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Story Structures...and other ramblings
Jan. 7th, 2004 12:25 amBored, boredy, bored, bored and I can't shake this stupid chest cold - oh it's not bad anymore, just an occassional cough, sinus headach and blowing nose - but would like it to go away instead of just linger forever.
Anyways...after lurking on a few fanboards and listserves and watching A New World - ATS S3 (really love this episode) Gilmore Girls (repeat), 24 (brand spanking new episode) and Line of Fire (also new episode) - I got to thinking about how a writer/tv producer formulates a story, what their purpose is in telling it and how each of the ingredients works. Also how the fans/viewers perceive it as opposed to how the writers/producers may wish them to perceive it.
I'm an odd 'kat, while I do get obsessed with specific character arcs - I'm far more interested by and obsessed with how the storyteller is telling the story - how the story breaks down, how each piece fits, what the over-all arc is, and how each character adds to that arc and theme. What is the writer trying to convey through how each character handles the problem handed to them?
Line of Fire tonight was an excellent example of this. ( Spoilers for Line of Fire )
Too often, I find, we get distracted by our own desires for a specific character without clearly seeing what the big picture is. Angel The Series for example - I honestly don't think the series is meant to be a retelling of the hero's journey a la Hercules. I think the writers are interested in exploring something far less mundane, which is our own ways of dealing/coping with the everyday issues of existence -or the issues of being fractured? Needing to atone for past sins? Redemption - is it even possible?
The episode A New World that I saw tonight was an interesting exploration of these themes - also very interestingly structured. Like Line of Fire - A New World - ATS, has an ensemble cast, it was both episodic and serial, although leaned more towards serial than Line of Fire did, with an A,B and C plot. We had three groups of characters paralleled. First Wes/Lilah, then Connor/Angel, and finally Fred/Gunn/Lorne/Cordelia/Groo.
( Angel S3 A New World Spoilers )
I think when we look at how each portion of the story or plot arc plays off of the others, ie A, B, and C, and how each character interacts with the problem posed and deals with it and explore why they do what they do without imposing our own values and judgements on them, we can see the underlying theme of the piece and why the writer chose to write it the way he/she did.
Why do we tell the stories we tell? I think it's to explore issues that bug us - whether these be our fears, our anxieties, or just the meaning of our existence. Through our stories we understand our world, other cultures, and ourselves better. We are able to confront our fears safely and find ways to overcome them. Oh - that character tried doing that and it didn't work, so when I'm confronted with a problem similar to that one? I'll try something else.
Stories are a way of solving problems. And studying the underlying structure - all the parts of the story - without giving into the temptation to project our own story or desire onto it - we can learn from it and incorporate threads into our own lives, possibly even create stories of our own. I know of one person who used BTVS S5 and S6 to figure out how to write a book.
New Year's Resolution - (one of many) to strive to see the writers theme or purpose in telling the story, to examine the structure, to focus on the big picture - as opposed to just one character's arc or my own desires for one character. Let's see how quickly I break it. ;-)
Anyways...after lurking on a few fanboards and listserves and watching A New World - ATS S3 (really love this episode) Gilmore Girls (repeat), 24 (brand spanking new episode) and Line of Fire (also new episode) - I got to thinking about how a writer/tv producer formulates a story, what their purpose is in telling it and how each of the ingredients works. Also how the fans/viewers perceive it as opposed to how the writers/producers may wish them to perceive it.
I'm an odd 'kat, while I do get obsessed with specific character arcs - I'm far more interested by and obsessed with how the storyteller is telling the story - how the story breaks down, how each piece fits, what the over-all arc is, and how each character adds to that arc and theme. What is the writer trying to convey through how each character handles the problem handed to them?
Line of Fire tonight was an excellent example of this. ( Spoilers for Line of Fire )
Too often, I find, we get distracted by our own desires for a specific character without clearly seeing what the big picture is. Angel The Series for example - I honestly don't think the series is meant to be a retelling of the hero's journey a la Hercules. I think the writers are interested in exploring something far less mundane, which is our own ways of dealing/coping with the everyday issues of existence -or the issues of being fractured? Needing to atone for past sins? Redemption - is it even possible?
The episode A New World that I saw tonight was an interesting exploration of these themes - also very interestingly structured. Like Line of Fire - A New World - ATS, has an ensemble cast, it was both episodic and serial, although leaned more towards serial than Line of Fire did, with an A,B and C plot. We had three groups of characters paralleled. First Wes/Lilah, then Connor/Angel, and finally Fred/Gunn/Lorne/Cordelia/Groo.
( Angel S3 A New World Spoilers )
I think when we look at how each portion of the story or plot arc plays off of the others, ie A, B, and C, and how each character interacts with the problem posed and deals with it and explore why they do what they do without imposing our own values and judgements on them, we can see the underlying theme of the piece and why the writer chose to write it the way he/she did.
Why do we tell the stories we tell? I think it's to explore issues that bug us - whether these be our fears, our anxieties, or just the meaning of our existence. Through our stories we understand our world, other cultures, and ourselves better. We are able to confront our fears safely and find ways to overcome them. Oh - that character tried doing that and it didn't work, so when I'm confronted with a problem similar to that one? I'll try something else.
Stories are a way of solving problems. And studying the underlying structure - all the parts of the story - without giving into the temptation to project our own story or desire onto it - we can learn from it and incorporate threads into our own lives, possibly even create stories of our own. I know of one person who used BTVS S5 and S6 to figure out how to write a book.
New Year's Resolution - (one of many) to strive to see the writers theme or purpose in telling the story, to examine the structure, to focus on the big picture - as opposed to just one character's arc or my own desires for one character. Let's see how quickly I break it. ;-)
