Op/Ed: You’re Not the Main Character
By Draven St.George
Let’s play a little game. Think of all of our childhood TV-show main characters. When that is being thought of, can you honestly say that that character was your favorite from the show? Think about it. Carly from “ICarly,” Tori from “Victorious,” Spongebob from “Spongebob Squarepants,” they were not our favorites, and they shouldn’t have for many reasons. Sure, the main character drives the plots of this TV-show truck, but nobody is focusing on the driver. So, why try to be the main character? Right now, there is a lot of talk on the aspect of having “main character” energy, but honestly, that’s the worst energy to have. So what exactly are the problems with the main character and why is it better to be a different character?
First of all, it’s important to note that NO MAIN CHARACTER IS REALISTIC. No matter how hard movies try to make their characters be quirky and relatable, they never are. Why? They have to add random luck and annoying tropes to make it a watchable show. Every main character has abnormally good luck and gets praise for mediocre performances. For example, how did Carly Shay have a whole elevator and second floor in her house when her brother is literally a freelance artist? How did CiCi and Rocky get on “Shake It Up” when their dancing was literally moving their arms like they were battling limb paralysis? How did Tori Vega get the main attention when Cat and Jade existed? So essentially, when people tell you that you give them “main character” energy, they are basically saying that you give them “character with subpar skills but abnormally large amounts of attention” energy.
Picture of what iCarly could’ve been. Picture made by me
So why do people want to be the main character? Because people want attention, simple as that. They want as much airtime as possible, when in reality, they should be thinking about the fact that the side characters with, you know, actual personalities are the ones that people care about. Think about everyone’s favorite characters from our childhood shows. Spencer, Sam and Gibby from “ICarly,” Cat, Jade and Andre from “Victorious,” Patrick and Squidward from “Spongebob Squarepants,” Megan from “Drake and Josh,” they were the ones we wanted to be and wanted to root for. Why did we like these characters so much more? Because the producers and writers gave those people personalities that didn’t revolve around solving random problems each day and pursuing some random career that makes up their whole personality. In the future, if you really want to compliment someone for their charisma or personality, tell them that they give you “literally any other character than the main character” energy.
It’s obviously hard to hear that you aren’t the main character because it makes it sound like you don’t have star quality, but just know, you are so much more than the main character. You are the character that has witty side comments who knows how to fight someone if they get in your way. You are the charming boy who the main character flirts with but will never get because you are better than them. You are the nerdy sidekick with a quirk that actually makes you the good kind of quirky. So please, don’t let the idea of being the main character make you the character that nobody wants to watch. Right now, you are the reason the main character isn’t thriving, and we thank you for that.