internal or external—that is, it may occur within a character's mind or between a character and exterior forces. Conflict is most visible between two or more characters, usually a protagonist and an antagonist, but can occur in many different forms.There are five types of conflict; man vs self, man vs man, man vs society, man vs nature and last but not least man vs machine.
Man vs Self (Internal)
With this type of conflict the character struggles against his/her own will, fears, emotional issues, confusion and or mental issues. What is important to note is that even though the conflict takes place internally, external forces can still influence the character.
In the picture above Edward Norton's character's conflict is mental, as he battles his alter-ego/doppelganger who is bent on mayhem and destruction. To find out which personality emerged the victor in this battle you need to watch the film, Fight Club.
Conflict with self is one of the types of conflict present in my story, The BoogeyMan. The heroine/main character (protagonist) of my story finds herself in a moral dilemma due to a situation beyond her control, she struggles with the decision she made to get out of the situation as it goes against everything she was brought up to believe but she sees no other way out for her.
Man vs Man (External)
This type of conflict usually pits the protagonist (hero) against the antagonist (anti-hero/villian) as the antagonist acts as a foil ("a character who contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight particular qualities of the other character" (Wikipedia, 2012), this helps to drive the plot along. This type of conflict can either be a mental battle of the wills or it can be physical, in order words it can break out into fisticuffs (combat with fists) as seen in the picture above from the movie The Dark Knight.
Batman stands up for what is right whereas Joker is the opposite, he stands for evil and as a result of this they will always be at loggerheads with each other, there will always be conflict between them.
The BoogeyMan also contains an element of man vs man conflict in it as the protagonist and antagonist go at it but it is a one-sided battle because one is physically stronger than the other.
Man vs Society (External)
The protagonist usually battles against an unjust government as seen in the movie V for Vendetta where the main character, V was vehemently against the government and all it stood for. This type of conflict may also be against a culture, or an institution like the church.
The BoogeyMan also contains this type of conflict but it is battle between man, culture and government with a bit of religion.
Man vs Nature (External)
This type of conflict sees man going up against the forces of nature for his very survival.
In the movie Castaway Tom Hanks' character experiences this very struggle when the plane he was travelling in crashes, leaving him stranded on a deserted island where he is now forced to fend for himself against the forces of nature. Nature acts as foil to his wanting to get back to civilization by throwing obstacles in his path, to keep him trapped in the middle of nowhere.
This particular conflict is not applicable to the BoogeyMan as it does not contain a man vs nature element.
Man vs Machine (External)
Man versus Machine places the protagonist against a being with artificial intelligence. An example of this type of conflict can be seen in the movie Thor, where Thor fights the Destroyer.
To end this post I'll leave you with two Youtube videos that reiterate what I've said. The first one uses different books to portray the different types of conflict and the second video uses movies. I hope you all enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment