as they really have
no other purpose in life. The antagonists motto is ‘kill or be killed’ therefore they do a lot of that for
their own benefit, even as the protagonist is trying to concur the antagonist, it usually is in a process
which makes the antagonist stronger but also harder for the protagonist to win.