The Dark Knight and The Empire Strikes Back have a few things in common. First of all, they are the second film of a trilogy. Second, they are the most loved films of their trilogies. I personally have a theory on why the second film could easily be the most well liked film of a trilogy. But first, there are a few points to remember.
This theory best applies if there is an over arcing story to the trilogy. Second, this is not a hard fast rule. Various factors can affect for good each film is. The Star Wars prequels weren't super great and Revenge of the Sith was just lucky to be the best one. If the prequels were done well, Revenge of the Sith might have been the best prequel. Third, there is a level of subjectivity when evaluating film. I personally have a bias towards a good climax, so my personal bias towards a third film.
To understand why the second film is often the most well liked, you have to understand why three many film series have three films. Any story has a three act structure. This includes a novel or movie. The beginning sets everything up. The middle advances the plot. The end solves the problem and ties up loose ends. Another way to look at it as one of two cycles. There is the cycle of introduction, rise, fall. The other possibility is the cycle of introduction, fall, rise.
So here is how this translates into a trilogy? The first film introduces the characters. The second film has the most plot development and character development. It moves to set everything up for the final film. The final film just ties up loose ends and shows how the hero's journey ends.
A New Hope introduces Luke. The Empire Strikes Back develops him through his training and confrontation with Vader. The revelation of Vader as Luke's father and Luke's defeat set up for Return of the Jedi. Return of the Jedi shows that Luke becomes a Jedi, chooses good and redeems his father.
Batman Begins sets up that Bruce Wayne wants to be a symbol of good for Gotham. The Dark Knight takes a deep look into his character. It sets up The Dark Knight Rises by having Batman take the blame for crimes he did not commit. The Dark Knight Rises shows Bruce moving on and Batman becoming that symbol of good.
In all, the second film often has the most story and character depth. Please note that this is not a hard core rule. This often applies only if there is an arc spread across all three films. The consequences is that the third film can be underrated because it gets compared to the second film.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Friday, October 24, 2014
Topics in Narrative- Foregone conclusions
So I watched this show called Gotham. It's the back story of many of the Batman characters; including Jim Gordon, Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler and Batman. The problem with the show is that you know where the characters end up. Gotham becomes crime ridden. Bruce Wayne becomes Batman. Selina Kyle becomes Catwoman. This makes the show an example of a foregone conclusion. Foregone conclusions are stories in which you go in with the ending already known. The challenge is how to keep a story interesting if the ending is known. For that reason, I will analyze what makes a successful story with a foregone conclusion and how some stories with foregone conclusions don't work.
Please note, I was going to talk about backstories, as they are a type of story that have foregone conclusions by their nature. However, I'm including (500) Days of Summer and How I Met Your Mother. Those particular foregone conclusions do not tell the backstory to a familiar story.
The first element of a good foregone conclusion is interesting characters. If you are doing a back story make sure the character is iconic. One example is the Star Wars prequels, which is the back story to what is arguably cinema's most iconic villains. This is a problem with the Darth Plageius novel. Darth Plageus is not even seen on film. He is only referenced. Gotham is an interesting example. Catwoman and Batman are iconic. While I like Jim Gordon, he is not the most iconic character in the Batman franchise.
Even if the character is not iconic, we should identify with him. This is why I like How I Met Your Mother. It is easy to connect with someone who just wants to get married.
Another question is whether there is is some type of change. In Bates Motel, Norman Bates changes from a caring kid to a not job. How I Met Your Mother and (500) Days of Summer work on a basis of change. 500 Days of Summer starts out by letting you know that the guy does not get the girl. How I Met Your Mother starts out by letting you know that the guy will get married and letting you know it won't be a particular girl. However, both stories involve drastic change in the protagonists. How I Met Your Mother involves more change because it is a television show and can get more stories in.
This gets into another criticism of Gotham. Jim Gordon starts out as a good cop. Gotham starts out with a good bit of crime. The show should start with Jim Gordan being different than the character we know and Gotham should be peaceful. The murder of the Waynes should not have happened until later in the show. Then we see Jim Gordon become the character we love and Gotham slowly become crime ridden.
James Tuttle
Please note, I was going to talk about backstories, as they are a type of story that have foregone conclusions by their nature. However, I'm including (500) Days of Summer and How I Met Your Mother. Those particular foregone conclusions do not tell the backstory to a familiar story.
The first element of a good foregone conclusion is interesting characters. If you are doing a back story make sure the character is iconic. One example is the Star Wars prequels, which is the back story to what is arguably cinema's most iconic villains. This is a problem with the Darth Plageius novel. Darth Plageus is not even seen on film. He is only referenced. Gotham is an interesting example. Catwoman and Batman are iconic. While I like Jim Gordon, he is not the most iconic character in the Batman franchise.
Even if the character is not iconic, we should identify with him. This is why I like How I Met Your Mother. It is easy to connect with someone who just wants to get married.
Another question is whether there is is some type of change. In Bates Motel, Norman Bates changes from a caring kid to a not job. How I Met Your Mother and (500) Days of Summer work on a basis of change. 500 Days of Summer starts out by letting you know that the guy does not get the girl. How I Met Your Mother starts out by letting you know that the guy will get married and letting you know it won't be a particular girl. However, both stories involve drastic change in the protagonists. How I Met Your Mother involves more change because it is a television show and can get more stories in.
This gets into another criticism of Gotham. Jim Gordon starts out as a good cop. Gotham starts out with a good bit of crime. The show should start with Jim Gordan being different than the character we know and Gotham should be peaceful. The murder of the Waynes should not have happened until later in the show. Then we see Jim Gordon become the character we love and Gotham slowly become crime ridden.
James Tuttle
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Gravity discussion- Contains spoilers
Watch Gravity directed by Alfonso Cuaron before reading on. It contains major spoilers.
So Gravity dominated the US box office. I'm not surprised. The marketing was well done. It focused on the two big name actors. The marketing built up suspense. You see that the plot is two astronauts trapped in space. You wonder how they will get out of the situation. The title itself lets you know that they will have a difficult challenge.
Another wise decision behind Gravity was to have Alfonso Cuaron direct. He's had a good track record of descent films. His most famous film was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It's one of the better Harry Potter films. He also did a film called Y tu Mama Tambien. It's one of Mexico's most widely recognized films. Every Mexican I ever met heard of it. A lot of people who study film have seen it.
This brings up the question of how to get good films in Hollywood. One way is to keep on descent people as part of creative teams. This is key to Disney's success. When they aquire a franchise, they keep the creative teams, as long as they continue to do well. This applies to Marvel, Pixar, the Muppets and Star Wars. As long as the creative teams are doing well, they keep them.
Another way to get descent films in Hollywood is big name directors. Studios are willing to take a risk on a big name director because their name will draw people in. This can be said of Inception. The studios knew that the name Christopher Nolan can draw in a crowd, so the studios gave him as much money as he needed for Inception.
On to m review of Gravity. It seems to remind me a bit of 2001: A Space Odyssey, in terms of how realistic it is and how it is paced. Here is what I will say about the pacing, it knows how to have a good action scene. The book The Screen writer's Bible says that a good action scene is a series of good news and bad news. Here is an example from Gravity.
Good News- Ryan's in the ISS.
Bad News- There is a fire.
Good News- She gets in the escape pod.
Bad news- It's stuck.
I like the terminology of good news and bad news. I think of it this way. Keep adding another complication as soon as the character gets past another complication.
The cinematography was very good. Earth was a great background. Much of he creativity was in terms of when the character was over the night side of Earth and the day side of Earth. The distance from Earth was also great. It was close enough that you knew that the character was hovering over the planet.
The characterization was rather unique. There are only two characters, Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney). A few other characters are heard over radios, but remain unseen. Matt is experienced, but not serious. Ryan is inexperienced but serious. Still, Matt acts as a mentor to Ryan. Of course, the mentor usually leaves the hero. This is when Matt floats off into space so that Ryan can live. This leaves Ryan to surviving without any help.
The most impressive part is the use of the mythological cycle. Ryan is deeply hurt and troubled by the loss of her daughter. She is reborn in the end as someone who can move on with life. The rebirth is at the end when Ryan starts walking on land. She actually looks like a child learning how to walk.
The image of rebirth is foreshadowed when Ryan first enters the international space station. She is in the fetal position. The door in the background is the circular womb. The oxygen tube is the umbilical cord. This shows that she is starting to develop. The time in the space stations, escape pods and water are her development.
There is even an instant of death and rebirth. Her death is when she lowers the oxygen in the escape pod. This sends her into the dream of Matt. The dream is where she realizes that she can move on. Her rebirth is when she re awakens and turns the oxygen back up.
This movie shows a clear cut example of a personal and situation plot together. The situation plot is the external situation that the protagonist is trying to deal with. The personal plot is the internal struggle of the protagonist. In this case the situation plot is being stranded in space. The personal plot is coping with the death of a daughter.
Gravity is a brilliant film because it tells a personal story in a suspenseful situation. It's unconventional with it's lack of characters. It could also be a career booster for Alfonso Cuaron.
So Gravity dominated the US box office. I'm not surprised. The marketing was well done. It focused on the two big name actors. The marketing built up suspense. You see that the plot is two astronauts trapped in space. You wonder how they will get out of the situation. The title itself lets you know that they will have a difficult challenge.
Another wise decision behind Gravity was to have Alfonso Cuaron direct. He's had a good track record of descent films. His most famous film was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It's one of the better Harry Potter films. He also did a film called Y tu Mama Tambien. It's one of Mexico's most widely recognized films. Every Mexican I ever met heard of it. A lot of people who study film have seen it.
This brings up the question of how to get good films in Hollywood. One way is to keep on descent people as part of creative teams. This is key to Disney's success. When they aquire a franchise, they keep the creative teams, as long as they continue to do well. This applies to Marvel, Pixar, the Muppets and Star Wars. As long as the creative teams are doing well, they keep them.
Another way to get descent films in Hollywood is big name directors. Studios are willing to take a risk on a big name director because their name will draw people in. This can be said of Inception. The studios knew that the name Christopher Nolan can draw in a crowd, so the studios gave him as much money as he needed for Inception.
On to m review of Gravity. It seems to remind me a bit of 2001: A Space Odyssey, in terms of how realistic it is and how it is paced. Here is what I will say about the pacing, it knows how to have a good action scene. The book The Screen writer's Bible says that a good action scene is a series of good news and bad news. Here is an example from Gravity.
Good News- Ryan's in the ISS.
Bad News- There is a fire.
Good News- She gets in the escape pod.
Bad news- It's stuck.
I like the terminology of good news and bad news. I think of it this way. Keep adding another complication as soon as the character gets past another complication.
The cinematography was very good. Earth was a great background. Much of he creativity was in terms of when the character was over the night side of Earth and the day side of Earth. The distance from Earth was also great. It was close enough that you knew that the character was hovering over the planet.
The characterization was rather unique. There are only two characters, Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney). A few other characters are heard over radios, but remain unseen. Matt is experienced, but not serious. Ryan is inexperienced but serious. Still, Matt acts as a mentor to Ryan. Of course, the mentor usually leaves the hero. This is when Matt floats off into space so that Ryan can live. This leaves Ryan to surviving without any help.
The most impressive part is the use of the mythological cycle. Ryan is deeply hurt and troubled by the loss of her daughter. She is reborn in the end as someone who can move on with life. The rebirth is at the end when Ryan starts walking on land. She actually looks like a child learning how to walk.
The image of rebirth is foreshadowed when Ryan first enters the international space station. She is in the fetal position. The door in the background is the circular womb. The oxygen tube is the umbilical cord. This shows that she is starting to develop. The time in the space stations, escape pods and water are her development.
There is even an instant of death and rebirth. Her death is when she lowers the oxygen in the escape pod. This sends her into the dream of Matt. The dream is where she realizes that she can move on. Her rebirth is when she re awakens and turns the oxygen back up.
This movie shows a clear cut example of a personal and situation plot together. The situation plot is the external situation that the protagonist is trying to deal with. The personal plot is the internal struggle of the protagonist. In this case the situation plot is being stranded in space. The personal plot is coping with the death of a daughter.
Gravity is a brilliant film because it tells a personal story in a suspenseful situation. It's unconventional with it's lack of characters. It could also be a career booster for Alfonso Cuaron.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Star Wars, women in film, and Christianity
In case you did not know, I love Star Wars. If you find yourself on the forums of TheForce.net and see posts by a guy named darthtuttle, that's me. I've been discussing Episode VII, which is under preproduction.
This link goes straight to one particular post, under the username darthtuttle. The text says:
Not my best writing. I don't edit when I post to message boards. You need some commentary to understand it:
This link goes straight to one particular post, under the username darthtuttle. The text says:
"I'm going to have to play the mythology card. Mythology is also strongly male. Joseph campbell talks about the hero as a male and mentions the meeting with the goddess. There are a few female protagonists. Now look at modern film. We have Mulan. No romance. The hunger games was good. I did not like it as much as anything with a male lead. Many people debate THG I don't know how gender difference in THG's fan base. Harry Potter has predominantly female fans, even though there is a male protagonist. It is possible to not isolate SW's male fan base. The feminine character is supposed to bring some type of balance. In the original plans, luke's sister (not Leia) was supposed to do that in the ST. I would like to see a male and female, both equally protagonists who use gender to bring balance to the Force and the newly created Jedi Order."
- Joseph Campbell wrote a book about the narrative structure and formula of mythology. The book is called The Hero with a Thousand Faces. The structure and formula is called the monomyth or hero's journey. Anyone who wants to create a story of any medium should read it.
- In his, book Campbell talks about the hero as a male. Most of the protagonists in mythology are male. In the same light, most modern film protagonists are male.
- There is a stage of the hero's journey called the meeting with the goddess. This comes up as the male protagonist having a close relationship with a female. This does not have to be a love interest. For Skywalker, it is his sister. For the Doctor, it is his current companion. He's traveled with other guys, but he always has at least one female companion. Even in a kid's story, a boy will often have a girl as a best friend.
- The goddess acts as a balance to the male protagonist. I like to call the goddess the feminine balance.
- The strong number of strong central male characters is fascinating. Clearly studios want to market to both genders. The population is about half male and half female. Yet different types of films appeal to different genders. Fantasy and science fiction often appeals mostly to males.
- If you look up feminist views on The Hunger Games, you will get conflicting interpretations of the series. The point here is to not provide an interpretation. I don't know the gender ratio of THG's fan base. It is written by a woman. What is fascinating is that Harry Potter, written by a female, has a male protagonist and has a mostly female following. In fact, while in college, I joined the Harry Potter club to meet girls. The publishers of Harry Potter published the books using the author's initial because they were afraid that guys would not buy a book written by a woman.
- Just as a heads up, the website empireonline.com actually measures audience enthusiasm for an upcoming film. It's not scientific but it's the best we've got. The website has an individual page for all of the upcoming films. Each page for an upcoming film has a poll asking about excitement towards an upcoming film. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has less enthusiasm than The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Wolverine.
Here is the point. Disney cannot upset the male fan base in Star Wars when they release Episode VII. Is it possible to have a female protagonist and be appealing to the male fan base? Possibly. Harry Potter proves that a franchise can appeal mainly to the gender opposite of its protagonist.
Someone wondered what I meant by "use gender" to bring balance to the force. It's all in the post following mine. He wonders why a female character cannot be a female character. The problem is that gender plays a role in narrative because of how gender reflect our desire for God.
The Bible says that God created man and woman in his image. Both genders represent different traits of God. Look at men, we are protectors and providers. We are the mentors.
Look at woman. Women are caring and nurturing. They give life and comfort us. God is actually both feminine and masculine. We just call Him a "he" because we have to use something other than "it".
When you have one gender, God is not fully represented. Both genders together fully represent God. This is how marriage works. You don't have to be a Christian to know that marriage is something special that should last forever. A child needs both a mom and a dad. This desire comes up in the movie The Parent Trap, which by the way was based on a German book called Das Doppelte Lotchen by Erich Kästner. It also shows up a good bit in the show Parenthood. As much as everyone on that show makes stupid, immoral decision in that show, the show does acknowledge the need for both parents.
As a single guy, I like the book In Search of a Help Meet by Michael Pearl. It acknowledges and validates a guy's desire for a wife. The author talks about how he did not feel complete without a wife. This is my feelings at times. A female is that image of God that I need in my life and it's not there.
This is why hard part about lonesome heroes. Batman gave up Catwoman in the comic book Hush. The Doctor doesn't keep his companions for very long. Rose Tyler leaving Doctor Who was one of the saddest moment in the history of television.
The point is this, gender in film is a big deal. This is because God created male and female with certain roles. The idea of traits and roles assigned to each gender shows up in narrative. George Lucas was planning the Star Wars sequels as early as the seventies. The original plan in the sequel trilogy was for Luke to find and train his sister. The sequel trilogy was canned and Lucas had Leia be Luke's sister. In an early draft to the Star Wars screen play, the protagonist was a female. Could we get a female protagonist in the sequel trilogy? Possibly, there should be an equal male protagonist. Together, they bring balance to the force, using the traits of their gender.
Since we are talking about women in film, here is a little surprise. It's a two part youtube video that those of you who grew up in the nineties might enjoy. Warning, it is sad, so you will need tissues. Here it is.
In Christ,
James Tuttle
Someone wondered what I meant by "use gender" to bring balance to the force. It's all in the post following mine. He wonders why a female character cannot be a female character. The problem is that gender plays a role in narrative because of how gender reflect our desire for God.
The Bible says that God created man and woman in his image. Both genders represent different traits of God. Look at men, we are protectors and providers. We are the mentors.
Look at woman. Women are caring and nurturing. They give life and comfort us. God is actually both feminine and masculine. We just call Him a "he" because we have to use something other than "it".
When you have one gender, God is not fully represented. Both genders together fully represent God. This is how marriage works. You don't have to be a Christian to know that marriage is something special that should last forever. A child needs both a mom and a dad. This desire comes up in the movie The Parent Trap, which by the way was based on a German book called Das Doppelte Lotchen by Erich Kästner. It also shows up a good bit in the show Parenthood. As much as everyone on that show makes stupid, immoral decision in that show, the show does acknowledge the need for both parents.
As a single guy, I like the book In Search of a Help Meet by Michael Pearl. It acknowledges and validates a guy's desire for a wife. The author talks about how he did not feel complete without a wife. This is my feelings at times. A female is that image of God that I need in my life and it's not there.
This is why hard part about lonesome heroes. Batman gave up Catwoman in the comic book Hush. The Doctor doesn't keep his companions for very long. Rose Tyler leaving Doctor Who was one of the saddest moment in the history of television.
The point is this, gender in film is a big deal. This is because God created male and female with certain roles. The idea of traits and roles assigned to each gender shows up in narrative. George Lucas was planning the Star Wars sequels as early as the seventies. The original plan in the sequel trilogy was for Luke to find and train his sister. The sequel trilogy was canned and Lucas had Leia be Luke's sister. In an early draft to the Star Wars screen play, the protagonist was a female. Could we get a female protagonist in the sequel trilogy? Possibly, there should be an equal male protagonist. Together, they bring balance to the force, using the traits of their gender.
Since we are talking about women in film, here is a little surprise. It's a two part youtube video that those of you who grew up in the nineties might enjoy. Warning, it is sad, so you will need tissues. Here it is.
In Christ,
James Tuttle
Sunday, June 16, 2013
The Spirituality of Man of Steel
So my dad and I saw Man of Steel in Imax 3D. It was good. Henry Cavill's Superman was easier to connect with that Christopher Reeve's Superman. Some people didn't like it because the tone was different than that of a typical Superman film. Look, it was a good movie anyway. Anytime a franchise film comes out, you have people who have expectations of how it should be exactly like the original source. It ends up ruining the movie for them.
One fair criticism was that the action was a bit dragged out. The pace of the action was fast. The pacing for the action is actually more realistic since Superan and the villains are faster than a speeding bullet.
It starts with a great prologue. The planet Krypton is about to implode. Jor El is trying to send his newborn son, Kal El, to safety. Meanwhile a Kryptonian named General Zod is leading a coup again the leaders of Krypton. Jor sends his son safely to Earth.
Kal El is raised in Kansas under the name Clark Kent. He wants to help others but it is a danger to reveal his powers. Zod comes to Earth and Kal El must defeat him.
As good as the movieis, I would like to discuss some spiritual points. Remember, the deepest desires in film reflect our desire for God. First of all, Superman is an example of a Christ figure. Like Christ, he is from another world and represents the ideas of that world. In a way, he brings Krypton to Earth.
This is similar how Christ comes from Heaven. As he preached, he said that the Kingdom of Heaven was here. He showed love, healed the sick, extended grace and so much more.
In a way Superman's calling is ours. Superman was sent to Earth to reflect his father's heritage and ideals. God is our Father. He sent us to Earth to reflect Him. Just as Superman had powers, we have superpowers powers from God. I'm good at video production. My mom has a good understanding of people. Other people are good at staying organized. We develop our super powers so that God can use them.
Another issue is free will. The planet Krypton artificially creates it's people. Each person is created and raised for a specific role. Jor El decides to have Kryptons fist natural born child in years. This is to give the child free will to choose his destiny.
Similarly God gives us free will. Well, God designed us with a purpose. Our purpose is to be in a relationship with Him and reflect Him. However, God gives us free will. He can choose God and his purpose in life or we can reject God and his purpose in his life.
All in all, Man of Steel is a descent movie. Don't bother with the 3D. The movement is too fast for the 3D. In the movie, deep spiritual issues pop up.
In Christ,
James Tuttle
One fair criticism was that the action was a bit dragged out. The pace of the action was fast. The pacing for the action is actually more realistic since Superan and the villains are faster than a speeding bullet.
It starts with a great prologue. The planet Krypton is about to implode. Jor El is trying to send his newborn son, Kal El, to safety. Meanwhile a Kryptonian named General Zod is leading a coup again the leaders of Krypton. Jor sends his son safely to Earth.
Kal El is raised in Kansas under the name Clark Kent. He wants to help others but it is a danger to reveal his powers. Zod comes to Earth and Kal El must defeat him.
As good as the movieis, I would like to discuss some spiritual points. Remember, the deepest desires in film reflect our desire for God. First of all, Superman is an example of a Christ figure. Like Christ, he is from another world and represents the ideas of that world. In a way, he brings Krypton to Earth.
This is similar how Christ comes from Heaven. As he preached, he said that the Kingdom of Heaven was here. He showed love, healed the sick, extended grace and so much more.
In a way Superman's calling is ours. Superman was sent to Earth to reflect his father's heritage and ideals. God is our Father. He sent us to Earth to reflect Him. Just as Superman had powers, we have superpowers powers from God. I'm good at video production. My mom has a good understanding of people. Other people are good at staying organized. We develop our super powers so that God can use them.
Another issue is free will. The planet Krypton artificially creates it's people. Each person is created and raised for a specific role. Jor El decides to have Kryptons fist natural born child in years. This is to give the child free will to choose his destiny.
Similarly God gives us free will. Well, God designed us with a purpose. Our purpose is to be in a relationship with Him and reflect Him. However, God gives us free will. He can choose God and his purpose in life or we can reject God and his purpose in his life.
All in all, Man of Steel is a descent movie. Don't bother with the 3D. The movement is too fast for the 3D. In the movie, deep spiritual issues pop up.
In Christ,
James Tuttle
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