Pixar’s Cars analysis

[Lakis]

STORY ENGINE SETTINGS: “Cars”

CHARACTER DYNAMICS:
MC RESOLVE: Change
MC GROWTH: Stop
MC APPROACH: Do-er
MC MENTAL SEX: Male
OC RESOLVE: Steadfast

PLOT DYNAMICS:
DRIVER: Decision
LIMIT: Optionlock
OUTCOME: Failure
JUDGMENT: Good

MAIN CHARACTER
(Lightning McQueen)
DOMAIN: Universe
CONCERN: The Future
ISSUE: Preconception vs. Openness
PROBLEM: Hinder
SOLUTION: Help
FOCUS: Uncontrolled
DIRECTION: Control
UNIQUE ABILITY: Openness
CRITICAL FLAW: Denial
BENCHMARK: The Past
SIGNPOST 1: The Future
SIGNPOST 2: Progress
SIGNPOST 3: The Present
SIGNPOST 4: The Past

SUBJECTIVE STORY
(Mentor/Mentee)
DOMAIN: Psychology
CONCERN: Becoming
ISSUE: Obligation vs. Rationalization
PROBLEM: Hinder
SOLUTION: Help
FOCUS: Feeling
DIRECTION: Logic
CATALYST: Rationalization
INHIBITOR: Attitude
BENCHMARK: Conceptualizing
SIGNPOST 1: Conceptualizing
SIGNPOST 2: Being
SIGNPOST 3: Becoming
SIGNPOST 4: Conceiving

OBJECTIVE STORY
(Winning the Piston Cup)
DOMAIN: Physics
CONCERN: Obtaining
ISSUE: Attitude vs. Approach
PROBLEM: Hinder
SOLUTION: Help
FOCUS: Oppose
DIRECTION: Support
CATALYST: Approach
INHIBITOR: Obligation
BENCHMARK: Understanding
SIGNPOST 1: Obtaining
SIGNPOST 2: Understanding
SIGNPOST 3: Learning
SIGNPOST 4: Doing

OBSTACLE CHARACTER
(Doc Hudson & The Residents of Radiator Springs)
DOMAIN: Mind
CONCERN: The Subconscious
ISSUE: Denial vs. Closure
PROBLEM: Disbelief
SOLUTION: Faith
FOCUS: Oppose
DIRECTION: Support
UNIQUE ABILITY: Closure
CRITICAL FLAW: Preconception
BENCHMARK: Memory
SIGNPOST 1: The Preconscious
SIGNPOST 2: The Subconscious
SIGNPOST 3: The Conscious
SIGNPOST 4: Memory

ADDITIONAL APPRECIATIONS

GOAL: Obtaining
CONSEQUENCE: Becoming
COST: The Subconscious
DIVIDEND: The Future

REQUIREMENT: Understanding
PREREQUISITE: Conceptualizing
PRECONDITION: Memory
FOREWARNINGS: The Past

[museful]

I have a couple of general questions about analysis if I might interrupt here to ask them.

Is the Dramatica User Group still viewable online? I went to the Google + page and then I went to another “secret page” and I was a little flipped around in regards to what I actually needed to do to view and participate in the live feed. I guess it has to do with trolls or something? Or are live feeds/online participation not currently happening?

Second… I literally forgot because I took too long writing the first one. Lovely. I’ll report back if the neurons stop shorting out.

[jhull]

Yes they’re still online. The entire YouTube channel should be here. Running a bit behind on editing and posting the last few, though the podcasts are up to date on the individual analysis page for each film.

[jhull]

Guess I’m watching Cars this weekend!

(Though it seems like what you have is great!)

[museful]

But are the live feeds still ongoing? I’ve found the videos on YouTube, but I’d enjoy a live process. Is that still happening or will it come back?

[mlucas]

Looks great! I like the Denial critical flaw for Lightning (e.g. denying he needs anyone else, even to the point where his crew can’t take the rejection and quits). And Openness UA works great – despite his preconceptions, he’s open to making new friends, which almost lets him win. In the end the CF wins (failure story): he denies the Piston Cup in order to save The King from the same rejection Doc faced.

Love the Issue of Obligation for the Relationship Story. It starts out about Lightning’s obligations to the town but becomes a lot deeper as it focuses in on the relationship: the obligations of new friends to each other.

One thing I was wondering about was the possibility that the story Limit is a Timelock. Did you guys consider that? It seems like the 1-week race date is bringing everything to conclusion. (Note that it doesn’t affect the other story points to change the Limit – not even the PSR, as far as I know.)

I really need to watch the end now!

[Greg]

@mlucas Reread the Narrative First article “Wrangling the Scope of an Entire Narrative” (having trouble linking on my phone). Specifically the section titled The Apparent Blending of Time and Space. That section is part of what got this thread started to begin with. I think it’s more about the space of the finish line being occupied than the week they are given to get to California.

[Lakis]

I didn’t really give Timelock much thought (but you could be right). I guess my reasoning against it would be that the both the opening and the climax happen outside of the “week deadline” i.e. the story isn’t resolved until after the climactic race at the end (which is when you expect it to resolve).

[mlucas]

Got it. That would make sense even if Jim hadn’t specifically referenced Cars in the article!

It was kind of bugging me, watching the film, that I often wasn’t clear on how many days he had left to get to California. It might have been better if they hadn’t been so specific about the race date – since the real pressure came from getting there first to get an advantage in the race and in schmoozing the sponsor Dinoco. So instead of saying “1 week” they could have said “June 1st” while being very vague on how many days until June 1st.

[Greg]

My guess is they used one week so when Doc said it would take X days to fix the road and LM said he should be schmoozing Dinoco right now, the audience could kind of compare that to one week and feel an urgency of time running out, or when LM says he’s been trying to get out of town for three days. I mean, like you say, even getting to California isn’t really about getting there in one week, it’s about getting covering that space first. Knowing there’s one week is just a way to know that LM has lost x number of days of schmoozing that Chick is getting instead.

[jhull]

No live for the foreseeable future. It is on the Roadmap for Narrative First in a couple months—this would be in addition to the Users Group Meeting.

[mlucas]

Finally got a chance to watch to the end last night. I was a bit surprised at how triumphant the ending was for it to be Failure, but I can’t imagine any different storyform working (e.g. Success with a Goal of Doing). I mean, I can see Lightning having a Concern of Progress maybe, but none of the Elements under that or any of the other Concerns seem to come even close.

I think what’s going on is probably the opposite of a Triumph with high Cost – we have a Personal Triumph with high Dividends, where it was made very clear that the Goal wasn’t appropriate. (Dividends include Radiator Springs’ future, Sally & Lightning’s future, Mater and Lightning’s future as best friends, etc.)

[Hunter]

Sorry to bump, but I’d like to know if we ever got confirmation for the form we came up with?

[Lakis]

I think we have to nag @jhull on that

[jhull]

Believe it or not, I did already have it on my schedule to watch again this week.

[Greg]

But are we sure the MC isn’t…oh, never mind.

[jhull]

I finally found time to watch this film again (even though I’ve probably seen it a hundred times over the years).

I really like the Hinder to Help character arc for McQueen’s Changed Resolve. In the beginning he dismissed anyone who gets in his way—even his teammates. And at the end he’s helping a competitor across the finish line…

…which brings me to the first Storypoints—the Story Outcome. While I completely understand the rationale that McQueen lost the race, you have to understand that the Overall Story isn’t about the race alone. It’s about bringing back something that was lost—and with that in mind, it’s a Success story.

Radiator Springs regains its customer base, Mater gets a ride in a helicopter, McQueen gets invited to be the face of Dinoco (what he really wanted)—and the only Antagonist, Chick Hicks, loses.

Appreciating the argument in that context, the Story Driver is Action. The three-way tie forces McQueen out onto the open road. The hospitality of Radiator Springs drives McQueen to change his mind to want to stay. And his final gesture of helping the King across the finish line restores vitality for all.

This gives the MC plot progression a more accurate assessment of the narrative (and what totally stood out during my most recent viewing).

In the beginning, McQueen is on the road to fame and fortune. Life is Progressing and the face of Dinoco is changing.

Then he gets stuck in Radiator Springs and suddenly that dream turns to an imagined nightmarish Future where Chick takes his spot.

After the midpoint, McQueen finds himself completely focused on the Present and how much he wants to stay there. He even seems to forget about the race he is so Present.

And that the end he revisits his Past race and the time he had with all his friends back in that hillbilly hell.

[Hunter]

Well, it turns out that Outcome and Driver were the two we fought over significantly in this thread, so out of anything those are what I expected to be a bit off.

[Lakis]

Very interesting Jim. Well, now I feel sheepish as I was the one arguing for Failure/Good.

I guess was a little unclear about the difference between a story where the protagonist doesn’t really understand what the goal is vs. a story where the protagonist fails and realizes that the goal wasn’t what he/she really wanted.

But I guess there’s also a distinction I wasn’t keeping in mind (which I think I understand better now) of the general OS Concern that manifests itself in many ways and the specific Goal of the story.

Thanks for circling back.

[jhull]

Yes. If you want to join in on my learning experience, check out the podcast for La La Land. That’s where I was schooled in the difference between Failure and Success.