I’m not disputing your expertise at all. In fact, I’m not even disputing whether your assessment is correct. My point is that if the underlying structure of a movie or book can be determined without watching it, then I don’t see the value in the framework used to derive that analysis.
The love is, of course, mutual. And you may be entirely correct – that I can’t attain the objectivity from the experience of the story to tell the true nature of conflict from Dramatica’s point of view. Here’s the thing, though: As a writer, I can’t find utility in that analysis.
I was reading your analysis of Raiders of the Lost Arc yesterday, and I’m not going to dispute its accuracy from a Dramatica standpoint, but I’ll bet you can guess the two places where – whether correct or not – it deviates so far from what a person takes away from that movie that I can’t see how it’s useful.
Totally agree.
Also agree with this. That’s why I think it’s kind of secondary to me whether there’s “one true storyform” or not. I’ve never been able to get much use out of those analyses of films in my own work directly, but seeing the ways in which they don’t make sense with my experience of the story – that disconnect – is helpful in sparking ideas for new scenes and new stories and new perspectives.
Which is what I like about Dramatica – and you!