Man vs. Man

• This is the classic protagonist versus antagonist conflict. Here, the protagonist is trying to achieve something the antagonist also wants. They could be fighting over a love interest, a cash prize or anything else valuable. In other cases, the antagonist does something to the protagonist such as kidnap him or kill his wife, where the protagonist is fighting against the antagonist for revenge or to set everything back to normal.
  
  

Man vs. Self

• Here, the story's plot lies internally with the main character. The main character is usually on a quest for a personal feat to accomplish something that lies purely with her own wit. In this case, there is no need for an antagonist because the main character is her own worst enemy. For example, in the movie "Million Dollar Baby," Maggie Fitzgerald (the Hillary Swank character) is in an internal conflict with herself. Every consequence she deals with in the movie is all because of her desire to become a boxer. The story in this movie purely exists because of her motives.
  
  

Man vs. Society

• In this case, the main character is out of line with the rest of the population he is in. This is the classic central conflict for many science fiction books involving a time machine; the protagonist is set back to a different society where he does not fit in and has to learn to adapt to the new customs set by that time period. Movies and books involving adolescents moving to a new town where they are the "new kid" at school also fits into genre.
  
  

Man vs. Nature

• This conflict is similar to the man versus society genre in the sense that the main character has to deal with an overwhelming force bigger than himself or any other person. However, instead of a society of people, the main character is dealing with the forces of nature. This is the central conflict that most disaster movies follow. In the movie "2012," for example, the John Cusack character has to save his family from the massive earthquake, a supervolcano and the mega-tsunamis, which are all forces of nature.
  
  

Hybrid Conflicts

• Sometimes, stories can have two conflicts in one, following formulas such as man versus self versus society. For example, in the movie "American History X," Derek Vinyard is in a man versus self conflict because of all of the consequences he dealt with as a Neo-Nazi, a prisoner and man who lost his brother were all brought by his own personal actions. At the same time, Derek is also at conflict with society, since much of his pain and anguish came from the prison, where he was paying his debt to society.