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Alright, so consider animals hunting each other then. Act 1: predator and prey alone; transition 1: predator initiates chase; Act 2: predator chases prey; tran
by foobarbazqux 13y ago
Alright, so consider animals hunting each other then. Act 1: predator and prey alone; transition 1: predator initiates chase; Act 2: predator chases prey; transition 2: predator catches up to prey; Act 3: predator and prey fight.
- rwallace 13y agoIf you have a theory that can equally explain Hollywood screenwriting, two dogs fucking, and a cat catching a mouse, you have a theory that tries to explain too much and will necessarily end up not actually saying anything. The meaning of a theory is in what possibilities it rules out.
- foobarbazqux 13y agoI don't think we really disagree. A 3-act structure captures so many situations that it has no bearing on the quality or originality of a story. It's just the simplest definition of a story possible: there is a beginning, a middle, and an ending.
- rwallace 13y agoOkay then yeah, I agree. I once had a discussion with someone who claimed Aliens could be analyzed in terms of the three act structure, and I didn't disagree - but it turned out we disagreed on where the three acts actually were, which in my opinion negated the claim that such analysis had any predictive power. But the original article is talking about a formula that is apparently much more prescriptive than the three act structure.
- gohrt 13y agoFor it to really be "3 acts", you should be able to stop watching at any of the act ends, and feel like the story had closure, for at least some notable elements.