SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
LINK TO ANALYSIS: http://dramatica.com/analysis/the-silence-of-the-lambs
From what I seem to be understanding here is the Main Character unique ability gives them the one key piece that is important to solving the story goal with OUTCOME of SUCCESS .
And the Main Character Critical Flaw is what undermines this unique ability. (These points connect MC to OS throughline)
Based on the encoding of the storyform for ‘Silence of the Lambs’
I’m at a loss.
The example written in the comprehensive analysis seems to be making a case that her Critical Flaw is undermining her ability to end the story with a JUDGEMENT - GOOD.
But that ISN’T the point of the Critical Flaw…right? I thought it was to undermine MC Unique ability to solve the story problem OUTCOME - SUCCESS/FAILURE and not about judgement.
How does Clarice’s Critical Flaw of ‘FANTASY’ I.E of ending the screaming lambs undermine her ability to solve the case and catch Buffalo Bill (Story Goal)? I thought that is what DRIVES her. Makes the Story successful.
THIS IS WHAT DRAMATICA OFFICIALLY STATES:
Main Character Critical Flaw: FANTASY - Quoted Text Below -
“While Clarice succeeds in saving the Senator’s daughter from becoming part of Buffalo Bill’s wardrobe, her fantasy that this will liberate her from the screaming of the lambs remains unfulfilled:
LECTER: You still wake up sometimes, don’t you? Wake up in the dark, and hear the screaming of the lambs?
CLARICE: Yes…
LECTER: Do you think if you saved poor Catherine, you could make them stop, don’t you? You think if Catherine lives… you won’t wake up in the dark ever again… to that awful screaming of the lambs…
CLARICE: I don’t know… I don’t know…”
OFFICIAL DEFINITION - BOLD PARTS FOR SAKE OF ARGUMENT
Main Character’s Unique ability – [Variation] – the quality that makes The Main Character uniquely qualified to solve the story’s problem/achieve the goal – Just as a requirement defines the specific nature of things needed to achieve a particular goal, Unique Ability defines the specific quality needed to meet the requirement. Unique Ability is another way in which the Main Character is identified as the intersecting point between the Main vs. Impact Throughline and the Overall Story Throughline stories as it is only he who ultimately has what it takes to meet the test of the requirement and thereby achieve the goal. The Unique Ability need not be anything extraordinary but must be the one crucial quality required that is shared by no one else. Frequently,
the Unique Ability is in keeping with the Main character’s position or profession, however it can be much more interesting to assign an incongruous Unique Ability. In either approach, it is essential to
illustrate the existence of the Unique Ability in the Main Character several times throughout the story, even if it is not employed until the climax. In this way, it becomes integrated into the nature of the Main Character and does not seem conveniently tacked on when it is ultimately needed. Also, the Unique Ability can be extremely mundane. The key is that the ability does not have to be unique by nature, but just possessed uniquely in that specific story by the Main Character. Clever storytelling may arrange the climax of the story
so that some completely ordinary and insignificant
Unique Ability makes the difference in the outcome of a
cosmic struggle
CRITICAL FLAW
Main Character’s Critical Flaw – [Variation] – the quality that undermines The Main Character’s efforts – To balance the Main Character’s extraordinary status conveyed by his Unique Ability, he must also be shown to be especially vulnerable in one area as well. This vulnerability is called his Critical Flaw. The Main Character’s Critical Flaw is his Achilles heel that prevents him from being too one-sided. Just as with Unique Ability, the Critical Flaw can be quite mundane as long as it can threaten him with failure from an unprotectable direction. The specific Critical Flaw must be unique to the Main Character in the story. However, the more common the Critical Flaw is to the audience, the more it will identify with the Main Character’s predicament. In Start stories, the Critical Flaw inhibits the Main Character from using his Unique Ability. In Stop stories, the Critical Flaw undoes work done by the Unique Ability after the fact. Only when the Main Character learns to either Start or Stop as required by the story can the Critical Flaw be avoided, allowing his Unique Ability to solve the problem