Complaining: Vanilla Protagonist

Can someone make a crowner for this one? I think a crowner would help. Also, I think that is better, but can be even clearer. I will work off of yours and make it even more neutral if you don't mind. Could be even even more clearer. :) But I like it.

Here is my first attempt at simplifying and neutralizing the revised description further:

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A Designated Protagonist is a protagonist whose characteristics and background are plainer or simpler compared to the rest of the cast. This type of protagonist thus serves as a window by which the audience may experience more varied and colorful supporting characters.

The designated protagonist will typically be familiar and easily relatable, giving the audience the opportunity to step into their shoes. They will usually not be too much of anything, or vanilla so to speak. The DP acts as foil for other more unique characters the audience will encounter through them. In other words, the other characters drive the story, and the DP is simply the vehicle (Bonus Points if the DP has no voice).

In video games, when the protagonist is the player character, this can make the main quest line (when it revolves around the protagonist) less appealing than side quests or side-character-related quests.

Since these characters need to be relatively flat by their own merit, they may be unpopular with the fan base. However, Tropes Are Tools, and having a lead who is a flat or static character isn't necessarily a bad thing if done well; in video games, for example, it can give a player freedom to shape their character, or to think outside the box. This trope is not for complaining against heroes one may dislike.

Not to be confused with Designated Hero, which is a character who the story plays up as being heroic, but comes off as being distinctly unheroic. Compare the Pinball Protagonist, which may result if this trope is done poorly; the poor sap is simply dragged around the plot by the stronger and more developed characters around him.

edited 14th Apr '14 6:42:45 PM by Lakija

It is what it is.

There is already one but it was never hooked because the options were too vague

Wonderful! I think both option 1 and 2 need to be done, of course.

It is what it is.

I much prefer that definiton to the current one. It's more neutral and less vague. Can we get a crowner for that?

So what happens next then? Just to bump this.

It is what it is.

Wait for concensus?

Bumbing. We need more opinions so can move on with this.

Another Bumb

Perhaps what we need to do is rewrite the crowner options

1. Change the defintion to (insert link for the proposed definition)

2. Remove examples to prevent complaining and Thread Mode

3. Rename the trope to something more clear and less snow-clone-y

That's fine by me. Do you think we need to create a new crowner for that?

^ Yes please!

It is what it is.

New crowner. Let's hope the mods will deem to hook it this time.

I hooked it.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

6-0 so far for changing description. Are we waiting for fifteen?

If we vote up the rename, would simply Designated Protagonist be one of the options? It's still not perfect, but I think the primary problem of the title is just the "syndrome."

Also, another vote for the definition tweak.

edited 8th May '14 12:27:32 PM by Discar

There's a concern about it being being confused for Designated Hero, though, since people often use hero and protagonist interchangeably...

Also, the "Designated X" snowclone family tends to mean "supposedly X but doesn't actually look/act like X", and is pretty much universally an Audience Reaction bordering on complaining. It only really fits the proposed redefinition if you squint, and the snowclon-i-ness serves more to misdirect than clarify, in my opinion.

Agreed.

For some reason, these come to mind:

• Window Protagonist.
• Vanilla Protagonist.
• Plain Protagonist.
• Foil Protagonist.

It is what it is.

I like Plain Protagonist for the Alliteration but Foil Protagonist sounds more to the point.

This tread's whole position seems misguided. From the crowner...

This is not a trope, it is an audience reaction, let the audience react how they want to. If you think it is an unneeded complaint page, get rid of it but otherwise it seems as if you are telling people their opinion is wrong and not any way that would be seen as credible to someone with that opinion.

edited 11th May '14 2:16:11 PM by IndirectActiveTransport

That's why he wants you to have the money. Not so you can buy 14 Cadillacs but so you can help build up the wastes

Because this trope is never intended to be an Audience Reaction, but it's misused as such. The point of the discussion is how to fix the page so that it wouldn't attract such misuse. We're not even looking to remove the page.

As for the rename, I personally like Vanilla Protagonist best. Foil is not clear because it's not indicative of who/what the protagonist should be a Foil to (not to mention, I don't think that's the correct meaning of Foil).

edited 11th May '14 4:57:42 PM by theAdeptRogue

This certainly sees like the trope. Plain everyman protagonist with strange eccentric supporting characters. Many of these examples seem intentional. This isn't listed as an example, but this is basically the entire point of Emmet from The Lego Movie. Designated and syndrome make it seem like a bad thing, but it's a rather useful tool.

Image Source. Please update whenever an image is changed.

Agreed. This is a trope: it is an intentional device used to direct attention to a supporting cast of characters by allowing the viewer/reader/listener to step into the shoes of the protagonist.

edited 11th May '14 8:53:09 PM by Lakija

It is what it is.

The crowner has been up for seven days. Redefining has 13 votes and a 5.5:1 ratio in favor. Renaming has 12 votes and 5:1 ratio. I say we have a consensus.

So we're going to do both? I'm in full support of that idea.

What is this "sleep" you speak of?