Contextual Subgenres

Greg · October 8, 2018, 5:51pm

First, I originally said I agreed that you were looking at another version of Hearts Desire stories and then realized you were pointing out Four Weddings as a negative version of Hearts Desire because he was running. That said, I’m not clear on the ‘struggling with their fears’ description. I’m familiar with Zombieland, but it’s been way too long since I’ve seen City Slickers. How do you see Columbus struggling with his fears? It’s not that he’s running from them or trying to pursue them in an attempt to overcome them, right? And he’s not being encouraged to change them or having to deal with some newly reawakened fear. So he just kind of is afraid, right? His dealing with it is just being prepared to handle the situation when something happens, and that’s why he has all his rules. So that might fit in what I’m thinking would be a fourth category.

Did you see any stories that deal with characters that struggle because they don’t know what they want and that’s where their problems come from? Like someone who doesn’t know what they want makes a bad choice or is unable to make a choice until they find out what they want?

Or maybe they do know what they want and knowing what they want causes an issue? Just off the top of my head, I’m thinking (and I don’t think this is a GAS, and if it is I don’t know the storyform so maybe not a great example) Hermey the elf on the Rudolph movie. He has a passion for dentistry and this causes all the other elves to make fun of him. I guess that could be a negative of an Encouragment story if they were actively trying to discourage him from being a dentist, but I don’t think they are. I think they’re just making fun of him for wanting to.

It could also be that someone is hiding what they want. The easiest off the top of my head example would be a character that’s gay but doesn’t want anyone else to know. Or maybe something like an older man with a love for a children’s cartoon about ponies who doesn’t want to admit it.

jhay · October 9, 2018, 8:23am

Well, that one’s tough because it depends on how you look at it. It kind of illustrates the issue I’m having separating this fourth subgenre from the others: is he running from his heart’s desire, or is he afraid of commitment? It straddles a fine line.

That’s right. He’s basically afraid of everything. From girls to clowns, everything just seems to be there to frighten him, so he creates these rules to try and deal with it.

The second defines something like Brokeback Mountain, which again felt very close to a Heart’s Desire (he wants Jake Gyllenhaal) but it didn’t feel quite right, given his kind of resistance to it.

I’d also say that the first could define Four Weddings slightly better than my above attempt – to quote the Dramatica analysis: “Charles is driven by emotions that he cannot fully understand.”

That’s a very well-reasoned theory, @Greg. I think you might have found the fourth. I’ll give it a little thought, but I think you have it there.

The outright fears stuff, I think, would be an inverse of the heart’s desire perhaps – avoiding their inner fears.

jhay · October 12, 2018, 11:56am

Quick update:

I have a lot of work this month, so Universe will be rescheduled for December. Sorry about that, but on the bright side: it’s a great Christmas gift? And it’ll give me some time to do it properly.

Happy Friday!

samuelogeda · October 12, 2018, 3:29pm

that’s alright, it gives me time to process the subgenre list you’ve come up with already.

Khodu · October 13, 2018, 10:53am

@jhay For you? Take a year - DON’T!
But I truly appreciate your hard work. It’s a contribution that will help most of us throughout our writing careers. God bless you man. Great work!

pattyloof · October 16, 2018, 4:19pm

ETA: I’m really enjoying your work!!

If it helps at all, my most recent book had a Consequence of Memories. We discussed it briefly here.

The OS was a trial of a private eye framed for a crime she didn’t commit. If she failed to be acquitted, people would only remember her as the person who did the crime.

I just realized there would have been a more basic memory: that the crime syndicate she was backed by could be beaten.

(as you can tell, this is noir)

Khodu · November 21, 2018, 4:49pm

Hi everyone. Hi @jhay. It’s your no1 fan .Been a while since I’ve been here. I hope the final lap hasn’t been too stressful? Looking forward to you completing the quad with your take on Universe. Really pumped! ETA is first week of December still ?

As always, thank you so much for your great work.

jhay · November 21, 2018, 10:32pm

Hi no 1 fan! ETA has shifted (very) slightly: after the first week, but before Christmas! Trying to fit in some movies between work things, but it’ll be with you between that period for sure!

Khodu · November 22, 2018, 8:07am

That’s splendid @jhay. Excellent Christmas gift to the community. Your work is worth the wait good Sir. Godspeed.

jhay · December 4, 2018, 7:48pm

Hey, guys.

Just thought I’d throw out a little thing while you’re all waiting patiently for me to man up and watch The Exorcist again. I (very quickly) put together a couple of videos illustrating the Becoming subgenres in their respective movies, inspired by Jim’s awesome character arc videos and stuff.

At the minute, I can’t edit my above posts so I’m gonna start looking for somewhere to keep all of this that I can edit. But on Vimeo, I can replace the video at least, so I can make some alterations for those that might not be right (I think the Brooklyn clip is from the wrong domain, but I couldn’t find a better clip, so that’ll probably change when I eventually see it).

Hopefully, this will help you see the differences a little more clearly between the three (although Social Change is still light, but I think I have a second example for that one – just have to watch to double check). The biggest one being: Makeover stories ALWAYS announce their goal, Evolution stories rarely do (or, at least, do it indirectly).*

Like I said, these were pretty rushed, but if they help in any way, I’ll look into doing them for the others after I’ve finished up with Universe. Any notes are welcomed.

BECOMING AS GOAL: MAKEOVER

BECOMING AS GOAL: ACTIVISM

BECOMING AS GOAL: SOCIAL CHANGE

*which makes them a nightmare to find clips for (particularly for Richard Curtis movies)…

Lakis · December 5, 2018, 1:56am

This is absolutely fantastic @jhay. Thanks again for your hard work on this. I predict this will be extremely useful for a lot of people.

Yes! It would be great to have this all somewhere in a more easily referencable form at some point. Do you have a website of your own?

Khodu · December 5, 2018, 8:07am

@jhay . This is pure Love! So amazing bro! Most grateful for your hard work and dedication to helping the community. Bless you Sir.

jhay · December 8, 2018, 11:52am

Couple quick updates:

The videos have been updated with better clips, some new movies, some old ones taken out. The Makeover one is a more reasonable length (5 mins), and the clips have been shortened to 30-35 seconds for convenience.
Social Change is now “Activism”, as that term is a bit more flexible in terms of creativity.
I had to redefine what the subgenres were a little bit, because the movies were getting lost between them. Brokeback Mountain certainly did not feel like it fit in Makeover once you actually watched the movie (I think it’s probably in that fourth, unknown spot), and The 40-Year-Old Virgin’s goal actually extends to all four of the leading men (all of whom have to become more mature), so it’s more of an evolutionary goal than a makeover goal. My next job after the Universe subgenres is to write exactly how to differentiate between each subgenre, so that will no doubt help everyone identify their stories much quicker.

At the moment, no. And I can’t see myself being able to afford to keep one up and running for the foreseeable future, so at the moment, that is an option only if I can find a relatively cheap one. I’ll start looking after Christmas, and see what happens.

mlucas · December 8, 2018, 5:41pm

You could always try a free site like Blogger or Google Sites to start off, and migrate to your own domain later…

Prish · December 8, 2018, 10:44pm

An art class that I took at a state university, two years ago, had the students start their own website as part of a class assignment, and they recommended Squarespace and some others. Squarespace was simple and affordable for me. Ask art departments for even cheaper options. Sometimes, there are specials for a year or so, too.

samuelogeda · December 21, 2018, 6:14am

@jhay Me and another friend of mine are creating vertical graphics based on your insights. I’ll update the list as time goes on.

jhay · December 24, 2018, 3:57pm

Presenting the Universe quad! This one was quite tough, in terms of finding a way to describe them that would separate them from the other domains. I think this will be the one that will go through the most changes as I start to understand it a little bit more, but for the moment, these are my findings.

Consequences will be coming soon (quite hard to research with limited Mind stories), but for now, I hope you enjoy these and have a very happy Christmas, one and all!

Universe

##Future
As a Concern/Goal

INNOCENCE STORIES: stories where characters are being wrongly punished or blamed for things they were not responsible for.

The Innocence Story frequently deals with a wrongful determination, such as an award-winning artist being falsely accused of plagiarism, or a non-profit organisation being wrongly blamed for terrorist acts. Saving the future of a wrongly accused man in His Girl Friday; proving the innocence of The Fugitive, and seeking a life as a free man in The Shawshank Redemption all explore the difficulties in handling false or inaccurate blame.

OS EXAMPLES: The Fugitive; His Girl Friday; The Shawshank Redemption.
MC EXAMPLES: To be confirmed.
DYNAMIC PAIR: To be confirmed.

–

STABILITY STORIES: stories where characters seek a state of stability in a volatile situation.

The Stability Story often deals with the pursuit of stability in an otherwise unstable or untenable situation, such as a collapsing government fighting for a more united future, or a spinster looking for her ideal happy ending. Helping Juno find a future for her unborn child; seeking a happy future out of Bridget Jones’s Diary, and Auntie Mame seeking stability for her nephew all explore the experience of searching for stability in turbulent times.

OS EXAMPLES: Auntie Mame; Boyz N The Hood; Bridget Jones’s Diary; The Glass Menagerie; The Graduate; Juno; Pride and Prejudice; Sula; Washington Square
MC EXAMPLES: All About Eve; Enchanted; Erin Brockovich; Kingsman: The Secret Service; Kramer vs. Kramer; Moonstruck; The Palm Beach Story; Pretty Woman; Shrek; Terms of Endearment; The Palm Beach Story
DYNAMIC PAIR: Saviour stories, stories where characters are seeking to protect or save a new future for themselves or others.

–

SAVIOUR STORIES: stories where characters are seeking to protect or save a new future for themselves or others.

The Saviour Story is one in which characters attempt to protect or save the future of themselves or others, such as a young babysitter seeking to ensure the future safety of homeless children, or a chef looking to environmentalism to save the planet. Trying to protect the future of a casino in The Cooler, and helping The Exorcist save the future of a possessed girl both explore the challenges faced when attempting to protect or save a future for oneself or others.

OS EXAMPLES: The Cooler; The Exorcist.
MC EXAMPLES: Back to the Future; Captain America: Civil War; The Matrix; Moana; Thor: Ragnarok.
DYNAMIC PAIR: Stability stories, stories where characters seek a state of stability in a volatile situation.

#Past
As a Concern/Goal

CHRONICLE STORIES: stories where characters attempt to uncover or piece together something that happened in the past.

The Chronicle Story frequently deals with an attempt to dig up or uncover something previously unknown about the past, such as a young nun digging up the hidden origins of her mother’s mysterious orphanage, or an experienced lawyer uncovering the genetic roots of his strange family. Digging up the secret behind The Prestige; helping Ida dig up the past, and discovering one’s roots when Everything is Illuminated all explore the difficulties that come with uncovering the past.

OS EXAMPLES: Chinatown; Everything is Illuminated; Ida; The Omen; The Prestige; The Yellow Birds.
MC EXAMPLES: Dark City; Klute; Kubo and the Two Strings.
DYNAMIC PAIR: To be confirmed.

–

WOUND STORIES: stories where characters attempt to heal or erase the wounds of their personal history.

The Wound Story often deals with the efforts to heal or remove the painful wounds of one’s past, such as a widow seeking to erase all evidence of her former husband, or a former extremist trying to move beyond his criminal history. Attempting to erase all trace of the first Rebecca, trying to help a family through previous estrangements In Her Shoes, and building a Field of Dreams to help others through their personal wounds all explore the experience of healing one’s past trauma.

OS EXAMPLES: The Big Chill; Field of Dreams; In Her Shoes; Rebecca; The Piano Lesson; Tender Mercies.
MC EXAMPLES: Eat Drink Man Woman; Flightplan; Invasion of the Body Snatchers; Just Like Heaven; Scream; The Sun Also Rises; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
DYNAMIC PAIR: To be confirmed.

#Present
As a Concern/Goal

STATUS QUO STORIES: stories where characters seek to protect or overhaul the status quo.

The Status Quo Story frequently deals with the effort to overhaul or protect the way things are, such as climate scientists advocating for the protection of a climate act, or a female employee seeking to overturn sexist policies in the workplace. The Counterfeiters maintaining the current state of Nazi Germany, and trying to protect the Planet of the Apes from human interference both explore the difficulties that come with attempting to protect or overhaul the status quo.

OS EXAMPLES: The Counterfeiters; Planet of the Apes (Humans as Antagonists).
MC EXAMPLES: To be confirmed.
DYNAMIC PAIR: Existence stories, stories where characters attempt to deal with or break free from an unsatisfactory or unfulfilling existence.

–

EXISTENCE STORIES: stories where characters attempt to deal with or break free from an unsatisfactory or unfulfilling existence.

The Existence Story often deals with the efforts to deal with or break free from an existence that is determined to be unfulfilling, such as a group of cult members forbidden from leaving the building, or an aspiring newscaster forced to cover the mundane and ‘dull’ news. Allowing a father to live his life as he sees fit in Ally McBeal is an exploration of the experience of trying to thrive in an unfulfilling existence.

OS EXAMPLES: Ally McBeal.
MC EXAMPLES: Groundhog Day; How to Train Your Dragon; Lady Bird; Ratatouille; Spider-Man: Homecoming; Wreck-It Ralph.
DYNAMIC PAIR: Status Quo stories, stories where characters seek to protect or overhaul the status quo.

–

SURVIVAL STORIES: stories where characters attempt to survive day-to-day in an unfamiliar or hostile situation.

The Survival Story is one in which characters attempt to survive day-to-day in an unfamiliar or otherwise hostile situation, such as a group of wilderness experts attempting to make it through a war zone, or a single mother tasked with taking her sons camping. Surviving a civil war in Hotel Rwanda; making it through an unfamiliar world while Spirited Away, and ensuring that The Contender survives a witch hunt all explore the challenges faced when attempting to survive an unfamiliar situation.

OS EXAMPLES: Hotel Rwanda; Lord of the Flies; Planet of the Apes (Humans as Protagonists); Spirited Away; The Contender; The Shape of Water.
MC EXAMPLES: Coco; In the Heat of the Night; The Descendants.
DYNAMIC PAIR: To be confirmed.

#Progress
As a Concern/Goal

MOVEMENT STORIES: stories where characters work to progress or regress on a chosen path.

The Movement Story frequently deals with the effort to move forward or backward on a given path, such as a group of journalists fighting to climb the corporate ladder, or a corrupt politician working to regress his country’s social system into classes. Using The Apartment to climb the ranks; helping a Platoon make some progress in the war, and being a Taxi Driver seeking to clean up the filthy streets all explore the difficulties that come with seeking out progress.

OS EXAMPLES: The Apartment; Inside Man; Platoon; Taxi Driver.
MC EXAMPLES: Black Swan; Creed; Eddie the Eagle; My Fair Lady; The Devil Wears Prada; Tootsie.
DYNAMIC PAIR: Constant stories, stories where characters actively try to prevent progress being made in a given scenario.

–

CONSTANT STORIES: stories where characters actively try to prevent progress being made in a given scenario.

The Constant Story often deals with the efforts to prevent progress being made, such as a lawyer seeking to prevent the progress of a lawsuit targeting his client, or a world leader’s aides attempting to prevent the progress of an impending war. Trying to prevent the progress toward a war deemed Fair Game, and trying to prevent the spread of a cult in Wild Wild Country both illustrate the experience of preventing progress.

OS EXAMPLES: Fair Game; Wild Wild Country.
MC EXAMPLES: To be confirmed.
DYNAMIC PAIR: Movement stories, stories where characters work to progress or regress on a chosen path.

RailwayAdventurer · December 25, 2018, 2:12am

A perfect Christmas gift! Thanks so much for doing this!

Khodu · December 25, 2018, 12:15pm

What a gift! Merry Christmas @jhay , and everyone as well. Thanks so much for all the great work you’ve done on this. Wonderful!!

Khodu · December 25, 2018, 12:58pm

Just going through it. I LOVE the Stability label. Looking for a stable “state” in the Future just clicks for me.

For Movement stories -from the MC examples- I noticed a common theme(not the Issue ) . They’re all in line with “proving” to oneself or others that they can handle something.

I’m still looking through. Marvellous work Sir.