There is a theory that in film
(or literature) each story falls into one of 8 basic plots.
PLOT 1 - CINDERELLA
The
protagonist’s true potential for happiness and fulfilment is at last realized
after many ups and downs. The poor protagonist acquires things such as power,
wealth, and a mate, before losing it all and gaining it back upon growing as a
person.
Examples:
Cinderella, Aladdin, Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, David Copperfield
PLOT 2 - ACHILLES
Investigates
the fatal flaw of the main character. The protagonist is a villain who falls
from grace and whose death is a happy ending.
Examples: Macbeth,
Bonnie and Clyde, Jules et Jim, Dillinger, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar.
PLOT 3 – THE QUEST
Everybody
loves a quest where the hero goes on a journey to find something, which can be
a Lost Ark, a body (Stand By Me), or even something unknown and unseen (Pulp
Fiction). Sometimes the hero brings his entourage, too.
Examples: The
Goonies. Lord of the Rings, Django Unchained
PLOT 4 –REBIRTH
Like a
tragedy but where the hero realizes his error before it’s too late, like in
It’s a Wonderful Life.
Examples:
The Shawshank Redemption, The Dark Knight Rises, The Wrestler
PLOT 5 –OVERCOMING THE MONSTER
The protagonist
sets out to defeat an antagonistic force which threatens the protagonist and/or
protagonist's homeland.
Examples:
Dracula, War of the Worlds, The Guns of Navarone, Seven Samurai, The
Magnificent Seven, James Bond, Star Wars: A New Hope
PLOT 6 - ROMEO AND JULIET
Boy meets
girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again (put these in any order you like).
Examples:
West Side Story, Grease, every Rom-Com ever
PLOT 7 - ORPHEUS
The gift
that is taken away. The protagonist goes to a strange land and, after
overcoming the threats it poses to him/her, returns with nothing but
experience.
Examples:
Alice in Wonderland, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Time Machine, Gone
with the Wind, The Third Man.
PLOT 8 - THE INDOMITABLE HERO
The hero
takes on all comers.
Examples:
Rocky, Superman, Die Hard…
WHICH PLOT WILL YOUR FILM FOLLOW?
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