Most stories explore three kinds of relationships: the enemy, the lover, and the friend. The romantic relationship and the enemy relationship usually get a lot of attention because they are typically the sources of conflict within stories, but friendship deserves some attention too. In an attempt to give it it’s due, I’ve tried to break down the umbrella term “friendship” into 3 subcategories and look at them in-depth.
Let’s get this one out of the way first because it’s the least complex. Jay and Silent Bob. Merry and Pippin. Community‘s Abed and Troy. C3PO and R2D2. There are tons of these pairings in tv, movies, and books. And they are fun, humorous, and typically male, although the occasional Laverne and Shirley duo make their appearances. Hetero life partners can exist as main characters in comedy as a comic duo, but in other genres how many of these relationships ever make it beyond the comic relief/side-character realm?
A protagonist might be friends with a pair of hetero life partners, but he can’t really be one himself because that would break up the duo principle by giving one hetero life mate more significance than the other. And if no one in the hetero life partner category can ever be a protagonist that means that a noncomedic narrative is never really going to examine that relationship all that closely. There is always a kind of *wink wink nod nod* to the bromance, and it is allowed that liminal status precisely because it’s ancillary to the other relationships — the protagonist’s relationships — that are developing in the plot.
2) The Sidekick.
If the protagonist outside the genre of comedy is barred by the conventions of narrative from being a hetero life partner based on the fact a main character, by principle, will always be given higher importance than his or her friends, then the type of friendship a protagonist is fated to fall back on is the sidekick friendship. This is the Batman/Robin, Holmes/Watson, Mario/Luigi relationship.
The sidekick relationship is an easy way to give a main character someone to work with, to talk to, and someone he cares about. Having a sidekick character allows the main character to remain the focus, but provides a foil through which the audience can see why the protagonist deserves to be the main character.
3) The Sidekick that Rises above Sidekick.
In reality, no one wants to ride in the sidecar. Some stories can keep running with the standard sidekick routine indefinitely, but for those that want to explore the realities of friendship a little deeper, they can sometimes succeed in taking the sidekick relationship to a new level. Where do we see this?
Take the relationship portrayed in the films between Harry Potter and Hermione. Hermione and Ron are introduced in the beginning as willing sidekicks to Harry. They are friends determined to support Harry achieve his destiny at great risk to themselves with full knowledge that Harry will always be the leader of the gang. Ron never really rises above this role. He is clearly not leader-material, not very bright or skilled, and is, as is commonly pointed out, a bit of a “git.” Hermione, on the other hand, is the highest achieving witch at Hogwarts and becomes admirable in her own right through her loyalty and heroism.
The films acknowledge Hermione’s near-equality to Harry in Deathly Hallows Part 1 in
the scenes where she and Harry are left by Ron. The ease with which they talk to each other, their concern for each other, and the lack of childish pettiness between them, not to mention their single-minded determination to save the world from Voldemort puts them on equal footing. They become the two champions. Which is why the dancing scene between them that so many Ron/Hermione ‘shippers hate so much works so well to me: Hermione gets to a point where she is precariously close to going beyond friendship altogether, and her and Harry’s relationship could easily morph into the next step: romance. But the films pull back and leave Hermione and Harry as just close friends – but far closer friends than Ron and Harry are by the end.
Another example of a friendship in which the narrative allows a sidekick to rise above sidekick role is the Sam/Frodo relationship. Sam actually wants to ride in the sidecar. He can think of nothing better than being a loyal sidekick to the end. But the narrative ends up elevating him to more than mere sidekick when he’s given the burden of the ring and becomes part of the legend of the ringbearers.
What I see in examining these three subcategories of friendship is that giving a main character friends that break the standard mold is challenging. By her very nature, the protagonist is elite and unique, so she can’t become part of a duo in a standard dramatic story. But if you don’t want your character to have a Batman/Robin superiority complex with everyone she befriends, the writer has to devote some serious development into the character and motivations of the hero’s friend. If you don’t want your story to be about friendship or you’re unconcerned with relegating everyone else in your story to sidecar flunkies it doesn’t really matter, but if you want your protagonist to have friends who aren’t walking tropes, it’s worth planning out how they can rival the hero and try to elbow in on gaining as close to equal footing with your hero as they possibly can.
L.B. Gale
Types of Duos in Movies, Books & TV
Most stories explore three kinds of relationships: the enemy, the lover, and the friend. The romantic relationship and the enemy relationship usually get a lot of attention because they are typically the sources of conflict within stories, but friendship deserves some attention too. In an attempt to give it it’s due, I’ve tried to break down the umbrella term “friendship” into 3 subcategories and look at them in-depth.
1) Hetero Life Partners
Let’s get this one out of the way first because it’s the least complex. Jay and Silent Bob. Merry and Pippin. Community‘s Abed and Troy. C3PO and R2D2. There are tons of these pairings in tv, movies, and books. And they are fun, humorous, and typically male, although the occasional Laverne and Shirley duo make their appearances. Hetero life partners can exist as main characters in comedy as a comic duo, but in other genres how many of these relationships ever make it beyond the comic relief/side-character realm?
A protagonist might be friends with a pair of hetero life partners, but he can’t really be one himself because that would break up the duo principle by giving one hetero life mate more significance than the other. And if no one in the hetero life partner category can ever be a protagonist that means that a noncomedic narrative is never really going to examine that relationship all that closely. There is always a kind of *wink wink nod nod* to the bromance, and it is allowed that liminal status precisely because it’s ancillary to the other relationships — the protagonist’s relationships — that are developing in the plot.
2) The Sidekick.
If the protagonist outside the genre of comedy is barred by the conventions of narrative from being a hetero life partner based on the fact a main character, by principle, will always be given higher importance than his or her friends, then the type of friendship a protagonist is fated to fall back on is the sidekick friendship. This is the Batman/Robin, Holmes/Watson, Mario/Luigi relationship.
3) The Sidekick that Rises above Sidekick.
In reality, no one wants to ride in the sidecar. Some stories can keep running with the standard sidekick routine indefinitely, but for those that want to explore the realities of friendship a little deeper, they can sometimes succeed in taking the sidekick relationship to a new level. Where do we see this?
Take the relationship portrayed in the films between Harry Potter and Hermione. Hermione and Ron are introduced in the beginning as willing sidekicks to Harry. They are friends determined to support Harry achieve his destiny at great risk to themselves with full knowledge that Harry will always be the leader of the gang. Ron never really rises above this role. He is clearly not leader-material, not very bright or skilled, and is, as is commonly pointed out, a bit of a “git.” Hermione, on the other hand, is the highest achieving witch at Hogwarts and becomes admirable in her own right through her loyalty and heroism.
The films acknowledge Hermione’s near-equality to Harry in Deathly Hallows Part 1 in
the scenes where she and Harry are left by Ron. The ease with which they talk to each other, their concern for each other, and the lack of childish pettiness between them, not to mention their single-minded determination to save the world from Voldemort puts them on equal footing. They become the two champions. Which is why the dancing scene between them that so many Ron/Hermione ‘shippers hate so much works so well to me: Hermione gets to a point where she is precariously close to going beyond friendship altogether, and her and Harry’s relationship could easily morph into the next step: romance. But the films pull back and leave Hermione and Harry as just close friends – but far closer friends than Ron and Harry are by the end.
Another example of a friendship in which the narrative allows a sidekick to rise above sidekick role is the Sam/Frodo relationship. Sam actually wants to ride in the sidecar. He can think of nothing better than being a loyal sidekick to the end. But the narrative ends up elevating him to more than mere sidekick when he’s given the burden of the ring and becomes part of the legend of the ringbearers.
What I see in examining these three subcategories of friendship is that giving a main character friends that break the standard mold is challenging. By her very nature, the protagonist is elite and unique, so she can’t become part of a duo in a standard dramatic story. But if you don’t want your character to have a Batman/Robin superiority complex with everyone she befriends, the writer has to devote some serious development into the character and motivations of the hero’s friend. If you don’t want your story to be about friendship or you’re unconcerned with relegating everyone else in your story to sidecar flunkies it doesn’t really matter, but if you want your protagonist to have friends who aren’t walking tropes, it’s worth planning out how they can rival the hero and try to elbow in on gaining as close to equal footing with your hero as they possibly can.
Technorati Tags: Bromance, Friendship, Hetero Life Partner, Sidekick