Cinema and Its Discontents: The Dialectical Nature of Character

The ultimate aim of drama is to expose the soul of Character. Dramatists achieve this objective by employing a specific type of conflict known as dialectic, a concept woven throughout Western thinking and--from Homer to 21st century cinema--the basis of all dramatic characters. This study details the history of dialectical thought from Plato to Jung before turning its focus to the development of character in a century of filmmaking. From Chaplin's Tramp to Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle, it examines more than two dozen cinematic characters governed by dialectic--torn between life and death, opposing desires, moralities and wills, their sense of self threatened by others.