This is Story Fanatic, a collection of articles covering story structure and analysis for
creative writers. Published weekly.
What made this film so compelling? Was it simply the question of whether or not the top was going to stop, or could it be that there was something more meaningful going on within the bones of this story? A closer look at the Main Character and his place within the larger story offers fans of great storytelling a better understanding of what makes great stories such an engaging experience.
Perception often leads to deception; how one sees the world of story shapes their understanding of it, granting them all sorts of interpretations that may or may not be accurate. As with Christopher Nolan’s dark treatise on dueling magicians, unveiling what is really going on within a story can lead to an emotional catharsis for writers themselves; leading them to even greater expressions of meaningful fiction.
Stories are a decidedly human adventure and thus are prone to the inaccuracies and preconceptions prevalent within the minds of those who experience them. It is with that in mind that I confess an error in my original evaluation of Toy Story 3. If context creates meaning, then it also can be seen as the source for any miscalculations in the judgment of a story’s ultimate message.
There are two ways to adapt a favorite novel or short story for the silver screen – the right way and the wrong way. The first requires a comprehensive understanding of the original source material. The second only needs an ambivalence towards the mechanism behind what makes great stories great.
Identifying the problem within a screenplay is one thing, offering up a viable workable solution is another. The key is honoring the work that is already there. Healing a false moment, like resolving the differences between two characters, should come as a natural progression of events and inflict the least amount of damage in the process.
A complete story combines character, plot, theme and genre into a delicious concert of meaning that both satisfies and fulfills the appetites of avid moviegoers everywhere. If just one bit is slightly off, it can make all the difference between a film destined for the 5$ bin and one destined for the halls of the timeless classics. Toy Story 3 may defy that convention.
Not every Hero is created the same. While on the surface they may appear to be interchangeable passengers on the same transformational “journey”, the truth is that deep down, they carry their own unique set of circumstances and issues that differentiate themselves from each other. Stories are complicated yet sophisticated beasts, they deserve as much then in our understanding of them.
Overwhelmingly, fans of historical war drama prefer the original Band of Brothers series over this year’s offering, The Pacific. Taking a closer look at how both series were structured, it becomes clear why many had a difficult time staying with the Marines for all ten episodes.
While the complaints concerning Avatar’s resemblance to Dances with Wolves and Pocahontas are abundant and well covered, there is one aspect of this story that is not covered in as much detail, and that is the problem with the Main Character, Jake Sully. A well-written Main Character is the key to bringing an audience into a story. Screw it up and you risk losing emotional involvement.
Avatar is an easy target for the online generation of YouTube haters. But what isn’t as well understood are the similarities between this latest Cameron sci-fi monstrosity and its doppelganger from the mid-70s, Star Wars. Those same detractors may have reason to pause if they took the time to fully appreciate what both films were trying to accomplish.