i think some people are meant for this, and that their interactions with those whose purpose in life is more focused are meant to be the catalyst of their journey. it sounds, but not everyone can be an MC. that said, there’s value in being a side character; for example, would Frodo have made it if Sam didn’t join him? we all have a purpose, and sometimes that purpose is to just be what supports something greater.
I largely agree with you, but I think perhaps everyone IS an MC, it’s just that not everyone is the MC of the same type of story. For example- in a police action film there is a bank robbery and the MC is an officer. In a heist film though, the bank robber is the MC. Of course in an emotional tale of trauma and putting life back together, an injured innocent learns to walk and get their life back while bills and family stress pile up, and one of the tellers realizes life is short and goes to wander around Europe and we get a romantic comedy. Most books and films only fallow one or two stories they choose to focus on, but countless stories exist in the pages that we don’t see. The MC of one is a catalyst or a minor plot point or incident in another. And the thing about books and movies and stories and such is… they end, and most often the characters lives continue on and we just don’t get the story.
There aren’t another 3,000+ pages of Harry Potter just living a mundane life, shopping for insurance and deciding to cut his sodium intake. Stories are usually snap shots of a particularly interesting period or incident, but most people have stories in their lives and to make a good story out of most peoples lives requires leaving a lot on the editing room floor.
But I do agree that we probably all cameo in the stories of others and can serve as a villain or rival or antagonist, side kick, but player, inspiration, ally, or many more roles and appear in many stories because we exist in a shared continuity of stories where each of us is the MC in our own tale.
But I do agree that we probably all cameo in the stories of others and can serve as a villain or rival or antagonist, side kick, but player, inspiration, ally, or many more roles and appear in many stories because we exist in a shared continuity of stories where each of us is the MC in our own tale.