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As impressive as the story is - it sounds very typically American. A boring American has the normal story you know. An interesting American has this story or so

As impressive as the story is - it sounds very typically American. A boring American has the normal story you know. An interesting American has this story or some variation of it - maybe immigrant parents, maybe poor childhood, maybe doing something social, maybe struggling to get into college, maybe rich friends one is jealous of. Lots of American movies I'm watched have this story. Everyones story has a narrative that is a lot more interesting, but all the magazine reading and the movie watching you do forces your narrative into a typical down-up-down-up scheme, because it seems like that's the right story to tell. There is that story of those African boys who ran across the savannah and some of their friends were eaten by lions. that is a non-traditional and interesting narrative. Being top in Columbia is just about standard for an american narrative. I'm not hating on the story - but I just think that it's not that different from many stories I've read.

rradu 16y ago
Welll... yeah, that's why good stories are good stories; they're structured in a way that keeps you guessing. Best part about this story is that it's true, unlike the other places where I've seen this "model" used (hollywood)
muhfuhkuh 16y ago
>I'm not hating on the story I think it's not the flow of the narrative as much as it is the "drama for the sake of it." I mean, the way it reads, Matt seems like the guy who came up from nothing, on food stamps and government cheese. Not some son of a professor. I mean, I don't care where you come from, but most people mow their own lawns. That ain't hardship, in my opinion. And, his stories of being dejected for being not rich was kinda cloying, especially for someone who has done as his dad has and clawed his way out from a lower-middle working class background in a school where most people didn't mow their lawns because they didn't _have_ lawns. That said, he did do forest fireman work. And, he was a Paramedic. That's pretty cool. In other words, it's the choices he's made that's semi-interesting, not that he was forced down those paths he chose. He has a rebellious streak, and it's discordant with his abilities and drive for achievement in school and entrepreneurship. And, I think the takeaway (at least in his eyes) is he's not some stuff-shirt stiff when he easily could be given his abilities and work ethic.
- Volscio 16y ago
  That is a great point. Just reading how he framed his life story, he sounded like a kid who was given so many opportunities to succeed and turned them down because he was spoiled. But if you look at the actual things he's done not through his words, he tried things that very few people would attempt. Actions, not words?
pkaler 16y ago
You should read The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. Monomyth is the basic pattern found in most narratives regardless of location or culture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth

rradu 16y ago

Welll... yeah, that's why good stories are good stories; they're structured in a way that keeps you guessing. Best part about this story is that it's true, unlike the other places where I've seen this "model" used (hollywood)

muhfuhkuh 16y ago

>I'm not hating on the story I think it's not the flow of the narrative as much as it is the "drama for the sake of it." I mean, the way it reads, Matt seems like the guy who came up from nothing, on food stamps and government cheese. Not some son of a professor. I mean, I don't care where you come from, but most people mow their own lawns. That ain't hardship, in my opinion. And, his stories of being dejected for being not rich was kinda cloying, especially for someone who has done as his dad has and clawed his way out from a lower-middle working class background in a school where most people didn't mow their lawns because they didn't _have_ lawns. That said, he did do forest fireman work. And, he was a Paramedic. That's pretty cool. In other words, it's the choices he's made that's semi-interesting, not that he was forced down those paths he chose. He has a rebellious streak, and it's discordant with his abilities and drive for achievement in school and entrepreneurship. And, I think the takeaway (at least in his eyes) is he's not some stuff-shirt stiff when he easily could be given his abilities and work ethic.

Volscio 16y ago
That is a great point. Just reading how he framed his life story, he sounded like a kid who was given so many opportunities to succeed and turned them down because he was spoiled. But if you look at the actual things he's done not through his words, he tried things that very few people would attempt. Actions, not words?

pkaler 16y ago

You should read The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. Monomyth is the basic pattern found in most narratives regardless of location or culture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth