Doctor Strange (2016)

analysis
#1

Hey all, I’ve wanted to talk about this film for a long time. The problem is, all my attempts at determining a storyform have fallen short. I have a feeling that there are multiple key story elements left unexplored and undefined, leaving this to be an incomplete storyform. However, I just can’t get away from this film. I’ve watched it at least five times and I’d still say it’s my favorite Marvel film.

I don’t know if this is quite possible, but would anyone like to wager at what this film lacks? And whether any of the through lines are well developed?

I think what makes this film most compelling is what seems to be a strong emphasis on Morality and it’s counterpoint Self Interest. And what appears to be an OS/MC problem of Temptation. Maybe that’s the only reason I like it so much.

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#2

I remember having a lot of fun watching this in the theater. My brother loves this movie and has seen it a bunch of times.

I see it has three credited writers, which might be part of the problem.

I think we’d agree OS is Evil Sorceror trying to summon Dormammu to end all death. MC is Stephen.

Where do you see the IC throughline? I could see Rachel McAdams and Tilda Swinton, maybe? They both have that “It’s not all about you” perspective.

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#3

Just wanted to hop back on and say re-watched this evening and I think there is a storyform here.

The RS is the weak link here, but the MC / OS problem and solution seemed super clear to me and I think there’s enough to determine author’s intent. :thumbsup:

ETA:

Here is what I came up with for a storyform. I think it’s really strong.

The things I picked up on when re-watching were:

The movie definitely has a Z-Pattern in the OS. The first half is all in Kamar-taj and then almost exactly in the middle of the film Kaecilius snatches the book and all the action breaks out.

Stephen is most definitely a stop character. HUGE chip on his shoulder. All of his personal stuff is about his accident and his hands being permanently handicapped. Definitely a Universe problem.

Stephen is all about progress. The very first scene after the hospital he wants to know when they can operate again. He snaps in Physical Therapy because he’s not getting better. He throws himself into his training, trying to learn everything he can about magic. Hell, even his car wreck is caused by trying to get around the cars that are slowing him down.

A lot is made about Stephen being able to retain facts. I figured his unique ability would have something to do with that.

Influence Character is some combination of Mordo and The Ancient One. I realized they had different flavors of a similar thing. Ancient One believes that the rules can be bent, Mordo is rigid about staying withing the natural order. Also, Ancient One says something along the lines of “We never get rid of our demons, we just learn to live with them”. All of that seemed to point toward Accurate (or tolerating).

I can’t remember if it’s explicitly stated, but the mentor/mentee relationship between Strange and the Ancient One seems to be about preparing Stephen to assume her role as Sorcerer Supreme after her death.

I think the issues in the OS are less to do with Self-Interest and Morality and more to do with Wisdom / Enlightenment. Kaecillius and his group are rejecting the teaching of the Ancient One and looking beyond human understanding for answers. Their eyes are a symbol of a twisted enlightenment. They’ve seen things beyond human comprehension.

There is a scene with Stephen and Christine that I think summarizes Stephen’s change. I don’t have the dialogue on hand, but it’s something to do with “I thought the accident was the end, now I see it can be the beginning.”

I always thought the coolest thing in the movie was how Stephen defeats Dormammu by creating an infinite time loop. I knew that had to be part of the storyform. Going with what I stated about Stephen’s change made it click for me.

  • Ending -> Unending

Even better when you realize that Kaecillius and his group are locked in the Dark Realm for all eternity. :smile:

With that, here’s the story engine settings I came up with:

Character Dynamics

  • Changed
  • Stop
  • Do-er
  • Linear

Plot Dynamics

  • Action
  • Optionlock
  • Success
  • Good

Overall Story

  • Physics
  • Doing
  • Enlightenment
  • Ending
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#4

Awesome! I really appreciate hearing from you. Every time I attempt to analyze this film I end up with a huge wall of text that’s far too indecipherable to share.

What you’ve said so far definitely makes sense. My only question is where the whole “it’s not about you” piece comes in to play in the storyform. You mentioned the ending (which is totally the best part of the film) and I think the intention behind that scene was for Stephen to change from a self interested jerk to then giving of himself entirely in order to protect others. I’m not sure if a shift from Unending to Ending really encapsulates the change that’s occurring at the root of that moment (but I could be wrong).

The film also seems to lose focus on the OS a quarter of the way through. If the story is really about preventing Dormammu from arriving… they really don’t do much to pursue that goal until the end. And the antagonist only gets two scenes before the second half of the film.

Plus, if Stephen has protagonistic role, he’s awfully reluctant. Which again makes me think that his self interest ties into the storyform somehow. Why is he reluctant to fight against Kaecilius? Because he’s self-interested! He just wants to make sure that he’ll be able to return to being a doctor in the future, not join a fight to serve the greater good.

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#5

No problem! i was really excited about this because this is the first time a storyform really jumped out for me. :grin:

I’d argue that it feels really light on OS for the whole first half. It’s like Kaecillius steals the pages then it’s basically all Kamar-taj stuff until the midpoint when it goes from all the training stuff (Understanding / Learning) to the actually fighting to save earth (Doing / Obtaining)

He’s reluctant to become a sorcerer. He wants to learn enough that he can fix his hands and go back to his old life.

I think self-interested jerk is the right idea, but not in a Self-Interest / Morality way. More of a big-headed, egotistical way. He jumps right in to operate on the patient with the bullet in the head. Of course, he has to make sure everyone knows how stupid they are while he does it.

He’s choosy about who he operates on, trying to maintain a perfect streak of surgeries. But that isn’t causing him grief. He’s not struggling with that personally.

He sees the guard at the New York Sanctum die and then stands up to Kaecillius. He could’ve thrown his hands up and said “I’m new here. I think this is all bullsh-t. Take anything you want, just don’t hurt me”, but he fights.

Like I said before I think IC is Ancient One / Mordo, but there’s also some handoff with Pangborn and Christine in the first act.

Short answer, there’s a lot of stuff in the IC throughline that could be!

  • Domain: Mind (lose the ego)
  • Concern: Preconscious (stop fighting and give yourself over to the universe)
  • Issue: Worth (stop evaluating things according to how they’ll make you look)
  • Focus: Result / Direction: Process (it’s not about fixing your hands, it’s about being of service to the world)
  • Benchmark: Conscious (think of others instead of only yourself)
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#6

I haven’t seen it in a while but Strange seems very results oriented to me. He only takes surgeries that he knows will make him look good, he’s displeased with the results of his own hand surgery, he’s baffled at how that one guy can walk after his back injury or whatever, and he’s seeking out this miracle explanation for how to make people walk again and such.

And the thing he does with Dormamu is repeating, but it does end, doesn’t it? I don’t remember how, but I mean dormamu isn’t stuck in that cycle at the end, is he? Seems to me like they could be relating a process over and over in order to get the result they’re looking for.

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#7

I think this has more to do with his trust/test symptom and response.

  • “There’s nothing more we can do” “We can do experimental surgery. Use me as a guinea pig.”

  • “A guy who was paralyzed started walking again.” “Bullsh-t. Show me the file”

  • “You’re not ready for those spells” “Try me.”

It ends with Kaecilius and his followers being trapped in the Dark Realm for eternity. :smile:

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#8

Just wanted to add that switching to Result / Process changes the MC Issues to Security / Threat and the IC Issues to Confidence / Worry which both feel off.

I think Fantasy / Fact work way better for a man of science who has to turn to mysticism for answers.

Worth / Value are better for the IC perspective of “there are more meaningful things than propping up your own ego”.

But I like being wrong, because then I (and anyone down the line who reads this) can learn something. :slight_smile:

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#9

Watching it again on Disney+. So many great Dramatica moments in this one i’d forgotten. There’s a whole scene almost dedicated to laying out a case for Problem Solving style.

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#10

I remember thinking it didn’t have a storyform the first time I saw it. Whoops.

I was thinking of the storyform I landed on and the RS and the Proven / Unproven elements.

Mentorship:

  • “I’m not ready”
  • “It’s okay. No one ever is”

Ex-Lovers:

  • “We’ve tried and it will never work”
  • Watch inscription: “Time will tell how much I love you”

So cool.

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#11

Found an interview with Scott Derrickson (writer/director) that I think is interesting in the context of Dramatica.

Finding a storyform allows you to look into the mind of the author and see where they are coming from. I’ve only read the first part, but I thought this was a super interesting insight into where they were coming from with the MC / IC throughline (even if they weren’t aware of it!)

Emphasis mine:

Yes, for Doctor Strange what matters is his scarred hands … his broken hands are the image of his identity loss. I’ve gone through the experience of having my identity shattered and what I believed was my livelihood shattered. And it’s quite a thing to find yourself unable to continue forward, identifying yourself the way you did in the past and being forced to redefine yourself. That becomes an inherently spiritual endeavor. At least it was for me.

I think in Stephen Strange’s case it was absolutely necessary because his identity was wrapped up entirely in a materialistic perspective. And the loss of the material use of his hands put an end to his value system, which was materialistic to use two different terms. I love that. I think that trauma does that. It dislodges you and forces you to redefine yourself, to reckon with things you otherwise wouldn’t.

In my observation of the world, there are two paths. One of them leads you toward becoming worse and one toward you becoming better. To become worse is to run to false comforts like physical substances — food, alcohol, drugs — or a pale imitation of some other identity that can replace your old one. Those are all trips backwards: receding, deteriorating, the antithesis of growth.

The other option is to move forward and see if there is more to life than status and occupation and income and that’s what happens to Strange. He has to ultimately reevaluate all of that. And he is able to because he has good teachers and finds himself in a community that tells him that even when his hands were working just fine, he didn’t get it. He was coming from the wrong place entirely. Without significant loss he couldn’t have seen that.

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#12

I purposely waited until Disney+ so I wouldn’t have to pay extra for it!

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