Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

The Crisis Situation

In disaster films, often times the antagonist or villain isn't actually human, or even a living thing at all. In Jaws, it's the shark. In Twister, it's the tornado. In Sharknado, it's sharks inside tornadoes. Don't ask.

In Airplane!, however, things are a little less clear. There isn't a single character who plays the role of antagonist, and there isn't any specific natural element that really fills that void either. Could it be that pesky fish that caused the illnesses? Could it be the weather that made the plane's descent more difficult? Is it Ted himself, in his own self-sabotaging tendencies?

We're going to say the closest thing Ted Striker has to an antagonist is…well, the situation itself. The antagonist represents the force that stands in the way of the protagonist, creating drama; in the case of Airplane!, this crisis aboard the airplane—involving Ted's lack of confidence, a lack of pilots, and a lack of meals that don't have food poisoning—is responsible for driving the story's conflict. This situation threatens to derail Ted totally, but it ultimately challenges him to do the very thing he fears most; take charge.