Decoy

Ever felt like you are the supporting cast of a biopic on you? Like you are always in the shadow lurking around like a crestfallen butthurt that won't heal? As if the universe is against your moments in the limelight? Because you are always in the background instead of the proscenium where you think you belong? Here's a theory that would soothe you, if nothing else: Looks like even cinema follow this trick of making us assume that so and so is the protagonist of the show when they are not. The storytelling is tailored in such a manner that you build up your curiosity for ABC but it later turns out that XYZ was the protagonist. For instance, in The Night Of (2016), you are made to believe that the script is centered around a Pakistani-American who is arrested for an alleged murder. By the end of the show, your opinion has evolved too: the protagonist is his eczema-ridden lawyer who seems to have found a purpose in life thanks to this hopeless case. The same is true for House of Cards (2013-) where we presume everything displayed is about the thirst for power and an otherwise failing marriage but in hindsight, the show is primarily about White House. Similarly, The Sixth Sense (1999) is more about Bruce Willis' character than about that boy who can see dead people. This shimmy is not restricted to movies and TV series. Sometimes, you can notice it even in documentaries and songs. For instance, Room 237 (2012) ain't about Stanley Kubrick and neither is Citizenfour (2014) about Edward Snowden. Or for that matter, Coldplay's Yellow isn't about jaundice and Rihanna's Cake isn't about cake; at least not the one that leaves you with a sweet taste. It'd be safe to conclude that nothing is what it seems whether you are at the front or in the back photobombing a picture that was supposed to focus on you.