Pixar’s Cars analysis

analysis
#41

Like I said, I don’t have the program in front of me. So, I don’t know which IC Elements Doc would get if we switched Lightning’s Issue from Delay (with Pursuit, Avoid, Support, Oppose), and instead gave him an Issue of Openness (with Consider, Re-consider, Faith, Disbelief).

I was making a guess at what the software would choose, based on weak prior knowledge.

But, now that I remember some things, yeah, you are definitely following along right. I made a mistake in my guessing. (I forgot to look at where the Problem fell in the OS, being the same as Lightning’s [since he’s a Changed character]. And, I should have used that quad to figure out Doc’s Focus. I went straight from Lightning to Doc… Oops…)

If we take this route, we could look at it as being overtly inconsiderate. In this case, he doesn’t consider how driving all night will affect Mac, throwing him into Radiator Springs. He refuses to think about the town, which easily causes arguments all over the place for him there. He “forgets” (actually, it doesn’t even come to mind, IIRC) to say Good-Bye to Mater, which might explain his lack of focus during the race.

But, these don’t feel extremely personal to Lightning.

The things that come to mind for that are Help, Support, Acceptance, Rejection, Oppose, and Consider. (Some seen in a negative light, others in a positive.) It is possible that there are others, though.

#42

Sorry, I got that. I meant unless there was some choice made in the thread earlier that I missed. I figured you had a better intuitive understanding of the model than me. :slight_smile:

#43

Good point.

So thinking in non-Dramatica terms, LM’s problem seems to be something having to do with refusing anyone else’s help, or thinking he’s above help from anyone (this leads to the tire blowout problem, for example). He says he’s a “one-man show.” Realizing that he does need and want a team is what brings everyone from Radiator Springs to help him in the Piston Cup.

So what does a problem like that look like in Dramatica-speak?

#44

I wonder if we’re looking a bit too deep at the problem level. Is there something wrong with MC Issue of Delay vs Choice? Or OS Self-Interest vs Morality?

#45

I see your point. Those seem to make sense, which leads to pursue/avoid.

#46

I was putting most of this under Self Interest.

#47

Well, I will have to leave the conversation until tonight. Work and all. I’ll catch up when I can!

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#48

I know I looked at consider before and couldn’t make it work, but I’m liking some of the examples given above. Can’t wait to get back to my laptop to see the whole storyform for Consider.

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#49

Yeah, I should consider doing the same.

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#50

I am starting to think that LMs Attitude might be what drives his first crew away rather than SElf Interest. And his choice to help the King probably works better as a different Approach to being a great racer.

Being delayed in Radiator Springs and making the Choice to stay even after his sentence is up still feels pretty strong. Preconception and Openness are there too, but I don’t notice them as much, I guess.

#51

Something else to consider, this films RT score:
TOMATOMETER
74%
AUDIENCE SCORE
79%
Critic Consensus: Cars offers visual treats that more than compensate for its somewhat thinly written story, adding up to a satisfying diversion for younger viewers

And there are lots of award nominations for best animated feature, but not many that say anything about best writing.

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#52

Interesting. Do you think this means that we won’t be able to come up with a totally coherent storyform?

#53

Not necessarily. But I’m going to accept the idea that a misfire with the audience means a misfire with the storyform. Maybe Cost or Consequence or some other point just isn’t illustrated very well, or even at all. And maybe that keeps stakes from being high enough, or tension from being strong enough and that causes the lower score, but it could also mean that there is no satisfactory illustration within the story for some storypoints.

#54

Here’s the thing, as strong as I thought the storyform I was arguing for was, I’m having a hard time with it now. Look at the Concern. I was thinking before that his problem was that he wasn’t going to be able to make this future event. But really, he’s lost and imprisoned. That’s why he’s going to miss the race–or why he’s afraid he is. And that’s something happening right now. If that’s right, that’s a pretty big change. Looks like there’s no avoiding a rewatch this weekend.

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#55

Hm. Well I would be surprised if you’re wrong at that level. I feel pretty good about an OS Goal of Obtaining, and almost as good about the IC in Mind (Fixed Attitude), and that sets a lot of the rest of it. MC Concern of the Future – that completely fits to me.

It’s the at the Issue and Element level where it gets murky for me and I think this is where my understanding gets weak.

But thinking about your original effort, it seems closest to me (OS Self-Interest/Pursue/Avoid etc., MC Delay/Pursuit/Avoid).

The other idea I was playing with was trying to figure out if this pattern of LM’s initial refusal of help, learning to accept help, and then helping The King was illustrating something besides just Self-Interest, like Help/Hinder, or maybe Oppose/Support. But I was having trouble illustrating more than one side of those dynamic pairs.

Hm. Maybe I’ll rewatch this weekend too.

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#56

I’ll admit it. I watched it again today.
I got the feel that there is something…off in the story.
Like something might have been missing?

I still think we have the correct Concerns, though.
I tried a few other arrangements, but nothing seemed to work.

Except for the possibility that we could be wrong about the Stop/Start dynamic.
Though, I can’t really see OS in Psychology nor RS in Physics.

Really, though, I feel certain about these Dynamics:

  • Change: Lightning, “I work alone!” --> Fully accepts help from the town as a crew.
  • Stop: Lightning generally ignores others at the beginning, but stops this by the end.
  • Do-er: Definitely tries to change the situation he’s in instead of adapt himself to it.
  • Linear: Turning left example. Paving road to leave. “If I’m first to the track, I’m first to schmooze Dinoco.”
  • Decision: (See below.)
  • Spacelock: [Jim’s article.] They did this very interestingly in the film, though, because you can virtually track how long each major event lasted, but not quite…
  • Failure: I finally agree with this, but I wonder if the OS isn’t that well illustrated?
  • Good: Yes, virtually everything that happened turned out to be better for the characters.

The reason for my question about the OS in my statement about Failure is this: On second view, I felt like this film was more of an emotionally-centered thematic statement than an actual argument, kind of like the song Route 66 near the end. Did anyone else?

My logic for Decision Driver:

  1. Lightning’s decisions involving the pit during the first race force the Piston Cup to hold the tie-breaker race. This is the reason Lightning has to go cross country.
  2. Deciding that they should drive all night causes Mac to lose Lightning to Radiator Springs.
  3. Lightning chooses not to leave when he has the chance after Sally fills him up. Had he taken the chance and left Radiator Springs, the story would have been over.
  4. Unsure - Maybe the offscreen decision Doc made to call the media? Possibly Sally making the decision for Lightning to leave Radiator Springs?
  5. Lightning must make the decision to win the race, or give it up. Either would have ended the story.
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#57

Yes, but his drive from that seems to be more about what will or would happen if he misses his big race.

Also, I finally thought of a gist I like for a Consequence of Becoming, but as I type this I lost it… As soon as I can remember, I’ll post it here. (It was “becoming a member of a community.”) I’m still not entirely happy with it, though. But, if I change it to “becoming a team player”, then that works! Now, I like it!

Consequence: Becoming a Team Player. (This is seen as a negative to Lightning at first.)
Moreover, it’s also exactly what affects everybody else by the end of the movie, I think.

I especially like the “Narrative Argument” this would claim: Peace of mind comes to those who stop stubbornly chasing wins, even if it means becoming a team player (or a member of a community).

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#58

Okay, I watched it again. Here’s my argument for a storyform with some illustrations (Part of OS and MC through lines only for now). I think the other static story points we have are correct (still not 100% on Decision vs. Action – leaning toward Decision as @Hunter suggested but I’m not strong on that point.

OS

DOMAIN: Physics; CONCERN: Obtaining

The story is fundamentally about the activity of racing and specifically the goal of obtaining the Piston Cup.

ISSUE: Attitude vs. Approach

All the characters have attitudes toward each other that cause conflict. Both McQueen and Chick Hicks are incredibly arrogant, talking trash to each other (the heart of their rivalry). McQueen has a superior attitude toward all the residents of Radiator Springs; Doc and Sally have a negative attitude about the outsider McQueen.

PROBLEM: Hinder

From the beginning the characters’ drive to Hinder each other causes conflict. In the first race we see Chick Hicks crashing into other cars in at attempt to hinder them (keep them from winning) and it’s only a miracle that McQueen is able to jump over the pileup.

When McQueen tries to leave Radiator Springs, the other characters hinder him from leaving by imprisoning him, forcing him to fix the road, syphoning his gas, etc.

Chick Hicks is back at it with his nasty tricks at the end of the movie, crashing into The King and McQueen to hinder them and keep them from winning.

SOLUTION: Help

Learning to accept help from others — especially his new friends — is the key to McQueen’s resurgence and almost-win in the last race. The Radiator Springs friends help him by becoming his pit crew, and he accepts their help.

Twice Hicks tries to drive him off the track, and twice McQueen survives by using the driving tricks he learned from his friends in Radiator Springs. (Dirt track turning and driving backwards). Especially with the dirt track example, this was a trick that McQueen only learned by finally accepting Doc’s help.

MAIN CHARACTER

DOMAIN: Universe / CONCERN: The Future

Getting stuck in Radiator Springs is, from a personal point of view, a untenable Situation for McQueen that prevents him from achieving the Future that he dreams of and believes is his for the taking. We see him dreaming of this future early on, as he fantasies about winning the Piston Cup, becoming the new Dynaco rep, making movies, etc.

ISSUE: Preconception vs. Openness

Synonyms for Preconception: “prejudice, closed mindedness, narrow mindedness, intolerancy, stubbornness, unwillingness to reevaluate” …. which all describe McQueen’s arrogant attitude, which gets him into trouble again and again.

PROBLEM: Hinder

Okay, so I’m having a little trouble separating the parts of this in the OC vs. MC through line. But he basically keeps getting hindered, making bad decisions and hindering his own efforts. (Sorry this could be better illustrated).

SOLUTION: Help

McQueen’s growth comes down to both learning to accept help from other and giving up his own goals to help others. (Many examples).

What do you all think?

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#59

Really like it. I know I looked at Help because of the way Lightning helps the King at the end, but I was blind to all the Hindering going on. I know I was starting to like Attitude and Approach better, but just couldn’t see what was causing the character level problems, but I can see Hinder now. In the MC, I’d say he was hindered from escaping by being stuck to Bessie and only allowed a gallon of gas at a time.

I rewatched it last night and this morning and this movie just wasn’t as clear to me at that level as Coco was. I was ready to accept that the Issue level was as deep as it went, but I think I’m seeing what you’ve got above, so that’s awesome.

One thing I noticed is that I have no idea what Lightning’s motivation is. We know his purpose is to win the Cup and get the Dinoco sponsorship and be famous, but why? What’s driving that? I couldn’t figure it out, can you guys? I wonder if others are missing that as well and if that’s what caused Cars to be one of the lower rated Pixar movies.

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#60

I like this line of thinking. It’s like he decides the Consequences aren’t bad after all. What would the cost of Subconscious be?