The Hollywood Paradigm ( widely followed across both generations and geographies) of filmmaking | storytelling is about ‘ set-up, conflict and resolution ‘. Cast as central characters will always be the protagonist and on the other side the antagonist.
We can extract similarities of a film script even in our real lives. The thing about antagonists in real life is usually they are no match for our sheer will to create our happy ending. So that begs the question- reel life follows real life or the other way around? When we are pursuing a better life, antagonists and we ourselves can also be allies.
Your antagonist forces are not as obvious as what you might see on the silver screen- a vampire wearing all black, darting among Gothic architecture as he trails you through an overcast, evocative location while you are wearing the same ripped-up clothes for three days in a row. It will not be a surprise to note that most often our antagonist forces are often ourselves. They are the things we do and think that not only slow us down but also have the ability to stop our show. They could be a flaw or weakness on steroids.
We are familiar with these characters(forces) within ourselves which are of the personal | internal variety including fear, indecision, doubt, discomfort, uncertainty, an unwillingness to take action and so on. A classic set of examples of you stopping you.
On the screen, when faced with the ‘ ghost of the dark night ‘, the hero must take a leap, and a big one at that..otherwise you know it’s not a movie. Or, it is a sad and disappointing movie in which the hero does not obtain his goal.
Though it may feel that way but external antagonists don’t necessarily have evil intentions. They are whomever or whatever has a goal in direct opposition to yours. External antagonists might be a family member, a colleague, friend, an enemy, frenemy, a competitor, your boss, a loved one, the government, an evil empire, business..
Very often the thing that holds us back is the lack of support from people closest to us. Therefore allies can be our secret sauce. Even if that means the basics of someone who is listening, talking, validating. There is a parallel call here- where you might benefit from keeping a distance from those very people during the pursuit of your goal which in a way lessens the forces working against you.
So the questions we ask here are- is there a way to make an antagonist an ally on our specific path? Is it time to metaphorically kill the antagonistic force by disengaging or putting distance between you?
In this show called life, when looked at from the perspective of a scriptwriter, you will always find antagonist forces( be it a loved one or a competitor) who are prepared to derail your course unless you are prepared to take action.
Time to plot your go to mode!