Frieza is the Protagonist of Resurrection F

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ABED
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Re: Freeza is the Protagonist of Resurrection F

Post by ABED » Fri Nov 06, 2015 4:48 pm

LuckyCat wrote:I'm trying to be open to this idea, but there just isn't enough morally gray area to work with. Freeza's revenge is completely unsympathetic, since he was the instigator of his battle with Goku by killing his race and friends. Freeza ignores countless opportunities to grow as a character by dismissing suggestions from his own minions that he can control an empire and forget about Goku. He dismisses another chance to grow by not accepting Goku's offer to train and fight another day. And his reasoning for declining growth is so petty and infantile, that the audience is really left with the idea that Freeza is a lost cause.<br abp="714"><br abp="715">If they showed scenes that established Freeza as maintaining some sort of legitimate empire, and that his evil deeds actually served a higher purpose of galactic stability, Freeza could be a protagonist as a necessary evil (like Beerus). But without scenes like this, we're left with the conclusion that Freeza is petty and infantile in all situations, making for a terrible leader even without the Goku grudge.<br abp="716"><br abp="717">So if you must paint Freeza as the protagonist, he's a shallow one at best, and that doesn't really make the movie better.
Freeza at his core is pure evil. He wants power, and we saw in the series that his empire was very business like, so seeing how his defeat has made him emotionally unstable is different. Granted, it's kind of there in the Trunks episodes, but it's hit on here more. And dictatorships don't serve any "higher purpose" especially not stability. The most you could say is that it's "mildly better" than anarchy but even that's a stretch. I like that the villain is infantile. It's a very dislikable trait which is great in a villain. Far too often writers make villains likable, arguably even moreso than the hero. They might assume that the audience won't like them more than the hero simply because they do evil things but if you're fun to watch and the good guy is just good because the story needs a good guy, who will the audience want to spend time with?

What makes Freeza interesting isn't "shades of grey", what makes him interesting is that he does what he does with panache.
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Re: Freeza is the Protagonist of Resurrection F

Post by Lord Beerus » Fri Nov 06, 2015 4:59 pm

Freeza was more of the Villain Protagonist of Resurrection F.

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Re: Freeza is the Protagonist of Resurrection F

Post by LuckyCat » Fri Nov 06, 2015 5:32 pm

ABED wrote:What makes Freeza interesting isn't "shades of grey", what makes him interesting is that he does what he does with panache.
Oh yes, I never claimed that, that's just one of many ways Freeza could have been given a path for us to follow. He stays pretty static in development throughout the whole movie, so his largest claim to the title protagonist is screentime, which is dubious. Dr. Evil gets more screen time in the second Austin Powers movie, but I don't think that qualifies him as the protagonist. Like Freeza, he sets up the master plan which the heroes must foil.

If anyone could be argued a protagonist of RoF, it should be Bulma. She finds out about the threat to Earth first, she calls everyone to action including Goku and Whis. She has a direct confrontation with the antagonist (Freeza). And she even gets Beerus to promise the heroes safety, which allows Goku to come back and finish Freeza off.

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Re: Freeza is the Protagonist of Resurrection F

Post by Polyphase Avatron » Fri Nov 06, 2015 6:20 pm

I can't see myself rooting for Freeza.

Beerus, on the other hand...
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Re: Freeza is the Protagonist of Resurrection F

Post by caejones » Fri Nov 06, 2015 8:59 pm

Was Freeza the protagonist? Sure, I can buy that. After all, the plot was driven largely by his character. Even the plot to resurrect him came from the memory of his charisma and leadership and all-around badassery. The fighting happened because he actively refused to listen to reason. He lost because he refused to have sufficient patience. It's almost a tragedy: so much build up for this god-like being, and he behaves... ur... like a classical god.
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