According to the P.I. Reed School of Journalism, the “story” is always associated with a central character. Good stories pull us in as we start to relate and immerse ourselves into their journey. “Each story is different-because no two characters are alike. But in every story, something is at stake; something important is either won or lost” (P.I. Reed, 2013). To demonstrate this, consider the three powerful characters described in the films below.
“Opportunist to Humanitarian”
Schindler’s List – Directed by Steven Spielberg
The main character, Oskar Schindler began his journey as an opportunistic Nazi businessman. On a quest to strike it rich, he moved to Poland at the very beginning of World War II with hopes of taking advantage of a cheap Jewish labor force. He’d apparently tried his hand at entrepreneurship previously but without success. He was determined this time would be different.
With a love for booze, women and power, Oskar’s character begins as more of an antagonist. He achieves his goal of money and power and rises in stature with the Nazi army and government officials. His power and influence grows as does his wealth.
Schindler’s character makes a transformation as he begins to realize his position as a savior to the Jews.
The Jewish people working at his factory were protected from the torture and death of the Holocaust. His relationship with his Jewish accountant and the primary leader of his factory, Itzhak Stern evolves slowly from one of pure convenience to one of mutual respect. Schindler’s change of heart leaves him wanting to free the Jews, save their lives and hoping for the war and its horror to end. In the end, Schindler risks everything to save as many Jewish lives as he can. His change of heart leaves him broke but not alone. He commits to be faithful to his wife in his newfound kindness and demeanor. He spends his life’s savings attempting to preserve life. By the end of the film Schindler fully transformed from the opportunistic businessman into a humanitarian.
“The Unsung Hero”
It’s a Wonderful Life – Directed by Frank Capra
This movie demonstrates how one life can touch and affect so many others and how that “one person” can often fail to realize his or her importance in life. At stake throughout the movie was the livelihood of many characters, including the main character George Bailey. The family business, Bailey’s Building and Loans was at risk of going under.
In the film, George Bailey continues to sacrifice his own dreams and ambitions to help others. The more he does this the more he begins to realize that he is loosing his dreams in the process. When the Bailey’s Building and Loans ends up in financial trouble George comes to a drastic conclusion that life would be better without him. He considers taking his own life.
We see a transformation from this drastic decision as George is shown what life would be like without him courtesy of the Angel Clarence. During this experience George realizes the extent of his impact on the lives of many people. He had been granting loans to the hardworking people of Bedford Falls when no one else would. Without the selfless acts of George Bailey, Bedford Falls would not be the same. He realizes the world is not better without him after all and he returns with a new outlook and perspective on life.
“Volunteer Patriot to Survivalist”
Platoon -Directed by Oliver Stone
Chris Taylor begins his journey as a recent college dropout looking to earn the respect of his family by voluntarily enlisting in Vietnam. He hadn’t yet made his mark on life and he had high hopes of making a difference. His sense of patriotism was strong. He arrives in Vietnam as a typical naive teen committed to fighting for his country’s freedom.
His friendship with another key character in the film, Sergeant Elias begins to further impact Taylor’s view on the war effort. His belief in the war began to change. He starts to believe that the war could not be won and his only real duty had become just to survive the day-to-day horror. As the film progresses, his sense of duty turns to subtle retreat as he counts down the days before he can go home.
As the realities of war further take toll, Taylor begins a transformation from innocent soldier to a hardened survivalist. That soldier he wanted never to become was suddenly staring right back at him in the mirror. He’d witnessed his fellow soldiers engaging in drugs, rape and senseless killings. How could he ever become like them? It was becoming more apparent to Taylor that he had no choice…change or die. Chris Taylor chose life.
Reference
P.I. Reed School of Journalism. (2013). IMC 634 Lesson 1: Elements of Story Telling. West Virginia University. Retrieved on November 2, 2013 from: http://ecampus.wvu.edu.
Digital Storytelling 