Subscribe to RSSProtagonist: One Of Video Librarian’s Best Documentaries of 2008
October 25th, 2008 | by Alive Mind Education | published in Protagonist
This riveting documentary explores the psychological transformation of the modern character. Inspired by the Greek playwright Euripides, Academy Award© winning director Jessica Yu weaves together the stories of four men consumed by personal odysseys. The narrative structure mirrors a Greek drama and the film incorporates quotes from Euripides to contextualize their personal stories. Never before has an interpretation of Euripides’ work revealed how relevant he is for audiences today.
Protagonist Product Information:
Grade Level: AP English Literature, College and University
Subjects: Classics, Literature, Drama, Psychology, Political Issues
Set: DVD Only
Copyright: © 2006 . All rights reserved.
Total Running Time: 90 minutes + 25 min of Bonus Materials
ISBN Number: 0-9820-8141-3
Educational Prices: (includes Public Performance Rights)
- College / University: $249.00
- Library / High School: $129.00
- Note: If you are unable to pay via PayPal, please contact info@alivemindeducation.com or call us at 212-398-3112 to order this title.
For public exhibition inquiries please contact us for more details!
September / October 2008
Protagonist
Rating: 4 Stars - Highly Recommended - Editor’s Choice
Jessica Yu’s fascinating documentary Protagonist explores psychological observations found in the plays of Euripides to illustrate the universality of human experience. The decision to have wooden puppets “recite” passages in ancient Greek that exemplify the Athenian dramatist’s concepts—as well as to act out episodes in the lives of four modern men whose extensive autobiographical recollections reveal Euripides’ continuing relevance—might have been disastrous. But Yu weaves these elements, together with animated segments inspired by Athenian pottery paintings, into a seamless whole to present an argument that is both provocative and profound. Her extensive interviews with the quartet of subjects—an anti-gay minister who finally admitted his homosexuality, a German terrorist who ultimately rejected the credo of violence, a bullied boy who found release in martial arts, and an abused child who became a bank robber—explore the same themes of obsession and potentially destructive absolutism that Euripides examined in his tragedies. The point, as Greek thinkers were fond of observing, is that human nature is unchanging: the struggles that men and women faced more than two millennia ago are essentially still being played out today. A poignant and serious meditation on human psychology, Protagonist is highly recommended. Editor’s Choice. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)