# Flavor of top left prerequisites, requirements, forewarnings, preconditions **URL:** \ **Category:** Dramatica Theory\ **Created:** [September 28, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/flavor-of-top-left-prerequisites-requirements-forewarnings-preconditions/2623 "2019-09-28T17:18:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![didomachiatto](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/didomachiatto/32/1937_2.png) [@didomachiatto](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/didomachiatto)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/flavor-of-top-left-prerequisites-requirements-forewarnings-preconditions/2623/1 "2019-09-28T17:18:18Z")
How do the quadrants affect the story? I realize stories in different quadrants carry a flavor, but what flavor in particular, do these additional static plot points carry according to quadrant? In particular, I’ve pulled back my choices to some options and was wondering how it slants the story. ---
**Author:** ![jhull](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/jhull/32/3_2.png) [@jhull](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/jhull)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/flavor-of-top-left-prerequisites-requirements-forewarnings-preconditions/2623/2 "2019-09-28T20:09:24Z")
For me it seems like: - Knowledge feels heavy - Ability feels light and fun as if tumbling through space - Desire feels focused - Thought feels ponderous Totally subjective take on it but that’s how they feel to me. ---
**Author:** ![didomachiatto](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/didomachiatto/32/1937_2.png) [@didomachiatto](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/didomachiatto)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 8:42am UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/flavor-of-top-left-prerequisites-requirements-forewarnings-preconditions/2623/3 "2019-09-29T08:42:53Z")
And would you say the pattern works at the higher levels, too? ---
**Author:** ![Lakis](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/lakis/32/1816_2.png) [@Lakis](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/Lakis)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/flavor-of-top-left-prerequisites-requirements-forewarnings-preconditions/2623/4 "2019-09-29T20:37:58Z")
@didomachiatto Have you seen these threads? Worth a read if you haven’t: > **[Choosing the right concerns](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/choosing-the-right-concerns/1841)** > > Usually I find it hard to choose the right concerns when writing a story (same with the throughlines from time to time). So I try to brainstorm the “feel” of this story to see which quad of concerns would be better for what I intend to create. If... > **[Contextual Subgenres](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/contextual-subgenres/1893)** > > As mentioned in the ‘Consequences that are Playing a Role’ post, my trek through the Dramatica and Narrative First analyses has been a rewarding and enlightening process. Having watched 64 out of the 400+ analyses thus far, I’ve learnt a lot.... ---
**Author:** ![didomachiatto](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/didomachiatto/32/1937_2.png) [@didomachiatto](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/didomachiatto)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 4:54am UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/flavor-of-top-left-prerequisites-requirements-forewarnings-preconditions/2623/5 "2019-09-30T04:54:41Z")
I’ve seen them, but they didn’t make sense until now. Thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![mlucas](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/mlucas/32/275_2.png) [@mlucas](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/mlucas)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/flavor-of-top-left-prerequisites-requirements-forewarnings-preconditions/2623/6 "2019-09-30T15:35:03Z")
> [@didomachiatto](#): > > And would you say the pattern works at the higher levels, too? In case it wasn’t clear, Jim was using Knowledge/Ability/Desire/Thought in the general sense, e.g. The Past, Memories, Understanding, Conceptualizing being the Knowledge-like Concerns (upper left) etc. ---
**Author:** ![didomachiatto](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/didomachiatto/32/1937_2.png) [@didomachiatto](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/didomachiatto)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 6:28pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/flavor-of-top-left-prerequisites-requirements-forewarnings-preconditions/2623/7 "2019-09-30T18:28:53Z")
Thanks, Mike. I ended up figuring out a lot from @Lakis’s links. What @jhay put together, regarding Contextual Subgenres is amazing, along with the concern link. I compiled a lot of answers together on one sheet, and when I finish formatting it, will send out a link so people can have a reference sheet. Unless there already is a reference sheet. Here is the full compiled answer for this question I asked: * * * > **Past - Understanding - Conceptualizing - Memory:** stories about burdens. Guilt and obsession, finding relief and moving on or getting consummed by one’s demons. Skeletons in the closet ; shining the light on something from the past, figuring how things fit together, finding the truth or entertaining a lie. **Top-left:** “heavy” BAGGAGE; reflective; feels heavy **Cynically** - Every supernatural horror movie (or movie about unresolved grief). > **Present - Learning - Conceiving - Conscious :** stories about survival. Finding ways to get by or getting swallowed whole, abilities against limitations. Observing, deliberating, innovating and reinventing. Bettering or worsening current situations through action or inaction. **Bottom-right:** “golden” / “inner light” IN SYNC; cerebral; feels ponderous **Cynically** - Every movie that wins awards from the 1950s or 2000s. > **Progress - Doing - Being - Preconscious :** stories about evolution. Moving forward, backward, or being plain stuck ; finding a new direction is enough (=/= price). Battling forth against others and oneself, action without rest, effectiveness over results, impulses. Having control, struggling to keep it or completely losing it. **Top-right:** “light-hearted” / “playful” (I’m still working on this) WARM FUZZY; bubbly (this one always has an indie movie vibe to it in my brain); feels light and fun as if tumbling through space **Cynically** - Every movie with a boy, man-child, or competition on the poster. > **Future - Obtaining - Becoming - Subconscious :** stories about loss and gains. Tangible thing at the end of the road (=/= direction). Construction or destruction, opportunities to seize. Deep desires / fears and complete transformation of world and characters. Life-changing, inability to go back. **Bottom-left:** “powerful” BASIC; striving; feels focused **Cynically** - Every movie that makes money. (source) [Choosing the right concerns](http://discuss.dramatica.com/t/choosing-the-right-concerns/1841?source_topic_id=2623) + answers I just want to say, this is a big deal, and the fact that it is intuitively deciphered is concerning to me. It ought to play more of a role in the Dramatica program itself, since I was SOOO off going on what I thought the answers were to my . I was doing a serious drama in light-hearted, humorous, warm-fuzzy. It kept feeling wrong. But possibly, I’m quite a positive person and my optimism always wins… [![](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/uploads/dramatica/original/2X/2/2cad34a7b22fbdf4f7d5c9c3b1947f45873424e6.jpeg "Dark and Brooding - LEGO Movie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPkkk08uVKc) ---
**Author:** ![Lakis](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/lakis/32/1816_2.png) [@Lakis](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/Lakis)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/flavor-of-top-left-prerequisites-requirements-forewarnings-preconditions/2623/8 "2019-09-30T19:24:50Z")
> [@didomachiatto](#): > > I just want to say, this is a big deal, and the fact that it is intuitively deciphered is concerning to me. It ought to play more of a role in the Dramatica program itself, I very much agree that it’s important and also that it’s not super-well understood, especially when you start. I think this is in part what @jhull is trying to do with his “trends” on Subtext, though I think the sample size is still too small in some cases. The problem though is that it’s still subjective, where the Dramatica program and theory are striving for objectivity. For example, top right Concerns frequently feel kind of light-hearted and youthful. Someone said “boy movies” in one thread. _Star Wars!_ (There was no consensus on _Captain Marvel,_ but I was arguing for that quad in part for a similar reason–girl power!). Even _Romeo and Juliette_ fits this quad for me. But _Taxi Driver?_ _Silence of the Lambs?_ I don’t see it. Maybe it’s because they have an OS Domain of Universe? I would create my own subgenre of a certain kind of Universe-Progress stories. I call it the “society-is-going-to-hell-in-a-handbasket” genre. _Platoon, Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver, Silence of the Lambs, True Detective._ Very different stories but that’s the feeling that unifies them in my mind (kind of). Just my own caveat. Still extremely useful though. ---
**Author:** ![jhay](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/jhay/32/1944_2.png) [@jhay](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/jhay)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/flavor-of-top-left-prerequisites-requirements-forewarnings-preconditions/2623/9 "2019-09-30T20:53:31Z")
> [@Lakis](#): > > For example, top right Concerns frequently feel kind of light-hearted and youthful. Someone said “boy movies” in one thread. Star Wars! (There was no consensus on Captain Marvel, but I was arguing for that quad in part for a similar reason–girl power!). Even Romeo and Juliette fits this quad for me. > > But Taxi Driver? Silence of the Lambs? I don’t see it. Maybe it’s because they have an OS Domain of Universe? This is what pushed me to look into the Contextual Subgenres in the first place. _There’s Something About Mary_ is in the upper-left area of the quads (Past/Understanding/Conceptualizing/Memory), but it doesn’t feel heavy whatsoever, nor does _Singin’ in the Rain_, or _Young Frankenstein_ – and all feel **_very_** different to something like _The Prestige_ or _The Omen_. The first three don’t feel heavy whatsoever, but the last two definitely have some weight to it. I personally think that the ‘flavor’ in a story comes from a **bunch** of different factors, rather than just domain placement/dynamics. But Genre is a super hard thing to quantify in the objective language of Dramatica (though I think Subtext’s ‘trends’ are a really good attempt to do so), and I will admit that as someone who writes primarily comedies, I feel most at home in that upper-right quad. ---
**Author:** ![didomachiatto](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/didomachiatto/32/1937_2.png) [@didomachiatto](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/didomachiatto)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 7:39am UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/flavor-of-top-left-prerequisites-requirements-forewarnings-preconditions/2623/10 "2019-10-01T07:39:41Z")
> [@Lakis](#): > > I call it the “society-is-going-to-hell-in-a-handbasket” genre. I suppose it depends on the actual placement of the throughlines in the domains. You could have it upside down, technically, if you switch the throughlines. You’re still in Progress - Doing - Being - Preconscious, but saying something else. Maybe it’s inside out of happy-joy-joy: “Oh, great! (sarcastically)” Hopeful vs Hopes dashed because of the **judgment Bad.** Except for… _Silence of the Lamb_ and _Cloudy\_with a Chance of Meatballs_ Both have the same placement of domain and throughline, and both Progress upper right quad. One is bad dark broody, hopes dashed; one is good, thoughtful, upbeat _Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs_ has deep themes: _Worry, Knowledge, Wisdom, Threat_ with **success good** _Silence of the Lambs_ has _Confidence, Thought, Enlightenment, Security_–which seem less heavy but with **success bad** Looking at the Progress stories sorted (on Subtext) by Judgment, and compared with the [MC/IC/RS in Progress](https://app.narrativefirst.com/elements/progress), I don’t get a lightweight feel on that quad. I get “thoughtful”: _ **Hope is on the line.** _ And if that’s the case, my Progress story _is in that quad. Hope on the line._ This is what is common between Meatballs and Lambs. In itself, Progress is dealing with the sliding scale, and a person’s perspective for which direction it will/should move. I don’t think we can say that every story out there deals with hope. Sure, people have hope, but the tension inside the “evolution” flavor is hopes and dreams. (Which makes sense _ **All Benchmarks** _ will be in the “losses/gains striving” bottom-left domain).