Plot intro_FD
- 1. Plot - a First Look Plot Do youlike filmsinwhichatimercountsdown,asin Independence Day (the firstone)?If so,you like yourfictionwithastrongplot: There’sa deadline,atime bomb,arush to overcome obstaclesby the time X happens.In IndependenceDay (the firstand the second) that X isjustthe annihilationof the entire humanrace.No pressure. Yes pressure! Plot loves pressure.Plotneedssuspense.A good plotkeepsthe readerwonderingwhat’sgoingtohappen.If you knowthe ending,it’sspoiledforyou,right?Because suspense isa bigpart of the fun. One thingthat createssuspense in the plotisForeshadowing.That’swhenthe storyhintsaboutsomething amazing/scary/shocking/strange/wonderful etc.comingsoon.Andwe’ll findout if we justwait. InKate Chopin’sgemThe Storyof an Hour” we findoutinthe veryfirst sentence thatthe maincharacterhas heart trouble.Ohandher husbandhasjustbeen killed.Ohandtheyare aboutto tell her. What will happen?We don’tknow.Sowe readon, or we shouldif the authorhas gottenus evenalittle interestedinthe character. (Forsuspense toworkwe need to care aboutthe character.) Anotherwaywriterscreate suspense and increase excitementistoplace Obstacles and Conflictsinthe characters’ way.To use IndependenceDay again,the Jeff Goldblumcharacter,DavidLevinson,discovers the timercountingdowntowhat he realizesisanalieninvasion.He'sinNew York.He mustget tothe presidentinD.C.towarn him. But, oh no,he doesn’tknow how to drive (obstacle).He findshisfather,who doesknowhowto drive,andtheyheadforD.C. But everyone isleavingD.C.sothe trafficisterrible (obstacle). Theydo getthere finally. BUTDavid’sXwife justhappenstobe the president’schief of staff andshe isreally angry andfedup withherX (big obstacle).She will notlethimintosee the president. Meanwhile,the clockis ticking. Andthe backgroundabout his ex – how madshe isat himand why – we alreadyknew froma conversation at the beginningof the movie. That’sExposition–backgroundinformationthathelpsthe plotmake sense.We wouldn'twantto getthe expositionwhilethe clockisticking.Thatwouldbe a boringdistraction,andartificial. We wantto alreadyhave the neededbackgroundbefore the plotgetsgood.That'swhyexpositionisusually givenearlyon.Whatif Chopindidn’ttell usaboutthe youngwidow’sheartconditionuntilrightbefore she had the heart attack? That wouldfeel contrived. Anotherkeyplot momentisthe Climax.The climax iswhensuspenseandtensionare attheirhighest. It’sthat momentwhenyou do notgo for popcorn.In Titanic, the climax of the actioniswhenthe shipisabout to go : Figure 2: How can they survive this?! We keep watching to find out Figure 1: A timer counts down to the alien attack
- 2. down.Will theymake it?!we wonder.Perhapsthe emotionalclimax isthe movingsceneinthe waterwhen Jack tellshertolive a goodlife andsacrificeshimself forher (Istill thinkthatboardwasbigenoughfortwo). Everythingafterthatiscalm – justresolvingthingsandlettingusknow where the main characterendsup.This after-climax timeisknownasthe Resolution.It’ssometimesalsocalledthe Denouement,whichisFrenchfor untying theknot (of the plot). We love plottwists.Wait, Frank killedLila?! How toGet AwaywithMurderfans askedat the endof the season.Butwhy?We findthatout inflashbacks,afew piecesof the storypuzzle we hadn’tknownabout. The Statue of Libertyshowingupat the endof Planetof the Apesisa famous plottwistbecause the astronautthought he was on anotherplanet,notEarthin a future time. The SixthSensealso hasa prettyamazingplottwistending,but one that isperhapsoverused(ohbythe way thisguy isdead / beendead andjustdoesn’tknowit). Forup to 20 Bonus Points,sendanemail abouttwofilms,novelsorTV shows that youfeel copout at the endby usingthisplottwist. Let’scall it the We-couldn’t-think-of-a-real-endingending. In additiontocreatingexcitementforthe reader, plot createsopportunityforthe characters.Theyare forcedby obstaclesandcrisesinthe plotto act. And whentheyact (or fail to) we get toknowthem.So plotand characterization go handin hand.In Pride and Prejudice(bothnovel andfilm) the love interestisLizzie andDarcy.Lizzie atfirstrejectsDarcy, thinkinghimaterrible snob.But whenLizzie’syoungestsisterrunsoff withascoundrel,Darcy comesto herrescue.Notonlythat, Darcy doesn’ttell Lizziehow he helped; she findsoutthoughand sees,throughhisactions,hisreal characterand goodness. Thisengrade wiki offersmore aboutplot.Consultitif interestedorif youdecide touse Plotin depthinan essay.The visual belowisfromthatcite.The yellow circlesare obstacles. Figure 4: from https://wikis.engrade.com/plottingashortstory Figure 3: This popular who-done-it took 2 seasons to solve one mystery.
- 3. Big Bonus Point Opportunity:Write or videoareviewof afilmyou feel has a very good plot. Use language from this lecture toexplain. Upto20 pts. For the full 20, add images from the film.