Using Dramatica to develop the next Star Wars or Great Gatsby

Imagine developing hypothesis using dramatica (valid quads )to understand how to write the next Star Wars, Great Gatsby, and the next chart topping album, filmaking, publishing etc.

1 Like

The problem is that creating a “good” story isn’t just coming up with a good storyform–and that’s really what Dramatica is good at/designed to do. In addition to having a strong central argument, the next worldshaking story needs to demonstrate an engaging world, deliver fabulous spectacle, and speak to its audience in a novel and personal way. There’s a certain “lightning-in-a-bottle” aspect to it, a inevitable unpredictability of what will rise as the next big trendsetter. Superhero movies are basically a joke, but DC makes Batman Begins, Marvel follows it up with Iron Man, and suddenly superheroes are the bread and butter of Hollywood. Pirate movies are supposed to be critical suicide, but Disney takes a leap of faith with their ride storification, and Pirates of the Caribbean sails through at least one good movie (followed by two mediocre-to-decent ones and two… less effective ones).

All Dramatica can do with these movies is nod its head and go, “Yup, those movies sure do have good arguments at their core!” But it’s not enough. Batman Begins capitalizes on a more serious, gritty tone that was considered revolutionary at the time, while Marvel does the exact opposite and creates a feel-good, campy shoot-em-up with a strong personality for the lead. Speaking of strong personality, need I say more about Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow? Frozen swirls catchy music and gaybaiting together with genre savviness and novelty; Ghost in the Shell cranks the philosophy and body horror up to 11; Harry Potter… well, Harry Potter deserves its own discussion on fandom culture, but basically Harry Potter was one of the first YA series to create a fandom that hooked in its readers and grew with them.

Don’t get me wrong; the concepts of Dramatica are pretty clearly present in all of these stories. A story with no storyform beneath it is either a walking tour, a popcorn flick, or an arthouse mysterium. Looking at it the other way, it’s very easy to look at a movie that failed to engage and find the weaknesses in the storyform, most commonly a weak or absent Influence Character. But looking at a good movie, even if it has a good storyform, that doesn’t guarantee success. It has to speak to an audience at all the right levels, come out at the right place at the right time, and have that little spark of ineffable magic to take the world by storm. In the end, it’s not a science, and there are no guarantees.

5 Likes

Gaybaiting? I appreciate that you speak plainly in this PC world of ours. :sheep:

You may not be so appreciative when I tell you what I mean by it. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: Basically, I’m referring to the idea that Elsa is just lesbian-coded enough for LGBT viewers to allegorize “Let It Go” as an anthem of pride, but not actually lesbian-coded enough to make any meaningful headway. I’m using it with the desire to see more LGBT representation, not less. :stuck_out_tongue:

EDIT: But to tie it back into my point, a movie like Frozen can become popular by creating songs that both work as story beats and tap into the cultural zeitgeist. (It’s also a fun song with cool visuals, completing my four-part checklist for a cultural winner.)

1 Like