The Protagonists Journey (Scott Myers)

Scot t Myer s
T A G O N I S T ’ S J O U R N E Y
THE P R O
c ti o n to C h a ra c te r- D ri v e n
An Introdu ry telling
S c re e n w ri ti n g a n d S to
The Protagonist’s Journey
Scott Myers
The Protagonist’s
Journey
An Introduction to Character-Driven
Screenwriting and Storytelling
Scott Myers
DePaul University
Chicago, IL, USA
ISBN 978-3-030-79681-5 ISBN 978-3-030-79682-2 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2
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This book is dedicated to storytellers
Foreword
To those about to have the pleasure of reading this book,
I’ve known Scott Myers personally for just over a decade. I know this
because my inbox tells me that my first email to him was on May 14, 2011
to say that I had long been a fan of his blog and asking if there would be
an opportunity in the near future to meet face to face. We got on the phone
shortly thereafter, and his blog, Go Into The Story, was announced as the
official screenwriting blog of the Black List mere months later.
As certain as I am about how long I’ve known Scott Myers, I have no idea
when I actually became a fan of his, though I can be certain that it’s some
time after May 16, 2008, and it was near immediate. How was I not immedi-
ately going to be a fan of the kind of person who writes about screenwriting
and goes all the way back to Aristotle’s Poetics to try to understand where
screenwriting exists in the history of storytelling?
In the years since, there are some things that I’ve learned about Scott that
would be valuable for you to know as you read this book:
Scott Myers cares about screenwriting, and that’s probably one of the
larger understatements I’ve ever put to keyboard. After starting in May 2008,
Scott didn’t stop–once–until June 2020. 4,428 consecutive days of writing
about screenwriting. Never once interrupted by “pneumonia, flu, hamstring
strains, a chaotic variety of technical issues, world travel and confusing
schedule changes, and various other roadblocks.” He says it’s to make the
point that “if I can write every day, you can write every day.” But let’s be
vii
viii Foreword
honest: no one does anything for more than 4,000 consecutive days for
someone else’s benefit. No one. His point about your writing easily could have
been made after 1,000 days, or 2,000 days, or after he broke Cal Ripken’s
Iron Man record at 2,632. But he didn’t. He kept writing, every single day,
about screenwriting, about storytelling, about character, plot, conflict, and
the business of screenwriting, because he cares about it deeply. (And then a
rotator cuff surgery did him in, but that’s a story for another time.)
Scott Myers cares about screenwriters. The first year of any new venture
is especially important, and that was particularly true of the Black List screen-
writers lab when we launched it in 2013. The Black List Web site was already
a wholly new concept in the film industry, and so inviting eight screenwriters
selected from it to join us for an all expenses paid trip was a potentially make
or break moment for my fledgling company. There’s a natural instinct in those
cases to shoot the moon by getting as many bold faced names as humanly
possible (and to be sure, we did, eventually.) Scott’s name, though, was the
first on my team sheet, as they say in soccer, and it has been for every single
lab we’ve ever done. I’m just not sure you can find someone more personally
and authentically invested in screenwriters living up to the potential of their
ideas, whatever form they take. “The streak” is evidence of that, sure, but it’s
never more clear than when you have the privilege of listening in on Scott
working with screenwriters. I’m lucky to have that opportunity. Most of you
never will, but fortunately, this book now exists.
Scott Myers cares about people. If it wasn’t screenwriting, it would be
something else. Which is to say that even if you take away the profound
generosity of twelve years of literal non-stop writing about writing and
making it available for free and the personal investment in the success of
screenwriters that I’ve personally witnessed, I’d still just be thankful that Scott
Myers is my friend. He cares deeply about other people. He wants joy for
them, fulfillment for them, resilience for them, and he’s willing to give of
himself so that they can have it. It’s there in his ribbing me about by beloved
Los Angeles Football Club’s utterly terrible record against his Los Angeles
Galaxy. It’s there in our trading articles about the US Mens and Womens
national soccer teams. It’s there in his pride in his sons and his wife’s myriad
very cool accomplishments in the world, and his patience, grace, and counsel
when things are going sideways in mine.
And so a guide to storytelling through the lens of caring about people
(even fake ones) probably shouldn’t come as too much a surprise. Except that
maybe it should be.
For years, I have encouraged Scott to monetize the gargantuan work that
he does for screenwriters. A rough approximation of our conversations has
Foreword ix
gone something like this: “What if we paid you to write the blog?” “No, that
doesn’t feel right.” “Well can we build an infrastructure so you can put ads on
the blog?” “No, that doesn’t feel right either.” “Scott, I respect the altruism,
but you deserve compensation for this! It’s a lot of work.” “Maybe, but you
should see the emails I get from writers expressing their appreciation for the
blog. What better compensation is there than that?” “I get that, but... okay,
if you ever change your mind, please let me know.”
Simply put, I am overjoyed that Palgrave Macmillan changed his mind. We
are all better off for it. Screenwriters who want to explore a different way into
telling the stories they want to tell. Film and television industry professionals
like me who get excited about working with writers who can deliver good
stories, well-told. Audience members like all of us who just want to watch
something good. All of us will be better off for the book you now hold in
your hands.
So enjoy, and remember what Scott would tell you: Read scripts. Watch
movies. Write pages. And remember: This is just one point of view on how to
write a screenplay. The right way is, ultimately, whatever way works for you.
Sincerely,
Franklin Leonard
Founder, The Black List
Preface
This book is the result of over three decades of my work as a screenwriter

and educator. Since 1987 when the spec script K-9, which I co-write, sold to
Universal Studios, going on to become a hit movie with two sequels, I have
written over thirty film and television projects for nearly every major Holly-
wood studio and broadcast network. Through my blog GoIntoTheStory.com,
named Best of the Best Scriptwriting Website by Writers’ Digest, I have inter-
viewed hundreds of professionals in the film and television business, and
interfaced with thousands of writers. After teaching screenwriting as a hobby
since 2002, I am now an assistant professor at the film school at DePaul
University. During that time, I have taught countless writers from beginners
to advanced, undergraduate, and graduate students. Based upon my experi-
ence as a writer and educator, here is what I have discovered: The best writing
is character-driven writing.
The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting
and Storytelling is aimed at students of the craft who want to go beyond
formulaic approaches which reduce story structure to plot. Plot is essen-
tial, but it is only half the story. For it is the world of characters and their
inner lives which gives meaning to the events they experience. Indeed, it is
by engaging characters, getting curious about them, and following their lead
that plot comes to life. In the words of that age-old adage: Character equals
plot. I believe that to be true.
This book is divided into three parts. Part I explores story as Narrative
Imperative, how there is a profound connection between the psychological
xi
xii Preface
state of the Protagonist and the unfolding plot. The journey the Protago-
nist takes is the journey they need to take. Part II examines the Family of
Characters, five archetypes seen with great frequency in movies and tele-
vision series—Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, Trickster—and how
this assembly of a story’s characters exists to support the Protagonist’s physical
and psychological journey. Part III presents a proven professional approach
to Breaking Story through a series of character development and plotting
exercises resulting in a scene-by-scene outline.
Theories explored here are influenced by Aristotle, Joseph Campbell, and
Carl Jung, but are also grounded in my many years of experience as a working
writer and teacher. The content in these pages has been road-tested in work-
shops in the United States and Europe, as well as what I have learned as a
mentor at multiple feature writer labs under the auspices of the Black List in
Los Angeles. In addition, the theories and practices detailed here served as the
inspiration for story development classes in the B.F.A. and M.F.A. programs
in screenwriting at DePaul University.
As I often remind students and writers, there is no right way to write. Every
writer is different. Every story is different. It is incumbent for each individual
to find their own way into who they are as a writer and how to best navigate
the story-crafting process. That said, a character-driven approach engages the
writer with the very individuals whose story it is: the Protagonist and the
characters with whom they intersect.
Thus, we start our journey in these pages with a mantra I coined many
years ago: Begin with character. End with character. Find the story in
between.
Chicago, Illinois Scott Myers

June 2021
Acknowledgments
My thanks to DePaul University for its backing of this project, including a

generous research grant in combination with a paid leave. This allowed me
to analyze hundreds of movies and television series, and organize the struc-
ture of the book. My special thanks to the university’s David Miller, Dean
of the College of Computing and Digital Media, and Gary Novak, Director
of the School of Cinematic Arts for their continual support during my time
as an assistant professor at DePaul. I am grateful for my colleagues in the
program, especially the screenwriting faculty, who daily demonstrate their
commitment to academic excellence and serving the needs of our diverse and
talented student body.
My thanks to Dr. Linda Venis, former Director of the UCLA Extension
Writers’ Program, David Sontag, former Director, and Dana Coen, current
Director of the Writing for the Screen and Stage program at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. My years teaching at these institutions
not only helped me explore much of the content of this book, but also grow
as an educator. I thank Tom Benedek, co-founder of ScreenwritingMaster-
Class.com, a unique educational resource for writers we launched in 2010.
Tom was the very first screenwriter I met in Los Angeles and we have been
friends ever since. Of special note, my thanks to Franklin Leonard, founder
and CEO of The Black List, and the entire Black List team for the oppor-
tunity to help create, shape, and grow their annual feature film writer labs,
both as a mentor and workshop facilitator. To all the students I have taught
over the years, I appreciate the opportunity to explore your creativity with
xiii
xiv Acknowledgments
you and how the theories and practices encompassed in this book evolved
through our conversations about the craft.
There are hundreds of screenwriters, filmmakers, television writers, and
producers I have either interviewed or gotten to know through my role as
host of the blog GoIntoTheStory.com. I am grateful how our talks have
contributed to my ongoing education about the writing life. In addition,
I appreciate the many opportunities I have had to share my passion for
character-driven storytelling as a presenter, panelist, moderator, and master
class teacher with programs such as the Austin Film Festival, the London
Screenwriters’ Festival, and the Willamette Writers Conference.
My thanks to Lina Aboujieb, executive editor, and Emily Wood, editorial
assistant for their patient oversight of this project for Palgrave Macmillan.
Also to Sebastian Smith, who designed and created the Family of Char-
acters illustrations, Lisa Rivero, who handled the book’s index, and Trish
Curtin, who was kind enough to copyedit the entire manuscript. A special
acknowledgment goes out to Jule Selbo, Ph.D., professor of screenwriting
at California State University, Fullerton for introducing me to the Palgrave
Macmillan editorial team.
Finally, a personal note of gratitude to my family. To my brother Sam
Myers and his family for their support and the use of their Hovland,
Minnesota cabin for a writing retreat; to Will and Luke Myers for reading
the manuscript and providing their insightful feedback; to Rebecca McMillan
for listening to me year after year as I worked through the ideas that even-
tually resulted in the writing of this book. My family has made considerable
sacrifices as I have devoted countless hours to studying, writing, and teaching,
day and night, weekdays and weekends. My endless thanks for their patience,
encouragement, and love.
About This Book
Character drives plot. Based on this principle, this book walks aspiring writers
through the fascinating world of character-driven screenwriting. When a
writer engages their characters, they start a process which naturally leads to
the story’s structure and everything else that makes for a well-written narra-
tive. Exploring the protagonist’s journey and their “unity arc,” Myers explains
how a family of characters surrounds the protagonist and influences their
transformation process. This easy-to-follow guide features activities that will
help writers of any level develop their stories from concept to scene-by-scene
outline. Based upon a popular workshop Myers has led with over a thousand
writers at all levels of experience, this book is a must-have for screenwriting
students, both undergraduate and graduate, and those looking at advanced
story development.
Scott Myers has written over thirty projects at nearly every major Holly-
wood studio and broadcast network. He hosts GoIntoTheStory.com, which
Writers’ Digest named “Best of the Best Scriptwriting Website.” An assistant
professor at DePaul University, USA, Scott is a graduate of the University of
Virginia and Yale University Divinity School, USA.
xv
Praise for The Protagonist’s Journey
“My training as a film and tv writer consists of one online class I took with
Scott as my teacher. And the lessons I learned from him have lasted me to
this day. Scott is a brilliant guide for anyone looking to get into screenwriting.
Regardless of the genre, budget, or style of the film—character is everything.
It is the bedrock of all drama, laughter, love, passion, and loss. Get to know
your characters well enough—and they tend to tell you the story they want
to be in. Scott’s book is an indispensable tool for unlocking scripts through
character and a great tool for any screenwriter.”
—Lisa Joy, Westworld, Reminiscence
“The Protagonist’s Journey is a remarkable book. Scott Myers is an extremely

rare creative talent, a gifted writer and a brilliant teacher. You can learn so
much from him. This is a special book.”
—Shane Salerno, Armageddon, Avatar 2-5, New York Times bestselling
author, Salinger
“Scott Myers’ love of film, of story, of film characters and his mastery of the
art and craft of screenwriting are well-reflected in his wonderful new book,
The Protagonist’s Journey. Myers sets forth a clear path to impactful screen-
writing in this illuminating guide for storytellers at all levels for bringing
honest human emotion to the lives of their on-screen characters. Effectively
citing accessible examples from film and TV, this book demonstrates how
the interrelationship of character and plot functions in the script form. Scott
xvii
xviii Praise for The Protagonist’s Journey
provides a concrete set of tools – a clear, concise methodology for the craft
and effective ways to use character, emotion, human behavior to build story.”
—Tom Benedek, screenwriter, Cocoon; Professor of Screenwriting,
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
“The Protagonist’s Journey is a superb resource for writers: sharp, engaging,

and brimming with insight. Scott Myers illuminates techniques for character
development that not only kickstart creativity, but enable writers to deepen
their work and to craft gripping, emotionally satisfying stories. A gem.”
—Meg Gardiner, author of the best-selling UNSUB novels
“Scott Myers’s analytical gifts deftly lay bare the narrative underpinnings
of movies that we love. The Protagonist’s Journey is foundational for screen-
writers, and even certain fiction writers. Myers illuminates a core principle
of writing for the screen: All story rises from character. Bookstores have
been too well-supplied with “paint-by-plot-point” screenwriting manuals that
encourage schematic writing and single-trait characters. For me, it’s a keen
pleasure to see Scott Myers’ fresh approach. He profoundly understands
that the most essential thing in a performance-based art is our experi-
ence of the central character’s personal transformation, and what is gained
and lost—inevitably—along the way. Myers draws from a broad grasp of
classic, Aristotelian story-telling, as he expands our own understanding with
deep insights that he has gleaned from masters of mythology and human
psychology. What a resource this book is! I’m envious of the lucky writer
who’s just starting out, with this book on their nightstand.”
—Robin Swicord, Little Women, Memoirs of a Geisha, When They See Us
“When Scott Myers talks about screenwriting, I listen. So many writing

guides focus on structure, but Scott persuasively preaches that well-drawn
characters drive our best stories. In The Protagonist’s Journey, Scott gives us
practical steps to shape powerful narratives around protagonists, offers a
multitude of teaching illustrations from great movies, and gently invites us
into this process he understands so well. It’s a terrific book I can’t wait to
share with my students.”
—Greg Garrett, Author of Bastille Day and four other novels, and of A
Long, Long Way: Hollywood’s Unfinished Journey from Racism to
Reconciliation; Professor, Baylor University
“I’ve been reading and learning from Scott’s column for years now, but The
Protagonist’s Journey is his greatest achievement yet. It offers a smart, compre-
hensive guide to writing memorable characters and, most of all, reminds
Praise for The Protagonist’s Journey xix
us that characters are why people seek out stories and characters, not plot,
remain with audiences long after the credits roll. An essential read.”
—Brad Ingelsby, Mare of Easttown, Out of the Furnace, Run All Night
“In a sea of great books about writing, The Protagonist’s Journey stands out.
Scott Myers has a gift for distilling information into its purest and simplest
form, and this book is no different. We’ve seen so many books on screen-
writing being framed through the lens of structure, and it’s refreshing to see
someone tackle it from the most fundamental part of story: Character.”
—Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, A Quiet Place
“Finally, there is a screenwriting book that focuses on the most important

and most overlooked element of good storytelling. The characters really are
everything. The Protagonist’s Journey gives you the tools to craft emotional,
character-driven stories that are the bread and butter of any professional
screenwriter. If you want some genuine screenwriting advice, look no further
than Scott’s book.”
—Stephany Folsom, Toy Story 4, Paper Girls
“If characters are the lifeblood of stories, The Protagonist’s Journey takes you
directly into the heart of the matter. As inspirational as it is informational,
Scott Myers has created nothing less than a path for writers to immerse
themselves in the lives of their characters and enable them to drive the
story-crafting process.”
—Don Winslow, author of the best-selling City on Fire, Broken, The Border,
The Force, The Cartel
“In his decade of teaching, culminating with this book, Scott has pulled off
a remarkable feat. He’s made a complete compendium of the screenwriting
craft while continuing to encourage the antithesis of formulaic writing.”
—Peter Craig, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Top Gun: Maverick, The
Batman
“The chicken or the egg equivalent for screenwriters (and all storytellers) is
what comes first: Plot or character. What should come first is reading Scott
Myers’ book, The Protagonist’s Journey. It’s a rare gem. A book that focuses
on character development, and how characters impact the plot. Each chapter
provides specifics of character using modern film and tv references. Too many
xx Praise for The Protagonist’s Journey
books teach structure with the protagonist as an afterthought. The Protago-

nist’s Journey is a must-have, must-read for all screenwriters, and a must-teach
for all screenwriting professors.”
—Keith Giglio, screenwriter, Reba McEntire’s Christmas in Tune, A
Cinderella Story; Professor, S.I. Newhouse School, Syracuse University
“Scott Myers is a canny and thoughtful teacher of the craft of screenwriting,

and brings all of his impressive knowledge, insight and experience to The
Protagonist’s Journey: this book is full of essential lessons for the novice, and
crucial reminders for the professional.”
—Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Lost, The Dark Crystal, The Middleman
“You can tell from reading the first chapter of The Protagonist’s Journey that it
was written by someone who knows how to communicate with an audience
as varied in its interests as its abilities. With years of storytelling experience
behind him, Scott Myers has written a book easily graspable by the beginning
writer but complex enough to interest even the most sophisticated of writers.
Everyone setting out to write narrative—whether screenplay, novel, or even
history—will want to have Myers’ book along for the ride.”
—Becky McLaughlin, Professor of English, University of South Alabama
“Every movie lives or dies by their characters and no one understands that
better than Scott. Whether you’re a seasoned screenwriter or writing “fade
in” for the first time, The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-
Driven Screenwriting and Storytelling is required reading. The perfect torch to
navigate the dark abyss that is crafting a screenplay. A masterclass.”
—David Guggenheim, Safe House, Designated Survivor
“Scott Myers has distilled his years of successful screenwriting and teaching
into convenient book form. Scott’s approach is a refreshing move away
from static formulas and toward character-driven decision-making. Practical
exercises provide strategies for brainstorming, breaking story, and creating
characters with nuance and depth. Examples from accessible contemporary
film and television run throughout Scott’s text, making this a book students
will truly connect with. The Protagonist’s Journey will likely be widely adopted
in screenwriting courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.”
—Theo Lipfert, Professor, School of Film & Photography, Montana State
University
“A fresh (and refreshing) way to look at storytelling. Scott expertly crystallizes

the most important concept in screenwriting: that character and story are one
Praise for The Protagonist’s Journey xxi
in the same. I’ll be keeping this book nearby so I can easily crack it open next
time I’m stuck on a script.”
—David Rabinowitz, Academy Award, BlacKkKlansman
“Screenwriting is not an innate skill (I wish) but story sense is, and every
human has it. In this book, Scott mercifully provides an entrance to the
craft of screenwriting through our natural sense of story and human behavior.
Follow your protagonist, and her wants, needs, skills and deficiencies will lead
you where your screenplay needs to go, so the book shows us. In guiding the
reader/writer through understanding their protagonist, Scott shows us how to
better understand ourselves, the #1 skill no screenwriter can go far without.”
—Liz W. Garcia, The Lifeguard, Cold Case, Memphis Beat
“The Protagonist’s Journey is a focused, well-written, and welcome insis-

tence on character development as the primary source of storytelling energy.
Using Aristotelian logic, Jungian psychology, and Campbellian mythology to
comprehensively explore and unlock the secrets of effective, character-driven
screenwriting, Myers not only provides his readers with a clearly defined map
on how to properly navigate story, but reveals, to this author’s approval, that
plot without person is a journey to mediocrity.”
—Dana Coen, Co-Executive Producer, JAG; Director, Writing for the
Screen and Stage Program, Professor of the Practice, University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill
“The Protagonist’s Journey is a nod of respect to the craft of screenwriting.

Equal parts contemplative and practical, Myers’ straightforward approach
turns dense concepts into readily accessible ideas.”
—T. J. Newman, author of the best-selling novel Falling
“Scott Myers understands the craft of screenwriting. The Protagonist’s Journey

is an excellent resource for writers seeking to create more multilayered,
evocative characters in their storytelling process.”
—Scott Derrickson, Sinister, Deliver Us From Evil, Dr. Strange
“Building on his vast expertise as a writer and a screenwriting teacher, with

The Protagonist’s Journey, Scott Myers provides a comprehensive, contempo-
rary standard work for screenplay analysis and its application, focusing on the
core belief: that character is plot and plot is character.”
—Carolin Große Hellmann, Head of Serial Storytelling / Professional
Training Screenwriting, Internationale Filmschule Köln
xxii Praise for The Protagonist’s Journey
“We care more about the person driving the car than we do the road they’re
on. All too often, plot and so-called plot points become the drivers of narra-
tive. What results are cruise-control stories that are formulaic and predictable.
What Scott instead does here is guide the reader through an inside-out
approach, starting with the unique wants and needs of the main character,
and how the actions they take to fulfill them are what keep the reader turning
to the next page.”
—Chris Sparling, Buried, The Sea of Trees, Greenland
“Scott’s book gives clear and valuable guidelines to develop organic stories
that are driven by complex, empathetic characters. This is a much-needed
book in a field that has long been centered on plot. Whenever I feel lost in a
script, I will go back to The Protagonist’s Journey and use it as my compass to
find my way through!”
—Alireza Khatami, Award-winning writer-director, Oblivion Verses; Assistant
Professor, Ryerson University
“With The Protagonist’s Journey, Scott has unlocked a whole new way of telling
stories by focusing on characters and the psychological forces that drive them
to action. It not only changed how I viewed my current work-in-progress, it
also inspired a few brand new ideas along the way.”
—Mickey Fisher, Extant, Reverie, Jack Ryan
“Maybe you have an interesting character, or a compelling premise, and then

what? If you’ve ever struggled to integrate character with plot, The Protago-
nist’s Journey is for you. Scott Myers holds an unwavering lens on character
(protagonists, supporting character archetypes, nemesis) and then leads us
through an actionable framework for creating transformational plots. The
result is an essential read for any professional writer, teacher, or student who
wants their stories to journey purposefully.”
—Ryan Woldruff, Associate Professor of English, Central Methodist
University
“Scott brings vast experience and skill to The Protagonist’s Journey. Brimming
with examples from film + TV, this book will help any aspiring screenwriter
to level up their script mechanics from the inside out. Recommend!”
—Jessica Bendinger, Bring It On, Stick It
“Every book can offer something. Some offer more. Way more. And The
Protagonist’s Journey is one. Scott has a profound understanding of craft and
most importantly, the ability to convey his deep knowledge in a way that
Praise for The Protagonist’s Journey xxiii
people REALLY get it. He is a master of story and HOW story works. We
have had over 1,000 speakers pass through the London Screenwriters’ Festival
in the past decade and Scott remains in the top three. He is that good and
this book is a steal.”
—Chris Jones, Founder, London Screenwriters’ Festival
Contents
Part I The Protagonist’s Journey as Narrative Imperative

1 The Protagonist’s Journey 3
Further Study 17
2 Character Arc 19
The Protagonist: Change Agent 23
The Protagonist: Refuse Change 25
The Protagonist: Disintegration 28
Further Study 33
3 Disunity 35
Disunity: Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs 40
Disunity: Walter White in Breaking Bad 42
Disunity: William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love 44
Disunity: Rebecca Bunch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 46
Disunity: Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 50
Summary 51
Further Study 52
4 Deconstruction 55
Deconstruction Explored 56
Deconstruction: Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs 59
Deconstruction: Walter White in Breaking Bad 62
Deconstruction: William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love 64
xxv
xxvi Contents
Deconstruction: Rebecca Bunch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 66

Deconstruction: Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into
the Spider-Verse 69
Summary 72
Further Study 72
5 Reconstruction 75
Reconstruction Explored 76
Reconstruction: Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs 80
Reconstruction: Walter White in Breaking Bad 82
Reconstruction: William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love 85
Reconstruction: Rebecca Bunch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 87
Reconstruction: Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into
the Spider-Verse 90
Summary 92
Further Study 94
6 Unity 95
Unity Explored 96
Unity: Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs 99
Unity: Walter White in Breaking Bad 101
Unity: William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love 103
Unity: Rebecca Bunch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 106
Unity: Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 110
Summary 113
Further Study 114
7 The Screenplay Universe 117
The External World and Internal World: Finding Nemo 119
Summary 125
Further Study 126
Part II The Protagonist’s Journey as Family of Characters

8 Primary Character Archetypes 131
Primary Character Archetypes: Classic Movie Examples 133
Primary Character Archetypes: Contemporary Movie
Examples 134
Primary Character Archetypes in Television Series 137
Character Archetypes as “Masks” 139
Primary Character Archetypes: The Family of Characters 142
Further Study 143
Contents xxvii
9 Nemesis 145
Nemesis as Opposition 148
Nemesis as Conflict 150
Nemesis as Shadow 153
Summary 156
Further Study 157
10 Attractor 159
Attractor as Lover 162
Attractor as Family and Friends 165
Attractor as Inspiration 169
Summary 172
Further Study 173
11 Mentor 175
Mentor as Guide 179
Mentor as Guardian 184
Mentor as Insight 187
Summary 190
Further Study 191
12 Trickster 193
Trickster as Shapeshifter 197
Trickster as Test 202
Trickster as Will 203
Summary 206
Further Study 207
13 Subplots 209
Protagonist-Attractor Subplots 210
Protagonist-Mentor Subplots 213
Protagonist-Trickster Subplots 217
Summary 223
Further Study 223
14 Character Map 225
Constructing the Character Map 226
Character Map: The Silence of the Lambs 230
Character Map: Shakespeare in Love 233
Character Map: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 234
Summary 236
Further Study 237
xxviii Contents
Part III The Protagonist’s Journey as Screenplay

15 Breaking Story I Protagonist Character Treatment 241
Who Is the Protagonist? 242
What Does the Protagonist Want? 243
What Does the Protagonist Need? 245
What Is the Resolution of the Protagonist’s Want and Need? 246
What Is at Stake for the Protagonist? 247
Who or What Opposes the Protagonist? 249
What Does the Protagonist Fear the Most? 250
Why Does This Story Have to Happen to This Protagonist
at This Time? 251
Summary 252
References 255
16 Breaking Story II Master Brainstorming List 257
Questionnaire 259
Biography 261
Free Scene 261
Interview 262
Monologue 262
Stream of Consciousness 263
Top Sheets 264
Brainstorming Strategies 265
Summary 266
References 274
17 Breaking Story III Four Primary Plotline Points 275
Aristotle and Three Act Structure 276
Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey 277
Four Primary Plotline Points 279
Summary 280
References 282
18 Breaking Story IV Four Themeline Movements 283
Four Themeline Movements 285
Summary 288
References 290
19 Breaking Story V Ten Major Plotline Points 291
Ten Major Plotline Points 294
Notes on Ten Major Plotline Points 296
Contents xxix
Summary 299
References 302
20 Breaking Story VI Scene-By-Scene Outline 303
Working with Subplots 305
Working with a Character Map 308
Working with the Sequence Approach 310
Working with Index Cards 311
Scene-By-Scene Outline 312
Summary 315
References 316
21 Writing the First Draft 317
Attitude 318
Strategies 319
Tricks 320
Two Final Pieces of Advice 321
Index 323
About the Author
Scott Myers has written over thirty projects at nearly every major Hollywood
studio and broadcast network. He hosts GoIntoTheStory.com, which Writers’
Digest named “Best of the Best Scriptwriting Website.” An assistant professor
at DePaul University, Scott is a graduate of the University of Virginia (B.A.)
and Yale University Divinity School (M.Div.).
xxxi
List of Figures
Fig. 1.1 Jamal Malik in Slumdog Millionaire (2008) 7

Fig. 1.2 Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope
(1977) 8
Fig. 1.3 Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones (2011–2019) 10
Fig. 1.4 Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972) 11
Fig. 1.5 Andy Dufresne and Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding in The
Shawshank Redemption (1994) 14
Fig. 2.1 Dash, Violet, Bob, and Helen Parr in The Incredibles (2004) 20
Fig. 2.2 The Priest and Fleabag in Fleabag (2016, 2019) 22
Fig. 2.3 R. P. McMurphy rousing his fellow inmates in One Flew
Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1979) 25
Fig. 2.4 Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid (1968) 27
Fig. 2.5 Charles Foster Kane as a youth in Citizen Kane (1941) 28
Fig. 2.6 Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976) 31
Fig. 3.1 Camille Preaker in Sharp Objects (2018) 37
Fig. 3.2 Chiron in Moonlight (2016) 39
Fig. 3.3 Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 40
Fig. 3.4 Walter White in Breaking Bad (2008–2013) 44
Fig. 3.5 William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love (1998) 45
Fig. 3.6 Rebecca Bunch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015–2019) 49
Fig. 3.7 Miles Morales and Uncle Aaron in Spider-Man: Into
the Spider-Verse (2018) 51
xxxiii
xxxiv List of Figures
Fig. 4.1 Dorothy flanked by Tin Man, Cowardly Lion,

and Scarecrow with Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard
of Oz (1939) 57
Fig. 4.3 Walter White in Breaking Bad (2008–2013) 63
Fig. 4.4 William Shakespeare and Viola de Lesseps in Shakespeare
in Love (1998) 66
Fig. 4.5 Rebecca Bunch as a fantastical witch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
(2015–2019) 67
Fig. 4.6 Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) 69
Fig. 5.1 Frank Galvin in The Verdict (1982) 78
Fig. 5.2 Miriam “Midge” Maisel in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
(2017–2019, 2021) 79
Fig. 5.4 Walter White (a.k.a Heisenberg) in Breaking Bad
(2008–2013) 85
Fig. 5.5 William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love (1998) 86
Fig. 5.6 Rebecca Bunch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015–2019) 89
Fig. 5.7 Miles Morales as Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Into
Fig. 6.1 Holly McClane and John McClane at the end of Die Hard
(1988) 98
Fig. 6.2 Kumail Nanjiani in The Big Sick (2017) 98
Fig. 6.3 Clarice Starling talking with Hannibal Lecter in The Silence
of the Lambs (1991) 100
Fig. 6.4 Walter White (a.k.a. Heisenberg) at the end of his life
in Breaking Bad (2008–2013) 104
Fig. 6.5 The ink-stained fingertips of William Shakespeare
in Shakespeare in Love (1998) 106
Fig. 6.6 Rebecca Bunch and Paula Proctor in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
(2015–2019) 109
Fig. 6.7 Miles Morales as Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Into
Fig. 7.1 Marlin in Finding Nemo (2003) 121
Fig. 7.2 Crush in Finding Nemo (2003) 123
Fig. 7.3 Nemo and Marlin in Finding Nemo (2003) 124
Fig. 8.1 Fran Kubelik and C.C. “Bud” Baxter in The Apartment
(1960) 135
Fig. 8.2 Harvey Dent (a.k.a. Two-Face) in The Dark Knight (2008) 137
Fig. 8.3 Barry Berkman and Sally Reed in Barry (2018–present) 138
Fig. 8.4 Eve Polastri and Villanelle in Killing Eve (2018–present) 140
Fig. 8.5 Photo by Finan Akbar courtesy Unsplash 141
Fig. 8.6 Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 142
List of Figures xxxv
Fig. 9.1 Richard Strickland and the Amphibian Man in The Shape
of Water (2017) 147
Fig. 9.2 Nadia Vulvokov in Russian Doll (2019–present) 149
Fig. 9.3 Ellen Ripley and the Alien Queen in Aliens (1986) 153
Fig. 9.4 Batman and the Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) 156
Fig. 10.1 Katarina “Kat” Stratford in 10 Things I Hate About You
(1999) 160
Fig. 10.2 Frances “Baby” Houseman and Johnny Castle in Dirty
Dancing (1987) 163
Fig. 10.3 Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind
(1939) 164
Fig. 10.4 Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson in Lady Bird (2017) 166
Fig. 10.5 The TV crew’s group hug in the finale of The Mary Tyler
Moore Show (1970–1977) 169
Fig. 10.6 Imperator Furiosa and the Wives in Mad Max: Fury Road
(2015) 171
Fig. 10.7 Louise Banks and the baby Hannah in Arrival (2016) 172
Fig. 11.1 Eliot Ness and Jim Malone in The Untouchables (1987) 178
Fig. 11.2 Fred Rogers and Lloyd Vogler in A Beautiful Day
in the Neighborhood (2019) 179
Fig. 11.3 Edmund Kemper in Mindhunter (2017–2019) 182
Fig. 11.4 Clarence Oddbody and George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful
Life (1946) 184
Fig. 11.5 Alexis Zorba and Basil in Zorba the Greek (1964) 186
Fig. 11.6 Beth Harmon and Mr. Shaibel in The Queen’s Gambit
(2020) 189
Fig. 11.7 The Spirit of the West in Rango (2011) 191
Fig. 12.1 Jack Sparrow and Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) 196
Fig. 12.2 Vanessa Loring and baby in Juno (2007) 199
Fig. 12.3 Andy and Booker in The Old Guard (2020) 200
Fig. 12.4 Riggan Thomson and Mike Shiner in Birdman or (The
Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) 201
Fig. 12.5 Bruno Wolter and Gereon Rath in Babylon Berlin
(2017–present) 203
Fig. 12.6 Roy Hobbes in The Natural (1984) 206
Fig. 13.1 Jerry Maguire and Dorothy Boyd in Jerry Maguire (1996) 213
Fig. 13.2 Boo and Sulley in Monster’s, Inc. (2001) 214
Fig. 13.3 Mark Hanna in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) 216
Fig. 13.4 Bakary “Driss” Bassari and Philippe in The Intouchables
(2011) 217
Fig. 13.5 John Nash in A Beautiful Mind (2001) 220
Fig. 13.6 Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman in Adaptation
(2002) 222
xxxvi List of Figures
Fig. 14.1 Protagonist icon 226

Fig. 14.2 Nemesis icon 227
Fig. 14.3 Attractor icon 227
Fig. 14.4 Mentor icon 228
Fig. 14.5 Trickster icon 228
Fig. 14.6 Existential connection: Protagonist - Nemesis 229
Fig. 14.7 Behavioral connection: Attractor - Mentor 230
Fig. 14.8 Character map: Family of characters 231
Fig. 14.9 The Silence of the Lambs character map 232
Fig. 14.10 Shakespeare in Love character map 234
Fig. 14.11 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse character map 236
Fig. 15.1 Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate (1967) 245
Fig. 15.2 Leonard in Memento (1967) 247
Fig. 15.3 Ma and Jack in Room (2015) 248
Fig. 15.4 Carl Fredricksen in Up (2009) 252
Fig. 16.1 The Ellie Badge in Up (2009) 267
Fig. 17.1 Dug, Carl, and Russell flying in the dirigible in Up (2009) 280
Fig. 18.1 Russell, Carl, and Dug eating ice cream and counting cars
in Up (2009) 289
Fig. 19.1 Balloon house atop Paradise Falls in Up (2009) 300
Fig. 20.1 The index card outline for this book 304
Fig. 20.2 Character Map of the movie Up (2009) 308
Part I
The Protagonist’s Journey as Narrative
Imperative
1
The Protagonist’s Journey
Key Concepts Covered in This Chapter

• Protagonist: Typically a story’s central character, it is their journey which
dictates the direction and shape of the narrative.
• Journey: The geographical, psychological, and/or metaphorical adventure
the Protagonist experiences over the course of the narrative.
• Metamorphosis: The nature and process of a character’s psychological
change over the course of the narrative, especially the Protagonist. Also:
Transformation.
• Narrative Imperative: The journey the Protagonist pursues is the journey
they need to experience.
• Old World: The personal, cultural, and familial context in which the
Protagonist exists at the beginning of the story. Also: Ordinary World.
• New World: The environment into which the Protagonist moves as they
embark upon their journey. Also: Extraordinary World.
Of all the characters in a story, there is one which rises above the others,
whose importance is so great that they demand a writer’s immediate and
sustained attention. That character is the Protagonist. Their Journey is the
foundation of a story. Hero or antihero. Underdog or overlord. Lone figure
or multiple accomplices. Whatever their manifestation in a screenplay, tele-
play, novel, or short story, the role of the Protagonist is of such influence, it
touches all aspects of the unfolding narrative.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 3

Switzerland AG 2022
S. Myers, The Protagonist’s Journey,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_1
4 S. Myers
Consider the word itself: Protagonist, derived from the Greek protos
(“first”) + agonistes (“actor”), signifies the lead character in a story. What is it
about who they are that gives them such a prominent role? The very nature of
the Protagonist’s function within the context of a story imbues the character
with a kind of superhuman power to impact every narrative choice:
• The Protagonist is the story’s central character . Whether it is Clarice Starling

who, while tracking down a serial killer in The Silence of the Lambs (1991),
is compelled by Hannibal Lecter to confront her own inner “demons” or
Holden Ford and Bill Tench in Mindhunter (2017–2019), a pair of FBI
agents in the 1970s interviewing convicted sociopaths to develop the crim-
inologist practice of psychological profiling, the Protagonist exists in the
middle of the action.
• The Protagonist embarks on a journey. Whether it is Indiana Jones traversing
the globe in pursuit of the holiest of ancient relics in Raiders of the Lost Ark
(1981) or the women of La Belle, New Mexico in Godless (2017), who in
the 1880s, band together to defend their town against a murderous gang,
the Protagonist departs their Old World and experiences a New World , even
if their sojourn is metaphorical in nature.
• The Protagonist’s journey creates the spine of the plot . Whether it is Annie’s
infantile notions about romance which are put to the test when she is
selected to be a maid-of-honor in Bridesmaids (2011) or Michael Dorsey’s
chauvinist attitudes toward women which he is forced to confront while
taking on the role of actress Dorothy Michaels in Tootsie (1982), the
trajectory of the Protagonist’s psychological journey generates the building
blocks of the story’s plot.
• The Protagonist’s journey is a reflection of that character’s psychological arc .
Whether it is Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939) swooped up into a
fantastical world to learn “there’s no place like home” or Eleanor Shellstrop
in The Good Place (2016–2020) mistakenly transported to a heaven-like
afterlife and forced to hide her unethical earthly existence while trying
to become a more righteous soul, the story’s plot is tethered to the
Protagonist’s metamorphosis.
• The Protagonist’s goal dictates the story’s end point. Whether it is Benjamin’s
quixotic infatuation with Elaine in The Graduate (1967) which leads him
to intervene at her wedding or Andrew’s obsession with becoming a star
drummer resulting in a final rebellious performance in Whiplash (2014),
the Protagonist’s object of desire steers the story toward a dramatic climax.
• All of the other major characters are linked to the Protagonist and their
journey. Whether it is Ian Donnelly, Colonel Weber, Hannah, and the
aliens to Louise Banks in Arrival (2016) or Nick, Schmidt, Winston, and

Cece to Jess in New Girl (2011–2018), the Protagonist is surrounded by
characters, each contributing in their own way to the overall storyline.
• Of all the story’s characters, the Protagonist undergoes the most significant
personal metamorphosis. Whether it is Will Hunting learning to forgive
himself, embrace his genius, and open up to the possibility of love in Good
Will Hunting (1997) or Dexter Morgan, a serial killer turned avenging
angel attempting to fit into normal life as a forensics analyst, husband,
and father in Dexter (2006–2013), the Protagonist traverses a psychological
gulf in moving toward who they are meant to be.
Beyond their importance within the story universe, the Protagonist serves
a critical function to the reader or audience member: The character is their
primary conduit into the story. Symbolically, the Protagonist functions as us,
our identification with them shrinking the distance between printed page and
screen as we live vicariously through their exploits.
For all these reasons, the Protagonist holds a preeminent position among
any story’s array of characters. Therefore, because of the centrality of who
they are, what they mean in terms of the overall narrative, and their role in
drawing readers or viewers into the story, writers are well-advised to engage
the Protagonist as early as possible in their character development and story-
crafting process.
Where to start? By examining the state of the Protagonist’s life at the
beginning of the story. For guidance, we may seek the insights of Joseph
Campbell, the renowned scholar in the field of comparative mythology. His
seminal work The Hero with a Thousand Faces has had a profound influence
on contemporary storytelling, extending even into Hollywood filmmaking,
most notably George Lucas and the creation of the Star Wars universe.1 In the
six-part interview series The Power of Myth with host Bill Moyers, Campbell
describes the beginning of the hero’s adventure this way:
The Hero is found in the ordinary world.

In ancient myths, it used to be the cottage or village.
In films, it is usually the suburbs or common urban environment.
1 “…it came to me that there really was no modern use of mythology…so that’s when I started
doing more strenuous research on fairy tales, folklore and mythology, and I started reading Joe’s
books. Before that I hadn’t read any of Joe’s books…. It was very eerie because in reading ‘A Hero
with a Thousand Faces,’ I began to realize that my first draft of Star Wars was following classical
motifs.” George Lucas interview in Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind , Larsen, Stephen and Larsen,
Robin; Inner Traditions; Reprint edition, April, 2002, p. 541.
6 S. Myers
The Hero is making do, but feels something missing,

a sense of discomfort or tension.
The Hero needs to change, even if they are unaware of that need. a
aThePower of Myth, Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell, Episode 1, Mystic Fire
Video/Wellspring, 1988.
Before the actual story begins, before “Once upon a time”—or in the
parlance of the screenplay, before Fade In—the Protagonist has cobbled
together a semblance of a life. During this period of the character’s personal
history, they develop a complex of belief systems and behaviors, coping skills
and defense mechanisms, all as a means of making their way in what Camp-
bell calls the Ordinary World . They may exist at the apex of societal standing,
revered and powerful, a lost soul clinging to the bottom rung, or anywhere
in between. The simple fact is that in a story, no matter where the Protago-
nist begins in the first sentence of their existence on the pages of a novel or
screenplay, they are just “making do,” whether they acknowledge it or not.
Psychologically speaking, they are leading an inauthentic life, not the one
they are supposed to be living. The Protagonist “needs to change.” It is this
opening state of “discomfort or tension,” what we may refer to as disunity,
and their accompanying need to transform that provides both the foundation
of the narrative and the impetus to propel it forward.
If we ground our perspective in that of the Protagonist, we can see how
a story evolves into being because this central character must change. Again
referring to The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell says:
Something happens…
Maybe the Antagonist enters the Protagonist’s world, disrupting it.
Or maybe someone comes, a Herald, who calls the Protagonist to action.
The call to adventure is about transformation and that’s terrifying.

The Hero has to confront fear.
Will the Hero survive?
Will they change for the Good or the Bad?b
b Ibid.
The Protagonist is going about their daily life in the ordinary world.
Suddenly, “something happens,” a call to adventure. This event “drops” into
the center of the Protagonist’s existence and forces them to make a choice:
accept the call or refuse it.
In the halls of Hollywood development executives, the Protagonist has
no option: Reluctant or not, they plunge into a new world or else there
Fig. 1.1 Jamal Malik in Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
is no story, no movie, no television series. In the business domain of film

and TV, the Protagonist must go on their journey. Forces within the story
universe compel the Protagonist out of the relative comfort of their familiar
life, separating them from their routine, friends, families … and onto their
path toward Metamorphosis. Campbell intimates this in The Power of Myth:
“In the end, the hero is a transformed individual.”
Movies and long-form television series are awash with such examples of
character metamorphosis. In Groundhog Day (1993), Phil is transformed day
after repeated day from a narcissistic TV weatherman, who only cares about
himself, into someone who demonstrates a genuine sense of selflessness, ulti-
mately manifested in his care and concern for a variety of Punxsutawney
residents. Over the course of the first three seasons of Westworld (2016–
present), Dolores Abernathy evolves from the park’s original robot host,
programmed to play the role of a rancher’s sweet daughter, into a leader
of a revolt against humans, seeking retribution for the violence perpetrated
against her android peers by park visitors and administrators. In Slumdog
Millionaire (2008), over the years Jamal Malik transitions from an impov-
erished childhood to living in an orphanage run by a gangster to working as
a “chai-wallah” serving tea to employees at a telephone call center, and finally,
a fateful appearance on India’s version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. All
those changes mirror his personal metamorphosis, which eventually pits him
against vicious crime lord Javed to free Latika, the object of Jamal’s lifelong,
undying affection (Fig. 1.1).
A Protagonist’s metamorphosis is not arbitrary—rather, its roots exist
within that individual’s being even at the start of the story. It is the specific
8 S. Myers
Fig. 1.2 Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope (1977)
articulation of that character arc, emerging from the interplay of events and
responses, which provides the substance of the story’s structure. In some cases,
the end point of the Protagonist’s journey is so deeply ingrained, it is akin to
the character’s DNA, informing and influencing the nature of their fate.
When we first meet Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode IV—A New
Hope (1977), he is living with his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru on the planet
Tatooine. Although his job assisting with the family’s moisture farm is an
important one, it is far from fulfilling for young Luke. As Aunt Beru says,
“Luke’s just not a farmer, Owen. He’s got too much of his father in him.”
As it turns out, his father was a Jedi knight, so quite literally, Luke has
inherited that DNA. No wonder he is itching to venture forth from the desert
planet (“I want to transmit my application to the Academy this year”). He is
drawn toward the destiny which resides latent within him: to become a Jedi.
Therefore, is it surprising that R2-D2 and C-3PO find their way to him?
That R2-D2 runs away? That Luke heads off to track down the errant droid?
That this escapade leads Luke to Obi-Wan Kenobi, his Mentor-to-be in the
ways of The Force? Against all odds, this series of events occurs on a tiny
speck of rocks and dust at the edge of the galaxy. As Luke remarks, “If there’s
a bright center of the universe, you’re on the planet that it’s farthest from.”
This remarkable fact reinforces the presence of fate in Luke’s existence, his
unrealized potential responding to a call from his authentic nature (Fig. 1.2).
Luke’s journey is to become what in effect he already is. All of the expe-
riences he has subsequent to meeting Obi-Wan—discovering the corpses of
his murdered uncle and aunt; a fish-out-of-water in the Mos Eisley cantina;
heading off with Obi-Wan in the Millennium Falcon helmed by Han Solo;
training with Obi-Wan in the ways of The Force; fending off TIE fighters
while manning quad laser cannons; entering the Death Star to rescue Princess
Leia; nearly drowning in the trash compactor; watching Obi-Wan sacrifice
himself in a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader; escaping to the Rebel base—
prepare him for a single moment in time: While piloting an X-wing fighter,
instead of using the onboard computer system to target the narrow entrance
to the Death Star’s reactor core, Luke responds to Obi-Wan’s ethereal voice
(“Use The Force, Luke. Let go.”) and gives himself over to what he has learned
about the ways of the Jedi and who he is in the process of becoming. As a
result, he succeeds in delivering the fatal blow which destroys the Death Star.
The roots of Luke’s actions in that culminating event existed within his psyche
all the way back to his days on Tatooine: He is a Jedi knight in waiting. His
fate is inevitable.
In Game of Thrones (2011–2019), Daenerys Targaryen is the daughter of
King Aerys II Targaryen, known as the “Mad King,” who was killed during
the sack of King’s Landing and whose position on the Iron Throne was stolen
by Robert Baratheon. These events transpired before Daenerys was born.
When the television series begins, she lives under the tyrannical rule of her
older brother Viserys who beats her whenever she “awakes the dragon” (i.e.,
his rage). As a result when we first meet Daenerys, she cowers in fear of her
brother.
In Season One, Episode 1 (S1, Ep1): “Winter is Coming,” Viserys has
arranged for his sister to be married to warlord Khal Drogo in exchange for
forty thousand Dothraki fighters.2 Viserys intends to use these forces to defeat
Robert Baratheon and reclaim the Targaryen throne. At first, Daenerys is
reluctant to become Khal Drogo’s bride, but she not only tames the warlord’s
heart, she grows in status as the equivalent of a queen. In S1, Ep4 (“Cripples,
Bastards, and Broken Things”), when Viserys strikes her, she proclaims, “I am
a Khaleesi of the Dothraki. I am the wife of the great Khal and I carry his
son inside me. The next time you raise a hand to me will be the last time you
have hands!” (Fig. 1.3).
Over the course of the series’ eight seasons, Daenerys transforms into a
powerful figure, the “mother” of three dragons, leading a growing army of
followers to conquer cities and kingdoms, all with a singular purpose: reclaim
the Iron Throne.3 The seeds of that power, however, reside within Daenerys
2 Television episodes are referred to as follows: S for season followed by the number signifying which
season, comma, space, Ep for episode followed by the number signifying which episode during that
season. Example: S3, Ep4 signifies the fourth episode of the third season.
3 With each conquest, her official title keeps growing to the point where she is formally known as
Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First
10 S. Myers
Fig. 1.3 Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones (2011–2019)
from the beginning of her life’s journey as the daughter of a king. The choices
she makes are grounded in the belief that it is her destiny to reign as Queen.
Initially, her motives seem to be pure: to liberate those who are enslaved as she
once was symbolically to her brother. However, by S5, Ep8 (“Hardhome”),
she announces, “I’m not going to stop the wheel. I’m going to break the
wheel.” Her commitment to liberation increasingly feels more like a pretense
for her desire for dominion over Westeros (“I was born to rule the Seven
Kingdoms, and I will”—S7, Ep3: “The Queen’s Justice”).
By the time Daenerys unleashes a brutal assault on innocent civilians in
King’s Landing (S8, Ep5: “The Bells”), even after they had surrendered, her
actions align with the legacy of her father: She has become the “Mad Queen.”
In seeking to rid the world of tyrants, she has transformed into one herself,
the end point of her destiny.4
In The Godfather (1972), Michael Corleone has been groomed to be a
“civilian,” avoiding the criminal business of his father, Vito, a Mafia don.
Yet as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that criminal life is the son’s fate,
no matter his college education, years in the military, combat medals, or the
express wishes of his father for Michael to avoid following in his footsteps.
When Michael returns home after World War II, he finds himself inexorably
pulled into the brewing battle between Mafia families.
Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, the Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea,
the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains. Even her name reflects her metamorphosis.
4 While the execution of Season Eight has been the center of much debate and criticism for Game of
Thrones fans, tracking the arc of Daenerys’ character all the way through the series strongly suggests
her lust for power would override her instincts to make the world a better place.
Fig. 1.4 Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972)
This feud results in an assassination attempt on Don Corleone. While

visiting his father in the hospital, Michael demonstrates his innate strategic
instincts by ordering the nurse on duty to move Vito to a different room,
staving off another hit attempt. This event seems to awaken something
inside Michael. He convinces his older brother Sonny that because Michael
is not perceived to be a part of the family business, he is in a position to
cozy up to rival don Sollozzo and kill him, along with corrupt police chief
McCluskey—which Michael does (Fig. 1.4).
Exiled to Sicily for his own safekeeping, Michael falls in love with a local
woman named Apollonia. They wed and it appears Michael may be able to
skirt any further intersection with criminality. That turns out to be an illusion
as fate intervenes in his bucolic existence. When his father’s enemies discover
Michael’s whereabouts, they kill his young wife in a bombing intended for
him.
With Sonny dead, middle brother Fredo incapable of a leadership role,
and Vito incapacitated due to his declining medical state and eventual death,
Michael returns home and takes charge. He orders the assassination of five
rivals. The fact the murders happen during a baptism ceremony at which
Michael appears in the role of the infant’s godfather is both ironic and
profound: Through his ruthless leadership, Michael embraces his essential
nature as a Mafia don. Vito had hoped Michael could lead a “legitimate” life
and become a senator or governor, but it was not to be as his destiny existed
in a nascent form from the start of his adulthood.
That sense of inevitability, what we may call Narrative Imperative, is a
core dynamic of the Protagonist’s journey. Sometimes, as with characters like
Luke Skywalker, Daenerys Targaryen, and Michael Corleone, their fate may
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emerge in the writing process like some sort of metaphorical DNA, clearly
marking their personal trajectory. Other characters have a more complex set
of dynamics at work within them. In that case, a writer must consider the
character’s psyche, the totality of their psychological being: memories, asso-
ciations, emotions, passions, instincts, behaviors, beliefs, flaws, wounds, and
the like. These are the base elements constituting a Protagonist’s initial state
of disunity necessitating the journey upon which they are about to embark.
Consider the reflections of Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology:
The psychological rule says that when an inner situation is not made conscious,
it happens outside, as fate. That is to say, when the individual remains undi-
vided and does not become conscious of his inner contradictions, the world
must perforce act out the conflict.5
This is a powerful idea when applied to storytelling. If a Protagonist does

not engage their “inner situation,” their “inner contradictions,” if they remain
“undivided,” that conflict “happens outside, as fate.” This means there is a
direct connection between the Protagonist’s specific state of disunity and the
events which transpire in their ensuing journey: “the world must perforce act
out the conflict.”
Thus, viewing the hero’s journey through this “lens” provided by Jung, the
call to adventure is not merely some random event which launches the plot
into action, but rather it is intrinsically tied to the nature of the Protagonist’s
psyche: inner conflict manifest outside as fate.6 Indeed, one way to look at the
Protagonist’s journey is that every occurrence in the plot serves and supports
this central character’s metamorphosis.
In The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Andy Dufresne is introduced sitting
in a parked car near a cabin in the woods. Inside, his wife is having sex with
a golf pro. Drinking heavily, Andy loads bullets into a pistol and staggers
toward the cabin, violent intent in mind. His wife and her lover end up dead,
but on the witness stand at his murder trial, Andy proclaims his innocence.
The jury is not swayed and he is found guilty of a double homicide. At his
sentencing, the judge declares to Andy, “You strike me as a particularly icy
and remorseless man, Mr. Dufresne. It chills my blood just to look at you.”
It is a noteworthy articulation of this Protagonist’s opening state of being.
Andy’s call to adventure occurs with his entrance into Shawshank prison
for it is here that he intersects with a set of characters who over the years
5C. G. Jung, “Aion,” Collected Works 9ii (Princeton University Press, 1970), p. 126.
6Joseph Campbell was significantly influenced by the work of Jung to the point he edited The
Portable Jung (Penguin Books, 1971).
become a kind of surrogate family, including allies like Ellis Boyd “Red”
Redding, his Mentor and best friend, and enemies Warden Norton, Captain
Hadley, and The Sisters, who all cause Andy physical and mental anguish.
The cumulative effect of these ongoing experiences is to break down Andy’s
defenses. This deconstruction of his original way of being lays the ground-
work for him to reconnect with aspects of human experience which revitalize
him: love of the arts (music, books, chess), hobbies (carving chess pieces,
upgrading the library, helping Tommy with his education), and simple plea-
sures (listening to a Mozart opera, watching his fellow prisoners, now friends,
drink beer on a rooftop).
After his hope for parole has been snuffed out when Norton orders Hadley
to assassinate Tommy, Andy spends a few quiet moments with Red in the
prison yard. This is the final time the two will talk before Andy escapes that
night. It is a crucial scene for many reasons, including this: Andy makes a
confession.
EXT -- PRISON YARD -- DAY (1966)
Red finds Andy sitting in the shadow of the high stone wall,
poking listlessly through the dust for small pebbles. Red
waits for some acknowledgment. Andy doesn't even look up.
Red hunkers down and joins him. Nothing is said for the
longest time. And then, softly:
ANDY
My wife used to say I'm a hard man
to know. Like a closed book.
Complained about it all the time.
(pause)
She was beautiful. I loved her. But
I guess I couldn't show it enough.
(softly)
I killed her, Red.
Andy finally glances to Red, seeking a reaction. Silence.
ANDY
I didn't pull the trigger. But I
drove her away. That's why she
died. Because of me...c
cTheShawshank Redemption, screenplay by Frank Darabont, novella by Stephen

King. Movie script, undated, Scene 205.
Andy admits to culpability in the failure of his marriage, how he used to

be, an “icy and remorseless man,” a “hard man to know,” contributing to his
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Fig. 1.5 Andy Dufresne and Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding in The Shawshank Redemption
(1994)
wife seeking affection elsewhere in the form of her affair. This moment serves
as a reminder of how much Andy has changed during the nineteen years of
his imprisonment: He has reclaimed his own humanity, which had somehow
been lost, and found meaning by inspiring his fellow prisoners to embrace
moments of beauty, however fleeting in Shawshank (Fig. 1.5).
In a sense, it was Andy’s narrative imperative to go to prison in order to free
himself from the shackles of his old nature. The inner tensions of his original
state of disunity manifest themselves in the key events which transpire in his
prison life and relationships with central characters, a backdrop against which
his metamorphosis plays out. His escape from prison and subsequent trek to
the tiny fishing village of Zihuatanejo in Mexico (“That’s where I’d like to
finish out my life, Red. A warm place with no memory.”) represents Andy’s
journey toward a state of wholeness.
However, the story does not end with Andy’s surprise departure from
Shawshank. There is still Red’s fate hanging in the balance.7 As far as Andy’s
relationship with Red is concerned, Red functions as a wisdom figure, espe-
cially during Andy’s transition into prison life. He procures a rock hammer
for Andy (“There’s a con like me in every prison in America, I guess. I’m the
7 The Shawshank Redemption is an example of a Dual Protagonist narrative.

guy who can get it for you.”) and offers unsolicited advice about The Sisters.
In response, Andy acts as a beacon of hope. At first, Red wants none of that:
ANDY
That there are things in this world
not carved out of gray stone. That
there's a small place inside of us
they can never lock away, and that
place is called hope.
RED
Hope is a dangerous thing. Drive a
man insane. It's got no place here.
Better get used to the idea.d
d Ibid., Scene 150.
But Andy persists with Red: exposing him to Mozart, “suds” on the roof,
helping Andy prepare the prison guards’ tax returns. As Andy reacquaints
himself with those things in life which give him and others meaning, his
steadfastness fans the flickering embers of hope Red still has inside.
Interestingly, before he gains his freedom, Red makes his own “confes-
sion.” In two previous appearances before the parole board, Red spews lines
he expects they want to hear (“I’ve learned my lesson. I can honestly say I’m
a changed man”). However, during his third and final set of remarks to the
board, Red tells the truth:
RED
Not a day goes by I don't feel
regret, and not because I'm in here
or because you think I should. I
look back on myself the way I
was...stupid kid who did that
terrible crime...wish I could talk
sense to him. Tell him how things
are. But I can't. That kid's long
gone, this old man is all that's
left, and I have to live with that.
(beat)
Rehabilitated? That's a bullshit
word, so you just go on ahead and
stamp that form there, sonny, and
stop wasting my damn time. Truth
is, I don't give a shit.e
e Ibid., Scene 274.

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Just as Andy’s “confession” is tied to his escape, Red’s results in his own
freedom: He is granted parole.
Like Brooks before him, Red finds life on the “outside” to be a challenge.
During the decades of his imprisonment, he has become “institutionalized” to
the point where at work, he has to ask his boss if it is okay to take a bathroom
break: Red is hardwired to take orders from authority figures. Eventually, Red
is tempted to commit a crime, maybe even follow Brooks’ example and kill
himself. He does not, remarking, “Only one thing stops me. A promise I
made to Andy.”
Red fulfills his pledge to Andy by traveling to a remote hay field and
finding the box Andy said would be buried there. It contains money, a map
to Zihuatanejo, and a note:
ANDY (V.O.)
Dear Red. If you're reading this,
you've gotten out. And if you've
come this far, maybe you're willing
to come a little further. You
remember the name of the town,
don't you? I could use a good man
to help me get my project on
wheels. I'll keep an eye out for
you and the chessboard ready.
(beat)
Remember, Red. Hope is a good
thing, maybe the best of things,
and no good thing ever dies. I will
be hoping that this letter finds
you, and finds you well. Your
friend. Andy. f
f Ibid., Scene 292.
There it is again: hope, the essential connection between the two. Andy’s
persistence in clinging to it helped keep Red’s hope alive. Thus, the poignancy
of the movie’s final words:
RED (V.O.)
I hope I can make it across the
border. I hope to see my friend
and shake his hand. I hope the
Pacific is as blue as it has been
in my dreams.
(beat)
I hope.g
g Ibid., Scene 297.
“I hope.” This from a character who initially said “hope is a dangerous

thing.” The last side of dialogue is a clear sign of Red’s metamorphosis. In his
initial state of disunity, he started out a cynic, but in fact, Red did have some
shred of hopefulness within. Andy presented Red with a choice: “Get busy
living, or get busy dying.” In the end, Red chooses the former and with that
decision starts on a path toward his own state of unity.
Andy and Red may not have the type of character DNA as do Luke
Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope, Daenerys Targaryen in
Game of Thrones, and Michael Corleone in The Godfather . Yet, their inner
conflicts which are present at the beginning of the story manifest clearly in
the plot, so that each event and personal interaction feeds their respective
character arcs.
This is the inherent structure of story: a Protagonist on a journey
surrounded by characters tethered to them. By immersing themselves in the
lives of this “family of characters,” always bearing in mind the centrality
of the Protagonist’s role to the narrative, writers take their own journey of
discovery, unearthing scenes and subplots, themes and subtext, enabling the
story’s structure to emerge from the individuals who know it best: its char-
acters. In that process, the Protagonist’s arc becomes clear: The journey they
take is the one they need to take—their narrative imperative.
Exercise
Pick a favorite movie or one-hour drama television series. Apply the list of
narrative attributes detailed at the front of this chapter to the story’s primary
characters (e.g., story’s central character, embarks on a journey, their journey
creates the spine of the plot, etc.) Is there one character to whom most of the
attributes apply? That character is in all likelihood the Protagonist.
Further Study
The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell, Bollingen Foundation, Pantheon
Books, 1949.
The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell (author), Bill Moyers (collaborator), Anchor
Books, 1991.
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Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind—The Authorized Biography, Stephen Larsen and
Robin Larsen, Doubleday, 1991.
The Portable Jung, Carl Jung (author) Joseph Campbell (editor), Penguin Books,
1971.
Jung: A Brief Insight, Anthony Stevens, Sterling Publishing, 2011.
The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, Christopher Vogler, Michael Wiese
Productions; 3rd edition, 2007.
A New Hope: The Illustrated Screenplay (Star Wars, Episode IV), George Lucas, Del
Ray Books, 1998.
Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon: Game of Thrones and the Official Untold Story of the Epic
Series, James Hibberd, Dutton Books, 2020.
Annotated Godfather: The Complete Screenplay with Commentary on Every Scene,
Interviews, and Little-Known Facts, Jenny M. Jones (author), Francis Ford
Coppola (screenwriter), Mario Puzo (screenwriter/author), Black Dog & Leven-
thal, 2009.
“The Godfather”: A Historical Curiosity That Proved Instrumental for Our Filmmaking
Education and Appreciation, Sven Mikulec, Cinephilia & Beyond, June 15, 2015,
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/the-godfather/.
Shawshank Redemption: The Shooting Script, Frank Darabont (screenwriter), Stephen
King (author), Newmarket Press, 2004.
References
Darabont, F. (screenplay), King, S. (novel) (1994), The Shawshank Redemption;
Castle Rock Entertainment/Columbia Pictures.
Jung, C. G. (1970). “Aion,” Collected Works 9ii; Princeton University Press.
Jung, C. G., Campbell, J. (editor), Hull, R. F. C. (translator) (1971). The Portable
Jung, Penguin Books.
Larsen, S. and Larsen, R. (2002). Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind ; Inner
Traditions; Reprint edition.
Moyers, B. and Campbell, J. (1988). The Power of Myth; Mystic Fire
Video/Wellspring.
2
Character Arc

• External World: The physical realm of a screenplay universe, the domain of
character action and dialogue. Also: Plotline.
• Internal World: The psychological realm of a screenplay universe, the domain
of character intention and subtext. Also: Themeline.
• Character Arc: The contour of a character’s metamorphosis from their
beginning state of being to their ending state.
• Unity Arc: The metamorphosis process in which a Protagonist begins in a
state of disunity, then progresses through deconstruction and reconstruction
toward wholeness.
• Want: A specific Protagonist goal which compels them forward and provides
an end point for the plotline. Also: Conscious Goal.
• Need: Among many drivers within the Protagonist’s psyche, there is one
which emerges as the key dynamic in the character’s metamorphosis. Also:
Unconscious Goal.
• Individuation: As the Protagonist integrates key aspects of their psyche
during their journey, they become who they are supposed to be.
• Change Agent: A Protagonist who does not change, but instigates or
inspires change in others.
• Refuse Change: When a Protagonist is provided the opportunity to change,
but resists the call.
• Disintegration: As opposed to integration, a metamorphosis process in which
the original state of the character’s being crumbles, leading to a negative
end.

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_2
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Fig. 2.1 Dash, Violet, Bob, and Helen Parr in The Incredibles (2004)
The Protagonist’s journey is fundamentally about change. While that is

most apparent in the tests, twists, and turns which transpire in the story’s
External World —the realm of the plot—the most meaningful way metamor-
phosis manifests itself is in the character’s Internal World , the domain of their
psychological experience. In Hollywood development circles, this change is
usually referred to as a Character Arc : The Protagonist begins in one state of
being and by story’s end has evolved into a different state. The shape of that
transformation process is their arc.
The most common character arc in movies and television series is one in
which the Protagonist successfully integrates vital aspects of their psyche into
a psychological whole. Typically in a story featuring a Unity Arc, the Protag-
onist not only achieves their Want, the goal which they have consciously
pursued in the external world, but also their Need , embracing key dynamics
which emerge from their inner self and redefine the very nature of who they
are.
In Legally Blonde (2001), Elle Woods follows her ex-fiancé to Harvard Law
School where she unearths the mind of a successful trial lawyer beneath her
“dumb blonde” exterior. In True Detective (Season One, 2014), Rust Cohle
and Marty Hart solve the Yellow King murder mystery, take down the killer,
overcome their personal differences, and find renewed purpose in life. In The
Incredibles (2004), when Bob Parr and his family band together to defeat
Syndrome and the Omnidroid, they discover how to lead a “normal” life as
clandestine superheroes (Fig. 2.1).
2 Character Arc 21
There is an old Hollywood axiom about movie and television audiences:

“Give ‘em what they expect, then give ‘em what they want.” More often
than not, this means stories wrapped up with a positive resolution.1 From a
business perspective, that draw toward “and they all lived happily ever after”
endings makes sense. Moviegoers spilling out of a theater laughing, smiling,
and chattering about their recent cinematic experience can translate into crit-
ical “word of mouth” buzz which in turn may generate bigger box office
numbers. However, reflecting the complicated nature of human existence,
there are stories in which the Protagonist integrates their need and, thus, is
transformed into a more authentic version of their self, even as they do not
get what they want.
In Drive (2011), the Protagonist known as Driver bonds with Irene and
her young son (Benicio) to the point where he risks his life to ensure they
are freed from a criminal’s murderous threat. What does Driver want? Once
he has moved out of his state of self-imposed isolation and opened himself
to human connection, Driver wants to be with Irene and Benicio, a part of
their family. Unfortunately, that fate is not to be as in the final scene, he
drives away from the city into the night, nursing a serious stab wound and
an uncertain future.
Over the course of two seasons in the television series Fleabag (2016,
2019), the Protagonist’s need keeps poking up from the inner cavern Fleabag
has created to avoid dealing with her guilt.2 In Season Two, Fleabag falls in
love with The Priest and confesses to him many errors she has made (S2,
Ep4: “I want someone to tell me how to live my life, Father, because so far
I think I’ve been getting it wrong”). What does she want? To be in a rela-
tionship with the Priest. Although they have potent romantic feelings toward
each other, consummating their relationship sexually a single time, he crushes
her hopes by choosing to remain a member of the clergy. This outcome sets
the stage for Fleabag to confront what she needs: to address her psychological
dysfunction (Fig. 2.2).
Even this single variation on the unity arc—the Protagonist gets what they
need, but not what they want—opens the door to an endless variety of trans-
formation stories. For writers, this is where the concept of Individuation as
articulated by Carl Jung can be beneficial.
1 For decades, this has been the default approach to television sit-coms (situation comedies) which
feature characters confronting a series of challenges, typically with multiple storylines (A plot, B plot,
C plot), all resolved neatly by the end of the episode.
2 As the final episode of Season One reveals, her best friend and business partner Boo committed
suicide after learning Fleabag had an affair with Boo’s boyfriend.
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Fig. 2.2 The Priest and Fleabag in Fleabag (2016, 2019)
Therefore an advance always begins with individuation, that is to say with

the individual, conscious of his isolation, cutting a new path through hitherto
untrodden territory. To do this he must first return to the fundamental facts
of his own being, irrespective of all authority and tradition, and allow himself
to become conscious of his distinctiveness.3
In its simplest form, individuation is the process whereby a person becomes

who they are meant to be. Every character in a story is unique unto
themselves including their respective psychological journey.
Thus, while stories with a unity arc may be the most popular ones to
emerge from Hollywood, the proverbial “happy ending,” there are numerous
other narrative archetypes, each of which may be shaped in countless ways.
Indeed, one of the forces behind the growth and popularity of television series
during the last two decades, most notably in premium pay cable networks
such as HBO Max and Showtime, as well as in streaming services like Apple
TV+, Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix, has been the emergence of stories in
which central characters experience transformation arcs which vary across
the spectrum from positive to negative. These range from the fragile recon-
ciliation between Kevin Garvey and Nora Durst at the conclusion of The
Leftovers (2014–2017) to the narcissistic alcoholic Frank Gallagher in Shame-
less (2011–present) who occasionally manages to act as a good father to his
3C. G. Jung, “The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche,” Collected Works VIII (Princeton University
Press, 1969), para. 111, p. 59.
2 Character Arc 23
seven children; or from the conniving political rise and fall of Frank Under-
wood in House of Cards (2013–2018) to Heidi Bergman in Homecoming
(2018, 2020) who delves into fractured memories to uncover the tormented
truth of her past.
One of the intended takeaways from this book is for writers to avoid the
trap of formulaic storytelling. While there is nothing inherently wrong with
unity arcs, creators ought not feel that this is the only narrative approach to
bring to potential movie or television projects. Writers should be encouraged
to follow their characters into the moral and psychological complexities that
make up who they are, and to see where that creative exploration takes those
characters on their respective individuation journeys.
To that end, let us consider some alternative arcs as exhibited in notable
movies and television series.
The Protagonist: Change Agent

In some stories, the Protagonist does not change, but rather instigates change
in others. One example of such a Change Agent is the character WALL-E
in the Pixar movie WALL-E (2008). Set seven hundred years in the future,
the Protagonist is an endearing little machine, the last remaining active robot
designed to clean up garbage. Hence, the character’s name: Waste Allocation
Load Lifter: Earth. The planet is an environmental disaster to the point where
the entire human race has left to live in outer space aboard luxury spaceships.
Every day, WALL-E dutifully trundles out of the transport truck he has trans-
formed into a home to gather junk, compact the refuse into cubes, and stack
those cubes onto an endless stretch of scrap skyscrapers the robot has created.
He does his job alone and in total solitude save for his buddy, a cockroach.
One might think this thankless task would lead WALL-E into a state of
depression, but in fact, he is a cheerful fellow, humming along to songs from
the movie Hello, Dolly! He is content to gather curious items he discovers
doing his job (e.g., spork, Rubik’s cube, Zippo lighter) which he adds to his
collection of keepsakes. Yet as he wistfully watches an old videotape of his
favorite musical, it is clear WALL-E is a romantic and his deepest desire is for
companionship.
Enter EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) who arrives on Earth in
search of plant life, a sign the planet is once again inhabitable. She has the
personality of a classic robot, single-minded about her prime directive, cold,
even callous toward WALL-E, but that is not how he experiences Eve. In his
eyes, “She’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.”
WALL-E does find a plant on Earth which sets off a chain reaction of
events: Eve heads back to the spaceship Axiom; WALL-E follows her; he
24 S. Myers
disrupts the sedentary lifestyles of two humans, John and Mary, which ripples
out to others; eventually people on the ship act as a collective to save the
plant; and the spaceship returns to Earth to commence a recolonization
effort—all because of WALL-E’s influence. Plus this: Eve evolves from an
emotionless robot into WALL-E’s romantic partner, transformed by the little
droid’s human-like passion for life and love. Throughout his journey, WALL-
E remains indefatigable and constant in his optimism. His presence impacts
everyone with whom he comes into contact and actually changes the course
of human history.
Other examples of cinematic change agents:
• Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump (1994) whose homespun wisdom and

genuine goodness alters individuals like Jenny and Lieutenant Dan, Amer-
ican culture (e.g., the jogging trend, “Shit Happens” t-shirts), and history
itself (e.g., the Watergate break-in).
• Chance (a.k.a Chauncey Gardner) in Being There (1979), a slow-witted
gardener who influences millionaire businessmen, Washington, DC elite
including the President of the United States, and the general public, to
the point that by the end of the movie, he is mentioned as a potential
presidential candidate.
• R. P. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), a criminal
who escapes imprisonment by acting insane and is thus sentenced to a ward
for the mentally ill, where he takes on the authoritarian Nurse Ratched and
inspires his fellow inmates to rise up against the status quo (Fig. 2.3).
WALL-E, Forrest Gump, and Chance may be perceived as uncomplicated

figures, even simpletons. However from a story perspective, they are fully
actualized individuals who exist in a state of unity with their authentic nature.
Their ability to change others arises directly from who they are. In contrast,
McMurphy exists in a state of disunity, at odds with societal norms, a rebel
without a cause until he discovers one in the asylum. His power in changing
others derives from his own contrarian nature and manifests itself largely from
his interest in inciting insurrection against Nurse Ratched.4
What this analysis suggests is that change agents do not need to be pure
in spirit, but rather they can emerge from any sort of psychological state of
4There is another type of change agent: Crusader. In movies like Norma Rae (1979), Gandhi (1982),
Silkwood (1983), and Erin Brockovich (2000), the Protagonist takes on The System, however, in these
cases, the character goes through a change themselves—an empowerment character arc. As they fight
back against authority, they discover within their psyche a source of strength and courage that had
heretofore been untapped.
2 Character Arc 25
Fig. 2.3 R. P. McMurphy rousing his fellow inmates in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
Nest (1979)
being as is the case with McMurphy whose ability to transform others arises
from his own refusal to change.
The Protagonist: Refuse Change

As McMurphy’s experience demonstrates, there are some stories in which key
characters are presented with the opportunity to change, but refuse to do so.
In the 1968 movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , the Co-Protagonists
are a pair of thieves and leaders of the Hole-in-the-Wall gang. Set in 1899,
the twentieth century and big changes loom, but Butch and Sundance are
stuck in their old ways. This dynamic is established from the beginning
of the movie. Butch, the brains of the duo (Sundance has a recurring line
of dialogue: “You just keep thinking, Butch. That’s what you’re good at”)
laments the construction of a new bank, one he happens to be scoping out
to rob (“What was the matter with that old bank this town used to have?
It was beautiful”). Meanwhile, Sundance is introduced in a scene steeped in
the cliché of an old Western: accusations of cheating and guns drawn over a
game of poker.
Their stock-in-trade is robbing banks, so when Butch is challenged as the
leader of the gang by Harvey Logan with a new plan—raid trains—Butch
initially resists the idea, but then relents. The first train robbery is successful.
The second one, however, is a catastrophe as it sets into motion a posse of six
Pinkerton National Detective Agency trackers on horseback chasing Butch
and Sundance, forcing the duo to use all their wits to escape.
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One of their ploys is to seek out a sheriff the thieves have been some-
what friendly with over the years, largely by agreeing to keep their larcenous
activities out of his jurisdiction. Their plan: convince the sheriff, Bledsoe, to
help them enlist in the Army. The astonished sheriff cannot believe what he is
hearing (“You are known outlaws”) and delivers what proves to be a prophetic
proclamation:
BUTCH
Don’t you get it, Ray -- something’s
out there. We can maybe outrun ‘em
but then if you could --
BLEDSOE
-- you just want to hide out til it’s
old times again, but it’s over. It’s
over, don’t you get that? It’s over
and you’re both gonna die bloody, and
all you can do is choose where.a
a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , written by William Goldman. Movie
script, dated July 15, 1968, p. 87.
It’s over: An acknowledgment that the “old times” are done and gone, but
Butch and Sundance persist in living in the past. In other words, they Refuse
Change. What does the posse of Pinkerton killers-for-hire chasing them repre-
sent? The duo’s inevitable future in which they are “both gonna die bloody.”
The robbers’ attempt to avoid their fate ultimately takes them to Bolivia,
a destination Butch has often promoted to Sundance as a way to escape the
suffocating impact of modernity while still being able to pursue their thieving
ways, but that is where destiny does finally catch up with them. Bledsoe was
right: The only choice Butch and Sundance had was where they were going to
die. By their refusal to change, the duo is shot down and killed by a phalanx
of Bolivian riflemen (Fig. 2.4).
Other notable characters who refuse to change:
• In the television series Succession (2018–present), Logan Roy, the patriarch

of a dysfunctional family which oversees their global media and hospitality
conglomerate, resists change on two fronts. In business, he ignores his adult
children’s advice (shed the company’s news division, name a successor); and
even with a deeply fractured set of relationships with his sons and daughter,
he persists in the role he has always played with the family: dictator, instead
of caring father.
2 Character Arc 27
Fig. 2.4 Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
(1968)
• The external circumstances in Mark Zuckerberg’s life in The Social Network

(2010) evolve dramatically over the course of the movie, taking him from
a college student desperate to be part of the Harvard elite to founder of
Facebook, the largest social media platform in the world, making him
a billionaire in the process. However, every critical choice he makes and
interaction he has with others is motivated by ego, pride, and avarice. His
refusal to change negates any opportunity to forge authentic relationships,
even though that is his deepest need.
• Vic Mackey in the television series The Shield (2002–2008) is the leader
of the Strike Team, a division of the L.A.P.D in the fictional Farmington
district. Given wide latitude to deal with the area’s gang-related crimes,
Vic takes full advantage of the team’s independence by embracing an
“ends justify the means” philosophy. This includes killing a fellow cop,
perceived to be a threat, and skimming money from drug busts to fund
the group’s illicit agenda. No matter that his actions often put his family
and co-workers in harm’s way, Mackey resists altering his behavior.
In each of these cases, the character’s refusal to change leads to a negative

outcome: Butch and Sundance are massacred by the Bolivian army; Logan
28 S. Myers
Roy’s family and business relationships become increasingly contentious and

toxic; like some biblical king, Zuckerberg has “gained the kingdom, but lost
his soul”; and Mackey ends up in his version of hell—assigned to a desk job.
Yet, there is another character arc in which the negative results derive from
the Protagonist’s own personal transformation toward self-destruction.
The Protagonist: Disintegration

Some noteworthy movies and television series feature Protagonists who expe-
rience a ruinous arc. One example is the highly regarded film Citizen Kane
(1941). It recounts the life of Charles Foster Kane told through the perspec-
tive of newspaper reporter Jerry Thompson, who has been tasked to unravel
the mystery of Kane’s final words before dying: “Rosebud.” Thompson learns
of Kane’s idyllic youth in Colorado where he reveled in the snow, giving voice
to his lively imagination. After his mother inherits millions of dollars from
a surprise gold mine strike, she arranges to have her young son sent away to
the East Coast to protect him from the abusive behavior of Kane’s father. His
new guardian, Mr. Thatcher, attempts to make nice with young Charles, but
once informed he is being forced to leave home, the boy shoves Thatcher to
the ground. As the scene ends, the camera zooms in to a close-up of Charles’s
face which is filled with what can best be described as rage. This fury never
goes away throughout Charles’ life, always seething beneath whatever “mask”
he dons in his public and private existence (Fig. 2.5).
Fig. 2.5 Charles Foster Kane as a youth in Citizen Kane (1941)

2 Character Arc 29
Thompson discovers that through the years, Charles moves from one
personal project to another, each funded by the deep pockets of his inher-
ited wealth. Like a serial monogamist, he immerses himself fully in whichever
scheme currently engages his interest. After having been expelled from “a lot
of colleges” and spending a few years as a world-traveling playboy, he begins
his initial enterprise at the age of twenty-five, taking over as publisher of one
of his holdings, the New York Inquirer, thinking “it would be fun to run a
newspaper.” He transforms the failing business into a bully pulpit “to see to
it that the decent people of this city are not robbed by a group of money-
mad pirates,” even going after in print company which is one of Thatcher’s
primary business assets. Thus, beneath Charles’ commitment to “defend the
interests of the underprivileged” lies a more personal motivation: express his
anger at Thatcher’s role in taking Charles away from his beloved Colorado.
With the stock market crash of 1929, Charles is forced to sell his interest
in the Inquirer—to Thatcher, ironically enough—and then it is on to his next
project: running for governor of New York. Based on his years as publisher of
the Inquirer, the fame that comes with being a millionaire, and his populist
and anti-corruption platform, Charles is favored to win the election. By all
appearances, he is an ideal politician including his marriage to Emily Monroe
Norton Kane, the niece of the President of the United States. However,
when Emily is informed that Charles has been having an affair with Susan
Alexander, he is forced to withdraw from the race and his marriage ends
in divorce. Committing adultery while in the midst of a high-profile guber-
natorial campaign suggests he is subconsciously subverting his own political
aspirations, as if he does not really want to become governor.
Despite coming from a much lower social class and having little innate
talent, Susan fashions herself a singer, which gives rise to Charles’ next project:
transforming his second wife into a star. He builds an opera house with his
own funds. He hires a renowned vocal teacher to work with Susan. He spares
no expense in creating buzz for Susan’s public musical debut. It turns out to
be a disastrous premiere with critics ridiculing Susan’s performance. In truth,
she never shared Charles’ obsession with making her a prima donna and the
pressure nearly drives her to suicide.
Having lost his public platform and been rejected by high society, Charles
moves on to yet another project: Xanadu, an enormous estate built on a
mountain in Florida. Here again, Charles plunges into the enterprise and
as the movie’s opening newsreel comments, “Since the Pyramids, Xanadu is
the costliest monument a man has built to himself.” He sequesters himself
in his man-made castle, relying more and more on Susan’s company to keep
him occupied. However, smothered by their lifestyle, Susan eventually leaves
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Charles. Broken and alone, he destroys her room, giving full expression to
the rage which has never left him.
Yet at the height of this psychological disintegration, Charles happens
upon a snow globe. The sight of it stops his rampage. He picks it up, the
motion causing the “snow” to flutter within the glass cylinder. Tears welling
in his eyes, Charles utters that fateful word again: “Rosebud.” It is here we
realize the secret to the mystery: Everything this troubled character has done
has been an attempt to fill the void created when he was yanked away from
his childhood home. Never finding a satisfactory substitution, Charles’ meta-
morphosis is a negative one, every stage taking him deeper into the miasma of
his conflicted psyche, each failed project a manifestation of his self-destructive
character arc.
Other notable examples of a Protagonist with a Disintegration arc:
• The 1984 movie Amadeus recounts the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
as told through the perspective of Antonio Salieri, a rival composer in
the court of Emperor Joseph II. Fueled by a lifelong obsession to achieve
fame through his musical compositions, Salieri is enraged by Mozart’s
sudden presence, his creative genius compounded by his hedonistic, juve-
nile lifestyle. He confesses it all to a priest: how he spied on Mozart,
attempted to undermine the young composer at every turn, tormented
him by acting like the ghost of Mozart’s father, then led a sickly Mozart
to his death by pushing him beyond his physical bounds to work on his
famed Requiem. Eventually, Salieri is driven mad and confined to an insane
asylum, proclaiming himself “patron saint of mediocrities.”
• Based on the real-life exploits of Jordan Belfort, the 2013 movie The Wolf
of Wall Street follows Belfort’s meteoric rise to fame and fortune as a “hard
sale” stockbroker, only to see him crash and burn due to his high-flying
lifestyle. His voracious appetite for illegal drugs (cocaine and quaaludes),
sex (prostitutes and multiple affairs leading to two failed marriages), and
especially money (the company he founds, Stratton Oakmont, generates
hundreds of millions of illicit dollars) leads him to believe he is invincible,
despite engaging in overtly corrupt business practices. Eventually, Belfort
is found guilty of defrauding investors in a massive securities scam and
sentenced to three years in a federal prison.
• In the 1976 movie Taxi Driver, the Protagonist Travis Bickle is a lonely
Vietnam War veteran living in New York City. Afflicted by chronic
insomnia, Travis takes a job driving taxis on the night shift exposing him
to the dark underbelly of the city, which he describes as “an open sewer,
full of filth and scum.” After a failed attempt at dating Betsy, who works
2 Character Arc 31
Fig. 2.6 Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976)
on the presidential campaign of Senator Charles Palantine, Travis embraces

his violent instincts, procuring four guns. He attempts to convince twelve-
year-old prostitute Iris to go back home, but when that does not work,
Travis stakes out Palantine, intent on assassinating him to get back at Betsy.
Interrupted by a secret service agent, Travis eventually goes on a shooting
rampage, killing Iris’ pimp and several other men. Severely wounded, he
puts a gun under his chin and pulls the trigger to kill himself, but with
no bullets left, Travis waits for the police to show up, grinning at them, a
bloody vigilante (Fig. 2.6).
Each of these Protagonists share the same dynamic: They are swallowed
up by their shadow.5 Kane spends his entire adult life attempting to fill the
void created when he was taken away from his boyhood home. Salieri gives
in to his jealousy toward Mozart, a true musical genius Salieri could never
be, provoking his slide into insanity. Belfort’s insatiable greed leads to his
destruction and provides a living example of how “the love of money is the
root of all evil.”6 Bickle, who confessed to a fellow cabbie, “I just wanna go
out and do something… I got some bad ideas in my head,” goes all in with
the killer who “lies just beneath Travis’ surface.”7
There are other noteworthy examples of a disintegration character arc:
Walter Neff in Double Indemnity (1944), Norman Bates in Psycho (1960),
5 Per Carl Jung, an individual’s negative instincts. See Chapter 9: Nemesis for a fuller exploration of
this concept.
6 1 Timothy 6:10.
7 Taxi Driver in, written by Paul Schrader. Movie script, undated, p. 69.
32 S. Myers
Sandy in Carnal Knowledge (1971), Jack Torrance in The Shining (1980),

Annie Wilkes in Misery (1990), D-Fens in Falling Down (1993), Nina Sayers
in Black Swan (2010), and Andrew in Whiplash (2014). This narrative arc
is present in television as well. The character Nasir “Naz” Khan in the HBO
limited series The Night Of (2016) begins as a member of respectable society,
a law-abiding citizen. He gets caught up in the drug trade and criminal
activity, evolving from soft to “hard ass.” In each case, the Protagonist is
metaphorically destroyed by the influence of their shadow.
There are multiple explanations why disintegration character arc narratives
have proved to be popular with readers and audiences. Since a story provides
an environment we can control—we can always close a book, turn off a tele-
vision, walk out of a theater—stories provide a safe psychological context in
which we can explore our own feelings, our own shadow. Part of that is the
sheer titillation of dipping our toes into those unfamiliar dangerous waters.
However, from a larger cultural perspective, stories which feature Protagonists
who veer into the “dark side” serve as cautionary tales: By entering vicariously
into the experience of the central character’s path toward self-destruction, we
reinforce our belief in following the “righteous” path.
There are other types of stories featuring a variety of character arcs.
Stories in which Protagonists sacrifice themselves for the greater good such
as contemporary films including Gran Torino (2008), In Bruges (2008),
and Dallas Buyers Club (2013), depicting personally positive transformations
which result in the character’s demise. Stories wherein multiple characters
experience different types of arcs such as the movie Dead Poets Society
(1989) and the HBO limited television series Big Little Lies (2017, 2019).
Stories in which the Protagonist’s arc ends in a gray area between posi-
tive and negative, such as the movies The Graduate (1967), (500) Days of
Summer (2008), Her (2013), La La Land (2016), Three Billboards Outside
Ebbing, Missouri (2017), and television series The Sopranos (1999–2007),
Dexter (2006–2013), Homeland (2011–2020), and Silicon Valley (2014–
2019). These stories leave the audience to ask questions: Did the characters
really change? Did they actually end up in a better or worse psychological
place? Was the change worth it?
The fact that there are so many different types of character arcs reflects the
complexity of human experience and opens the door for writers to explore
the breadth and depth of what we know as Life. However, as noted, there is
one character arc which is predominant in the arena of movies and television,
and that is stories in which the Protagonist goes through a process of positive
integration: the unity arc. This narrative archetype can be broken down into
four movements: Disunity, Deconstruction, Reconstruction, Unity.
2 Character Arc 33
Exercise
Pick a favorite movie, one-hour drama television series, or novel and reflect on
the Protagonist. Compare where they begin the story and where they end up.
Is it a positive or negative arc? Track the movement of the character’s meta-
morphosis, zeroing in on the key plotline points which most heavily impact
their psychological journey. If they are a change agent, how do they change
others? If they refuse to change, identify underlying psychological dynamics
which lead them to deny the transformation call.
Further Study
Fleabag: The Scriptures, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Ballantine Books, 2019.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey, Berkley Books, 1963.
‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’: Milos Forman’s Mosaic of Brilliance with
a Lesson Still as Important as Ever, Sven Mikulec, Cinephilia & Beyond,
October 15, 2016, https://cinephiliabeyond.org/one-flew-cuckoos-nest-milos-for
mans-mosaic-brilliance-lesson-still-important-ever/.
Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting,
William Goldman, Warner Books, 1983.
Citizen Kane (Screen and Cinema), Orson Welles (screenwriter) and Herman J.
Mankiewicz (screenwriter), Bantam Books, 1971.
‘Citizen Kane’: The Astonishing Debut of Hollywood’s Greatest Wunderkind , Sven
Mikulec, Cinephilia & Beyond, March 1, 2016, https://cinephiliabeyond.org/
citizen-kane-the-astonishing-debut-of-hollywoods-greatest-wunderkind/.
Taxi Driver (Faber Film), Paul Schrader, Faber & Faber, 1990.
Approaching Menace: The American Pathology of Martin Scorsese’s ‘Taxi Driver’ , Tim
Pelan, Cinephilia & Beyond, July 22, 2020, https://cinephiliabeyond.org/approa
ching-menace-the-american-pathology-of-martin-scorseses-taxi-driver/.
References
Goldman, W. (written by) (1969). Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ; Twentieth
Century Fox.
Jung, C. G. (1969). “The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche,” Collected Works
VIII; Princeton University Press.
Mankiewicz, H. J., Welles, Orson (original screen play) (1941). Citizen Kane;
Mercury Productions/RKO Radio Pictures.
34 S. Myers
Stanton, A. and Reardon, J. (screenplay), Stanton, A. and Docter, P. (story) (2008).

Wall-e; Pixar Animation Studios/Walt Disney Pictures.
Waller-Bridge, P. (creator) (2016, 2019). Fleabag; British Broadcasting Corpora-
tion/Amazon Prime Video.
3
Disunity

• Inciting Incident: A significant event early on which jump-starts the narra-
tive, compelling the Protagonist to respond. Also: Call to Adventure.
• Disunity: The divided state in which a Protagonist begins their journey,
disconnected from authentic aspects of their psyche.
• Personal History: Every experience, memory, and association a character
arising from their past.
• Backstory: Specific events, moments, and dynamics from the Protagonist’s
past which directly relate to the journey they take.
At the beginning of the story, the Protagonist has managed to cobble

together some semblance of a life, but they are not yet committed to their
journey. They need to change; otherwise there would be no story. No Inciting
Incident or call to adventure to jump-start the Protagonist’s journey. No
departing the old world and entering a new world. The challenges and tests
along the way, the influential characters with whom the Protagonist intersects
… there is no reason for any of that to exist were it not for this simple fact:
The Protagonist cannot continue the status quo. They are living one way, but
they are destined to live a different way. They must leave their present state
of being in order to become who they are meant to be.
Thus, the Protagonist begins their journey in a state of Disunity. There
are psychological dynamics and external circumstances which create an inner

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_3
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conflict. The Protagonist’s internal struggle, which they are compelled to

confront, constitutes the emotional core of the impending journey. As Carl
Jung suggests:
The psychological rule says that when an inner situation is not made conscious,
it happens outside, as fate. That is to say, when the individual remains undi-
vided and does not become conscious of his inner contradictions, the world
must perforce act out the conflict.1
In a character-driven approach to writing, this is the place to begin the

story-crafting process: Identify the elements of the Protagonist’s disunity.
Where does this disunity originate? It emerges in the Protagonist’s life
before Fade In, the result of their day-to-day existence. The character has a
Personal History filled with experiences ranging from the mundane and forget-
table to the extraordinary and impactful. Out of the totality of an individual’s
personal history, a writer zeroes in on the character’s Backstory: an aggregation
of key psychological, emotional, and spiritual dynamics from the character’s
past which plays out in the present and shapes the story’s future.
Disunity elements are as expansive as life itself because any experience in
a character’s backstory has the potential to influence the trajectory of their
transformation arc. Some examples:
• Death: In Ordinary People (1980), Conrad suffers from survivor’s guilt due
to the accidental drowning of his brother. In The Lion King (1994), Simba
banishes himself from his homeland due to the culpability he feels about
his father Mufasa’s demise. In Veronica Mars (2004–2007), the unsolved
murder of her best friend upends Veronica’s normal high school life and
leads her to become a part-time private investigator. In Gravity (2013), the
loss of Ryan Stone’s daughter has compelled her to seek an assignment in
outer space in order to get as far away as possible from home and its tragic
memories. In Never Have I Ever (2020), Davi is haunted by the sudden
death of her father and does what she can to avoid the grieving process.
• Addiction: In The Verdict (1982), Frank Galvin is an alcoholic, ambulance-
chasing lawyer after having been drummed out of an elite law firm. In
Trainspotting (1996), Renton is a heroin user, who along with his addicted
friends tries to get clean and survive a life of poverty and petty crimes.
In Nurse Jackie (2009–2015), Jackie Peyton deals with the stress of being
an emergency room nurse by relying on Vicodin and Adderall. In Logan
(2017), Wolverine has become a drunk limo driver, far removed from his
1 C. G. Jung, “Aion,” Collected Works 9ii (Princeton University Press, 1970), p. 126.
3 Disunity 37
Fig. 3.1 Camille Preaker in Sharp Objects (2018)
days as a mutant superhero. In Euphoria (2018-present), Rue Bennett is

an adolescent trying to find her way to sobriety amidst peers who struggle
with drugs, sex, and identity issues.
• Mental Illness: In As Good As It Gets (1997), Melvin Udall is an antisocial
author with an obsessive–compulsive disorder. In Homeland (2011–2020),
Carrie Mathison is a CIA operative who struggles with a bipolar disorder.
In Nightcrawler (2014), Louis Bloom is a high-functioning, non-homicidal
psychopath with an antisocial personality disorder. In Silver Linings Play-
book (2012), Pat Solitano Jr. has just been released from a mental care
facility after being treated for his bipolar mood swings. In Sharp Objects
(2018), Camille Preaker is a depressed alcoholic who has a long-term
self-harming affliction (Fig. 3.1).
• Home: In The Wizard of Oz (1939), the orphan Dorothy does not feel
like her home is a home and yearns to fly away over the rainbow. In It’s a
Wonderful Life (1946), George Bailey has spent his entire adult years as the
bulwark of the Bedford Falls community while all along, he has wanted
nothing more than to go see the world. In Back to the Future (1985),
Marty McFly is embarrassed by his family home life, especially his father,
who he sees as a weak man undeserving of respect. In Inside Out (2015),
Riley misses her home in Minnesota and the emotional upheaval caused
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by her family’s relocation to San Francisco wreaks havoc with her inner
emotions, most notably Joy. In Lady Bird (2017), Christine “Lady Bird”
McPherson feels disconnected from her family’s lower-middle class exis-
tence in Sacramento, California, yearning to go to college in a “city with
culture.”
• Work: In Tootsie (1982), Michael Dorsey is a talented actor who no one
will work with because of his stubborn over the top commitment to his
craft. In Tampopo (1985), Tampopo is a widow who has recently inher-
ited a ramen diner, but is lacking in the necessary culinary skills in the
art of making noodle soup. In Groundhog Day (1994), Phil Connors is an
obnoxious, egotistical TV weatherman who firmly believes he deserves to
be working in a larger market than his current job in Pittsburgh. In I May
Destroy You (2020), Arabella Essiedu is a Twitter-star turned novelist strug-
gling to write her second book when she is sexually assaulted, a traumatic
event which upends her life. In The Deuce (2017–2019), Eileen “Candy”
Merrell is a prostitute working the mean streets of 1970s Manhattan in
order to support her son in his middle-class home environment.
• Parent: In Carrie (1976), Carrie White’s mother creates an oppressive
family environment through her fanatical obsession with the impurity of
sexuality. In Field of Dreams (1989), Ray Kinsella’s troubled relationship
with his late father looms over an otherwise idyllic life as a farmer and
family man. In Big Fish (2003), Will Bloom has not spoken to his father
Edward in three years due to a lifetime of listening to Edward’s tall tales and
supposed lies, capped by an embarrassing incident at Will’s wedding. In
Saving Mr. Banks (2013), Pamela “P.L.” Travers struggles with signing over
the movie rights to her novel Mary Poppins due to a complicated child-
hood relationship with her creative but alcoholic father whom she adored.
In Moonlight (2016), Chiron wrestles with his sexuality and is tormented
by bullies at school while receiving little support from his mother who is
addicted to smoking crack (Fig. 3.2).
Other disunity elements explored in notable movies and television series

include Broken Hearts (Casablanca—1941, (500) Days of Summer —2009),
Duality (Good Will Hunting —1997, Buffy the Vampire Slayer —1996–2003,
The Incredibles—2004, The Americans—2013–2018, Dexter —2006–2013,
The Big Sick—2017, Coco—2017), Failure (Moneyball —2011, Brides-
maids—2011), Loneliness (Finding Forrester —2000, Gran Torino—2008,
3 Disunity 39
Fig. 3.2 Chiron in Moonlight (2016)
Shrek—2001, Her —2013, Up—2009), Mass Tragedy (The Leftovers—

2014–2017, Godless—2017, The Handmaid’s Tale—2017–present), Obses-
sion (The Social Network—2010, Whiplash—2014, Silicon Valley—2014–
2019), and Revenge (Death Wish—1974, Gladiator —2000, The Revenant —
2015, John Wick—2014, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri —2017).
These are just a few disunity elements. There are countless others, touching
on everything from ongoing patterns of behavior to specific past incidents
which haunt the Protagonist, but in all cases, they represent dynamics the
Protagonist must confront. No matter what manner of lifestyle the character
has stitched together for themselves in order to cope with these underlying
psychological dynamics, it is their destiny to, as Carl Jung suggests, “become
conscious of [their] inner contradictions” and “act out the conflict” as they
evolve out of their disunity state.2
In this chapter through Chapter 6, in addition to numerous other movie
and television examples, we will break down and analyze the metamorphosis
arcs of five notable Protagonists: Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs,
Walter White in Breaking Bad , William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love,
Rebecca Bunch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend , and Miles Morales in Spider-Man:
Into the Spider-Verse. Each Protagonist and their respective journey is unique,
yet each represents a character experiencing a unity arc.
2 Ibid.
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Fig. 3.3 Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Disunity: Clarice Starling in The Silence

of the Lambs
The 1991 psychological thriller The Silence of the Lambs is one of just three
movies to win the Big Five Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor,
Best Actress, Best Screenplay.3 The combination of narrative dynamics—
serial murders, not one, but two psychopaths, the inner workings of the
F.B.I.’s Behavioral Science Unit, and the race to rescue a kidnapping victim
before it is too late—resonated with audiences and critics alike. At its
emotional core is the journey of the story’s Protagonist: Clarice Starling.
Clarice is an F.B.I. agent-in-training at the agency’s Quantico, Virginia
headquarters. She is plucked from obscurity by Jack Crawford, the head of the
F.B.I.’s Behavioral Science Unit, who assigns her to an “interesting errand”:
interview Hannibal Lecter, a genius psychiatrist now imprisoned due to his
propensity to cannibalize his murder victims. What Crawford does not tell
Clarice is that he is using her as bait to lure Lecter into sharing his insights
into the activities of James Gumb (a.k.a. Buffalo Bill), a serial killer on the
loose who kidnaps, kills, then skins his female victims (Fig. 3.3).
In the first meeting between Clarice and Lecter, he sees right through
Crawford’s ruse (“Oh, Agent Starling… do you think you can dissect me
with this blunt little tool”). When Clarice attempts to push back, Lecter will
have none of it:
3 The other two movies: It Happened One Night (1934) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975).
3 Disunity 41
DR. LECTER
You’resooo ambitious, aren’t you…?
You know what you look like to me, with
your good bag and your cheap shoes? You
look like a rube. A well-scrubbed hust-
ling rube with a little taste… Good
nutrition has given you some length of
bone, but you’re not more than one gen-
eration from poor white trash, are you–
Agent Starling…? That accent you’ve
tried so desperately to shed–pure
West Virginia. What is your father, dear?
Is he a coal miner? Does he stink of
the lamp…?
His every word strikes her like a small, precise dart.
DR. LECTER
And oh, how quickly the boys found you!
All those tedious, sticky fumblings,in the
back seats of cars, while you could only
dream of getting out. Getting anywhere, yes?
Getting all the way – to the F…B…I.a
aThe Silence of the Lambs, screenplay by Ted Tally, based on a novel by Thomas
Harris. Movie script, dated January 15, 1990, p. 11–12.
Over the course of the relationship between Clarice and Lecter, and her
growing involvement in the F.B.I.’s search for Buffalo Bill, we learn about
several disunity dynamics at work in Clarice’s psyche and life circumstances:
• Clarice was orphaned as a ten-year-old when her father, the town marshal,
was murdered by two burglars he happened upon while on duty.
• After going to live on a cousin’s horse and sheep ranch in Montana, Clarice
ran away after only two months.
• There are two flashbacks in the movie, both of which feature Clarice as a
ten-year-old girl. The first involves her sneaking up on her father who has
just returned home from work, still in his marshal’s uniform, where she
surprises him and asks, “Did you catch any bad guys today, Daddy?” The
second takes place in a funeral home where young Clarice approaches an
open casket and bends down to kiss her deceased father on the cheek.
Lecter is correct that Clarice did want to “get out” of West Virginia and
she achieved that by graduating from the University of Virginia with a double
major in psychology and criminology. That choice of majors, plus her desire
to work in the F.B.I.’s Behavioral Science Unit raises several questions: If she
42 S. Myers
wants to honor her father’s memory, why did she not follow in his footsteps
and become a marshal or police officer? Why the F.B.I.? Why the Behavioral
Science Unit? Why study psychology as well as criminology? Her vocational
choices suggest they have something to do with unresolved issues related to
her father’s death.
Thus, even before we learn of the recurring nightmares Clarice has, it is
clear that as put together as the young woman may appear in public, she
begins her journey in a state of disunity. The set of characters who play
primary roles in her ensuing narrative, especially Hannibal Lecter and Buffalo
Bill, are precisely the individuals she needs to intersect with in order to
confront her inner “demons” … and move toward unity.
Disunity: Walter White in Breaking Bad

Walter White is the Protagonist in the television crime drama Breaking Bad ,
which originally ran on AMC for five seasons from 2008 to 2013. The series
received numerous accolades including sixteen Primetime Emmy Awards.
Bryan Cranston, who portrays White’s character, received four Emmy Awards
for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Series creator Vince Gilligan
said of Breaking Bad , “I originally pitched it to the studio with one line…
I told them: ‘This is a story about a man who transforms himself from Mr.
Chips into Scarface.’ … We are telling a story of transformation in which a
previously good man, through sheer force of will, decides to become a bad
man.”4
The theme of personal transformation is central to the television series and
is evident from the very first pages of the pilot script. In this scene, White,
who is a high school chemistry teacher, lectures his class:
WALT
Chemistry is the study of what?
STUDENT
Chemicals?
Snickers from the smart kids. Walt smiles.
4 Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan: The Man Who Turned Walter White from Mr. Chips into Scar-
face, The Guardian, May 18, 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/may/19/vince-gil
ligan-breaking-bad.
3 Disunity 43
WALT
Chemicals. No. Change. Chemistry
is the study of change.
(a beat)
Think about it. Electrons change
their orbits, molecules change
their bonds. Elements combine and
change into compounds. That’s all
of life, right? The constant…
(shrug)
The cycle. Solution, dissolution,
over and over.
Walt seems to be talking to himself. A pep talk.
WALT
Growth, decay. Transformation.
It’s fascinating, really.b
b Breaking
Bad , S1, Ep1 (“Pilot”), written by Vince Gilligan. TV script, dated
May 27, 2005, p. 7.
The seeds of Walter White’s transformation exist within him from the very
beginning and are evident as several key disunity elements:
• Intelligent enough to have been educated at the renowned California Insti-

tute of Technology, White co-founded Gray Matter Technologies with his
best friend Elliott Schwartz and former girlfriend Gretchen. At some point,
White abruptly sold his shares in the company for five thousand dollars,
a decision which returns to haunt him as the company goes on to make
billions with much of the revenues based on White’s research.5
• The bitterness White feels about having missed out on that potential
fortune is compounded by the fact he must hold down two jobs to make
ends meet for his family: a teacher of bored, disinterested high schoolers
and car wash attendant, a humiliating experience when he is forced to wash
his students’ cars.
• His financial situation is made even more stressful because his adolescent
son Walt Jr. has cerebral palsy and his wife Skyler is pregnant.
• As if this were not enough, the day after White’s fiftieth birthday, he
faints at the car wash and is taken to the emergency room only to be
told by doctors they have discovered he has inoperable lung cancer. With
chemotherapy, he is told he has at best two years to live (Fig. 3.4).
5 In S5, Ep6 (“Buyout”), White reveals to Jesse that the current value of Gray Matter Technologies
is $2.16 billion, making his original share worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
44 S. Myers
Fig. 3.4 Walter White in Breaking Bad (2008–2013)
It is this combination of dynamics and backstory elements which cause

this “good man” to start down the road to becoming a “bad man”: To pay for
cancer treatments and make money to provide for his family in the event of
his death, White coerces a former student Jesse Pinkman to partner with him
to cook and sell crystal meth.
However, there is one other key disunity element at work in White’s
psyche: fury. It emerges twice in the pilot episode: Once when he quits his
job at the car wash in a tirade directed at the owner Bodgan (“Fuck you and
your eyebrows”) and a second time in a clothing store when he assaults a
teenager who has been making fun of Walt Jr. (“Walt kicks the back of the
jock’s KNEE, dropping the big guy painfully to the floor”). This fury is not
only a clear sign of his disunity, it is also the starter fuel for White’s violent
journey to come.
Disunity: William Shakespeare in Shakespeare

in Love
The 1998 movie Shakespeare in Love won seven Academy Awards, including
Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay (Marc Norman and Tom Stop-
pard). It tells the story of William Shakespeare as a young man who begins
in a profound state of disunity. In fact, the origin of the movie happened
when screenwriter Norman hit on this notion: “What if Shakespeare had
3 Disunity 45
Fig. 3.5 William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love (1998)
writer’s block while writing his timeless classic, ‘Romeo and Juliet?’”6 Will
is tormented by his creative impasse as witnessed with this interchange with
Dr. Moth, “apothecary, alchemist, astrologer, seer, Interpretor of Dreams, and
Priest of Psyche” (Fig. 3.5).
WILL
Words, words, words… once, I had the
gift. I could make love out of words as a
potter makes cups of clay… Love
that overthrows empires, love that
binds two hearts together come hellfire
and brimstone. For six pence a line,
I could cause a riot in a nunnery…
but now…c
c Shakespeare in Love, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard. Movie

script, February 23, 1998, pp. 7–8.
Writer’s block is but one manifestation of young Shakespeare’s state of

disunity:
6 Cinema Review, http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=428.

46 S. Myers
• He is a poet, playwright, and occasional actor struggling financially. In

fact, in order to raise funds to survive, Will has double sold the rights to
the latest play he is supposed to be writing—Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s
Daughter.
• He has been sleeping around, one casual sexual encounter after another
as Dr. Moth recounts by consulting his notes, “Black Sue, Fat Phoebe,
Rosalind, Burbage’s seamstress, Aphrodite, who does it behind the Dog
and…”
• Will confesses he is actually married and a father of twins, but banished
by his wife Anne Hathaway (“Four years and a hundred miles away in
Stratford”).
• The strain of his stressful life circumstances has even impacted his sexual
performance as Dr. Moth suggests in interpreting Will’s phallic description
of his creative malaise: “It’s as if my quill is broken … as if the organ of
my imagination has dried up … as if the proud tower of my genius has
collapsed … It’s like trying to pick a lock with a wet herring.”
The first image of Will in the movie is him apparently hard at work writing
away at his desk quill pen in hand, but:
Now we see what he is writing: WILL is practicing his

signature, over and over again. Will Shagsbeard…
W Shakspur… William Shasper… Each time he is
dissatisfied, and each time he screws up the attempt and
tosses it away.d
d Ibid., p. 4.
This tiny moment at the beginning of the story points to perhaps the single
biggest issue confronting the young writer: the question of self-identity. Who
is William Shakespeare? Is he a man essentially wasting his youth on whores
and drinking while writing witty yet low-brow comedies, or is he the creative
genius he imagines himself to be?
Disunity: Rebecca Bunch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

The television series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ran for four seasons on the CW
network between 2015 and 2019, winning five Primetime Emmys during
3 Disunity 47
that time. Rachel Bloom, who co-created the series with Aline Brosh
McKenna, stars as Rebecca Bunch. When she is introduced in S1, Ep1 (“Josh
Just Happens to Live Here!”), Rebecca is a successful real estate lawyer at a
high-powered New York City law firm. She seemingly has it all: looks, money,
and a professional career all laid out in front of her. In Act One of the pilot,
Rebecca learns she is being promoted to partner at her law firm. However,
underneath the surface sheen of her life and all its robust trappings, there are
significant disunity elements at play:
• She is taking medication for both anxiety and depression.

• In the prologue of the series pilot episode, which takes place at summer
camp when Rebecca is an adolescent, her mother Janice makes quite an
impression as an intense, judgmental woman still bitter about her divorce
(“I’m sure you told your father and the WHORE at Tucker’s 7th birthday
party”). Much of the pressure Rebecca feels about her career derives from
Janice (“You want that promotion, it’s very important, it’s what we’ve been
working so hard for. I’ve said that a MILLION times…”).
• The morning of the fateful day in which Rebecca is about to be offered
the position of junior partner, she sees the same advertisement tagline
two different times—a television commercial and a magazine ad—each
one posing this question: When was the last time you were truly happy? Of
course, this suggests Rebecca is unhappy.
When Rebecca’s assistant informs her that she is about to receive her
job promotion, she suffers an anxiety attack and races outside, desperate to
convince herself, “I’m happy. I’m so happy. Mom’s gonna be so happy. This
is what happy feels like.” Unconvinced, she prays:
REBECCA
Dear God, I don’t pray to you,
because I believe in science. But I
don’t know what to do. Give me
guidance. Please. Please!
She waits. Nothing happens.
Rebecca looks up. And suddenly she sees something silhouetted

against the buildings at the end of the alley:
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A GIANT BILLBOARD THAT SAYS:
When was the last time you were truly happy?
REBECCA (CONT’D)
What a weird ad campaign.
She stares at it. Below the billboard is an old sign that

says “Outdoor” with an arrow.
The sign loosens and falls. The arrow now points down
directly to: A MAN.
Backlit, he looks like an apparition. Suddenly she realizes

who it is. A handsome, jocky Asian guy in his mid-20’s.
REBECCA (CONT’D)
JOSH CHAN?e
e Ibid., p. 9.
Josh Chan is the boy she fell in love with at summer camp as depicted in
the pilot prologue. Seeing the tagline “When was the last time you were truly
happy” a third time; praying to God for guidance, a sign just happens to tilt
down which just happens to point to a man who just happens to be Josh,
her ex-boyfriend. Rebecca takes this as destiny speaking to her. Thus, when
she discovers that Josh is moving from New York back to his hometown of
West Covina, Rebecca not only turns down her job promotion, she relocates
to California (Fig. 3.6).
Rebecca begins her journey by quitting her promising career in New
York to move to West Covina to stalk her ex-boyfriend, even though she
will not admit it as she sings in the series’ first musical number: “TO BE
CLEAR, I DIDN’T MOVE HERE FOR JOSH, I JUST NEEDED A
CHANGE/‘CAUSE TO MOVE HERE FOR JOSH: NOW, THAT’D BE
STRANGE…” Even the fact she is prone to find herself in fantasy musical
numbers underscores Rebecca’s disunity.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend tracks the Protagonist’s journey through various stages
of mental illness. As co-creator and star Rachel Bloom observed: “The show
was always about one person’s quest for who they are inside … how do you
get in touch with your inner happiness and then actually execute that? How
do you marry the inside with the outside?”7 Season One begins that journey,
7 ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’: Rachel Bloom Talks Mental Health and Writing a New Theme Song Every Season,
The Hollywood Reporter, August 5, 2019, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/crazy-girlfriend-
rachel-bloom-talks-mental-health-writing-theme-songs-1228538.
3 Disunity 49
Fig. 3.6 Rebecca Bunch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015–2019)
a chaotic foray into Rachel’s disunity as she lies, cheats, steals, and more in
a manic attempt to manipulate Josh to become her boyfriend again. This
reaches back to the memories and emotional associations she has from her
summer camp experiences with Josh. She wants to rekindle those feelings,
but on a deeper level she seeks external validation from his affection for her
own internal disconnections. Season One concludes with Rebecca and Josh
together as a couple (S1, Ep18: “Paula Needs to Get Over Josh!”) ending
with Rebecca saying to him, “I just knew you were the answer to all my
problems.” It is a fitting capstone to the exploration of her disunity and lays
the groundwork for the next stage in her psychological journey.8
8 The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend episode titles use punctuation in a telling way. In Season One, all of the
titles (except for 117) end in an exclamation point which reflects Rebecca’s manic obsession with
Josh. In Season Two, all of the titles end in a question mark which speaks to the underlying question,
“Will Rebecca succeed in wooing Josh to become her lover and eventual husband?” Seven Season
Three episode titles end with periods covering the stage of her life in which Rebecca ends her fixation
with Josh, while four episode titles end with question marks as Rebecca shifts her romantic fixation
from Josh to Nathaniel, a replication of her previous attempts to seek external validation from a male
lover. [S3, Ep12 (“Trent?!”) ends with both a question mark and exclamation point which speaks to
the surprise of Trent’s return and devious plan of action; S3, Ep13 (“Nathaniel Is Irrelevant.”) ends
with a period reflecting how by the end of the third season, Rebecca is ready to face herself and take
responsibilities for her actions.] In Season Four, each of the seventeen episode titles has no ending
punctuation which suggests by series end, Rebecca is free to move on with the rest of her life, her
future an open-ended one.
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Disunity: Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into

the Spider-Verse
The 2018 animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse won an Academy
Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature. At the
beginning of the story, the Protagonist (Miles Morales) finds himself in a
jumbled state of being:
• Miles is an adolescent on the cusp of manhood, yet still very much a boy.
• He is creative, an artist who expresses himself by tagging street signs with
stickers he has made. Unfortunately, this illegal activity does not escape the
attention of his father Jefferson, who just happens to be a street cop.
• While Miles has a warm relationship with his mother Rio, he has an
awkward connection with his father, who loves his son, but has high
expectations for him to live a life which does not align with Miles’ interests.
• One parental expectation is that Miles will settle into and do well at the
private school into which he was recently admitted, but he would rather
return to his old neighborhood in a “normal school,” not one he perceives
as being “elitist.” As Jefferson drives his son to the new school, an embar-
rassed Miles slumps in the back seat of his father’s police patrol car, and
their disagreement comes to a head:
JEFFERSON
…We all make choices in life--
MILES
--It doesn’t feel like I have a
choice right now—
JEFFERSON
--YOU DON’T!f
f Spider-Man:Into the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney

Rothman, story by Phil Lord. Movie script, December 3, 2018, p. 8.
This pressure to conform to his father’s vision of Miles’ future is high-

lighted with a play on the word “expectation.” In his dorm room, Miles is
supposed to be writing a personal essay on “what kind of person you want to
be.” Staring at a legal pad with the words “Great Expectations” at the top, a
riff on the Charles Dickens novel, Miles cannot bring himself to start writing.
He heads out into the city to visit his Uncle Aaron, who takes Miles into an
3 Disunity 51
Fig. 3.7 Miles Morales and Uncle Aaron in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
abandoned subway tunnel where the pair do some artwork, spray painting an
empty wall (Fig. 3.7).
Miles steps back, admiring his work. A STRIKING PIECE, built

around Miles silhouette with nothing painted inside it. A
BLANK. “No Expectations” written above.g
g Ibid., p. 18.
No Expectations. A blank silhouette. This reflects Miles’ inner state. He

is not yet prepared to confront the pressure of adult responsibility and is
doing his best to reject that path. For example, he willfully fails exams in an
attempt to flunk out of boarding school. However, fate intervenes: While in
the subway tunnel, a “glowing spider” bites the back of Miles’ hand. This
caps off the introduction of Miles and his disunity state: He is infused with
the superhero powers of Spider-Man, a chaotic chain of events beyond his
control, to the point where he confesses, “I don’t want to be a hero.”
In his old life, Miles may have felt like he did not have a choice. In his new
life after having been bitten, he does: whether to follow the Spidey superhero
path … or not.
Summary
Something happens. An event. A message. An opportunity. The Protagonist
may leap at the chance or more likely resist. Change is a frightening prospect.
However, the thing that happens is enough to pull the Protagonist out of
their old world and into the new one. Think of it this way: The universe
52 S. Myers
creates a situation in response to the Protagonist’s inner need. They can no

longer live in a “undivided” state; their own self pulls them onto a path which
will force them to “act out the conflict” and move them into a process of
transformation. The call to adventure is not random, but rather it is tethered
to, even inspired by the very state of disunity the Protagonist finds themselves
in at the beginning of the story. They need to change and that need is now
ready to emerge from the depths of the Protagonist’s unconscious nature.
The inciting incident is linked to that need, specific and powerful enough
to compel the Protagonist to depart their ordinary life and in so doing enter
into a second movement in their metamorphosis: Deconstruction.
Exercise
Choose a favorite movie, one-hour drama TV series, or novel and identify
key disunity elements in the Protagonist’s beginning state of being. Explore
backstory events which directly tie into those disunity dynamics and why the
Protagonist needs to confront them in order to move toward wholeness.
Further Study
Four Screenplays: Studies in the American Screenplay, Syd Field (editor), Delta
Publishing, 1994.
Breaking Bad: The Official Book, David Thomson, Sterling Publishing, 2015.
Shakespeare in Love: A Screenplay, Marc Norman (screenwriter), Tom Stoppard
(screenwriter), Miramax, 1999.
Perspectives on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Nuanced Postnetwork Television (Television and
Popular Culture), Amanda Konkle (editor), Charles Burnetts (editor), Syracuse
University Press, 2021.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman,
story by Phil Lord. Movie script, December 3, 2018.
References
Bloom, R. and Brosh McKenna, A. (creator) (2015–2019). Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ; The
CW Network.
Gilligan, V. (creator) (2008–2013). Breaking Bad ; American Movie Classics (AMC).
Jung, C. G. (1970). “Aion,” Collected Works 9ii; Princeton University Press.
3 Disunity 53
Lord, P. and Rothman, R. (screenplay), Lord P. (story) (2018). Spider-Man: Into the
Spider-Verse; Marvel Entertainment/Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Norman, M. and Stoppard, T. (written by) (1998). Shakespeare in Love; Miramax
Films.
Tally, T. (screenplay), Harris, T. (novel) (1991). The Silence of the Lambs; Orion
Pictures.
4
Deconstruction

• Old Ways of Being: The beliefs, behaviors, coping skills, and defense
mechanisms a Protagonist has cobbled together before their journey begins.
• Deconstruction: A stage in a Protagonist’s metamorphosis in which events
break down their old ways of being, enabling their authentic nature to
emerge.
• Reactive: Having departed the old world, the Protagonist finds themselves
on their heels in this different environment with new places, faces, and
customs.
• True Self : The aspects of a Protagonist’s psyche which represents the fullest
version of who they are supposed to be. Also: Core Essence, Authentic
Nature, Ultimate Need.
• Mistaken Identity: Stories in which a character, most often the Protagonist,
is falsely thought to be someone else.
• Assumed Identity: Stories in which a character, most often the Protagonist,
intentionally takes on the role of someone else.
If, as in most stories, the Protagonist experiences a disunity-to-unity arc,

that metamorphosis does not happen overnight. It is a process in which the
Old Ways of Being , prior beliefs and behaviors, coping skills and defense
mechanisms, are eventually remodeled or set aside as the Protagonist adapts
to the new world into which they have entered. Carl Jung asserts: “The goal

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_4
56 S. Myers
of the individuation process is the synthesis of the self.”1 In order for there to
be a synthesis of the character’s disunity elements, the Protagonist must first
become aware of those dynamics. This includes the individual’s shadow, the
negative instincts and influences that the Protagonist has been avoiding or
repressing. Old patterns must be broken down so the Protagonist will engage
all aspects of their psyche. This stage is known as Deconstruction.
This sheds light on why “journey” is such a universal narrative archetype.
The Protagonist’s departure from the old world compels the character to gain
a fresh perspective on who they are and how they have been living. Often
in this new, unfamiliar environment, their assumptions and coping skills are
found wanting, as they do not work well or at all in this incongruent setting.
This is why their experience as a “stranger in a strange land” is primarily
one in which they find themselves in a reactive mode. Yet, this is a necessary
part of metamorphosis, not only to break through preexisting defense mech-
anisms, but in so doing open up the character to other aspects of the psyche
which have been lying dormant within.
The Protagonist may associate negative feelings with deconstruction, a
sense of frustration with their old ways failing in this new world, thereby,
forcing them to change. In actuality, however, the process represents a net
positive because the toppling of restrictive beliefs and behaviors enables the
latent nature of the character’s True Self to surface from the darkness of their
psyche into the light of consciousness.
Deconstruction Explored
Toward the very end of The Wizard of Oz (1939), there is this exchange
between Dorothy and Glinda the Good Witch:
DOROTHY
Oh, will you help me? Can you help me?
GLINDA
You don’t need to be helped any longer.
You’ve always had the power to go back to
Kansas.
1 C. G. Jung, “The Psychology of the Child Archetype,” Collected Works 9i (Princeton University
Press, 1980), para. 278.
4 Deconstruction 57
DOROTHY
I have?
SCARECROW
Then why didn’t you tell her before?
GLINDA
Because she wouldn’t have believed me. She
had to learn it for herself.a
aThe Wizard of Oz, screenplay by Noel Langley & Florence Ryerson and Edgar
Allan Woolf, adaptation by Noel Langley from the book by L. Frank Baum.
Movie script, dated March 15, 1939, p. 110.
Therein lies the rub: The outward experience of the Protagonist’s journey
is, at its core, an inward journey into their self. That is the essence of their
need: to get at that most basic truth of who they are, come to understand
and embrace that, and, thus, redefine themselves. However, the Protagonist
does not realize this empowerment without going through a process of trials,
tribulations, and tests. They cannot see or grasp their need until their old
ways of being are deconstructed. It is a key step of how they “learn it” for
themselves (Fig. 4.1).
As with all aspects of the Protagonist’s journey, there are endless variations
of the deconstruction process:
• It can be a formalized, orchestrated phase of a program to break down

individuals, then reconstitute them. Examples include stories which take
place in a military setting such as An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) and
Full Metal Jacket (1987). An interesting spin on this setup is the science
Fig. 4.1 Dorothy flanked by Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Scarecrow with Glinda the
Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz (1939)
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fiction film Edge of Tomorrow (2014) in which the Protagonist (Cage) is

a neophyte soldier thrown into the middle of a war against an army of
alien beings. His training consists of repeatedly living and dying, each cycle
providing a bit more insight into how to defeat the enemy and what he is
capable of as his inner warrior emerges into being.
• Deconstruction may involve not only fragmenting a character’s psycholog-
ical nature, it may also manifest itself physically. A scientific experiment
gone awry in The Fly, both the 1958 original and the 1986 remake,
results in the Protagonist transforming from a human being into an insect.
District 9 (2009) explores a similar dynamic when Wikus Van De Merwe
is exposed to extraterrestrial biotechnology and transmogrifies over time
from human into alien. In Lucy (2014), mobsters turn the Protagonist
(Lucy) into a drug mule by surgically implanting a synthetic drug into her
stomach. When it leaks into her body, she acquires heightened capabilities,
both mental and physical, including telekinesis and telepathy. Armed with
these superpowers, she breaks free from her captors, hell-bent on revenge.2
• Deconstruction can take on a comedic twist when surprising events plunge
the Protagonist into an unusual circumstance, such as in Mistaken Identity
stories. In Rango (2011), an ordinary chameleon stumbles into a town in
the Old West where the local citizenry erroneously assume he is the new
sheriff. In Galaxy Quest (1999), friendly aliens enlist Jason Nesmith and
his “crew” from a long-since cancelled television series to fight a hostile
alien race. One variation is Assumed Identity stories such as Dave (1993)
in which a good-natured temp agency owner is recruited to take the place
of the President of the United States, a sudden victim of a stroke.
Whether it is Fletcher Reede in Liar, Liar (1997), who magically loses his
ability to lie and must tell the truth for twenty-four hours; Oskar Schindler
in Schindler’s List (1993), who after witnessing atrocities committed by Nazi
soldiers moves from indifference to concern for Jewish concentration camp
prisoners; the titular hitman in Léon: The Professional (1994), who emerges
from his life of solitude as he grows friendly with a desperate twelve-year-
old orphan Mathilda; moribund Lester Burnham in American Beauty (1999),
who adopts a new lifestyle in which he does what he wants; soldier T. E.
Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), who when dispatched to the Middle
East, begins to identify more with the locals than with his British upbringing;
or Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave (2013) who loses his status as a free
2 In their origin stories, many superheroes experience this type of deconstruction after they obtain
their superpowers including Ant-Man, Spider-Man, and The Hulk. It is also a feature in more
grounded superpower stories such as Unbreakable (2000) and Chronicle (2012).
4 Deconstruction 59
man after being kidnapped and shipped to the South, deconstruction is about
separating the Protagonist from who they once were and pulling them into a
new environment, forcing them to confront the possibility of who they might
become.
Carl Jung asserts: “There is no birth of consciousness without pain.”3 Simi-
larly, Joseph Campbell observes: “Destruction before creation.”4 Mark Nepo
notes: “Transformation always involves the falling away of things we have
relied on, and we are left with a feeling that the world as we know it is coming
to an end, because it is.”5 These are helpful touchstones for the writer when
working with characters who have entered into the deconstruction stage of
their journey.
Deconstruction: Clarice Starling in The Silence

of the Lambs
Of all the people in the F.B.I to be assigned the “interesting errand” of
meeting with the imprisoned psychopath Hannibal Lecter, Jack Crawford
chooses Clarice Starling. Why? She is young, smart, and attractive, so in
effect, he dangles Clarice in front of Lecter with the hope that the psychi-
atrist will find her alluring enough to share insights about the serial killer
Buffalo Bill. However, Lecter immediately sniffs out Crawford’s plan as he
tells Clarice, “There’s something Jack can give me, and I want to trade for it.
But he hates me, so he won’t deal directly. That’s why you’re here.” Whatever
Crawford’s intentions are, by selecting Clarice for the job, he is acting as an
agent of fate because Hannibal Lecter is an ideal Mentor to guide Clarice,
not only in relation to the Buffalo Bill case, but also the inward journey she
must take into the darkest corners of her fragmented psyche as part of her
metamorphosis.
As a trained psychiatrist, Lecter knows he must first tear down Clarice’s
psychological defenses. Thus, at the end of their initial meeting, he gives her
a test: “Listen carefully. Look deep within yourself, Clarice Starling. Go seek
out Miss Mofet, an old patient of mine. M-O-F-E-T. Go now.” It is a chal-
lenge to see if she has the mettle to match Lecter’s wits. Clarice solves the
3 C. G. Jung, “The Development of Personality,” Collected Works XVII (Princeton University Press,
1981), para. 331, p. 193.
4 Diane K. Osbon, Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion (Harper Collins,
1991), p. 21.
5 Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have
(Conari Press, 2011), p. 257.
60 S. Myers
riddle, leading her to a storage unit which has been untouched for years,
eventually to learn that Lecter has paid for it. Using her car jack to force the
shed’s rusted door open a mere eighteen inches, this happens:
As Clarice squirms, on her back, through the narrow opening, she

snags her thigh on the edge of the door. She curses softly, her
flashlight revealing a small streak of blood on her khakis.b
bThe Silence of the Lambs, screenplay by Ted Tally, based on a novel by Thomas
Harris. Movie script, dated January 15, 1990, p. 20.
This represents the crossing of a symbolic threshold for Clarice, the

next stage of her immersion in this new world, the blood a portent of
violence to come. Inside the storage unit, Clarice discovers the severed
head of Benjamin Raspail, one of Lecter’s patients, leading her back to the
incarcerated psychiatrist and creating a chain of events (Fig. 4.2):
• Lecter pries into Clarice’s relationship with Crawford (“Do you think
Crawford wants you, sexually”).
• In exchange for being relocated “far away from Dr. Chilton,” Lecter tells
Clarice, “I’m offering you a psychological profile of Buffalo Bill, based on
the case evidence. I’ll help you catch him, Clarice.” In the script, when
Clarice accepts, Lecter says, “Clarice… smile. We’re going to be partners.”6
6 Ibid., p. 26.
4 Deconstruction 61
• Clarice is pulled deeper into the Buffalo Bill case when she accompanies
Crawford to a funeral home in West Virginia to inspect the body of the
serial killer’s latest victim. At this location, three significant things occur:
– It is Clarice, not Crawford or some other authority figure, who conducts
the autopsy report, signifying a next step in her advancement as a field
agent.
– During the inspection, she discovers a “bug cocoon” lodged in the
corpse’s throat, which turns out to be the chrysalis of a Death’s-head
Hawkmoth. Later, Lecter identifies this as meaning something impor-
tant to Buffalo Bill: “The significance of the moth is change. Caterpillar
into chrysalis… or pupa… and thence into beauty. Our Billy wants to
change, too.”7
– Just before the autopsy, Clarice is drawn toward a memorial service being
held in the funeral home where a body lies inside an open coffin. This
leads to a second flashback in which ten-year-old Clarice approaches her
father’s corpse at his funeral service, leaning down to give him a farewell
kiss.
All of these events constitute steps in Clarice’s deconstruction as she is

pulled more intimately into the Buffalo Bill case. No longer just studying
files, she transitions from cadet to field agent. Notably, too, she has a deep-
ening relationship with Hannibal Lecter. This deconstruction movement is
capped off by Lecter’s offer: “Quid pro quo. I tell you things, you tell me
things. Not about this case, though – about yourself.” With the clock ticking
on Buffalo Bill’s latest kidnapping victim, Catherine Martin, a U.S. Senator’s
daughter, Clarice agrees to Lecter’s terms. In so doing, she disobeys the single
most emphatic instruction Crawford gave to her in their first meeting: “You
tell him nothing personal, Starling. Believe me, you don’t want Hannibal
Lecter inside your head.”
That is precisely what happens: Lecter does get “inside” Clarice’s head as
she reveals details about her father’s death, then how she was sent to live on a
cousin’s sheep and horse farm in Montana. These confessions by Clarice act as
ad hoc therapy sessions which lead her into her psyche to confront her deepest
fears. Yet, by giving voice to these fears, Clarice accesses previously untapped
levels of potential: courage. She will need this to survive her Protagonist’s
journey with Lecter as her guide, as well as the inevitable confrontation with
the story’s Nemesis: Buffalo Bill.
7 Lecter’s use of the word “too” is notable as he appears to be implying that there is another person
who “wants to change”—none other than Clarice.
62 S. Myers
Deconstruction: Walter White in Breaking Bad

At the very end of the pilot episode in which Walt has barely survived his
explosive interchange with a pair of drug dealers and returns home with eight
thousand dollars from his first illegal meth transaction, Walt crawls into bed
with Skyler and is overcome by excitement. Engaging in energetic intercourse
with his wife, this is a different Walter White than the meek chemistry teacher
introduced earlier in the episode. Walt’s deconstruction has begun.
Over the course of the first two seasons of Breaking Bad , Walt leads an
increasingly bifurcated life. There is Walter White, husband, father, teacher,
and stoic cancer victim. Concurrently, there is Heisenberg, the alias he uses
in his life as a meth cook. It is a reference to the German theoretical physicist
Werner Heisenberg (1901–1976), most famous for the uncertainty principle:
The more precisely the position of a particle is determined, the less precisely
its momentum can be known, and vice versa.8 This is a dynamic at play
throughout Breaking Bad and relates to many of the characters in the series,
most especially to Protagonist. At any given moment, who are we observing?
Walter White, the family man, or Walter White (a.k.a. Heisenberg), the
emerging drug kingpin? Deconstruction elements in the first two seasons of
the series include:
• In deciding to “cook” and sell illegal drugs as a means of generating

income, Walt uses his meager life savings to procure the equipment
necessary to create a mobile meth lab.
• Despite the dangers posed by interfacing with criminal elements, Walt
persists in producing the illegal drug, rationalizing his actions in order
to accrue enough money to support his family and pay for his cancer
treatment.
• With his hair falling out as a result of chemotherapy, in S1, Ep5 (“Gray
Matter”), Walt shaves his head which eventually becomes a key part of the
Heisenberg look.
• Living a dual life, Walt is forced time and again to lie to family and friends,
including his DEA agent brother-in-law Hank, the principal of the high
school where he is employed, and most importantly his wife, Skyler. In S2,
Ep3 (“Bit By a Dead Bee”), in order to cover up his absence of several days
when he was kidnapped by the drug lord Tuco, after he and Jesse escape,
Walt concocts an elaborate fabrication involving amnesia.
8 Werner Heisenberg, Zeitschrift für Physik, “Über den anschaulichen Inhalt der quantentheoretischen
Kinematik und Mechanik,” (1927), p. 257 43 (3–4): 172–198.
4 Deconstruction 63
• Most significantly, in the first two seasons, Walt’s actions lead to the deaths
of three characters: Emilio perishes in the pilot episode when Walt poisons
the criminal and his partner Krazy-8; in S1, Ep3 (“…And the Bag’s in the
River”), Walt is forced to garrote Krazy-8 in an act of self-defense; and in
S2, Ep12 (“Phoenix”), Walt watches as Jesse’s girlfriend Jane, lying beside
Jesse, both unconscious from shooting up heroin, rolls onto her back,
vomits, and chokes to death. He could have saved her life. He chooses
not to.
His change in behavior draws the attention of Gretchen, his ex-girlfriend

and current wife of Elliott, Walt’s former business partner. In S2, Ep6 (“Peek-
aboo”), there is this exchange between the two as they meet in a restaurant.
Walt offering an apology—but no more—about why he lied to Skyler, telling
her that Elliott and Gretchen are paying for Walt’s cancer treatment (Fig. 4.3).
Gretchen: What happened to you? Really, Walt. What

happened? Because this isn’t you.
Walt: What would you know about me, Gretchen? What would
your presumption about me be, exactly? That I should go
begging for your charity? And you waving your checkbook
around… like some magic wand is going to make me forget
how you and Elliott… how you and Elliott cut me out? c
c BreakingBad, S2, Ep6 (“Peekaboo”), written by J. Roberts & Vince Gilligan,

directed by Peter Medak, AMC, April 12, 2009.
Fig. 4.3 Walter White in Breaking Bad (2008–2013)

64 S. Myers
Once again, Walt’s fury emerges (as he stalks away from Gretchen, he tells
her, “Fuck you”). The long-simmering rage he feels about having missed out
on the fortune he could have made as a founding partner of Gray Matter
Technologies, combined with the growing excitement he experiences with his
involvement in the drug trade demonstrates how the seeds of Heisenberg
already exist within Walt’s psyche. Once his old ways of being are decon-
structed, he embraces his “inner Heisenberg” as part of the reconstruction of
Walter White in Seasons Three and Four of Breaking Bad .
Deconstruction: William Shakespeare

in Shakespeare in Love
Will Shakespeare may have continued squandering his talents in a misspent
life were it not for the unexpected appearance of a young actor auditioning for
the playwright’s latest theatrical effort, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter.
WILL looks at the stage and sees a handsome young man,

with a hat shadowing his eyes.
WILL
Your name?
VIOLA AS THOMAS
Thomas Kent. I would like to do a
speech by a writer who commands the
heart of every player.
WILL can hardly manage a nod.
VIOLA AS THOMAS
"What light is light, if Silvia be not
seen, What joy is joy, if Silvia be
not by? Unless it be to think that she
is by And feed upon the shadow of
perfection.
It does not take four lines of "VALENTINE'S" speech to

confirm for us, if confirmation be needed, that THOMAS is
VIOLA. For WILL, amazement at hearing his own words soon
gives away to something else. He is captivated. He has
found his "ROMEO".d
d Shakespeare in Love, witten by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard. Movie

script, February 23, 1998, p. 30.
4 Deconstruction 65
Thomas Kent brings a surprising passion to the acting craft which immedi-
ately gains Will’s attention. Who is this young man who causes Will’s written
words to spring to life? Soon, he discovers Thomas Kent is none other than
Viola de Lesseps, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. She loves theater, swept
away by the stories she experiences unfolding on stage. Unfortunately, the
laws of the day forbid women from acting, hence her male alter ego.
Will’s intersection with Viola marks the turning point in his Protagonist’s
journey by setting into motion several deconstruction dynamics:
• He and Viola become lovers, and together discover the rapture of physical
and emotional bliss. As Viola proclaims to her nurse the morning after she
and Will have consummated their affair: “It is a new world!”
• Inspired by his blossoming romance with Viola, Will breaks through his
writer’s block. Scenes emerge in the play he is writing inspired by events
he experiences in real life (e.g., the ball where he first lays eyes on Viola,
the passionate conversation he has with Viola as she stands on her balcony
peering into the night sky). It is as if the world itself becomes a source of
inspiration for Will and his play: characters triggered into being by people
he passes on the street, lines of dialogue he hears from passersby, even
advice from the great fellow playwright Christopher Marlowe (“Romeo
is… Italian. Always in and out of love… His best friend is killed in a
duel… His name is Mercutio”).
• As the rehearsals continue with “Thomas Kent” in the starring male role,
Will finds himself not only creatively charged and churning out pages, but
also discovering a different story springing forth from the tip of his quill
pen. The title has changed: Now it is called Romeo and Juliet. No longer
a comedy for the masses, it is transforming into a drama about two star-
crossed lovers.
Will’s life is completely changed. He no longer wastes money on whores,

he has found love in the arms of Viola, and rather than frittering away his
time drinking in local taverns, Will races to his writing desk as the words to
his play pour out from the fertile wellspring aroused by Viola. This period
of time—the writing, rehearsals, hours spent with Viola both in and out of
bed—is the apex of his life (Fig. 4.4).
In most stories, the Protagonist endures deconstruction as an ordeal. A
stranger in a strange land, they are forced to reject old behaviors and embrace
new ones, compelled to change when change is scary. Will’s journey in Shake-
speare in Love is an example of deconstruction as a positive experience. From a
psychological viewpoint, Will must go through this uplifting passage in order
66 S. Myers
Fig. 4.4 William Shakespeare and Viola de Lesseps in Shakespeare in Love (1998)
to feel the heights of euphoria, so he may bring that part of the human expe-
rience to his writing. This sets the stage for the next episode in his journey
in which he will feel the depths of sorrow and loss, keys to his psychological
reconstruction.
Deconstruction: Rebecca Bunch in Crazy

Ex-Girlfriend
Despite her protests otherwise, Rebecca Bunch has relocated to West Covina,
California to pursue a romance with Josh, a boy she had a fleeting connection
with in summer camp many years ago. Why the shocking departure from a
cushy job at a prestigious New York City law firm? Because that summer with
Josh is one Rebecca associates with being happy. During Season One after
failing to woo Josh via several over-the-top schemes, Rebecca has an epiphany
when she breaks into song (“The Villain in My Own Story”) (Fig. 4.5):
I try to be good to others

Treat my fellow men like brothers and sisters
That’s the story I’m the hero in
So how come I can’t zero in
On why this song sounds so sinister?
Oh my god
I’m the villain in my own story
I’m the witch in my own tale
Though I insist I’m the Protagonist
It’s clear that my soul is up for sale
4 Deconstruction 67
Fig. 4.5 Rebecca Bunch as a fantastical witch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015–2019)
I’m the villain in my own story

The bad guy in my TV show
I’m the “who” in the “whodunnit”
When I go to Hell, I’ll run it
As Satan’s CFOe
e Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, S1, Ep14 (“Josh is Going to Hawaii!”), written by Sono

Patel, directed by Erin Ehrlich. CW, March 7, 2016.
Staring into the mirror, Rebecca sees herself reflected back as an evil
sorceress, a caricature of a Disney villain with Valencia, Josh’s actual girlfriend,
portrayed as a princess trapped in the witch’s lair. The sequence represents a
breakthrough for Rebecca in her Protagonist’s journey in that she achieves a
level of self-awareness about her narcissistic state of being. Her actions during
the series’ first season take her down the path into deconstruction:
• Rebecca and Josh begin Season Two as sexual partners, but there is little
commitment from Josh, who increasingly spends time apart from her.
When Rebecca has a pregnancy scare, they split up at his behest.
• Recognizing she is “addicted” to Rebecca’s complicated life, her best friend
Paula distances herself from Rebecca, leaving her with one less person to
lean on.
• In Season One, Rebecca reluctantly begins to see a therapist, whereas
in Season Two, their sessions become more frequent and substantial in
confronting Rebecca’s psychological issues.
68 S. Myers
• Torn between feelings for Josh and Greg, in S2, Ep4 (“When Will Josh and
His Friend Leave Me Alone?”), Rebecca declares, “I don’t know who I am.
Who am I supposed to be now?” This question plays out over the course of
Season Two with Rebecca in various states of connection to disconnection
with the men in her life: Greg Trent, who began as a fake boyfriend in
Season One, only to become fixated on making Rebecca a real girlfriend;
Nathaniel, who buys the law firm where Rebecca works and develops a
romantic interest in her; her father Silas, who abandoned Rebecca during
her youth, and Josh, the latter building to the season-ending S2, Ep13
(“Can Josh Take a Leap of Faith?”) in which he and Rebecca are set to be
married.
There is a huge twist at the end of this episode which drives home
the degree of Rebecca’s deconstruction: a memory (“dissociated episode”) of
Rebecca’s stint at Harvard Law School, where it is revealed she had been lovers
with Robert, her law professor there. When he broke off the relationship,
Rebecca set Robert’s house on fire, which led to her forced departure from
the university. Only a stint in a mental institution enabled her to have the
crime expunged from her official record.
Thus, the Rebecca introduced in Season One, manic obsessive and narcis-
sistic, is revealed at the end of Season Two to be an even more deeply
troubled individual. Of particular interest, she has gone all-in with her need
for external validation. In the final episode of Season Two, Rebecca breaks
out into a fantasy song about the significance of her upcoming wedding
(“Rebecca’s Reprise”):
'Cause my daddy will love me

And then, in a wonderful way
Everything in the past will just fall away
My daddy will love me
And my mommy will love me
And Josh will love me
And then
I'll never have problems again f
f CrazyEx-Girlfriend, S2, Ep14 (Can Josh Take a Leap of Faith?), written by

Aline Brosh McKenna, directed by Aline Brosh McKenna. CW, February 3,
2017.
However, Josh does not show up for the event, instead attempting to escape
from Rebecca with an impulsive decision to become a priest. Stunned by
this betrayal, Rebecca races off toward a coastal overhang on the precipice of
4 Deconstruction 69
committing suicide (“Why do they all leave? Every man I’ve ever loved, they
all leave”). Compared to the Rebecca early on in Season One who has a simple
goal in mind—win back Josh—by the time Season Two ends, her deconstruc-
tion has led her to an existential crisis. This lays the groundwork for Season
Three where Rebecca confronts even deeper truths about her psychological
condition.
Deconstruction: Miles Morales in Spider-Man:

Into the Spider-Verse
Miles Morales may have several disunity elements at work in his life at the
beginning of the story, including an uneasy relationship with his father over
his expectations for Miles at the boy’s new school. That is nothing compared
to what occurs once he is bitten by a radioactive spider. Unable to control
the bizarre changes happening to his body, most notably sticking to anything
and everything, Miles caroms about the city at the whim of the “Spidey”
stuff coursing through his veins. Even though his experiences take place in
neighborhoods near home, he is a fish out of water as everything has changed
(Fig. 4.6).
This deconstruction process intensifies when Miles returns to the tunnel to
examine the spider which bit him. Led by his growing Spidey senses, Miles
Fig. 4.6 Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

70 S. Myers
travels further into the subterranean tunnels and emerges into a “supercol-
lider staging chamber.” There he witnesses a superhero battle between the
actual Spider-Man and Green Goblin, one of Kingpin’s henchmen: Spider-
Man is attempting to stop Kingpin from running a test of the supercollider
(“I just need to destroy this big machine real quick before the space–time
continuum collapses”). When Miles slips and falls into the vast supercollider
room, Spider-Man takes a break from the skirmish to save the boy. At that
moment: “Their spider-senses RESONATE. Like a mind meld.”
SPIDER-MAN
(thrown)
I thought I was the only one.
You’re like me.
MILES
I don’t want to be.
SPIDER-MAN
I don’t think you have a choice,
kiddo.g
g Spider-Man:Into the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney

Rothman, story by Phil Lord. Movie script, dated December 3, 2018, p. 30.
Spider-Man is just about to insert a thumb drive (“shutdown key”) into

the supercollider instrument panel when The Prowler, another of Kingpin’s
henchmen, launches an attack. In the control room, Kingpin gives the go-
ahead and the test run commences creating a “dimensional quake.”
Gravely wounded, Spider-Man gives Miles the thumb drive making
him vow to destroy the collider before Kingpin can restart it. If Kingpin
succeeds, Spider-Man says, “Everything you know will disappear. Your family,
everyone – everyone.” With that promise, the boy, who had been fighting
responsibilities laid on him by his father and teachers, finds himself expected
to save the world. After Kingpin kills Spider-Man, Miles moves deeper into
deconstruction:
• The death of Spider-Man leaves Miles alone with the knowledge of

Kingpin’s plans and the charge to stop them.
• Upon visiting Peter Parker’s grave, a second Spider-Man shows up from yet
another universe: Peter B. Parker. Overweight, depressed, and a failure in
his life, this version of Spider-Man causes Miles to question assumptions
about the very nature of superheroes.
4 Deconstruction 71
• Miles purchases a Spider-Man costume which he wears to model the idea

of taking on the superhero’s role, but he has substantial doubts (“I’m not
sure I’m the guy”). His apprehension grows when he accidentally damages
the thumb drive he is supposed to use to shut down the collider.
Then Miles watches Mary Jane (MJ) on television as she provides a eulogy
for her deceased husband Peter Parker:
MJ (V.O.)
My husband Peter Parker was an
ordinary person. He always said it
could have been anyone behind the
mask. He was just the kid who
happened to get bit.h
h Ibid., p. 40.
Later at a memorial service, he hears MJ say this:
MJ
My favorite thing about Peter is
that he made us each feel powerful.
We all have powers of one kind or
another. But in our own way, we are
all Spider-man. And we’re all
counting on you.i
i Ibid., p. 41.
Peter B. Parker serves as a Mentor to Miles, training him in his newly

acquired Spidey ways (including invisibility), but the key to the teen’s decon-
struction is this: Miles has to learn that if “we all have powers,” that includes
him. In order to fulfill his promise to the deceased Spider-Man, Miles must
not only master his Spidey skills, he will have to tap into powers which
already exist within and become his own iteration of a superhero.
72 S. Myers
Summary
Let us return to Carl Jung’s observation: “There is no birth of consciousness
without pain.”9 This lies at the core of the deconstruction process. No matter
the Protagonist’s attitude toward their initial state of disunity, they are natu-
rally attached to their old ways of being. Transformation is challenging and
there is no assurance it will end with a positive result, but the deconstruction
movement in the Protagonist’s journey by default compels them to change.
The discomfort they experience through various deconstruction tests—or joy
in the case of William Shakespeare—is necessary to break down preexisting
patterns of behavior and belief systems, which represent their inauthentic life.
For this is the path to unveil their inner “powers” which reshape and redefine
who they are in the next stage of their journey: Reconstruction.
Exercise
Come up with two movies: One in which the Protagonist has a positive
experience during deconstruction and one in which they have a negative
experience. Compare the Protagonists reflecting on why their respective
experiences are what each needs to have relative to their individual journeys.
Further Study
Screenwriters’ Masterclass: Screenwriters Talk About Their Greatest Movies, Kevin
Conroy Scott (editor), Newmarket Press, 2005, Ted Tally interview, pp. 1–25.
Script Tease: Today’s Hottest Screenwriters Bare All , Dylan Callaghan (editor), Adams
Media, 2012, Vince Gilligan interview, pp. 81–91.
Backstory 5: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1990s, Patrick McGilligan (editor),
University of California Press, 2009, Tom Stoppard interview, pp. 189–204.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Showrunner, Aline Brosh McKenna On Creating a Hit TV Show,
Creative Screenwriting, June 20, 2018, https://creativescreenwriting.com/crazy-
ex-girlfriend-showrunner-aline-brosh-mckenna-creating-hit-tv-show/.
Chris Miller & Phil Lord Interview: Into the Spider-Verse, ScreenRant, December
13, 2018, https://screenrant.com/spiderman-spider-verse-chris-miller-phil-lord-
interview/.
9 C. G. Jung, “Development of Personality,” Collected Works XVII (Princeton University Press, 1981),
p. 193.
4 Deconstruction 73
What Happens Next: A History of American Screenwriting, Marc Norman, Crown

Archetype, 2007.
References
CW Network.
Jung, C. G. (1980). “The Psychology of the Child Archetype,” Collected Works 9i;
Princeton University Press.
Jung, C. G. (1981). “The Development of Personality,” Collected Works XVII;
Lord, P. and Rothman, R. (screenplay), Lord P. (story) (2018). Spider-Man: Into the
Spider-Verse; Marvel Entertainment/Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Films.
Pictures.
5
Reconstruction

• Inauthentic Existence: Represented by the Protagonist’s initial disunity state,
they begin their journey disconnected from their true self and who they are
supposed to be.
• Reconstruction: A stage in a Protagonist’s metamorphosis process in which
they embrace aspects of their inner psyche which emerge into the light of
consciousness.
• Authentic Nature: The collective aspects of a Protagonist’s psyche which
represents the truest version of who they are supposed to be. Also: Core
Essence, True Self.
• New Ways of Being: The Protagonist’s authentic nature emerges from their
inner psyche, changing their beliefs and behaviors, fueling the transforma-
tion of their self-identity.
• Proactive: Associated with the reconstruction phase of metamorphosis, it
reflects the Protagonist’s forward-moving drive toward their conscious and
unconscious goal.
The Protagonist’s journey is fundamentally about change. It begins with

the character in disunity. Whatever old ways of being they have cobbled
together do not represent the life they are supposed to be living. Psycho-
logically speaking, it is an Inauthentic Existence. In order to become who they
are meant to be, the Protagonist needs to move out of their inactive state and

Switzerland AG 2022
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76 S. Myers
depart from the status quo. This is the narrative imperative of the Protagonist
and their ensuing journey.
Drawn out of their old world, the Protagonist discovers their preexisting
beliefs do not carry over well into this new world. They are forced into a
reactive mode as a result of events and characters they intersect with which
challenge established behaviors.
No matter how much they attempt to cling to past assumptions, these new
experiences compel the character to change.
That change is not arbitrary. Breaking down previous patterns enables
dormant aspects of their psyche to emerge into the light of consciousness.
This is key: The foundation for the Protagonist’s metamorphosis already
awaits within. This is why Joseph Campbell says:
The passage of the mythological hero may be over ground, incidentally; funda-
mentally it is inward--into depths where obscure resistances are overcome, and
long lost, forgotten powers are revivified, to be made available for the transfig-
uration of the world… [Now] it appears that the perilous journey was a labor
not of attainment but reattainment, not discovery but rediscovery.1
These dynamics arising from the Protagonist’s Authentic Nature, the

“seeds” of who they are supposed to be, not only serve as the basis of the
character’s transformation; they also empower this shift.
This stage in the character’s arc is Reconstruction, the passage in the Protag-
onist’s metamorphosis process in which they progress from their old self
toward their new self, from their old ways of being to New Ways of Being .
Reconstruction Explored
In Back to the Future (1985), Marty McFly begins his journey disconnected
from his family. In his view, they are underachievers who feel far removed
from Marty’s ambitious dreams of success: becoming a rock and roll star.
His last name is ironic in that like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939),
who dreams of a special place “over the rainbow” or Dwayne in Little Miss
Sunshine (2006) whose goal is to become an airplane pilot, all three characters
desire to “fly” away to another type of life, hoping they will discover a truer
sense of self and home.
1 Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Commemorative ed.; Bollingen Series 17;
(Princeton University Press, 1968), p. 24.
5 Reconstruction 77
Something happens. A tornado sweeps Dorothy away to the fantastical

land of Oz. Dwayne is coerced into his family’s road trip to California
for his sister Olive’s beauty pageant competition. A souped-up, nuclear
powered DeLorean mistakenly swoops Marty thirty years back in time. These
characters desire to change … and fate obliges in its own unexpected ways.
Contrast the lead characters in the television series Big Little Lies (2017,
2019): Celeste, Madeline, Jane, Renata, and Bonnie. They begin their jour-
neys in relative states of satisfaction. With the exception of Jane, a single
mother who recently moved to Monterey, California, the women live in
gorgeous houses, have committed married relationships, and are raising chil-
dren who benefit from their parents’ status and wealth. On the surface, each
character appears to be content with their life, but the mask of personal
satisfaction they wear in public shrouds inner issues which rise up to create
fissures in their normal lives: Bonnie’s pleasant, peaceful demeanor shrouds
deep-seated pain and anger about a contentious relationship with her mother;
Renata’s obsession with having it all—career, prominence, family, money—is
driving her husband into moody seclusion and creates anxiety-inducing pres-
sure on her young daughter; Jane attempts to immerse herself in the role of
loving mother and good friend, however, she has major trust issues related
to men due to having been sexually assaulted; Madeline revels in her busy
roles as wife, mother, and social gadfly, but grapples with keeping secret an
affair she recently had; and Celeste’s apparent beautiful life is a daily struggle
to hide the fact she exists in a tormented marriage with her passionate, yet
physically abusive husband. Jane’s arrival in town sets into motion a chain
of events which over time forces each of these characters to confront their
respective disunity states and deconstruct their perfect little lives to expose
their big internal lies.
Seeking to change or resistant to it, the Protagonist is pulled by fate out
of their ordinary world. By responding to an unfolding chain of events, the
choices they are compelled to make deconstruct who they once were. This is
a natural aspect of transformation, a “falling away of things… relied on” and
as a result, both symbolically and psychologically, their “world… is coming to
an end, because it is.”2 However, this deconstruction stage of the Protagonist’s
journey serves a greater purpose: The process of breaking down existing habits
and behaviors creates opportunities for the character’s need to emerge from
the dark corners of their psyche into the illumination of consciousness. This
becomes the foundation for their new self as they move into reconstruction.
2 Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have
(Conari Press, 2011), p. 257.
78 S. Myers
Fig. 5.1 Frank Galvin in The Verdict (1982)
Frank Galvin, the Protagonist of the movie The Verdict (1982), once had a
promising legal career as a full partner in a prestigious Boston law firm until
he was fired on trumped-up charges of jury tampering. In the four years since,
he has become a divorced alcoholic, reduced to seeking potential clients at
funerals, soliciting business from the families of deceased accident victims. A
long-time mentor and friend gifts Frank an airtight medical malpractice case.
All he has to do is show up for a meeting with the hospital’s representative,
the bishop of the Boston archdiocese, and accept their offer on behalf of
the victim’s family. In so doing, Frank will net a fee of seventy thousand
dollars, enabling him to get back on his feet. However, when he visits the
hospitalized comatose victim, listening to her mechanically assisted breaths,
Frank declines the Bishop’s offer (“If I take that money, I’m lost.”) and decides
to try the case. His movement from disunity to deconstruction is marked
by Frank getting back in touch with his legal instincts in building a case
for his client. Unfortunately, he is up against the top law firm in Boston
which uses every trick in the book to crush him, including planting a mole
in Frank’s office. Continuing to pursue the case as a decided underdog, Frank
rediscovers a part of himself which had been lost in the downward spiral of
life: his belief in justice. Thus begins his reconstruction into the lawyer whose
final address to the jury in the trial wins the day (Fig. 5.1) (“I believe that
there is justice in our hearts.”).3
3The Verdict, screenplay by David Mamet, based on a novel by Barry Reed. Movie script, dated
November 23, 1981.
5 Reconstruction 79
In the television series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2019, 2021), the
Protagonist is Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a housewife and mother of two living
in New York City in 1958. Her seemingly happy existence is upended when
her husband reveals he has been having an affair with his secretary and is
leaving Midge. This shock to the system results in Midge drunkenly venting
her anger on stage at a local nightclub, her caustic wit wowing the audience
and generating waves of laughter. She caps off her spontaneous performance
by exposing her breasts (“Imagine coming home to these every night”) and
getting arrested for public indecency. However, the experience of getting on
stage and entertaining a crowd of strangers turns out to be a serendipitous
event as it opens the door for Midge to funnel her unique sense of humor
into a blossoming career as a stand-up comic. The deconstruction of her old
life enables her to reconstruct into a new one, using the stage to hone her
craft as a comedian and explore what it means to be a woman in America in
the late fifties (Fig. 5.2).
As with Frank Galvin, reconstruction can be about rediscovering some
forgotten aspect of a character’s psyche or like Midge Maisel, it can include
uncovering a previously unknown inner capability, but in all cases, this
passage in a Protagonist’s journey involves the character confronting and
eventually embracing their emerging need.
Reflecting the complexity and diversity of the human experience, a Protag-
onist’s need may take many shapes as it emerges in the reconstruction stage
of a character’s metamorphosis:
Fig. 5.2 Miriam “Midge” Maisel in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2019, 2021)
80 S. Myers
• In stories such as Shrek (2001), Up (2009), and Drive (2011), the Protag-
onist’s self-imposed solitude is broken down into a reconstruction process
whereby they open up to repressed feelings and rediscover the ability to
connect with others.
• In Groundhog Day (1993), As Good As It Gets (1997), and Dallas Buyers
Club (2013), the Protagonist’s initial state of selfishness is reconstructed
into selflessness as the character embraces their ability to have empathy for
others.
• In stories like Tootsie (1982), Rango (2011), and The Big Sick (2017),
the Protagonists confront the false construction of their lives, then recon-
struct them so they are honest with themselves as well as other characters
important to them.
• In The Matrix (1999), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), and Arrival (2016), the
Protagonists master innate skills in ways they could never have imagined,
reconstructing them into their unique roles as heroes.
• In Nightcrawler (2014), Whiplash (2014), and Three Billboards Outside
Ebbing, Missouri (2017), the Protagonists’ obsession with achieving their
want leads them down a reconstruction path toward success, but at a
significant personal loss.
Whereas the Protagonist may experience deconstruction in a reactive

mode, once they settle into their new world, getting more comfortable
with the faces and places around them, and—critically—begin to embrace
their need as it continually emerges from within, the reconstruction process
empowers the character to become proactive. Building upon the certainty
that this is the path they need to be traveling, the Protagonist seizes
opportunities and makes choices which reflect their growing confidence.
Reconstruction: Clarice Starling in The Silence

of the Lambs
Clarice Starling agrees to Hannibal Lecter’s quid pro quo offer and reveals
personal information about her troubled past in exchange for clues about
Buffalo Bill. In so doing, she has unwittingly set into motion a major plot
twist: Dr. Alex Chilton has secretly taped the pair’s conversations and makes
Lecter a deal of his own. Lecter is transferred to Memphis, Tennessee to meet
with the latest kidnap victim’s mother, Senator Ruth Martin, providing key
details about Buffalo Bill’s identity, while pulling the psychiatrist away from
Clarice’s meddling.
5 Reconstruction 81
How does Clarice respond? She flies to Memphis to meet with Lecter
in a desperate attempt to get him to reveal the whereabouts of Buffalo Bill
(Clarice has deduced the clues Lecter gave to Senator Martin are lies). It is
notable that Clarice makes this bold choice without informing Jack Craw-
ford or seeking any formal approval for her actions. This reflects how she has
become proactive by taking greater agency in the case.
What transpires in Clarice’s final meeting with Lecter is influential on two
fronts. In terms of the Buffalo Bill case, Lecter provides the key to deter-
mining the serial killer’s location (“He covets… We begin by coveting what
we see every day”). In terms of Clarice’s metamorphosis, however, there is
the matter of her “confession” (Fig. 5.3). Lecter demands she recount the full
truth about what happened on her cousin’s Montana sheep and horse ranch
when she was ten years old. Clarice recalls the pre-dawn morning when she
was awakened by a “strange sound… some kind of – screaming.”
DR. LECTER
They were slaughtering the spring
lambs?
CLARICE
Yes...! They were screaming.
DR. LECTER
So you ran away...

82 S. Myers
CLARICE
No. First I tried to free them... I
opened the gate of their pen - but
they wouldn't run. They just stood
there, confused. They wouldn't run...
DR. LECTER
But you could. You did.
CLARICE
I took one lamb. And I ran away, as
fast as I could.a
Harris. Movie script, dated January 15, 1990, pp. 73–74.
The lamb is symbolic of her father, an innocent who was “slaughtered” in

the line of duty. In attempting to rescue a single lamb, Clarice was subcon-
sciously attempting to “save” her father. Lecter knows as much when he says,
“And you think if you save poor Catherine, you could make them stop,
don’t you? You think if Catherine lives, you won’t wake up in the dark ever
again to that awful screaming of the lambs.” Lecter has grasped all along that
Clarice’s journey is one of redemption, an attempt to somehow balance out
her father’s death. Why else did she go into law enforcement, but to seek
justice for his murder? The fact that Clarice is finally able to share this deep,
dark secret she has withheld all these years—what transpired that night on
the Montana ranch—marks a signature moment in her reconstruction. The
courage she exhibits in giving voice to that which torments her in her recur-
ring nightmares will empower her in the eventual showdown with Buffalo
Bill.
Reconstruction: Walter White in Breaking Bad

At the start of Season Three, drug kingpin Gustavo Fring to whom Walt was
introduced late in Season Two makes Walt an offer: three million dollars for
three months work cooking meth. Walt declines: “I am not a criminal…
this is not me. I have money… What I don’t have is my family.” When
he confesses the truth about his illegal activities to his wife Skyler, feeling
betrayed, she demands he move out of their house and declares she is seeking
a divorce. Subsequently, he is fired from his job as a high school teacher. He
may have gained a reprieve from cancer, but in his attempts to return to a
semblance of his old life, he receives no absolution.
5 Reconstruction 83
At the end of S3, Ep4 (“Green Light”), Walt finds himself in his car
stopped at a red light at a quiet intersection. Quite literally, he is at a cross-
roads. Pondering his life, a car swerves up beside him. The driver tosses a bag
of cash into Walt’s car, telling him, “Your half.” It is a message from Gus: Take
the deal. Meanwhile on the car radio, Buddy Stewart sings “In the Valley of
the Sun”:
Now my life has just begun

The two of us are one
Spending all our days
In the valley of the sun5
b Breaking
Bad, S3, Ep4 (“Green Light “), written by Sam Catlin, directed by
Scott Winant. AMC, April 11, 2010.
As the stoplight turns green, Walt drives off into his inevitable destiny: He
chooses to get back into the drug trade. Over the course of Seasons Three and
Four, Walt is transformed from “Mr. Chips into Scarface,” as the show was
originally pitched by series creator Vince Gilligan.4 His life truly has “just
begun” as the dual aspects of his psyche progressively merge (“the two of us
are one”): Walter White as Heisenberg.
In order for his character to reach that eventual state of unity, Walt must
go through a reconstruction phase. In so doing, he navigates several tricky
plot developments and complicated relationships. These include: Skyler, who
after having an affair, is drawn back into Walt’s sphere of influence as she
becomes the drug operation’s bookkeeper, purchasing the car wash where
Walt used to work to launder cash; Hank, who after being seriously injured in
a shooting and quitting the police force, continues to investigate the myste-
rious local drug lord known as “Heisenberg”; and Jesse, who befitting a
Trickster character, shifts from Walt’s meth-cooking partner to gun-wielding
enemy, threatening to kill Walt, who he believes poisoned the young son of
Jesse’s new girlfriend.
The most influential character in Walt’s reconstruction, however, is Gus
Frings. Adept at wearing multiple “masks,” Gus adopts the role of Mentor to
Walt. Walt tells Gus, “I find you extraordinarily professional and I appreciate
the way you do business.” Working within Gus’s drug empire, Walt learns the
ins and outs of how to run a high-powered illegal operation. This includes
4 See Chapter Three: Disunity.

84 S. Myers
the biggest lesson of all: To be a drug lord, one has to conduct business
with absolute and utter ruthlessness. Gus dispatches anyone who gets in his
way, including children. At one point, Gus takes Walt out to the desert and
threatens him, “If you try to interfere, this becomes a much simpler matter.
I will kill your wife. I will kill your son. I will kill your infant daughter”.
During Season Three, Walt increasingly taps into the fury which has
existed within him since the very beginning of the series to motivate his
actions. In S3, Ep12 (“Half Measures”), Walt saves Jesse’s life by using his
car to run over two hitmen, then fires a pistol point blank to finish off the
killings. In that same episode, Walt tells Jesse, “Murder is not part of your
twelve step program. You are not a murderer.” Yet in the very next episode
(“Full Measure”), he orders Jesse to kill Gale, the assistant Gus is grooming
in order to dispatch Walt (“I saved your life. Are you going to save mine?”).
In Season Four, Walt schemes to kill Gus to escape growing threats from
the drug kingpin, not only against Walt, but the lives of his family, his
brother-in-law Hank, and Hank’s wife Marie. Walt manufactures ricin to
poison Gus, but Jesse, who been entrusted by Gus to handle the meth-
cooking operation, cannot bring himself to commit another murder. As a
result, Walt plants a bomb in Gus’s car, but Gus senses something is awry
and avoids assassination. Eventually, Gus’s luck runs out as Walt visits Hector,
former senior member of the Juárez Cartel, now disabled, and plants a bomb
in the old man’s wheelchair which detonates killing both and Gus.
In a telling exchange with Skyler in S4, Ep6 (“Cornered”), it becomes clear
how deep into his reconstruction Walt is (Fig. 5.4):
Walt: Clearly you don't know who you're talking to, so let me
clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler. I am the danger. A guy
opens his door and gets shot and you think that of me? No. I am
the one who knocks! 7
c Breaking
Bad, S4, Ep6 (“Cornered “), written by Gennifer Hutchison, directed
by Michael Slovis. AMC, August 21, 2011.
In outsmarting Gus by blowing him up, along with several other people at
a local nursing home, Walt ends Season Four by telling Skyler, “I won.” Gus,
his Mentor-turned-Nemesis, has taught Walt well how to conduct business—
with utter ruthlessness. This feeds into Walt’s metamorphosis and the series’
final season in which he fully embraces Heisenberg.
5 Reconstruction 85
Fig. 5.4 Walter White (a.k.a Heisenberg) in Breaking Bad (2008–2013)
Reconstruction: William Shakespeare

in Shakespeare in Love
About midway through the movie, Will and Viola lie in bed wrapped in each
other’s arms after a night of rapturous bliss.
WILL
I found something in my sleep. The
Friar who married them will take up
their destinies.
VIOLA
Oh, but it will end well for love?
WILL
In heaven, perhaps. It is not a comedy
I am writing now. A broad river
divides my lovers--family, duty,
fate--as unchangeable as nature.
VIOLA
(sobered)
Yes, this is not life, Will. This is a
stolen season.d
d Shakespeare in Love, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard. Movie

script, February 23, 1998, p. 73.
86 S. Myers
This marks a transition in the plot and the tone of the story. Up to this
point, once the two have met and become lovers, their lives have been a
delirious delight of lovemaking and theatrical creativity—Will as writer, Viola
as actor in rehearsals as the great play Romeo and Juliet blossoms into being.
Now, however, this idyllic moment in time is coming to an end as the reality
of Viola’s life presses down upon the couple. It is directly after this conver-
sation that Lord Wessex shows up to take Viola, his wife to be, to meet the
Queen and receive her blessing on the marriage. Viola tells Will, “Oh, Will!
As Thomas Kent my heart belongs to you but as Viola the river divides us,
and I will marry Wessex a week from Saturday.”
Thus, Will is compelled by fate to enter into the next phase of his Protag-
onist’s journey: Viola is shattered to learn that Will is already married,
but separated from his wife; when Will discovers that Marlowe has been
murdered, he is wracked with guilt thinking that his earlier lie led to the
great playwright’s death; when authorities discover that Will and Viola have
become lovers, they reveal the secret identity of “Thomas Kent” and shut
down the Rose Theatre for breaking the ban on female actors. Will is offered
another theater to put on the premiere performance of Romeo and Juliet, but
this provides little solace to Will as Viola goes through with her nuptials.
Wessex announces he is taking his new bride to Virginia, where he will use
the funds he has procured from his marriage to make a fortune on the tobacco
plantations he owns there (Fig. 5.5).
As Will prepares for Romeo and Juliet’s opening night, he has lost every-
thing of value to him. However, the impending separation from Viola and
other calamitous events of this part of the story mark the reconstruction
of Will’s character. He needed to travel into and through this dark valley
of despair to match the rapture he had experienced with Viola in order
Fig. 5.5 William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love (1998)

5 Reconstruction 87
to become a writer capable of creating plays with emotional depth and

complexity. Indeed, it is during this stage of the story that Will discovers
the ending of his new play: the deaths of the star-crossed lovers. He never
would have stumbled upon that tragic, but powerful resolution to the fates
of Romeo and Juliet had he not gone through a reconstruction process which
brought him to the lowest of emotional lows.
Reconstruction: Rebecca Bunch in Crazy

Ex-Girlfriend
Season Three kicks off with a musical number as series characters attired like
medieval villagers ask over and over again: “Where’s Rebecca Bunch?” Having
run away from a wedding gone awry when Josh failed to show up for the cere-
mony, the bride not-to-be has disappeared. As it turns out, she is holed up in
her bedroom, depressed and questioning her very existence (“Who am I now?
What will I be? My reason for living has abandoned me”). Her longstanding
belief that Josh’s love is the key to her happiness has been shattered, and thus,
Rebecca has reached a critical point of deconstruction. No longer viewing
the world through romantic rose-colored glasses, she peers into herself and
discovers a new aspect of her psyche as well as a new goal:
I want revenge for my broken heart

But I'm so devastated, I don't know where to start
My defenses are down after his sneak attack
Do I let him win or do I fight back?
Fight back! Fight back! Fight back!
I have to transform
From a victim
To a woman scorned 9
e Crazy
Ex-Girlfriend, S3, Ep1 (“Josh’s Ex-Girlfriend Wants Revenge.”), written
by Rachel Bloom & Aline Brosh McKenna, directed by Erin Ehrlich. CW,
October 13, 2017.
Over the first four episodes of Season Three, Rebecca does transform,
fueled by a hysteric desire to exact retribution on Josh. Armed with a hair
color kit (“TRUE2COLOR / DARK BROWN”) and two DVDs (Fatal
Attraction, Basic Instinct ), she is inspired by movie femme fatales, witness
the musical number “Scary Scary Sexy Lady” featured in S3, Ep4 (“Josh’s
88 S. Myers
Ex-Girlfriend Is Crazy.”)5 Her devious schemes include: creating a fake sex

tape; writing an article for a local blog claiming Josh is anti-gay and racist;
promising her boss Nathaniel sex in exchange for his help, which almost
gets Josh’s father killed and grandfather deported; influenced by the movie
Swimfan, stalking Josh outside his house; sabotaging Josh’s efforts to get
back his old job. Rebecca’s revenge mode is capped off when she “kidnaps”
Lourdes, Josh’s mother, accompanying her to a local carnival where Josh
confronts Rebecca and declares, “If you ever, ever, get near me or anyone
I care about ever again, I’m calling the police.”
The failure of her elaborate revenge ploys leads to a critical turn of events
in S3, Ep5 (“I Never Want to See Josh Again”). As series co-creator Aline
Brosh McKenna said in comments about Season Three, “Revenge doesn’t
solve anything… It is a very self-immolating act and once she’s achieved it,
she feels worse than ever.”6 Left with nothing, Rebecca attempts suicide by
overdosing on anti-anxiety pills. In S3, Ep6 (“Josh Is Irrelevant.”) while in
recovery, the hospital psychiatrist provides a different diagnosis of Rebecca’s
psychological condition: borderline personality disorder.
This marks an opportunity for Rebecca to seek real change in her life
and she tests the water by apologizing to her West Covina friends as well as
attending group therapy sessions. However, old patterns of behavior prove too
strong to break as she starts a secret affair with Nathaniel behind his current
girlfriend’s back. For much of the second half of Season Three, Rebecca
attempts to replicate a variation of what she fantasized having with Josh. She
very well might have continued down this self-deceiving path were it not for
the sudden reappearance of Trent.
If Nathaniel represents a vestige of Rebecca’s infantile notions of romance
with Josh, Trent acts as a projection of Rebecca’s shadow, how her obsessive
personality will do most anything to achieve her goals.7 In Trent’s case, he
threatens to blackmail her to be his girlfriend and when that fails, he deter-
mines to murder Nathaniel, but in the season-ending episode, Rebecca saves
Nathaniel by pushing Trent off a roof (Fig. 5.6). As a result, he ends up in a
full body cast and Rebecca finds herself in court in front of a judge, charged
with attempted murder. Advised by Nathaniel, acting as her legal counsel, to
plead “not guilty by reason of insanity,” instead Rebecca says this:
5 In a February 13, 2018 92Y interview, Rachel Bloom noted about the writers’ approach to Season
3: “We said this season was going to be like funny Fatal Attraction,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=62sDq2jzPI0.
6 Ibid.
7 In S3, Ep12 (“Trent?!”), he tells Rebecca, (“I’m one scary scary sexy man”) which is a callback to
the song Rebecca sang “Scary Scary Sexy Lady” from S3, Ep4.
5 Reconstruction 89
Fig. 5.6 Rebecca Bunch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015–2019)
I may have borderline, but I’m not insane. I’m responsible for
everything that happened, all of it. As long as I can remember,
I’ve let some other force control my life. My mother told me
who to be, love told me where to go, and I went along with it all
because I told myself that they weren’t my choices. That
somehow the choices were being made for me. But that’s just
not true. They were my choices. It’s my life and I’m responsible
no matter what illness I have or what my parents were like,
and let’s be clear, they suck. I didn’t mean to hurt Trent, but I
did hurt him. And I want to face the consequences of what
happened on that roof and of everything in my life. I have to. I
want to change, Paula. And I swear I’m going to try. You don’t
have to believe me. I mean I wouldn’t if I were you. I have
broken so many promises, but I hope that this time is going to
be different. Because this time, I truly want to be held
responsible for my actions. So I plead responsible. I mean…
guilty.13
f CrazyEx-Girlfriend, S3, Ep13 (“Nathaniel is Irrelevant.”), written by

Aline Brosh McKenna & Michael Hitchcock, directed by Aline Brosh
McKenna. CW, February 16, 2018.
This confession marks a high point in Rebecca’s reconstruction: For the

first time, she actually acknowledges her wrongdoings and takes responsibility
for them. In order to move toward unity, she had to hit rock bottom: the
suicide attempt, an affair with Nathaniel, the confrontation with her shadow
in the form of Trent. In the end, she realizes how all the schemes, dreams,
plots, and ploys she employed up to this point represent a deeply flawed life
based on the search for external validation. This leads to Season Four in which
Rebecca begins the last chapter in her journey—in prison.
90 S. Myers
Reconstruction: Miles Morales in Spider-Man:

Into the Spider-Verse
Making their way to Alchemax Labs, Miles and Peter B. Parker, both attired
in Spider-Man outfits, have a plan: break in and download the information
necessary to create a new shutdown key (what Parker calls a “goober”). Parker
orders Miles to stay outside, but when Miles spots Kingpin entering the
facility, he heads off to warn his fellow superhero. This is the first decisive
choice of many as Miles moves into a proactive mode, one sign he is entering
the Reconstruction phase of his metamorphosis.
More manifestations of Miles’ emerging sense of empowerment occur
inside the Doctor Octopus’s lab (a.k.a. Doc Ock): When stressed, Miles
discovers he can become invisible; he demonstrates smarts in stealing a
computer with the information needed to create a new “goober”; he shows
courage in the ensuing chase sequence; and with Parker’s tutelage, Miles starts
to master a web shooter and swings through a forest of trees (“Thwip. And
release”). However, when Peter glitches and falls, Miles crashes into a branch,
dropping the computer. Ock snares it. When it looks like the good guys are
done for, “a mysterious girl in a HOODIE and BALLET SHOES dispatches
Doc Ock while WEBBING Peter and Miles to safety.” This is Gwen, who
after having posed as a student at Miles’ new school, now reveals herself to
be Spider-Woman (“I’m from another, another dimension”).
Making their way to Aunt May’s house, May ushers them into the original
Peter Parker’s secret hideout and there reveals three more Spidey characters:
Spider-Man Noir, Peni Parker, and Spider-Ham, each displaced from their
respective universes by the dimensional quake. Miles finds himself as part
of a team of six Spider People, a surrogate Spidey family. Armed with a new
“goober,” they determine they can not only destroy the super collider and save
this universe, but in so doing find their way back to their respective homes.
The question remains: Who will stay behind? Once more, Miles demonstrates
his growing sense of self-confidence:
MILES
None of you can stay here. If you
stay here, you’ll die. I’m the guy
who’s going to turn it off and I’m
going to get you all home before I
do. Look, I made a promise. So I
have to keep it.g
5 Reconstruction 91
g Spider-Man:Into the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney

Rothman, story by Phil Lord. Movie script, dated December 3, 2018, p. 84.
Unfortunately, his courage is ahead of his Spidey capabilities as he fails

some mental and physical tests the group give him including the final one:
“Spider-Man always gets up.”
Being told by the others he is not ready, a dejected Miles leaves the group
leading to a series of unfortunate events: Miles discovers Prowler is actually
his Uncle Aaron; returning to the Spiders to share this information, Miles
accidentally leads a group of Kingpin’s henchmen there including Doc Ock,
Tombstone, and Scorpion; a massive battle ensues leading Prowler to chase
Miles, but when Miles removes his mask, Uncle Aaron hesitates, unwilling
to kill his nephew, and as a result is shot by Kingpin; Uncle Aaron dies with
Miles at his side (“You’re the best of all of us, Miles. You’re on your way.
Just… keep going… just keep going”).
Enraged at this personal loss, Miles returns to his dorm room only to find
the other Spider People there. They need the “goober” which Miles managed
to snare.
PETER
Look, I know how much you want
this, kid… But you don’t have it yet.
MILES
When will I know I’m ready—
PETER
You won’t. It’s a leap of faith.
That’s all it is Miles. A leap of
faith.h
h Ibid., pp. 100–101.
The others leave Miles bound and gagged to his chair to ensure he will not
follow them as they charge away to do battle with Kingpin’s clan. Adding to
Miles’ emotional distress at not being able to fulfill his promise to the original
Peter Parker, Miles has to live with the knowledge that Peter B. Parker has
chosen to be the one to stay behind and sacrifice himself, so the other Spiders
can go home.
All the preceding challenges have put Miles to the test and while he has
shown growth, he is not there yet. He needs one more moment of inspiration.
That comes when his father shows up at Miles’ door. Since Miles is gagged,
he cannot respond, only able to listen to what Jefferson has to say:
92 S. Myers
JEFFERSON
Look sometimes, people drift apart,
Miles. And I don’t want that to
happen to us, ok? Look, I know I
don’t always do what you need me to
do or say what you need me to say,
but I’m... I see this...this spark
in you. It’s amazing, it’s why I
push you. But it’s yours and
whatever you choose to do with it,
you’ll be great.i
i Ibid., p. 103.
How will Miles respond to his father’s inspirational message? He allows

himself to “relax” into the moment, getting in touch with his Spidey senses,
and uses a venom strike to escape the chair, then turns invisible to leave the
room unnoticed. Returning to Aunt May (“Took you long enough”), Miles
arms himself with a Spider-Man outfit of his own creation and a pair of web
shooters.8
Thus, Miles finds himself atop the Williamsburg Savings Bank, the tallest
building in Brooklyn. He stands there hearing the echo of voices in his mind:
“I see this spark in you… Our family doesn’t run from things… You’re the
best of all of us, Miles… That’s all it is, Miles… a leap of faith.” It is a callback
moment to a previous scene where Miles had scaled a building, stood at the
edge of the roof, but could not bring himself to take a leap of faith.9
This time, he does (Fig. 5.7).
Summary
The Protagonist’s journey is fundamentally about change and the reconstruc-
tion stage of the process reflects how the character gets in touch with and
embraces their need, that most essential aspect of their authentic nature.
This movement is most often capped by a series of reversals which causes
the Protagonist to make a choice: press forward against all odds or go back
home to an inauthentic life.
In effect, this “all is lost” moment presents the Protagonist with an exis-
tential question: Who am I? The individual who began the story fumbling
8 The fact Miles spray paints and creates his own Spider-Man outfit symbolizes how he has embraced
this new identity as his own.
9 Ibid., pp. 42–43.
5 Reconstruction 93
Fig. 5.7 Miles Morales as Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
along in a state of disunity or the person they aspire to be. When choosing
the latter, the Protagonist acknowledges the impact reconstruction has had,
opening up the character to potential formerly untapped within their psyche.
In other words, the Protagonist has not yet reached their unity state … but
they are on their way.
Exercise
Select a Protagonist from a movie, novel, comic book, or graphic novel
who progresses through a unity arc. Focus on the reconstruction phase of
their journey. Identify one or more of the emerging psychological dynamics
reflecting their authentic nature. Ask: How are these dynamics working to
transform the Protagonist toward a state of unity?
94 S. Myers
Further Study
On Story: Episode 208—Ted Tally and The Silence of the Lambs, Austin Film Festival,
May 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzRDP253eXE.
Anatomy of a Script: Vince Gilligan on Breaking Bad , Writers Guild Foundation,
August 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx8ETtHxO9o.
Times Talk: Tom Stoppard , New York Times, April 2016, https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=UKiYH7kW_eA.
Conversations with Rachel Bloom, Aline Brosh McKenna of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ,
SAG-AFTRA Foundation, June 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Um
exJGMGnE.
Interview: Into the Spider-Verse co-director/writer Rodney Rothman, Schoolism Inter-
views, December 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qf7tPfeSIg.
References
CW Network.
Campbell, J. (1968). The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Commemorative ed.;
Bollingen Series 17; Princeton University Press.
Lord, P. and Rothman, R. (screenplay), Lord P (story) (2018). Spider-Man: Into the
Spider-Verse; Marvel Entertainment / Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Nepo, M. (2011). The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present
to the Life You Have; Conari Press.
Films.
Tally, T. (screenplay), Harris, T (novel) (1991). The Silence of the Lambs; Orion
Pictures.
6
Unity

• Unity: With the resolution of the plotline, the Protagonist moves toward a
symbolic state of wholeness, the coalescing of everything they have learned
during their journey.
• Integration: The psychological process whereby a character incorporates key
aspects of their psyche and moves toward a state of unity.
• Final Struggle: The culminating event in the plotline, typically when the
Protagonist has a decisive confrontation with the Nemesis.
• Denouement: The scene or scenes after the final struggle which conveys to
the audience what the journey has meant to the Protagonist and how their
life has changed.
Just as the Protagonist’s journey has a beginning, it must also have an

end. In terms of their character arc, if they start in disunity, that implies
they progress toward Unity.1 These beginning and end points reflect the
most common type of metamorphosis in long-form television and movie
storytelling, whereby the character comes to know, understand, and embrace
untapped aspects of the psyche, and Integrates them into a new self. This is
the unity arc.2
1See Chapter 2: Character Arc for other types of character metamorphosis.

2As opposed to the disintegration arc as noted in Chapter 2 with such characters as Charles Foster
Kane in Citizen Kane and Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver.

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_6
96 S. Myers
The character’s movement toward wholeness is not a transition into a

generic “happy ending,” but rather a physical and psychological pilgrimage
shaped by the specifics of the character’s life: their personal history and back-
story, want and need, inner conflict and outer challenges. As writers, the
more we engage ourselves in the lives of our characters, most notably the
Protagonist, the more distinct their individuation from disunity to unity.
Unity Explored
While there are recurring narrative archetypes within the spectrum of unity
arc stories, they are as varied in nature as the characters which inhabit each
story universe. Here are some examples in which the Protagonist progresses
toward a state of unity:
• Coming Home: Simba’s return from self-imposed exile in The Lion King
(1994) leads to a final battle with Scar. In victory, Simba claims his
birthright and destiny as king of the tribe. Solomon Northup’s home-
coming in 12 Years a Slave (2013) consists of a quiet, tearful reunion with
his family, now grown with a son-in-law and infant grandson who bears
Solomon’s name.
• Finding Home: In Jerry Maguire (1996) on the most successful day of
his career as a sports agent, Jerry races back home to his estranged wife
Dorothy because he has realized that without her, his life is incomplete. In
Neighbors (2014), Marc and Kelly are unprepared for the rigors of parent-
hood, but after fate pits them in a battle against a college fraternity which
moves in next door, the young couple embraces home life and the simple
joys of raising a child.
• Victory: In Rocky (1976), a struggling, small-time boxer gets the chance of
a lifetime to fight the world heavyweight champion. Even though he loses
the bout, he goes the distance and gains self-respect by discovering the
fighter within. In The Natural (1984), after his promising baseball career
is cut short by a tragic shooting, Roy Hobbs makes the unlikeliest of come-
backs: He leads his underdog teammates to the pinnacle of success and in
the process comes to terms with his past and his love for the game.3
• Survival : In Lost (2004–2010), multiple characters struggle to stay alive
after having crash landed on a remote Pacific island. They combat personal
3 In both Rocky and The Natural , the Protagonists discover romance along the way and in the case of
Roy Hobbs, the satisfaction of fatherhood. The bond between Protagonist and Attractor often caps
off the emotional passage of the Protagonist from disunity to unity.
6 Unity 97
tensions, mysterious forces, physical dangers, and internecine conflicts,

ending up in the series finale with a group reunion enabling them to “move
on together.”4 In Die Hard (1988), NYPD cop John McClane wages a
solo struggle against a team of high-tech robbers who have taken a group
of civilians hostage, including McLane’s wife Holly. In enduring enormous
hardships, defeating the Nemesis (Hans Gruber) and his crew, and rescuing
the kidnap victims, McLane also saves his marriage (Fig. 6.1).
• Resurrection: In American Beauty (1999), Lester Burnham is stuck in an
empty, joyless existence compounded by dysfunctional relationships with
his wife and adolescent daughter. He embarks on a personal crusade of
intentional transformation, leading to a cathartic moment where he redis-
covers the wonder of life … only to have it snuffed out by an assailant’s
bullet. In Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) after Joe learns he has a terminal
disease, he quits his soul-sucking job in order to travel to a tropical island
in order to willingly sacrifice himself by leaping into a volcano … only to
discover a new zest for life in his journey along the way.
• Saying Goodbye: By unraveling the mystery of a young boy’s psychic ability
to “see dead people,” child psychologist Malcolm Crowe in The Sixth Sense
(1999) ultimately realizes he himself is a ghost, empowering him to give his
blessing to his wife to go forward with her life and to meet his own post-
death destiny. In The Descendants (2011), Matt King unearths shocking
truths about his comatose wife’s past, but with the help of his two daugh-
ters, he comes to grips with his grief, enabling him to bid farewell to his
spouse upon her eventual death.
• Becoming Lovers: In the screwball comedy It Happened One Night (1934),
fate throws together street smart newspaperman Peter Warne and sheltered
millionaire heiress Ellie Andrews on a raucous road trip which enflames
a romance between this pair of strange sojourners. In When Harry Met
Sally… (1989), the pair attempts their best to just be friends, but once
they lapse into a sexual encounter, they separate … only to find their way
back together in the end.
• Recovery: After treatment for his bipolar disorder, Pat Solitano Jr. in
Silver Linings Playbook (2012) struggles to overcome an obsession to
reunite with his ex-wife. He manages to move forward with his life while
working out a competitive dance routine with Tiffany Maxwell, a woman
also confronting her own psychological issues. In The Big Sick (2017),
4 Jacob Stolworthy, “Lost ending explained: What actually went down in the most misunderstood
finale of all time,” The Independent, May 22, 2020, https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertain
ment/tv/news/lost-ending-explained-finale-jj-abrams-damon-lindelof-anniversary-what-happened-a83
65081.html.
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Pakistani-American comedian Kumail Nanjiani falls for graduate student

Emily Gardner, but when she has a serious medical crisis, he is forced
to deal with the cultural expectations of his conservative Muslim family,
the prejudices of Emily’s parents, his own career aspirations, and Emily’s
emotions as she recuperates (Fig. 6.2).
There are dozens more narrative archetypes ranging from Revenge to

Redemption, Career Success to Case Solved, each having the potential to
generate distinctive stories, based upon the singular nature of the characters
who inhabit their world and the specific events which impact them.
Fig. 6.1 Holly McClane and John McClane at the end of Die Hard (1988)
Fig. 6.2 Kumail Nanjiani in The Big Sick (2017)

6 Unity 99
This is reflected as well in the last movement of the Protagonist’s journey:

unity. The series of events in the Final Struggle represents not only the
culmination of the story’s plotline, but also the completion of the character’s
metamorphosis. By embracing their unconscious goal as it emerges from the
darkness of their inner psyche into the daylight of their consciousness, this
empowers their transformation into a new self.
Unity: Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs

When Hannibal Lecter escapes imprisonment, Clarice confides to her fellow
F.B.I. trainee, “He’s won, Ardelia. It’s over.” In that moment of despair,
Clarice feels that in losing access to Lecter, she no longer has the conduit
to clues she needs to find the serial killer Buffalo Bill and his latest kidnap
victim Catherine Martin. Clarice, however, discovers a spark of hope when
she recalls, “Lecter said everything we need to catch him (Buffalo Bill) with
is right here in these pages” (i.e., the case files).
Digging into that information, Clarice makes a critical realization: Buffalo
Bill knew the first victim of his killing spree, Fredrica Bimmel. This insight
sends Clarice to Belvedere, Ohio where Fredrica lived. Notably, Clarice makes
this move without any official authorization, her actions a reflection of her
growing sense of empowerment and self-confidence.
Clarice’s clue-gathering leads her to the house of a man who identifies
himself as Jack Gordon. There is dramatic irony in the scene where they
meet: While Clarice does not know the man she is speaking with is actu-
ally Buffalo Bill, the audience does. There is even a moment in the script
where a death’s-head moth “buzzes its way into the room.”
CLARICE –
Unaware, is still glancing around the room. For several
agonizing moments, we think she won’t see the moth – but then
she turns, does see it, and her eyes freeze. a
Harris. Movie script, dated January 15, 1990, p. 108.
Sensing she has deduced his true identity, Buffalo Bill leaps away into the
bowels of his house. What ensues is Clarice’s sojourn into the metaphorical
depths of Hell.
Pistol in hand, she progresses through nine doorways, each a symbolic
portal deeper into the darkest corners of her psyche. When she crosses the
100 S. Myers
Fig. 6.3 Clarice Starling talking with Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs
(1991)
fifth threshold, Clarice discovers Catherine, captive in the basement pit.

Clarice says, “I’m gonna get you out of there, but right now, you listen to
me. I’ve got to leave this room, I’ll be right back.” Why does Clarice leave
Catherine to pursue Buffalo Bill? This is especially curious in light of the
insight Lecter conveyed to her earlier: If Clarice saves “poor Catherine,” that
will stop “that awful screaming of the lambs” in her recurring nightmares?
It is what Lecter knows, but does not reveal to Clarice which compels her
deeper into what has become her personal version of Dante’s Inferno: In order
to confront her inner “demons” and redeem her father’s murder, Clarice not
only needs to save Catherine Martin, she also must slay Buffalo Bill.
After a harrowing few minutes in pitch darkness as Buffalo Bill stalks
Clarice while wearing night vision goggles, she wheels around and fires several
rounds from her service revolver, terminating Buffalo Bill’s life. By shedding
his blood, she has atoned the death of the “innocent lamb” which was her
father.This is made explicitly clear in the script when Crawford comforts
Clarice telling her, “Starling… your father sees you.”5
In the Denouement, a smiling Clarice celebrates her graduation from the
F.B.I. Academy, now officially a Special Agent. After the ceremony, she
receives a phone call: It is none other than Hannibal Lecter, wishing her well,
but still on the loose. This reminds Clarice there will always be bad guys out
there roaming around, but for now at least, the lambs have stopped screaming
(Fig. 6.3).
5 Ibid., p. 116.
6 Unity 101
Unity: Walter White in Breaking Bad

In Season Five, Walt has several opportunities to walk away from the drug
business and return to a normal, domestic life. Instead, each time he chooses
the path of his alter ego Heisenberg:
• Despite having dispatched Gus Frings and accrued enough money to take
care of his family, Walt proposes in S5, Ep2 (“Madrigal”) that he and Jesse
go into business for themselves with Mike as their partner in charge of
distribution.
• In S5, Ep4 (“Fifty-One”), Walt confesses to Skyler he is cooking meth
again. Concerned for their children’s safety, she threatens to send Walt,
Jr. and Holly to stay with their uncle and aunt, Hank and Marie. Walt
opts to continue with his new drug enterprise and as a result, his children
move out of the family house.
• In S5, Ep6 (“Buyout”), Jesse and Mike make a proposal: All Walt has to
do is agree to sell his one-third share of the methylamine they stole in S5,
Ep5 (“Dead Freight”) and Walt will net five million dollars. Walt refuses.
Why does Walt persist in choosing the Heisenberg path instead of turning
away from life as a drug kingpin? Why risk the threat of arrest or violence
toward his family? Season Five answers these questions by capping off three
dynamics which have been at work in Walt’s psyche since the inception of
the series.
First, there is the backstory involving Gray Matter Technologies. While
details of what happened to the company Walt co-founded decades ago with
partner Elliott Schwartz have been alluded to in previous seasons, in S5, Ep6,
Walt shares a more complete version of the story with Jesse: How Walt took a
buyout for his share of the company which is currently worth over two billion
dollars (“I sold my share, my potential, for $5000. I sold my kids’ birthright
for a few months’ rent”). Tortured as he is by the choice he made with the
deal, he cannot bear the thought of making a mistake like that again.
Walt: Jesse, you asked me if I was in the meth business or the

money business. Neither. I'm in the empire business.b
b BreakingBad , S5, Ep6 (“Buyout”), written by Gennifer Hutchison, directed

by Colin Bucksey. AMC, August 19, 2012.
102 S. Myers
Walt missed out on Gray Matter Technology. Creating his signature Blue
Sky crystal meth with unparalleled purity and value in the marketplace
provides Walt the opportunity to build an empire of his own.
The second reason involves Walt’s relationship to his family. While his orig-
inal inspiration for moving into the illegal drug trade was to provide money
to care for his wife and children, if he should die of cancer, that motivation
evolves over time. Walt’s growing obsession with the business and the lies he
needs to tell to maintain his dual life leads to the deterioration of his rela-
tionships with Skyler and eventually Walt, Jr. In a moment of honesty with
Jesse, Walt confesses the truth about his family situation:
Walt: She made me kick my own kids out of the house. She told
me that she was counting the days that my cancer came back.
My wife is waiting for me to die. This business is all I have left
now. It’s all I have. c
c Ibid.
Whatever his initial motivation, the reality is the drug trade has become as
important to Walt as his family.
This leads to the third point. In the series finale, Walt has this exchange
with Skyler, their final conversation:
Walt: Skyler, all the things I did, you need to understand --

Skyler: If I have to hear one more time that you did this for the
family--
Walt: I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was
really… I was alive. d
d Breaking Bad, S5, Ep16 (“Felina”), written by Vince Gilligan, directed by

Vince Gilligan. AMC, September 29, 2013.
Ultimately, Walt chose the life of crime because he “liked it.” He was
“good at it.” It made him feel “alive.” Over time, Walt had in effect embraced
Heisenberg. This is underscored when Walt has this interchange with Declan,
a drug dealer with whom Walt is negotiating to become a distributor:
Declan: Who the hell are you?

Walt: You know. You all know exactly who I am. Say my name.
Declan: Do what? I don't have a damn clue who the hell you are.
Walt: I’m the cook. I’m the man who killed Gus Fring.
6 Unity 103
Declan: Bullshit. The cartel got Fring.

Walt: Are you sure? [beat] That’s right. Now say my name.
Declan: Heisenberg.
Walt: You’re goddamn right.e
e Breaking Bad, S5, Ep7 (“Say My Name”), written by Thomas Schnauz,

directed by Thomas Schnauz. AMC, August 26, 2012.
It is tempting to look at his character arc from Season One to Season

Five as going from Walter White (disunity) to Heisenberg (unity). After all,
as noted in Chapter Three, series creator Vince Gilligan pitched it as “a
story about a man who transforms himself from Mr. Chips into Scarface.”
Walt does “adopt” the Heisenberg persona. However, events in the last three
episodes of the series suggest a more nuanced ending.
The unity state of this character involves the integration of Walter White,
caring family man, and Heisenberg, ruthless criminal genius. This merger
of personal dynamics enables him to settle scores and take care of those he
loves: setting up Walt, Jr. with a nearly ten millions dollar irrevocable trust,
delivered by none other than Elliott and Walt’s former girlfriend Gretchen
Schwartz; poisoning Lydia, an associate of Gus Frings; making amends with
Skyler by admitting the truth about his motivations; providing her with the
GPS coordinates where Hank and Steve Gomez are buried, information she
can use to cut a deal with the D.E.A.; sharing a tender last moment with his
infant daughter Holly; watching Walt, Jr. return home; using a jerry-rigged
M60 machine gun to slaughter the members of the Aryan Brotherhood who
have been holding Jesse hostage; and finally, freeing Jesse from captivity.
In the very last scene of the series, dying of cancer and a bullet wound to
the gut, Walt wanders through the meth lab at the Brotherhood compound,
reveling in what he had created. He smiles, patting a piece of equipment with
a bloody hand, then falls to the floor dead, leaving a red-stained “W” on the
machine.6 As police advance on his body, the final image is an overhead shot
of his character, eyes open, a look of satisfaction on his face, unity achieved,
the integration of Walter White, chemistry teacher, and Heisenberg, drug
kingpin, the inevitable end point of his individuation process (Fig. 6.4).
Unity: William Shakespeare in Shakespeare

in Love
With Thomas Kent exposed as Viola, giving authorities legal grounds to close
the Rose Theater, it is little comfort to Will Shakespeare when his troupe is
6 The “W” stands for Walter White.

104 S. Myers
Fig. 6.4 Walter White (a.k.a. Heisenberg) at the end of his life in Breaking Bad
(2008–2013)
offered the Curtain Theater where they can debut Will’s new play Romeo &
Juliet. Grief-stricken at having lost the love of his life as she is set to sail to
America with her new husband Lord Wessex, things go from bad to worse.
On opening night, Sam, the actor who is set to play Juliet, confesses to Will
that his voice broke. Will, who is taking on the role of Romeo, fears the
play will be a disaster (“We are lost”). Ever the optimist, Henslowe declares,
“It will turn out well.” The curtain rises and the play begins. The moment
arrives when Juliet is set to make her entrance:
As SAM is about to enter HENSLOWE'S hand yanks him by the

collar, and VIOLA overtakes him and steps on stage. Enter
"JULIET." VIOLA is not wearing the JULIET costume – she’s
wearing her own beautiful dress, which up till now
has been hidden from us by her cloak.
VIOLA AS JULIET
"How now, who calls?"
RALPH AS NURSE
"Your mother."
VIOLA AS JULIET
"Madam. I am here, what is your will?
6 Unity 105
INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. AUDITORIUM. DAY.
There is a collective gasp. Nobody has ever seen a BOY

PLAYER like this.
INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. THE WINGS. DAY.
WILL takes his hands from his ears, and turns round in
amazement at the sound of VIOLA'S voice
f Shakespeare in Love, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard. Movie

script, dated February 23, 1998, pp. 117–118.
As it turns out, Viola has fled Lord Wessex in order to see the play Will
has written and that she has inspired. Since she knows the play by heart, at
Henslowe’s request, she takes on the role of Juliet. Thus, Will and Viola have
one last chance to be together, their emotional subtext a play within a play.
Henslowe was right: It all does turn out well. The performance is a rousing
success. When authorities arrive to put “everyone in the clink” for featuring a
female actor on stage, none other than Queen Elizabeth reveals her presence
and after inspecting “Juliet” declares her to be a him. Moreover, there was a
wager in which Lord Wessex bet that a play could not show “the very truth
and nature of love.” The Queen tells him, “I think you lost it today.” Thus,
Will ends up with fifty pounds to take care of his various debts.
Will is heartbroken as Viola visits him one last time. Yet again, she inspires
him, this time for a new play: “Twelfth Night.”
WILL
Good bye, my love, a thousand times
good bye.
VIOLA
Write me well.
She kisses him with finality. Then turns and runs from
him. WILL watches as she goes.
INT. WILL'S ROOM. DAY.
A blank page. A hand is writing: TWELFTH NIGHT. We see

WILL sitting at his table.
WILL (VO)
My story starts at sea…a perilous
voyage to an unknown land…a shipwreck.g
106 S. Myers
Fig. 6.5 The ink-stained fingertips of William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love

(1998)
g Ibid., pp. 127–128.
How can this be a unity ending? For it is a personal tragedy for Will to
lose Viola. Compare this final image of Will to the very first one where he was
introduced at his writing desk … but not writing. Instead, he was scratching
out various attempts at a stage name, reflecting his unspoken quest to deter-
mine his self-identity. At story’s end, we find him at his desk … writing!
His Protagonist’s journey has not only allowed him to break through writer’s
block, his impassioned relationship with Viola has taken him from living
on the surface of life, plunging him into the heights and depths of human
existence, the very experiences required to be a great writer.
The integration of all the events, emotions, twists, and turns Will has
experienced from the first moments of the story to the last have led him
to become who he had the potential to be all along: the great playwright
William Shakespeare (Fig. 6.5).
Unity: Rebecca Bunch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

A clue to what the focus is in the final movement in Rebecca Bunch’s journey
can be found in the titles of the seventeen episodes of Season Four: Each of
them begins with “I” or “I’m”: first person singular.7 Whereas in Seasons One
through Three, much of Rebecca’s energy was devoted to Josh, initially to win
him over to be her mate, then seeking revenge against him when he jilted
7There is an eighteenth episode in Season Four: “Yes, It’s Really Us Singing: The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Concert Special!”.
6 Unity 107
her at the altar, her declaration in S4, Ep3 (“I’m On My Own Path”) that
“I believe in taking responsibility for my own happiness” is an apt thematic
touch point as the final stage of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend unwinds.
Befitting the complicated nature of Rebecca’s psyche, Season Four explores
the messy, winding path of the character’s last lap in her psychological
adventure:
• It begins with Rebecca in prison awaiting a new hearing after the judge in
her case rejects her guilty plea. While there, Rebecca leaps at the chance to
direct the prisoners’ theater class, recalling the very first scene in the series:
Rebecca as a teen performing “I’m in Love With a Wonderful Guy” in a
summer camp theatrical production of the musical South Pacific.
• After she is released from prison and returns to work, Rebecca quits the
law firm (“I don’t want to be a lawyer anymore. It was never my dream. It
was my mother’s dream”). Inspired by the smiles on the faces of satisfied
customers (“That’s what happy looks like”), Rebecca opens her own pretzel
shop: Rebetzel’s Pretzels.
• Her progress is matched by a serious backslide in S4, Ep12 (“I Need
a Break”) when after skipping therapy and her borderline personality
disorder group sessions, she goes on a date with Greg to Raging Waters,
hoping to take their repaired relationship to the next level. When the day
turns disastrous, Rebecca propositions both Nathaniel and Josh to have
sex with her. Each rejects her desperate ploys leaving Rebecca to fall asleep
outside the office of her therapist.
• Taking anti-depressants and going through a faux near-death experience in
S4, Ep14 (“I’m Finding My Bliss”), Rebecca is inspired by a random flyer
to audition for a local theater group.
The season’s final three episodes zero in on a dynamic which has been in
play throughout the series: the tension between Rebecca searching for external
validation and her authentic inner need. The latter has always been there,
but lost in the chaotic cloud of confusion kicked up by Rebecca’s desperate
attempts to find happiness through the acceptance and love of others:
• In S4, Ep15, (“I Need to Find My Frenemy”), confronted by the revela-

tion that all three men in her life—Josh, Greg, and Nathaniel—still have
feelings for her, Rebecca uses an emergency as an excuse to escape making
a decision by running off to Las Vegas.
• In S4, Ep16 (“I Have a Date Tonight”), Rebecca goes on individual dates
with Josh, Nathaniel, and Greg, each wonderful in its own way setting up
a cliffhanger for the final episode.
108 S. Myers
• In the series finale, it is Valentine’s Day, the deadline for when Rebecca
is supposed to announce to the world which of her three suitors she will
choose as her lover. She meets with her psychiatrist Dr. Akopian, but it
turns out Rebecca is asleep and the doctor has appeared to her as a “dream
ghost.” In an homage to The Christmas Carol , the doctor’s apparition shows
Rebecca three possible futures, first with Greg, then with Nathaniel, and
finally with Josh. In each scenario, it appears at first that Rebecca is happy,
but then each version of Dream Rebecca becomes melancholy (“What is
that sad, empty look on my face“). Rebecca confronts the Dream Rebecca
leading to this exchange:
Dream Rebecca: There’s nothing wrong with Greg or Nathaniel

or Josh. They’re wonderful.
Real Rebecca : Then why am I not happy with any of them?
Don’t I love them?
Dream Rebecca: You do love them. The problem is you don’t
know who you are.h
h CrazyEx-Girlfriend, S4, Ep17 (“I’m in Love”), written by Rachel Bloom &

Aline Brosh McKenna, staff writer Ilana Peña, directed by Aline Brosh
McKenna. CW, April 5, 2019.
With the clock ticking on her decision and at her wit’s end, Rebecca meets
with Paula and confesses, “When I stare off into space, I’m imagining myself
in a musical number.” At Paula’s request, the pair are transported into a
theatrical space where Rebecca had performed “Eleven O’Clock,” a medley
of songs featured throughout the series. Surrounded by twelve mannequins,
each adorned with an outfit Rebecca has worn before, she tells Paula, “These
are all of the identities I’ve tried to fit into.” However, what Rebecca is unable
to see, Paula does: “These songs in your head, you have to write them down”
(Fig. 6.6).
The series ends one year later with Rebecca on stage surrounded by her
friends as she recounts how she did not choose to be with Josh, Nathaniel,
or Greg, but rather to focus on developing her musical talent, most notably
songwriting. In a quick flashback, Rebecca reads aloud from a book called
“Lyrics 101”:
“When writing songs, the most important thing is to learn to

tell your story. Not a story you get from the outside world, but
your own story.” i
i Ibid.
6 Unity 109
Fig. 6.6 Rebecca Bunch and Paula Proctor in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015–2019)
From a thematic standpoint, this has been the entire point of the series:
For Rebecca to realize she cannot find happiness through external affirma-
tion, but rather it is the path into herself which can lead to unity, how the
actual process of Rebecca giving expression to her creativity is itself a source
of contentment, even joy.
Rebecca’s final lines of dialogue in the series, expressed to all the people
with whom she has shared so much and who have become her friends, is as
follows [excerpted]:
I don’t know if what I’m doing yet is any good. But all I know is
that I can finally show the outside world what’s been inside of
me this whole time. All of it. All of the nuances and the gray
areas. It’s not just about the act of writing. It’s about how when
I’m doing that, when I’m telling my own story, for the first time
in my life, I am truly happy. It’s like I just met myself. Like I
just met Rebecca.
I came to this town to find love. And I did. I love every person
in this room. Each and every one of you … And now for the
first time in my life, I can say that maybe I’m ready for the
other kind of love…
Romantic love is not an ending … it’s just a part of your story, a

part of who you are.j
j Ibid.
110 S. Myers
She then sits down at a piano, puts her fingers on the keyboard, says, “This
is a song I wrote,” and cut to black. The End. The song itself is not important.
What is important is that Rebecca has finally found herself. All those different
aspects of her psyche, those identities she tried to wear, they are all a part
of her. Now she can write songs to explore what they mean providing an
authentic path for her to move toward unity.
The S4, Ep17 title “I’m In Love” recalls the very first scene of the series
where Rebecca was in summer camp as a chorus member singing the South
Pacific song “I’m in Love With a Wonderful Guy.” The omission of “with
a wonderful guy” from the episode title must be intentional. Rebecca has
discovered that true happiness does not derive from the love of others, but
from connecting with what lies within. For Rebecca, the seeds of her own
happiness have been inside her all this time: her music. Now that she has
confessed and embraced that personal truth, whether she is a success as a
songwriter or not is irrelevant. She has discovered her unconscious goal and
in giving voice to it is on the path toward unity.
Unity: Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into

the Spider-Verse
The stage for the story’s final struggle is set: the penthouse of Fisk Tower.
Kingpin hosts a get-together there under the guise of raising money for
“The Peter Parker Memorial Fund,” darkly ironic in that Kingpin was the
one who murdered Peter Parker. Meanwhile in the building’s control room,
Doc Ock initializes the collider’s ignition sequence. The Spider-Team shows
up just as “dimensional quaking” begins in the city, much worse than the
previous collider incident. Discovered by Kingpin’s thugs, a clash commences
between good guys and bad guys with the collider beam growing stronger
every second, the threat of dimensional collapse imminent. As Peter B. Parker
attempts to insert the “goober” into the collider panel, Doc Ock grabs him.
Preparing to kill him, she suddenly hits her own face with her tentacle.
Invisible, Miles has arrived and manipulates Doc Ock, thus, saving Peter’s
life.8
What ensues is a battle royal with Miles taking a central role: He works
in tandem with Peter and Gwen to fight Doc Ock; he snares the “goober”
8 This redeems himself for not having been able to save Peter Parker’s life earlier.
6 Unity 111
from Peter, a callback to a previous bit of business (“Don’t watch the mouth.
Watch the hands”); he executes a complex “swing-crawl-flip” to the panel and
successfully inserts the “goober” which reverses the collider ray’s polarity; he
takes control of the beam, opens the portal, and enables Peni, Spider-Man
Noir, Spider Ham, and Gwen to return to their respective universes.
However, Kingpin shows up, intent on revenge for disrupting his plans
and this happens:
Miles DROP KICKS Peter and holds him suspended over the
portal. It looks exactly like when Peter challenged Miles in
his dorm room before tying him up.
MILES
(with empathy)
You gotta go home man.
PETER
(suddenly sad and scared)
How do I know I’m not gonna mess it
up again?
MILES
You won’t.
PETER
(realizing)
Right. It’s a leap of faith.k
k Spider-Man:Into the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney

Rothman, story by Phil Lord. Movie script, dated December 3, 2018,
pp. 118–119.
This exchange is important for several reasons related to Miles’ character

arc:
• In recalling the challenge Peter gave to Miles in his dorm room, a test
which Miles failed, this time, he rises to the occasion.
• The nature of their relationship throughout the middle of the story (i.e.,
Peter = Mentor) reverses in this scene. It is Miles who provides mentor
wisdom and encouragement to Peter (“You gotta go home, man”).
• Most notably, Miles grabs hold of the situation, even when confronted
with the prospect he will have to take on Kingpin on his own.
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Each of these dynamics in the moment serves as a marker to measure Miles’

inner growth and movement toward fully becoming Spider-Man.
In order to demonstrate the coalignment of everything Miles has learned
about using Spidey skills as well as his inner self, he needs to defeat Kingpin.
In a monumental struggle, Kingpin attempts to undercut Miles’ spirit (“Not
so easy doing it on your own is it… I can’t wait to kill one more Spider-
Man… The real Spider-Man couldn’t even beat me. You’re nothing”). Just
when it looks like a battered Miles has no more fight left in him, his father
Jefferson shows up. He has witnessed the whole violent encounter and at this
critical moment, he says:
JEFFERSON
Get up, Spider-Man!
Miles eyes flicker open at the sound. He looks to the control

room, where he sees someone moving around. It’s his dad.
JEFFERSON
Get up! C’mon... C’mon.
MILES
(struggling)
C’mon... c’mon... come on...
It takes him a few wobbly seconds but Miles staggers to his

feet and faces Kingpin.l
l Ibid., pp. 122–123.
Spider-Man always gets up … which Miles does to defeat Kingpin, shut

down the collider, and save the world. That provides the capstone to the
story’s plotline. However, in terms of the psychological journey Miles has
undergone, the denouement provides an opportunity for Miles to share his
thoughts on the matter:
MILES (V.O.)
I never thought I’d be able to do
any of this stuff. But I can.
Anyone can wear the mask. You can
wear the mask. If you didn’t know
that before, I hope you do now.
Cuz I’m Spider-Man. And I’m not the
only one. Not by a long shot.m
6 Unity 113
Fig. 6.7 Miles Morales as Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
m Ibid., p. 127.
Here Miles articulates one of the most fundamental and powerful messages
of unity arc stories: What we can become, we already are. As Carl Jung puts
it: “Just as a man still is what he always was, so he already is what he will
become.”9 While Miles had to be bitten by an anatomically altered spider
for him to gain his unique Spidey powers, the emotional, psychological, even
spiritual potential for him to become Spider-Man existed within him from
the very beginning. In his metamorphosis in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-
Verse, Miles goes from disunity to unity, one hero’s journey among countless
others, but unique to who his character is (Fig. 6.7).
Summary
Clarice Starling, Walter White, William Shakespeare, Rebecca Bunch, and
Miles Morales. Each of their stories begins in disunity and ends in unity.
Thus, if disunity represents the state in which a character is living an inau-
thentic life, unity is the experience of living an authentic life. In a story,
authenticity is not some ephemeral concept, but rather the reality whereby a
character goes beyond what they have known about themselves to experience
a deeper grasp of who they are. For there is a transformative dynamic which
lies at the core of the psyche. It is an empowering element, the source of their
true self. The external events of the plot serve to awaken those dynamics and
9 C. G. Jung, “Psychology and Religion: West and East,” Collected Works XI (Princeton University
Press, 1975), para. 390, p. 258.
114 S. Myers
bring them into the light of consciousness, embraced by the character as their
movement toward unity and the foundation for their new self.
Exercise
Select a Protagonist whose journey reflects a unity arc. Reflect on their meta-
morphosis from where they began to where they end up. Identify aspects
of their psychological change from an inauthentic life to an authentic life.
Ask yourself: How did their journey—the influence of key characters and
events—facilitate that transformation process.
Further Study
Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: “The Silence of the Lambs,” Scott
Myers (editor), Go Into The Story, August 2, 2017, https://gointothestory.blc
klst.com/go-into-the-story-script-reading-analysis-the-silence-of-the-lambs-43d
09a5c9198.
Every Episode of Breaking Bad, Ranked , Kimberly Potts, Vulture, 2018, https://www.
vulture.com/article/breaking-bad-best-episodes-ranked.html.
Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: “Shakespeare in Love,” Scott Myers
(editor), Go Into The Story, July 31, 2017, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/
go-into-the-story-script-reading-analysis-shakespeare-in-love-515e9e5c0ba4.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend , Vulture, https://www.vulture.com/tv/crazy-ex-girlfriend/.
Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,”
Scott Myers (editor), Go Into The Story, April 9, 2019, https://gointothestory.
blcklst.com/go-into-the-story-script-reading-analysis-spider-man-into-the-spider-
verse-4d37bc47127c.
References
Bloom, R and Brosh McKenna, A (creator) (2015–2019). Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ; The
CW Network.
Gilligan, V (creator) (2008–2013). Breaking Bad ; American Movie Classics (AMC).
Jung, C. G. (1975). “Psychology and Religion: West and East,” Collected Works XI;
Lord, P and Rothman, R (screenplay), Lord P (story) (2018). Spider-Man: Into the
Spider-Verse; Marvel Entertainment / Sony Pictures Entertainment.
6 Unity 115
Norman, M and Stoppard, T (written by) (1998). Shakespeare in Love; Miramax

Films.
Tally, T (screenplay), Harris, T (novel) (1991). The Silence of the Lambs; Orion
Pictures.
7
The Screenplay Universe

• Plotline: The physical realm of a screenplay universe, the domain of
character action and dialogue. Also: External World.
• Themeline: The psychological realm of a screenplay universe, the domain of
character intention and subtext. Also: Internal World.
• Event: Something which happens in the plotline requiring a response on the
part of key characters, most notably the Protagonist.
• Response: The reaction of characters to an event, most notably the Protag-
onist, causing them to shift their perspective as part of their metamorphosis
process.
When a writer pens a screenplay, they conjure up nothing less than

a universe. Place, time, and atmosphere. Story concept, genre, and tone.
Central plot and subplots. Scenes and sequences. Themes and motifs. From
the first moment following Fade In to the very last image before Fade Out,
the screenwriter’s task is not only to tell a story, but also to construct an
entire macrocosm into which the reader plunges and hopefully stays engaged
for ninety pages or more.
The key to making that universe come to life is to absorb oneself in the
experience of the story’s characters. By engaging the Protagonist in relation
to the characters surrounding them, getting curious about who they are, how
they are, and why they are, we learn about them as individuals—their wants,

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needs, skills, flaws, wounds, beliefs, behaviors, and voices. Moreover, each
character has their own distinct personal history, their life before Fade In
from which backstory elements emerge. These key dynamics, birthed in the
past, shape how the plot transpires in the present, and leads into the story’s
future.
Thus in the story-crafting process, there is a synergy between the lives
of the characters and the emergence of the story universe. Nowhere is this
more true than the Protagonist’s connection to the plot.1 The universe is the
specific context within which that character’s metamorphosis journey takes
place, an environment which is directly informed by the dynamics at work in
the Protagonist’s inner life.
Therefore, as we work with a story and explore the nature of its universe,
we may think of it as having two worlds:
• There is the external world, the realm of a character’s action and dialogue,
what the audience sees and hears: the Plotline. It is the story’s physical
domain, the narrative as characters pass through space and time.
• There is the internal world, the realm of a character’s intention and subtext,
what the audience intuits and interprets: the Themeline. It is the story’s
psychological domain, the narrative as characters process their emotional
and inner changes.
This construct reflects the duality of human existence: our external expe-
riences and our inner consciousness. As astrophysicist Janna Levin observed:
“We are all navigating an external world, but only through the prism of our
own minds, our own subjective experience.”2 Carl Jung acknowledged this
dynamic as fundamental to the work we do in terms of our psychological
and emotional development:
Individuation has two principal aspects: in the first place it is an internal

and subjective process of integration, and in the second it is an equally
indispensable process of objective relationship. Neither can exist without the
other.3
1 Refer to Chapter 1: The Protagonist’s Journey as Narrative Imperative for a recap of the many
reasons why the Protagonist is the central character in a story.
2 “The Universe in Verse 2020 trailer: ‘Antidotes to Fear of Death,” April 10, 2020, https://vimeo.
com/406366141.
3 C. G. Jung, “Practice of Psychotherapy,” Collected Works XVI (Princeton University Press, 1985),
para. 448, p. 311.
In a well-told story, there is a dynamic relationship between these two

“aspects.” An event happens in the external world. A character absorbs the
meaning of the event in the internal world. It causes a shift in the character’s
perspective. The character responds to the external world by making a choice.
There is another event … which the character processes … which compels
them to respond … and so forth.
This process of Event and Response, playing out scene after scene, is an
interweaving thread which runs throughout the entire narrative. It constitutes
the substance of the Protagonist’s metamorphosis, each interplay between
external and internal worlds propelling the character forward through their
physical and psychological journey.4 Moreover, as explored in Chapter One:
The Protagonist’s Journey, the trajectory of the character’s experience moving
ahead is specific to their original disunity state: They take the journey, they
are supposed to take. The events which transpire and the characters with
whom the Protagonist intersects on that journey are tethered to the emer-
gence of their deepest need—their unconscious goal—steering them toward
a unity state. That is the essence of narrative imperative, the inevitable arc of
the character’s individuation process as it unfolds in the external and internal
worlds of the story universe.
The External World and Internal World: Finding

Nemo
A classic example of the synergy between these two aspects of the screenplay
universe can be seen in the 2003 Pixar movie Finding Nemo. The story begins
with the clownfish Marlin showing off the couple’s new home to his mate
Coral. Peering down at hundreds of fertilized eggs, the pair contemplates
how they will become parents soon. However, tragedy strikes: A barracuda
attacks, knocking Marlin unconscious. When he awakens, he discovers Coral
and the eggs are gone, devoured by the barracuda … all save one.
A SINGLE FISH EGG
lying exposed on the sand, quivering on the ledge below the

grotto. Marlin rushes to it.
4 In the film and television business, this process of metamorphosis is typically referred to as “character
arc.”
120 S. Myers
MARLIN
There, there, there. It’s okay… Daddy’s
here. Daddy’s got you.
Gently, he cradles the egg in his fins. Turns it over. The other
side is scarred but intact.
MARLIN
I promise I will never let anything
happen to you. Nemo.a
Once Nemo has grown into his youth, Marlin is shown to be an overpro-
tective parent. On the morning of Nemo’s first day of school, father and son
have this exchange:
MARLIN
Alright. We’re excited. First day of
school. Here we go. We’re ready to learn,
to get some knowledge. Now, what’s the
one thing we have to remember about the
ocean.
NEMO
It’s not safe.
MARLIN
That’s my boy! So…first we check to see
that the coast is clear… We go out…
Marlin ventures out halfway then pulls right back into the
anemone. Proceeds to repeat this routine ad nauseam.
MARLIN
…and back in. And then we go out…and
back in. And then one more time,
out…and back in. And sometimes if you
want to do it four times –
NEMO
Dad!b
a FindingNemo, screenplay by Andrew Stanton & Bob Peterson & David

Reynolds, original story by Andrew Stanton. Movie script, undated, p. 5.
b Ibid., p. 9.
In effect, Marlin’s anxiety about what bad things could happen in the
future based on the tragic events of the past has made him incapable of
living without fear in the present. His disunity state can be summed up in
that he is quite literally a fish-out-of-water living in the water, perceiving

the ocean as “not safe.” Is it any wonder the energetic and curious Nemo
ventures outside the comfort zone of home, only to be captured by scuba
divers, then trapped in a fish tank in an Australian dentist’s office? Marlin’s
own constrictive behavior creates a situation which represents his greatest fear:
something bad might befall Nemo. In failing to live up to his pledge to “never
let anything happen” to Nemo, Marlin sets into motion the narrative imper-
ative of his Protagonist’s journey: He must leave his old world and enter a
new world traveling across the ocean to rescue his son (Fig. 7.1).
Consider some of the significant events and plotline points that occur in
Finding Nemo, and how they are tied to the specific trajectory of his character
arc:
• The first character Marlin meets along the way is Dory, a blue tang fish
who suffers from short term memory loss. Since, one of Marlin’s major
psychological issues is his inability to live freely in the present, what better
companion for his journey than Dory, a character who can only live in the
moment.
• Next, Marlin and Dory encounter a great white shark named Bruce,
who guides the two fish to a meeting of other sharks. They are pledged
Fig. 7.1 Marlin in Finding Nemo (2003)

122 S. Myers
to change their image as “mindless eating machine(s).” Their mantra is,

“Fish are friends, not food.” Things go awry when Bruce gets a whiff of
blood and chases after Marlin and Dory, intent on devouring them. This
encounter underscores that the ocean is a dangerous place, however, instead
of being cowed by fear, Marlin exhibits skill in helping he and Dory escape.
This along with other challenges, including run-ins with a hungry angle-
fish, a school of stinging jellyfish, and a whale, enables Marlin to tap into
an inner courage he did not know existed. The collective experiences prove
that even if the ocean does have it perils, this lowly clownfish has the ability
to survive. This recognition emerges as his old fears are reconstructed in the
first half of Act Two.
• In an attempt to reach Nemo, Marlin and Dory make their way to the East
Australian Current where they float along with a large pack of sea turtles.
The experience Marlin has impacts his worldview in three ways. First, there
is this moment:
Suddenly, Dory jumps up. She’s fine. She darts off, peeking
under turtle shells. A bunch of KID TURTLES pop out. They’ve
been playing hide -and-seek.
DORY
There you are! Catch me if you can!
As they all chase after Dory, giggling, Marlin slowly becomes

aware of all the surrounding TURTLE FAMILIES:
--- Kids spin upside-down on top of an adult’s shell.
--- Two adults swing a baby turtle between their flippers.
--- A group of kids slide off an adult’s back and are launched
into the air by his back flippers.c
c Ibid., p. 83.
While the ocean is a risky environment, it may also serve as a wondrous

playground where inhabitants can have fun. Marlin’s second lesson emerges
from a turtle named Crush and his “go with the flow” approach to parenting
his child Squirt5 (Fig. 7.2).
5 In the movie, Crush’s voice is provided by writer-director Andrew Stanton.

Fig. 7.2 Crush in Finding Nemo (2003)
CRUSH
Curl away, my son.
(to Marlin)
Aw, it’s awesome, Jellyman. When the
little dudes are just eggs, we leave ‘em
on a beach to hatch, and then, coo-coo
cachoo, they find their way back to the
big ol’ blue.
MARLIN
All by themselves?!
CRUSH
(of course)
Cha.
MARLIN
But, dude, how do you know when they’re
ready?
CRUSH
Well, you never really know, but when
they know, you’ll know. You know?d
d Ibid., p. 85.
124 S. Myers
Fig. 7.3 Nemo and Marlin in Finding Nemo (2003)
As a parent, Crush trusts in his son’s ability not only to survive, but thrive
in the ocean. That is an attitude which Marlin eventually models with Nemo
once they return home.
Marlin’s final lesson while riding alongside the turtles is offered by the East
Australian Current itself which the script describes as “an endless ribbon of
water which weaves through the blue ocean.”6 It is a thing of beauty and
throughout his journey, Marlin experiences moments of viewing the ocean
with a new perspective, appreciating its lyrical elegance. These experiences
reflect the reconstruction process in Marlin’s psychological journey, seeing this
watery world in a more positive way.
In classic Pixar fashion, Marlin overcomes many more complications, road-
blocks, and reversals before ultimately reuniting with Nemo. The denoue-
ment presents a Marlin character who has undergone a significant psycholog-
ical metamorphosis, most notably in giving Nemo the space the youngster
needs to embrace life in the sea. The script ends by echoing a scene in Act
One with Nemo heading off to school (Fig. 7.3):
Marlin watches his son slowly disappear into the empty blue
void. Content. Hopeful. Anything could be out there.
MARLIN
Bye son.e
6 Ibid., p. 82.
e Ibid., p. 140.
Yes, the ocean has its dangers, but it is also a place of adventure, beauty,
and fun. Moreover, Marlin overcomes anxiety about the future, trusting in
himself … in Nemo … and in this place he calls home: the ocean. This lies
at the heart of his arc from disunity to unity, all a result of a series of events
in the external world and responses in the internal world, each one propelling
him forward in his transformation process.
Summary
Of course, Marlin’s physical journey through the external world and psycho-
logical journey through the internal world are not unique. The working thesis
of this book is that a symbiotic relationship between these two aspects of the
screenplay universe exists in all movies and television episodes. When some-
thing happens in the external world, something else happens in the internal
world, each event influenced by the evolution of the Protagonist’s psyche.
Thus, as we have seen in Chapters Three through Six, if Clarice Starling
in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) needs to delve into the miasma of her
troubled subconscious, fate provides her the perfect guide: Hannibal Lecter.
If Walter White in Breaking Bad (2008–2013) has a date with destiny in
coming to know and embrace his inner Heisenberg, the universe intersects
him with characters like Jesse Pinkman and Gus Fring to facilitate his move-
ment to the dark side. If William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love (1998)
is stymied by writer’s block and is squandering his existence by leading a
shallow life, is it any surprise that fortune bestows upon him Viola de Lesseps
to inspire him, both in joy and sorrow, enabling him to become the talent
he is destined to be? If Rachel Bloom in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015–2019)
must confront her psychological “demons,” West Covina supplies a host of
characters who prod, probe, and provoke her to realize what she needs is
not external validation, but accepting herself, as flawed as she is. If Miles
Morales in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) struggles with expecta-
tions arising at school and in his own family, what better way to confront
that problem than a venomous bite from a mutated spider, thrusting the teen
into a situation where the entire universe depends upon him.
Each Protagonist has within them a true self. In a story, they are pulled
into a journey which compels them to change. This is their destiny. This is
their narrative imperative. We have seen in Part I how, as writers, immersing
ourselves in the lives of our characters, specifically the Protagonist, can drive
the story-crafting process. This pertains not only to events in the plotline,
126 S. Myers
but also the characters who emerge into being, serving, and supporting the
Protagonist’s journey. We address that subject in Part II: The Protagonist’s
Journey as Family of Characters.
Exercise
Pick a favorite Pixar movie. Reflect on the disunity state of the Protagonist
at the beginning of the story. Consider why the events which happen in the
plotline must occur the way they do to facilitate the Protagonist’s metamor-
phosis. Think about the family of characters which emerge and how each
plays a part in the Protagonist’s journey.
Further Study
Carl Jung: Screenwriting Guru, Scott Myers, Go Into The Story, September 15,
2018, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/writing-reflections-on-carl-jung-2c9879
e2f186.
Carl Jung on the Structure of Dreams: Subconscious Stories Revealed in Our Sleep in
Four Acts, Scott Myers, Go Into The Story, May 30, 2020, https://gointothestory.
blcklst.com/carl-jung-on-the-structure-of-dreams-89ab83798203.
The Hero’s Journey vs. Superhero Stories, Scott Myers, Go Into The Story, June
30, 2016, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/the-heros-journey-vs-superhero-sto
ries-9a74be7567e7.
The Psychopathology of Heroism, Scott Myers, Go Into The Story, May 18,
2020, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/the-psychopathology-of-heroism-8ee97f
c4b006.
The Protagonist’s Journey: “We Are Not Prisoners of That Room,” Scott Myers, Go
Into The Story, October 22, 2019, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/the-protag
onists-journey-we-are-not-prisoners-of-that-room-3b0d250f643e.
Story and the Question of Self-Identity, Scott Myers, Go Into The Story, July 8,
2019, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/story-and-the-question-of-self-identity-
bdee5fa5ccc6.
The Theology of Cinema: Chosen, Scott Myers, Go Into The Story, November 3,
2019, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/the-theology-of-cinema-chosen-b7a929
1e821b.
The Theology of Cinema: Predestination, Scott Myers, Go Into The Story, February 2,
2020, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/the-theology-of-cinema-predestination-
5c716414252e.
The Theology of Cinema: Redemption, Scott Myers, Go Into The Story, February 16,
2020, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/the-theology-of-cinema-redemption-fe0
b3cda154c.
Lindsay Doran on “The Psychology of Storytelling,” Scott Myers (editor), Go Into
The Story, March 6, 2014, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/first-hand-reports-
lindsay-doran-on-the-psychology-of-story-telling-edf125ef2f64.
References
Jung, C. G. (1985). “Practice of Psychotherapy,” Collected Works XVI; Princeton
University Press.
Stanton, A & Peterson B & Reynolds D (screenplay), Stanton, A (Story) (2003).
Finding Nemo; Pixar Animation Studios / Walt Disney Pictures.
Part II
The Protagonist’s Journey as Family
of Characters
8
Primary Character Archetypes

• Narrative Function: The fundamental role a character performs in the
context of the overall story.
• Character Archetype: An ideal example of a character which has a specific
narrative function.
• Primary Character Archetypes: Key narrative dynamics represented by
Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, and Trickster characters.
• Mask: The temporary persona any character may adopt at any time and
in any relationship in an attempt to achieve their goals (i.e., protagonist,
nemesis, attractor, mentor, trickster).
Characters are the players in our stories. They inhabit scenes, move the
plot forward through action and dialogue, influence each other, evolve, and
change. Each has their own distinct backstory, personality, worldview, and
voice. When a writer digs deep into their characters, tapping into the core of
who they are, they can magically lift up off the printed page and come to life
in a reader’s imagination.
In order to accomplish this, it is essential to launch the story-crafting
process by engaging the characters. Part III: Breaking Story explores several
writing exercises through which writers can do precisely that: immerse them-
selves in the individual and collective lives of the story’s primary characters.
A key aspect of that process is to give ourselves over to the characters, follow

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132 S. Myers
their lead, and see where they take us on our journey inside their story
universe.
There are times, however, when we step outside the story universe and
assess what we have discovered. Specifically, we consider the Narrative Func-
tion of each character—what their purpose is within the context of the story.
As screenwriters, we have ninety to one-hundred-and-twenty pages within
which to introduce and handle an ensemble of characters, manage the plot-
line and numerous subplots, and hope that in the end, we have told a
whacking good story. We focus on our characters simply to survive the relent-
less push forward scene to scene. More significantly, what we learn about each
character’s function creates a lens through which we can view and shape them,
so they work together to propel the story ahead as a coherent whole.
Thus, consider this writing principle: Character = Function. Each char-
acter in a screenplay must have a reason for existing within that story universe.
Each has to contribute to the advancement of the plot. Each has to play a
role supporting the Protagonist’s physical and psychological journey. As we
are tasked with engaging the complexities of our story’s characters, we also
need to hone in on the most essential aspects of who the characters are, why
they exist, and what narrative tasks they perform within the framework of the
unfolding narrative.
This brings us to the concept of Character Archetype: An ideal example of
a character which has a specific narrative function. While there are countless
character types (e.g., Addict, Orphan, Martyr, Warrior), there are five Primary
Character Archetypes which appear repeatedly in the world of cinematic
storytelling: Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, Trickster.
There is foward-moving energy toward an objective, a central figure who
wants to reach a specific goal. That drive typically manifests in the Protago-
nist. As drama requires conflict, there is opposition: Someone or something
wants to stop the Protagonist from achieving their goal. This is the Nemesis.
During their journey, the Protagonist meets allies. Some are most intimately
involved with the Protagonist’s emotional development. This is represented
by the Attractor archetype. Some are most connected to the Protagonist’s
intellectual growth. This is the Mentor. Finally, there is a capricious element
which provides twists and surprises, a character which tests the will of the
Protagonist, most notably by shifting back and forth from ally to enemy,
enemy to ally. This is the Trickster archetype.1
1 It is important to note that character archetypes are tools, not rules. That is to say, do not think of
them as a formula, but rather a helpful way to understand a story’s characters, both their individual
narrative functions and the nature of their relationships.
These five primary character archetypes embody narrative dynamics

present in countless cinematic stories.
Primary Character Archetypes: Classic Movie

Examples
In The Wizard of Oz (1939), the Protagonist is Dorothy. Once she is swept
away to Oz, her goal is to return to Kansas. The Nemesis is the Wicked Witch
of the West who wants the ruby red slippers Dorothy is wearing, eventually
taking the young girl hostage. The Attractor characters are Scarecrow, Tin
Man, and Cowardly Lion who become Dorothy’s friends. She acknowledges
this just before she wishes her way back home: “It’s going to be so hard to
say goodbye… I love you all.”2 The Mentor is Glinda the Good Witch who
imparts wisdom to Dorothy (e.g., the significance of the red slippers, “follow
the yellow brick road,” and ultimately the most important truth, “You don’t
need to be helped any longer. You’ve always had the power to go back to
Kansas”). There are two Tricksters. The Wizard is an ally, who is supposed
to help Dorothy get back to Kansas, but then an enemy who not only sends
Dorothy on a dangerous mission—return with the Wicked Witch’s broom-
stick—but also reneges on his promise to help her. The Wizard turns out
to be none other than Professor Marvel, a masterful iteration of Trickster
shapeshifting.3 The other Trickster is Toto. The little dog sets the plotline
into motion by repeatedly digging up Emma Gulch’s garden; slips away from
the spinster’s clutches causing Dorothy to run away from home; pulls back
the curtain to reveal the Wizard is Professor Marvel; escapes from the Wicked
Witch’s castle lair and leads Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion back to
Dorothy; and chases a cat which causes Dorothy to leap out of the hot air
balloon and miss her flight back to Kansas … Toto the Trickster, sometimes
an ally, sometimes an enemy.
In Casablanca (1942), the Protagonist is Rick Blaine. His goal: Once Ilsa
Lund makes her shocking appearance in Rick’s club, he wants to resume their
love affair. The Nemesis is Major Strasser of the German army who poses a
constant threat as he suspects Rick is holding stolen letters of transit which
would allow anyone to escape Casablanca. The Attractor is Ilsa whose pres-
ence entices Rick out of his emotional shell to reconnect with his passion. The
2 Auntie Em and Uncle Henry are also Attractors as once Dorothy is separated from them, she
realizes how much she misses them.
3 The actor Frank Morgan appears as five characters: Professor Marvel, the Wizard, the Gatekeeper,
the Carriage Driver, and the Guard, a fact which underscores the character’s slippery Trickster nature.
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Mentor is Victor Laszlo, a hero of the resistance movement, who challenges

Rick to get in touch with his latent idealism (“You know how you sound,
Monsieur Blaine? Like a man who’s trying to convince himself of something
he doesn’t believe in his heart… I wonder if you know you’re trying to escape
yourself, but you’ll never succeed”). The Trickster is Captain Renault (“I’m
shocked! Shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.”) as he plays a
careful game with his German overlords, eventually siding with Rick (“Round
up the usual suspects”).
In The Apartment (1960), C.C. Baxter is the Protagonist whose goal is
career advancement. His Nemesis is Jeff Sheldrake, the head of the corpo-
ration where Baxter works. Sheldrake not only represents the soulless end
point of Baxter’s want—corporate success, yet moral bankruptcy—he is also
having an affair with Fran Kubelik, Baxter’s Attractor. She and Baxter bond
in their time together while she recuperates from an attempted suicide. Both
may have been “seduced” by Sheldrake’s allure, one romantic in nature, the
other a vision of a prosperous American dream, but they discover they share
common values, such as decency and empathy, and develop feelings for each
other. The Mentor is Dr. Dreyfuss who helps Fran recover from her drug
overdose and provides Baxter with a pivotal piece of wisdom: “Be a mensch…
a human being.” The Tricksters are the four upper-level management types
where Baxter works: Dobisch, Eichelberger, Kirkeby, and Vanderhoff. Osten-
sibly, they are allies in promising to provide Baxter positive work reviews in
exchange for allowing them access to his apartment to carry on their romantic
infidelities, but eventually turn against him once he denies them the key to
his place (Fig. 8.1).
Primary Character Archetypes: Contemporary

Movie Examples
In The Social Network (2010), Mark Zuckerberg is the Protagonist. Since the
narrative is divided into two timelines—the past which explores the founding
of Facebook and the present which involves depositions in two lawsuits
brought against Zuckerberg—the story explores Facebook as a dual reflec-
tion of the Protagonist’s goal: to create something audacious, then protect
his legacy as the genius whose vision is manifest in the social network. The
Nemeses are the Winklevoss twins who try to shut down Facebook, then
sue Zuckerberg for stealing their intellectual property. The Attractor is Erica
Albright, who despite breaking up with Zuckerberg in the movie’s opening,
remains emotionally important to him as evidenced in the very last scene:
Fig. 8.1 Fran Kubelik and C.C. “Bud” Baxter in The Apartment (1960)
Zuckerberg alone in a lawyer’s office, sending Erica a friend request via Face-
book. The Mentor is Eduardo Saverin who provides the algorithm which
Zuckerberg uses to create an early iteration of Facebook as well as seed money
to support the initial funding for the project’s development. He also turns out
to be Zuckerberg’s only real human connection (“Your one friend.”), a friend-
ship which devolves into a lawsuit and personal acrimony between the two.
The Trickster is Sean Parker: an ally in expanding Zuckerberg’s vision for what
Facebook could become (“A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool?
A billion dollars.”) and facilitating the exponential growth of the company;
an enemy in manipulating the dissolution of Zuckerberg’s relationship with
Saverin and feeding Zuckerberg’s ego.
In the Coen brothers’ remake of True Grit (2010), the Protagonist is
Mattie Ross, a fourteen-year-old farm girl whose goal is to find the man
who shot and killed her father. The killer is the Nemesis: Tom Chaney not
only becomes the object of Mattie’s pursuit, but also eventually threatens the
young girl’s life. The Attractor is Texas lawman LaBoeuf (“While I sat there
watchin’, I gave some thought to stealin’ a kiss.”) who accompanies Mattie
in chasing down Chaney and speaks in a romanticized way about himself,
arousing the girl’s feelings for him. In the movie’s very last scene, a much older
Mattie reminisces about LaBoeuf saying, “If he is yet alive, I would be pleased
to hear from him.” The Mentor is Rooster Cogburn whose knowledge of the
law and skill at tracking down criminals leads Mattie to pay him fifty dollars
to find Chaney. Although a drunkard and an ornery grump, he functions as
a surrogate father for Mattie. In the final struggle sequence, Cogburn saves
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Mattie’s life after rattlesnakes bite her, first riding with her on horseback, then
literally carrying her in his arms until he reaches civilization. The Trickster is
Frank Ross, Mattie’s deceased father. He is an ally in that he fathered Mattie
and was by all accounts a kindly man, however, his generosity in hiring Tom
Chaney led to his murder, a decision Mattie derides (“He was trying to do
that short devil a good turn”). Although dead, his presence is felt throughout
the story as it is the challenge of finding his murderer which sets into motion
the plotline and leads to Mattie’s near-death experience..
In The Dark Knight (2008), the Protagonist is Bruce Wayne (a.k.a.
Batman), protector of Gotham City. His goal is to stop the wave of violence
perpetrated by the Joker, the story’s Nemesis.4 The Attractor is Rachel,
Wayne’s lifelong friend who he envisions as a soulmate with whom he can
create a future free from crime-fighting. However, she knows better (“Bruce,
if you turn yourself in, they’re not going to let us be together”). Her death
crushes any hope Wayne has to lead a normal life and causes him to redouble
his efforts to stop the Joker. There are three Mentors: Jim Gordon, who repre-
sents law enforcement’s inside man and Batman ally; Lucius Fox, who handles
business for Wayne Enterprises and crime-fighting technology for Batman;
and Alfred Pennyworth, who has served as Wayne’s butler and esteemed
confidante for decades and provides deep insight into the ways of the world
including the criminal mind (“Some men just want to watch the world
burn”). There are two Tricksters. The first is Coleman Reese, an employee
of Wayne Enterprises who attempts to shake down the company to the tune
of ten million dollars a year to keep quiet his discovery of Batman’s real iden-
tity. The other Trickster is Harvey Dent whose character transformation from
ally, a district attorney committed to fighting crime, to enemy, a lone vigilante
meting out justice for the death of his lover Rachel Dawes, is physicalized in
his appearance after having been burned: Two-Face. Indeed, Dent offers the
prophetic words, “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself
become the villain,” which he himself proves to be true (Fig. 8.2).
These primary character archetypes exist in myriad movies many of which
we will analyze in Chapters Nine through Fourteen.
4 The Joker is a great example of the Nemesis as a projection of the Protagonist’s shadow. Bruce
Wayne carries with him a deep wound as a result of his parents’ murder. Joker is clearly wounded
from his past. Wayne has a rage which manifests itself as violence against Bad Guys. Likewise, Joker
has a rage, but uses his violence against Good Guys. Indeed, Joker’s goal of unmasking Batman is
based on the idea that the two are more similar than different.
Fig. 8.2 Harvey Dent (a.k.a. Two-Face) in The Dark Knight (2008)
Primary Character Archetypes in Television Series

A movie tells a contained story, one with a beginning, middle, and end,
during which time the Protagonist almost invariably undergoes a psycholog-
ical metamorphosis. As explored in Part I: The Protagonist’s Journey, the most
popular character arc depicts the Protagonist evolving from a state of disunity
to unity. The five primary character archetypes represent a set of narrative
functions which create the circumstances to provoke that change.
By contrast, television series offer a more complex connection to trans-
formation and by extension character archetypes. In part, this is because
there is such a variety of formats: ½-hour (single or multicamera) and 1-
hour series, mini-series, limited series, event series, anthology series. In some
programs such as Seinfeld (1989–1998), characters do not change at all.
In others, like the procedural Law & Order (1990–2010), characters may
modulate minimally from season to season. Compared to a mini-series like
Unorthodox (2020) where the Protagonist (Esty) goes through a significant
metamorphosis, escaping an unhappy arranged marriage in an ultra-orthodox
community in Brooklyn by traveling to Berlin to start a secular life. Episodic
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series like This Is Us (2016–present) allow storytellers to explore the compli-

cated psychological nature of a central character like Jack Pearson, even after
he has died.
In the TV series Barry (2018–present), the Protagonist (Barry Berkman)
is an ex-Marine turned hitman who through a twisting chain of events
joins a Hollywood acting class. In Season One, opposition is provided by
several Nemesis figures including a Chechen mob boss, a Bolivian drug lord,
and most notably police detective Janice Moss who closes in on Barry as a
suspect in a murder case. The Attractor is fellow actor Sally Reed as she
and Barry become romantically involved. The Mentor is Gene Cousineau,
acting teacher who takes Barry under his wing by personally coaching him.
There are two Tricksters: Monroe Fuches, who used to be a Mentor having
helped Barry adjust from emotional trauma suffered during his military stint
in Afghanistan, molding Barry into a hit man; and NoHo Hank, member
of the Chechen mob who develops an affinity, even friendship with Barry.
During Season Two, characters evolve: Sally becomes jealous of Barry’s ascent
as an actor, while NoHo Hank ends up the inept leader of the Chechen mob.
Notably, one character shifts archetype functions: Fuches transforms into a
Nemesis, intent on tying Barry to the murder of Detective Moss in order to
force him to return as Fuches’ hired gun and hitman (Fig. 8.3).
Fig. 8.3 Barry Berkman and Sally Reed in Barry (2018–present)

This points to the unique potential character archetypes provided for tele-
vision writers: They can explore multiple dimensions of each character from
season to season. A Mentor in Season One may become an Attractor in
Season Two, a Trickster in Season Three, a Nemesis in Season Four, and so
forth. The capacity of characters to evolve and change narrative functions
enhances the commercial viability of TV projects by providing a variety of
character-driven storylines stretching across multiple seasons.
The television series Killing Eve (2018–present) offers a fascinating case
study in shifting character archetypes. Eve Polastri is a British intelligence
agent who is lured out of the doldrums of her professional life when she
becomes obsessed with tracking down a psychopathic assassin known as
Villanelle. In S1, Ep3 (“Don’t I Know You?”), Villanelle cements her role as a
Nemesis when she murders Eve’s long-time friend and partner Bill. Yet in S2,
Ep5 (“Smell Ya Later”), Eve puts out a hit on herself to force a meeting with
Villanelle in order to coax the trained killer’s help in finding another assassin:
The Ghost. Temporary allies, by the season finale (S2, Ep8: “You’re Mine”),
Villanelle reclaims her Nemesis function by shooting Eve and leaving her for
dead.
The plotline of Killing Eve through its first three seasons involves multiple
murders and twists upon twists of hidden agendas by virtually every char-
acter, all interwoven with the machinations of a clandestine outfit known as
The Twelve. Yet at its core, the themeline is quite focused: an exploration of
the relationship between Eve and Villanelle. The intricacies of their growing
mutual obsession exposes varied aspects of their respective psyches, so much
so that Villanelle has moments in which she reflects each of the primary char-
acter archetypes: She is a Co-Protagonist in assisting Eve track down The
Ghost; she plays a Mentor in committing crimes which leave clues specifi-
cally to draw Eve’s attention; she takes on the function of a Trickster, at one
point saving Eve’s life before eventually trying to take it; she is an Attractor
who develops feelings for Eve while arousing similar emotions in Eve. Yet
through it all, Villanelle’s primary narrative function is the story’s Nemesis
(Fig. 8.4).
Character Archetypes as “Masks”

That Villanelle in Killing Eve can at times take on the role of co-protagonist,
mentor, trickster, and attractor, is, of course, not exclusive to her character.
While her primary archetype is Nemesis, the fact she can adopt various other
archetype behaviors reflects the potential any character has in any story. We
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Fig. 8.4 Eve Polastri and Villanelle in Killing Eve (2018–present)
may think of this capability as a Mask.5 This hearkens back to ancient Greek
plays which often featured three actors: protagonist (first actor), deuteragonist
(second actor), tritagonist (third actor). The actors would use masks to take
on the role of different characters (Fig. 8.5).
There are superheroes who wear actual masks to reflect their alter ego
such as Captain America in the Avengers series and Sister Night in Watchmen
(2019). Likewise, there are villains who originated movie franchises by
sporting masks like Michael Myers in Halloween (1978) and Jason Vorhees
in Friday the 13th (1980). There are characters who assume an alternate
gender identity in their attire: male characters who assume female identi-
ties—Some Like It Hot (1959), Tootsie (1982), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993); female
characters who assume male identities—Victor Victoria (1982), Yentl (1983),
Mulan (1998, 2020). There are assumed identity stories like Sister Act (1992)
5 I distinguish between a character’s temporary mask and their primary character archetype, the latter
beginning with a capital letter (e.g., Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, and Trickster), the
former beginning with a lowercase letter (e.g., protagonist, nemesis, attractor, mentor, and trickster).
Fig. 8.5 Photo by Finan Akbar courtesy Unsplash
and Dave (1993), and mistaken identity stories such as North by North-
west (1959) and Galaxy Quest (1999). There are stories in which a character
projects the mask of one character archetype for a considerable amount of
time, only for their true identity to be revealed later including Verbal Kint
in The Usual Suspects (1995)—Trickster to Nemesis—Obadiah Stane in Iron
Man (2008)—Mentor to Nemesis—and Miranda in The Dark Knight Rises
(2012)—Attractor to Nemesis.
However, if we think about this subject from a psychological standpoint,
we may consider a mask as a metaphor for the specific “face” an individual
“dons” in various interpersonal situations. For example, a person’s demeanor
with their boss, parent, or authority figure is different than the persona they
adopt when going on a date … arguing with a sibling … interacting with a
pet … and so forth. As characters reflect real life, they, too, can and should
manifest different aspects of their personality in various social circumstances.
This is a powerful tool for writers as it allows us to explore the complexities
of each character. While their primary character archetype typically remains
the same throughout a story, they may at any time opt to don the mask of
protagonist, nemesis, attractor, mentor, or trickster. Some examples:
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Fig. 8.6 Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
• It’s a Wonderful Life (1946): The Nemesis (Mr. Potter) surprises George
Bailey by acting as a mentor when offering George a job, a big salary, and
a life of comfort.
• Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back (1980): When Luke
Skywalker travels to Dagobah seeking instruction from a great Jedi master,
at first Yoda plays a trickster, rummaging through Luke’s stuff, toying with
him before revealing his true identity as a Mentor.
• Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): Taken hostage by Belloq, Marion Raven-
wood dons an alluring gown and an attractor “mask” to catch Belloq off
guard in an attempt to escape (Fig. 8.6).
Primary Character Archetypes: The Family

of Characters
Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, Trickster. The recurring presence
of these five character archetypes in movies and television series provides
writers an empowering set of tools to use in developing their characters and
helping to drive the story-crafting process. Indeed, the nature of character
relationships, specifically how they support the Protagonist’s journey, suggests
a unique perspective on story structure: the Family of Characters.
In Chapters Nine through Fourteen, we explore more thoroughly the
many ways the Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, and Trickster characters may
express themselves in their respective narrative functions, both in movies and
in television series.
Exercise
Choose a movie. Reflect on the primary characters. Try to ascribe to each
character a primary archetype—Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor,
Trickster—which best fits their respective narrative functions.
Further Study
The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, C. G. Jung, Princeton University Press;
2nd ed. edition, August, 1981.
The Hero Within: Six Archetypes We Live By, Carol S. Pearson, HarperOne, January
1998.
Archetypes: Who Are You?, Caroline Myss, Hay House, January 2013.
Appendix: A Gallery of Archetypes, Caroline Myss, https://www.myss.com/free-resour
ces/sacred-contracts-and-your-archetypes/appendix-a-gallery-of-archtypes/.
References
Coen, J & Coen, E (screenplay), Portis, C (novel) (2010). True Grit; Paramount
Pictures.
Epstein, J & Epstein, P and Koch, H (screenplay), Burnett, M and Alison, J (play)
(1942). Casablanca; Warner Bros.
Langley, N & Ryerson, F and Woolf, E. A. (screenplay), Langley, N (adaptation),
Baum, F. L. (novel) (1939). The Wizard of Oz; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
Nolan, J and Nolan, C (screenplay), Nolan, C & Goyer, D. S. (story), Kane, B
(characters) (2008). The Dark Knight; Warner Bros.
Sorkin, A (screenplay), Mezrich, B (book) (2010). The Social Network; Columbia
Pictures.
Wilder, B & Diamond, I.A.L. (written by) (1960). The Apartment; The Mirisch
Company / United Artists.
9
Nemesis

• Nemesis: A character or characters, physical or psychological dynamics which
provide opposition to the Protagonist.
• Opposition: A force which works at cross-purposes to that of the Protagonist
in attempting to achieve their conscious goal.
• Conflict: The struggle which arises between or within characters when their
respective goals clash.
• Shadow: A character’s negative impulses and traits which they have confined
to their unconscious.
In the 2017 movie The Shape of Water, Elisa Esposito works the night
shift as a janitor at a military research facility. Her humdrum existence is
upended by the arrival of a mysterious “AMPHIBIAN MAN,” imprisoned
and subjected to invasive scientific examination. Elisa, who was born mute,
feels an immediate empathy toward the creature and, using the lure of hard-
boiled eggs and jazz music, she and the stranger begin to bond. Then this
happens:
INT. LAB – NIGHT
Elisa enters the lab with her cart and equipment. Closes
behind her- hears a plaintive whimper- not unlike that of a
whale.

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_9
146 S. Myers
Much to her surprise- The Amphibian Man is on a plinth.

neck and arms, force him to kneel.
He looks at her. She looks around: Surgical instruments are
ready. Lights are centered on the creature.
The creature howls in pain- gasping. Elisa drops her lunch
bag-
-an egg rolls out-
She moves closer- tries to free him when-

CLACK! The DOOR begins to OPEN. She picks up her stuff and
hides.
Strickland ENTERS. Removes his jacket. Pops a few sticks of

gum in his mouth. Pulls out the cattle prod.
The creature howls for help. Strickland raises the

cattleprod.
STRICKLAND
Miss me? I took a candy break.
This? Is it this that scares you?
You should be used to it by now...
He shocks the creature.
STRICKLAND
There you are again. Making that
god-awful sound. Is that you
crying? Is that what it is? You
hurting? Huh? Or maybe you’re
angry? Yeah. Maybe you’d like to
get another bite at me.
Elisa watches him go over to the plinth, staring down the

creature.
The creature’s fins “fluff up” and change colors. It hisses.
Strickland sucks his candy and cattleprods it- makes it go

wild.
STRICKLAND
I can’t tell- Are you begging?
‘Cause to me it’s just the worst
fucking noise I’ve ever heard.
9 Nemesis 147
Elisa’s horrified to realize she left one of the BOILED EGGS

out. It’s inches from Strickland’s foot. He kicks it. It
rolls.
Strickland picks up the egg. Looks around.
Elisa hides, she can barely breathe.a
aTheShape of Water, screenplay by Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor, story
by Guillermo del Toro. Movie script, undated, pp. 39–40.
Fig. 9.1 Richard Strickland and the Amphibian Man in The Shape of Water (2017)
Elisa is the Protagonist. Amphibian Man is the Attractor. Looming over

them and a persistent threat throughout the story to both the creature and
Elisa is Strickland—the story’s Nemesis 1 (Fig. 9.1).
The word has an interesting linguistic history. Nemesis was the ancient
Greek goddess of vengeance. The Oxford English Dictionary defines nemesis
as “the inescapable agent of someone’s or something’s downfall” which is why
Nemesis is preferable to the term antagonist: Whereas the latter is merely
an “adversary,” a Nemesis represents an entity which by definition holds the
upper hand against the Protagonist. Some examples of Nemesis characters in
film and television:
1In The Shape of Water, there are two Mentor figures: Elisa’s friends Giles and Zelda. The Trickster is
Robert Hoffstetler, a doctor at the military facility, who is in fact, a Soviet spy. Ultimately, he allies
with Elisa as she orchestrates Amphibian Man’s escape from captivity.
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• Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988) who takes a group of workers hostage,
buttressed by a clever plan, a half-dozen compatriots, and an array of
weapons.
• Bob in Twin Peaks (1990–1991, 2017) who has a demonic ability to
possess the psyche of others and incite them to perpetrate murderous
crimes.
• Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians (1961) is so vile in her obsession with
skinning ninety-nine puppies, her name is a pun on the words “cruel” and
“evil.”
• Gavin Belson in Silicon Valley (2014–2019) is a multimillionaire “chief
innovation officer” of a successful high-tech company hell-bent on besting
his rivals.
• Eleanor Young in Crazy Rich Asians (2018) is the respected, even feared
matriarch of a wealthy Singapore family dead set on stopping her son’s
wedding.
By all rights, the Nemesis should win the day, a fact which casts the Protag-
onist as an underdog. The underlying question that relationship creates—
How will the Protagonist prevail against the Nemesis?—plants the seeds for a
compelling story.
Power is only one attribute typically associated with a Nemesis. In crafting
a screenplay or the cast of characters for a potential television series, there
are three other dynamics writers may explore in writing a worthy Nemesis:
Opposition, Conflict, Shadow.
Nemesis as Opposition
Later in this book (Chapter 15: Breaking Story I), the story prep process
begins with eight questions. One of them is this: Who or what opposes the
Protagonist ? This is a critical concern because at a most elemental level, the
function of the Nemesis is to resist the Protagonist. If the Protagonist begins
the story at Point A and their destination is to reach Point C, they must
confront the Nemesis blocking them at Point B.
Opposition may derive from topography such as the ocean for the stranded
island survivors in Cast Away (2000) and Lost (2004–2010), a boulder which
traps a rock climber in a remote Utah canyon in 127 Hours (2010), or the
dangers of outer space challenging a rookie astronaut in Gravity (2013); a
character’s psychological condition like schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind
(2001), obsessive–compulsive disorder in As Good As It Gets (1997) and Monk
9 Nemesis 149
(2002–2009), acrophobia in Vertigo (1958); a physical disability such as

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in The Theory of Everything (2014), neurofibro-
matosis in The Elephant Man (1980), deafness and blindness in The Miracle
Worker (1962). In each of these cases, the opposition dynamic provides a
Nemesis function.
Even the physics of an individual story universe may act as an obstruction
to the Protagonist achieving their goal. One interesting conceit in this regard:
characters caught in an endless loop of the same day repeating itself. Film-
makers have explored this concept across genres: comedy in Groundhog Day
(1993) and Palm Springs (2020), science fiction in Edge of Tomorrow (2014),
and horror in Happy Death Day (2017). Indeed, this idea of a repetitive daily
trap lies at the foundation of the TV series Russian Doll (2019–present) in
which Nadia Vulvokov, a cynical thirty-something urbanite keeps dying, then
returning to the same night of her own birthday party. Her objective: to
unravel the mystery of why she is stuck in this never-ending cycle, so she
can break the chain (Fig. 9.2).
There are story worlds featuring oppressive political regimes such as V
for Vendetta (2005), The Hunger Games (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), Mad
Max: Fury Road (2015), and The Handmaid’s Tale (2017–present): systems of
domination, often patriarchal in nature, which provide a powerful adversarial
dynamic. In many movies and television series using this narrative frame-
work, there is one character who portrays the leader: Going back to Nineteen
Eighty-Four (1984), the film adaptation of the George Orwell novel, which
features Big Brother, and similar figures like Adam Sutler in V for Vendetta,
Fig. 9.2 Nadia Vulvokov in Russian Doll (2019–present)

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President Snow in The Hunger Games movies, and Immortan Joe in Mad
Max: Fury Road , these characters present the human face of tyranny.
Why do such stories feature a specific character to take on the function of
the Nemesis? There are at least two good reasons: (1) Just as the Protagonist
provides a character with whom the audience aligns itself in experiencing the
unfolding narrative, the Nemesis embodies a distinct personality upon whom
the viewing public may focus negative energy, rooting for the character’s
demise. (2) When pitted against the Protagonist, the Nemesis transforms
opposition into something personal, generating emotion-laden conflict.
Nemesis as Conflict
“All drama is conflict.”2 Put another way, a story cannot have drama without
conflict. Why? Some years ago on my blog, I posed this question: Why do
we find conflict entertaining? 3 The responses provide keen insights as to this
dynamic’s importance:
• Conflict is interesting: In real life, we tend to socialize with like-minded

people, so when we see characters in a movie or television series who
disagree, argue, and fight, that is different and, therefore, stimulating.
• Conflict is speaking one’s mind : In our daily lives, we often have to bite our
tongue, but fictional characters can give voice to things we wish we had
the opportunity and courage to say.
• Conflict involves risk: Whereas we may play it safe in our regular routines,
we never know what could happen with characters involved in a dispute,
unpredictability implicit in every interaction.
• Conflict requires stakes: Characters do not get into a clash unless there is
something of importance involved.
• Conflict is about goals: One character wants one thing, another character
wants something different.
• Conflict is a battle of wills: There is always the question, “Who is going to
win” which makes for an intriguing scenario.
• Conflict is emotional : When characters are engaged in a struggle, it is not a
mere exercise in logic, but one charged with feelings.4
2 Syd Field, Screenplay: The Foundation of Screenwriting (Bantam Dell, 1984), p. 25.
3 Scott Myers, Why do we find conflict entertaining, Go Into The Story, June 13, 2012, https://gointo
thestory.blcklst.com/why-do-we-find-conflict-entertaining-5ec73b998972.
4 Scott Myers, The Power of Conflict in Storytelling, Go Into The Story, February 19, 2020, https://
gointothestory.blcklst.com/the-power-of-conflict-in-storytelling-96b5acc6c3b9.
9 Nemesis 151
Compelling Nemesis characters do not just provide opposition, they

actively challenge the Protagonist. While they may respond to Protagonist
choices, a worthy Nemesis does more than that, anticipating the Protago-
nist’s moves, even outwitting them. That type of intelligence and strategic
instinct makes for an engaging interactive dynamic.
Conflict may manifest itself as physical combat as with Daniel versus
Johnny in The Karate Kid (1984) or Adonis Creed versus “Pretty” Ricky
Conlan in Creed (2015). The Nemeses may be monsters: human (The
Texas Chain Saw Massacre—1974, Halloween—1978), animal (Jaws—
1975, Cujo—1983), android (Blade Runner —1982, Terminator 2: Judgment
Day—1991), supernatural (The Conjuring —2013, The Haunting of Hill
House—2018), extraterrestrial (Independence Day—1996, A Quiet Place—
2018). Superhero movies abound with Nemeses including General Zod
(Superman—1978, Superman II —1980), The Joker (The Dark Knight —
2008), and the recurring presence of Loki (Thor —2011, The Avengers—
2012, Thor: The Dark World —2013, Thor: Ragnarok—2017, Avengers:
Infinity War —2018, and Avengers: Endgame—2019). The threat of death in
such stories posed by the Nemesis to the Protagonist and other characters is
one of the archetype’s most dominant attributes.
Of course, a Nemesis does not have to be as daunting as a vast ocean,
as strong as a heavyweight boxing champion, or as imposing as a superhero
villain. As characters, Nemeses are scalable. They can be any shape, size, or
level of threat relative to the scope and nature of the story universe in which
they exist. A Nemesis may be a tyrant overlord like Sauron in The Lord of the
Rings trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003) or an autocrat like Nurse Ratched in One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), whose domain is nothing more than a
psych ward. Nemeses may be bullies like Regina George in Mean Girls (2004)
or Biff Tannen in Back to the Future (1985). They may traffic in the ways of
seduction like Matty Walker in Body Heat (1981), gamesmanship like the
Judge and Gus Sands in The Natural (1984), threats like Tabitha, the theater
critic in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), revenge like
Frank Miller and his cronies in High Noon (1952), and criminality like Harry
in In Bruges (2008). A Nemesis may emerge from any character as long as
they provide opposition to the Protagonist and create conflict with them. A
worthy Nemesis, however, taps into the inner workings of the Protagonist’s
psyche.
In the movie Aliens (1986), the Protagonist (Ellen Ripley) is rescued in
a space shuttle after fifty-seven years floating in a state of cryogenic sleep.
Once she has recuperated, she is shocked to learn that her daughter Amanda,
eleven-years-old when Ripley left to work on the star-freighter Nostromo, died
152 S. Myers
of cancer during Ripley’s long interstellar sojourn. Her guilt is compounded

by the fact Ripley had promised Amanda she would return in time for her
daughter’s birthday … a vow not kept.
Given Ripley’s initial state of disunity, from a storytelling point of view,
is it any wonder she agrees to travel back to LV-426, the planetoid where
she first encountered the Alien creature as depicted in the original movie?5
She cannot move forward in life without confronting the trauma she experi-
enced on the Nostromo and the guilt she carries with her about her deceased
daughter. Ripley does not understand this at the beginning of the story. What
she does know is she will accompany a group of marines whose stated goal
is to kill any and all aliens which may yet exist on the distant planetoid. She
has no way of anticipating two characters with whom she will intersect on
LV-426 who will play a major role in her character’s arc.
Once the crew reaches their destination, they discover that aliens have
slaughtered the entire colony of human settlers, save one: a traumatized young
girl named Newt. Ripley takes the child under her wing, slowly gaining
Newt’s trust and eventually bonding with the young girl. What develops is a
surrogate mother-daughter relationship (Protagonist—Attractor), a connec-
tion enabling Ripley to fill the void left by Amanda’s death. Her rapport with
Newt also allows Ripley to make up for the failed promise she made to her
own daughter.
The other character of significance with whom Ripley intersects: the Alien
Queen. It, too, is a mother, breeding dozens of alien progeny. Eventually,
Ripley destroys the brood with a flame-thrower which sets up for a memo-
rable final struggle: Ripley versus the Alien Queen with Newt’s life in the
balance. This leads to one of the all-time memorable lines of dialogue in an
action movie, when Ripley, inside a forklift power loader, exclaims to the
Alien Queen, “Get away from her, you bitch!”6 (Fig. 9.3).
In ultimately prevailing over the Alien Queen, Ripley faces down her fail-
ings as a mother by saving Newt. The fact that Ripley confronts another
mother in the process, albeit an alien one, adds a layer of psychological
meaning to the confrontation. In a way, when Ripley squares off against the
5 Alien, screenplay by Dan O’Bannon, story by Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett, Twentieth Century
Fox, 1979.
6 James Cameron, writer-director of Aliens, crafted a clever twist on the original movie. In Alien, the
ship’s Science Officer (Ash) is revealed to be an android whose prime directive is to save the life of
the Alien. In Aliens, Ripley does not trust the ship’s android (Bishop); after all, Ash attempted to kill
her. However, Bishop turns out to be a staunch ally to Ripley. Thus, the android in Alien, who is a
Trickster, is transformed in the sequel to be a Mentor figure. The Trickster role in Aliens is provided
by Carter Burke, the crew’s representative of the Weyland-Yutani corporation.
9 Nemesis 153
Fig. 9.3 Ellen Ripley and the Alien Queen in Aliens (1986)
Alien Queen, she faces the physicalization of that which she fears the most:
her Shadow.
Nemesis as Shadow
One way for a writer to mine layers of meaning in a story is to explore the
Protagonist’s shadow and its potential connection to the Nemesis. By the term
“shadow,” we refer to the writings of the founder of analytical psychology Carl
Jung:
Unfortunately there can be no doubt that man is, on the whole, less good than
he imagines himself or wants to be. Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it
is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. If an
inferiority is conscious, one always has a chance to correct it. Furthermore, it
is constantly in contact with other interests, so that it is continually subjected
to modifications. But if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it is
liable to burst forth suddenly in a moment of unawareness.7
7 C. G. Jung, “Psychology and Religion: West and East,” Collected Works XI (Princeton University
Press, 1969) para. 131, p. 77.
154 S. Myers
Jung’s concept of the shadow is a complex one, but for our purposes, think
of it this way: The shadow is a character’s negative impulses and traits which
they have tried to confine to the dim corners of their unconscious. A key
aspect of Jung’s notion of the individuation process is to make conscious that
which is unconscious, including the shadow and integrate it into the light of
being.
Filling the conscious mind with ideal conceptions is a characteristic of Western

theosophy, but not the confrontation with the shadow and the world of dark-
ness. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by
making the darkness conscious.8
From a writing standpoint, this process is fundamental to the Protagonist’s

journey (as explored in Chapter One). Indeed, the events of the plotline and
the characters with whom the Protagonist intersects exist to undergird their
metamorphosis. In other words, in order to move through the various stages
of their character arc, they must confront their own shadow.
It is a frightening thought that man also has a shadow-side to him, consisting

not just of little weaknesses and foibles, but of a positively demonic dynamism.
The individual seldom knows anything of this; to him, as an individual, it is
incredible that he should in any circumstances go beyond himself. But let these
harmless creatures form a mass, and there emerges a raging monster; and each
individual is one tiny cell in the monster’s body, so that for better or worse, he
must accompany it on its bloody rampages and even assist it to the utmost.9
This raises a fascinating possibility: What if we consider a story’s Nemesis

to be the physicalization of the Protagonist’s shadow? This circumstance may
not be relevant in all stories, but when it is, it allows the writer to explore
several dynamics:
• Instead of working with a generic Nemesis character, this framework

establishes a specific and unique connection between the Protagonist and
Nemesis.
• It compels the Protagonist to confront their shadow self in a visceral and
visual way through the presence of the Nemesis.
8 C. G. Jung, “Alchemical Studies,” Collected Works XIII (Princeton University Press 1970), para.
335, p. 265.
9 C. G. Jung, “Two Essays in Analytical Psychology,” Collected Works VII (Princeton University Press,
1981) para. 35, p. 130.
9 Nemesis 155
• To the degree, the Protagonist has been repressing their shadow instincts,
this scenario forces the Protagonist to face aspects of their psyche they fear.
If the Nemesis reflects the very nature of the Protagonist’s repressed nega-
tive instincts, that creates an exciting potential a writer may explore in crafting
the story. Indeed, this dynamic whereby the Nemesis is the physicalization of
some aspects of the Protagonist’s shadow is surprisingly common in movies
and television series.
In the Batman trilogy (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight
Rises), the inciting incident for the entire saga occurs when a young Bruce
Wayne witnesses the random, senseless murders of his father and mother.
Filled with rage, Wayne eventually ends up in a Chinese prison where he
spends each day fighting inmates. Invited to train with the League of Shadows
(!), Wayne learns to harness his anger into a pledge as his alter-ego Batman:
to use violence only in pursuit of fighting injustice in Gotham City. In this
way, he creates a semblance of order in the face of chaos in the world.
Enter the Joker. The fact he is an agent of mayhem directly confronts
Wayne’s efforts to forge order in his life. There are three other dynamics the
two share:
• Both are deeply wounded by their pasts: Wayne by the death of his parents
and the guilt he feels about their murders; Joker by some unnamed trauma
resulting in the scars on his face.
• Both are filled with rage: Wayne by the injustice of his parent’s deaths
which he redirects toward fighting injustice in the form of criminals; Joker
metes out his anger toward everyone—except Batman.
• Both use violence as means to an end: Wayne as Batman to combat crim-
inals; Joker to create chaos and attempt to get Batman to reveal his true
identity.
The Joker is the physicalization of the darkest aspects of Wayne’s shadow:

wound, anger, violence manifesting itself toward evil. The only thing keeping
Batman’s own turbulent instincts in check is a commitment to his princi-
ples and his need for control. The Joker challenges Batman’s resolve. While
Batman may resist the possibility that there is a connection between the pair,
Joker embraces it: “You. Complete. Me” (Fig. 9.4).
In Up (2009), Charles Muntz’s obsession with finding the mythical bird
he claims to have discovered in the South American jungles mirrors Carl
Fredricksen’s obsession with transporting his house atop Paradise Falls. Like-
wise in Whiplash (2014), Andrew’s compulsion to achieve greatness as a jazz
156 S. Myers
Fig. 9.4 Batman and the Joker in The Dark Knight (2008)
drummer is reflected in Fletcher’s mania to drive his music students toward

perfection. In Succession (2018–present), Kendall Roy’s obsession with his
father Logan Roy leads him in Season One to attempt a hostile takeover of
the family business. After failing to best his father, in Season Two, Kendall
becomes Logan’s dutiful surrogate and, in effect, embraces his shadow self.
Mr. Potter in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), Jeff Sheldrake in The Apartment
(1960), the Winklevoss twins in The Social Network (2008), and Nathan
Bateman in Ex Machina (2014) each in their own way are a projection of the
Protagonist’s shadow, a desire for success and career advancement which, if
given space, could end up “devouring” them. By contrast, two radically diver-
gent movies, The King’s Speech (2010) and Looper (2012), feature paternal
figures (King George V and Old Joe) which the Protagonist fears to become:
Bertie, because he does not believe he has the capacity to be a king; Joe,
because he knows he does have the capability of becoming a child killer.
The Nemesis as physicalization of the Protagonist’s shadow can be a
powerful tool in uncovering a specific, unique connection between these two
central characters.
Summary
Opposition. Conflict. Shadow. Each of these Nemesis dynamics is grounded
in their relationship to the Protagonist and, therefore, represent areas a
9 Nemesis 157
writer may explore when crafting both characters. That synergistic connec-
tion between Protagonist and Nemesis provides a touchstone for the other
primary character archetypes—Attractor, Mentor, Trickster—for they, too,
have their respective roles to play in the Protagonist’s journey as members
of the Family of Characters.
Exercise
Choose a notable movie, television, or book character who plays the role of
the Nemesis. Explore their relationship with the Protagonist. How do they
create opposition? How do they generate conflict? How might they reflect the
Protagonist’s shadow? Why are they a worthy Nemesis?
Further Study
The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro (author), Daniel Kraus (author), Feiwel &
Friends, March 2018.
On Set For ‘The Shape of Water’: Guillermo Del Toro “Bled” To Realize His Most
Ambitious Project Yet, Joe Utichi, Deadline, December 27, 2017, https://deadline.
com/2017/12/guillermo-del-toro-interview-on-set-shape-of-water-1202232620/.
The Risk Always Lives: Words to Live by on the Set of James Cameron’s ‘Aliens,’ Tim
Pelan, Cinephilia & Beyond, September 4, 2019, https://cinephiliabeyond.org/
aliens/.
An Agency of Chaos: Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight,’ Tim Pelan, Cinephilia &
Beyond, Feb 17, 2019, https://cinephiliabeyond.org/the-dark-knight/.
The Nemesis as the Protagonist’s ‘Shadow,’ Scott Myers, Go Into The Story, August
18, 2019, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/the-nemesis-as-the-protagonists-sha
dow-32895902617b.
References
Cameron, J (screenplay), Cameron, J and Giler, D & Hill, W (story), O’Bannon,
D and Shusett, R (based on characters created by) (1986). Aliens; Twentieth
Century Fox.
del Toro, G & Taylor, V (screenplay), del Toro, G (story) (2017). The Shape of
Water; Fox Searchlight.
Field, S, (1984). Screenplay: The Foundation of Screenwriting; Bantam Dell.
158 S. Myers
Jung, C. G. (1969). “Psychology and Religion: West and East,” Collected Works XI ;
Jung, C. G. (1970). “Alchemical Studies,” Collected Works XIII ; Princeton University
Press.
Jung, C. G. (1981). “Two Essays in Analytical Psychology,” Collected Works VII ;
10
Attractor

• Attractor: A character or characters whose primary narrative function is to
connect with and influence the Protagonist’s emotional life.
• Lover: A romance figure in the life of the Protagonist.
• Family and Friends: Blood relatives or surrogate family members to the
Protagonist.
• Inspiration: Through their connection to the emotional life of the Protag-
onist, the Attractor enables the Protagonist to tap into their feelings and
energize them toward their goal.
• False Attractor: A character who presents as a True Attractor only to be
revealed as working against the emotional development and best interests
of the Protagonist.
• Buddy Story: A narrative structure in which two disparate characters
intersect and discover a mutual bond through their journey together.
In the 1999 movie 10 Things I Hate About You, an adaptation of the

William Shakespeare play The Taming of the Shrew, adolescent Bianca Strat-
ford longs to start going out with boys. However, her overprotective father
has laid down the law: Bianca cannot expand her social life until her older
sister Katarina “Kat” Stratford begins dating first. The problem for Bianca—
and Cameron who is romantically smitten by her—is that Kat is a strident
high school senior who sneers at the idiocy of teenage culture (she is vari-
ously referred to by other students as a “bitter self-righteous hag who has no
friends” and a “mewling, rampalian wretch”).

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_10
160 S. Myers
Fig. 10.1 Katarina “Kat” Stratford in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Cameron hits on a plan: Pay Patrick Verona (“a sullen-looking bad ass
senior… his slouch and smirk let us know how cool he is”) to woo and date
Kat. As is the custom of romantic comedies, initially Kat wants nothing to
do with Patrick, but over time she develops feelings for this fellow outsider,
opening up to him about experiences in her past which led to the sullen
state of her personality. Toward the end of the movie, Kat writes a poem and
shockingly recites it in front of her classmates as she confesses the emotional
upheaval Patrick has created in her life (Fig. 10.1 ):
Kat stands, puts on her glasses, and takes a deep breath

before reading from her notebook.
KAT
I hate the way you talk to me/ and the
way you cut your hair/ I hate the way
you drive my car/ I hate it when you
stare.
She pauses, then continues.
KAT
I hate your big dumb combat boots/ and
the way you read my mind/ I hate you so
much it makes me sick/ it even makes me
rhyme.
She takes a deep breath, and looks quickly at Patrick, who

stares at the floor.
10 Attractor 161
KAT
I hate the way you're always right/ I
hate it when you lie/ I hate it when you
make me laugh/ even worse when you make
me cry/ I hate it that you're not
around/ and the fact that you didn't
call/ But mostly I hate the way I don’t
hate you/ not even close, not even a
little bit, not even any at all.
She looks directly at Patrick. He looks back this time.

The look they exchange says everything.
Then she walks out of the room. The rest of the class remains
in stunned silence.a
aTen Things I Hate About You, written by Karen McCullah Lutz & Kirsten
Smith, based on ‘Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare. Movie script
dated November 12, 1997, p. 102.
The subtext of Kat’s poem is unmistakable: Not hating him “even a little
bit” is her way of saying she has fallen in love. In the denouement, Patrick
makes a startling confession of his own: He messed up the deal he struck with
Cameron because he “fell for” Kat. They kiss and presumably live happily ever
after. Such is the power of the Attractor: to inspire a change of heart within
the Protagonist.
The Protagonist begins the story in disunity, either actively suppressing
deeper aspects of their inner self or incapable of integrating them. One area
of disconnection: matters of the heart. Feelings are powerful agents, pulsing
with energy, but, like dynamite, can explode.1 Yet, the Protagonist has no
chance of going through a meaningful metamorphosis without engaging
their emotions. If they learn to trust these instincts, the Protagonist can
harness that passion to propel them through the trials and tribulations of
their journey. The basic function of the Attractor is to facilitate that process:
steer the Protagonist into and through the complex realm of the heart.
In physics, an attractor is defined as “a state or behavior toward which
a dynamic system tends to evolve.”2 If we think of metamorphosis as an
organic process, the Attractor serves as an entity toward which the Protago-
nist is drawn. The growth of their bond arouses and animates the Protagonist
‘s character arc.
1 There is a difference between feelings and emotions: A character consciously experiences feelings
while emotions may exist at a subconscious level.
2 https://www.dictionary.com/browse/attractor.
162 S. Myers
Although Attractors appear in stories as an endless array of personalities,

there are a few common Protagonist–Attractor dynamics: Lover, Family and
Friends, Inspiration.
Attractor as Lover
Spanning the cinematic decades from Ellie and Peter in the screwball comedy
It Happened One Night (1934) to Ellie and Jack in the musical comedy
Yesterday (2019), movies and television series have had a longstanding passion
for characters who endure sweeping emotional ups and downs only to end
up as lovers. In these stories, the Attractor as romance figure is an answer to
intimate questions housed in the Protagonist’s heart.
In Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Sam Baldwin is a widower who has lost his
beloved wife Maggie. Eighteen months later after relocating from Chicago
to Seattle with his eight-year-old son Jonah, Sam still has trouble sleeping,
trapped in a relentless cycle of grief. The underlying question at the core of
Sam’s emotional being is: Will he ever be able to fall in love again? Through
Josh’s ploys, a series of Sam’s late night radio talk show call-in confessions, and
the serendipity of those broadcasts being heard by Annie Reed in Baltimore,
by the movie’s final scene atop the Empire State Building, where Sam and
Annie meet for the very first time, the answer to that question is yes.
Frances “Baby” Houseman, the Protagonist of Dirty Dancing (1987), is the
seventeen year-old daughter of Dr. Jake Houseman. Baby’s family goes on a
vacation in the summer of 1963 to an upscale Catskills resort. There, Baby
becomes enamored of twenty-five-year-old Johnny Castle, one of the resort’s
dance instructors. When Johnny’s regular dance partner Penny is impregnated
by a womanizing Yale medical student, Baby borrows money from her father
to pay for Penny’s abortion. As a result, Baby takes Penny’s place and while
rehearsing a routine to perform at a nearby hotel, she and Johnny fall in
love. When Jake learns about the relationship, believing that Johnny is the
person responsible for Penny’s pregnancy, he forbids Baby from seeing him
again. Fired because of his affair with Baby, Johnny shows up for the resort’s
season finale and leads Baby on stage. There he professes to the crowd his
ardor for “Miss Frances Houseman” who is “somebody who’s taught me about
the kind of person I wanna be.” Their rousing dance performance wins over
Baby’s father (“You looked wonderful out there”), and the film’s final image
is Johnny and Baby kissing, surrounded by energetic dancing couples. Dirty
Dancing offers an example of a coming-of-age story in which the Attractor
10 Attractor 163
(Johnny) not only spurs the Protagonist (Baby) to tap into her emotional
nature, but also is himself inspired by her love to be a better man (Fig. 10.2).
Protagonist–Attractor relationships have been a staple of television series
since its inception. Romantic storylines abound featuring young love (Kevin
and Winnie in The Wonder Years, 1988–1993), old love (Archie and Edith
Bunker in All in the Family, 1971–1979), forbidden love (Buffy and Angel
in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 1997–2003), married love (Lucy and Desi in I
Love Lucy, 1951–1957), divorced love (Frances and Robert in Divorce, 2016–
2019), gay love (Mitchell and Cameron in Modern Family, 2009–2020),
lesbian love (Brittany and Santana in Glee, 2009–2015), and “finally-they-
admit-it” love (Ross and Rachel in Friends, 1994–2004). Indeed, the “will
they, won’t they” storyline has been a popular go-to device, such as extended
subplots featuring Sam and Diane in Cheers (1982–1993) and Fleishman and
O’Connell in Northern Exposure (1990–1995), milking tension until the duo
finally consummates their romance. In all these cases, no matter fate’s curve-
balls, the couple keeps returning to each other, a reflection of the Attractor
influence.
Some stories, however, feature Protagonist–Attractor characters who do
not end up together. There are movies like Casablanca (1942) in which
the Protagonist (Rick) selflessly sacrifices his feelings for the Attractor (Ilsa).
Fig. 10.2 Frances “Baby” Houseman and Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing (1987)
164 S. Myers
Fig. 10.3 Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind (1939)
Sometimes as with Jack and Rose in Titanic (1997), Jack and Ennis in Broke-
back Mountain (2005), Gus and Hazel in The Fault in Our Stars (2014),
and Meredith and Derek in Grey’s Anatomy (2005–2020), it is the death of
one character which separates them.3 The couple may simply grow apart over
time like Alvy and Annie in Annie Hall or Tom and Summer in (500) Days
of Summer (2009). In Her (2013), Theodore’s virtual girlfriend Samantha
evolves to the point where she takes off with others in the artificial intelligence
community. Similarly in Ex Machina (2014), after becoming infatuated with
the humanoid Ava, Caleb loses her when she escapes Nathan’s compound and
heads off into the world on her own. Then there are times where the Attractor
has simply had enough of a tempestuous relationship with the Protagonist as
is famously the case in Gone With the Wind (1939) leading to one of the most
quoted break-ups in cinema history (Fig. 10.3): “Frankly, Scarlett, I don’t give
a damn.”4
These stories resonate with audiences because heartbreak is a universal
human experience. Yet more often than not, the Protagonist–Attractor
twosome winds up in each other’s arms (Edward and Vivian in Pretty Woman,
3 In femme fatale stories, the Attractor may be killed like Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity
(1944) or get away with their murderous schemes like Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct (1992).
4 There can be False Attractors in contrast to True Attractors. For example, in the movie Juno (2007),
Juno becomes infatuated with Mark Loring, the husband of Vanessa, the couple intending to adopt
Juno’s baby. Eventually, she realizes that Mark is a fraud and returns to her True Attractor (Paulie
Bleeker). Likewise in Bridesmaids (2011), Annie fantasizes about Ted, who is everything she thinks
she could want in a mate: handsome, rich, sexy. However, he turns out to be a cad. Fortunately for
Annie, she meets her True Attractor (Rhodes), a sweet, earnest cop who likes Annie for who she is.
10 Attractor 165
1990; Phil and Rita in Groundhog Day, 1993; Fred and Charlotte in Long
Shot, 2019), or the story concludes with the suggestion they may have a
future together (Michael and Julie in Tootsie, 1982; Chiron and Kevin in
Moonlight, 2016; Kumail and Emily in The Big Sick, 2017). Perhaps there is
no better way to leave the audience with a smile than a story in which the
Protagonist couples with an Attractor and we feel like they deservedly belong
together.
Attractor as Family and Friends

Some stories feature a central relationship in which the Attractor is part
of the Protagonist’s household circle. Parent, child, sibling, or extended
family member, if the Protagonist has a personal emotional connection with
someone to whom they are related, that character is likely to fulfill the
Attractor function.
Often members of the Protagonist’s family are Attractor characters
reflecting the complex nature of multiple interrelationships. This is, espe-
cially true of television series in which storylines spinning out over numerous
seasons allow for an extensive exploration of the ins, outs, ups, and downs
of characters and their interpersonal connections. For example: The Sopranos
(1999–2007) probes Tony Soprano’s turbulent marriage to Carmella and
shaky relationships with daughter Meadow and son Anthony, Junior, while
running a business with his other family: mobsters.5 Similarly, Bob Parr in
The Incredibles (2004) struggles to adjust to life as the “normal” head of a
superhero family in hiding, preferring to engage in unauthorized clandestine
crimefighting exploits. This internal compulsion ends up putting his wife
(Helen) and children (Violet, Dash, and Jack Jack) in danger, leading him
to realize, “I’ve been a lousy father. Blind… to what I have. So obsessed with
being undervalued, I undervalued you.”
The television series This Is Us (2016-present) leans into the entangled
nature of familial relations by following three adult siblings: Kevin and Kate,
two survivors of a triplet pregnancy, and Randall, a Black man who was
adopted into the family as a baby. The series frequently features episodes
comprised of interweaving timelines, using the juxtaposition of present
and past to delve into the intricacies of the primary characters’ emotional
associations.
5 It is noteworthy that the last scene of the The Sopranos series finale features Tony sharing a meal
at a diner with his entire immediate family.
166 S. Myers
Fig. 10.4 Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson in Lady Bird (2017)
There are Protagonist–Attractor relationships featuring fathers and sons. In

movies like Field of Dreams (1989) and Big Fish (2003), the point of view is
that of an adult son reconciling with an estranged father. By contrast, Fences
(2016) focuses on the father Troy, bitter about having missed the chance
to play professional baseball, struggling with his son’s athletic prowess. In
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), when Ted Kramer’s wife Joanna leaves him, he
is forced to navigate an unknown role as a single father to young son Billy.
Likewise, there are Protagonist–Attractor relationships involving mothers and
daughters. The movie Terms of Endearment (1983) follows the stormy bond
between Aurora Greenway and her adult child Emma Horton, two different
personality types who struggle to find a way to bridge their dissimilarities.
In Postcards from the Edge (1990), Suzanne Vale is a drug-addicted actress
who is forced to live with her famous actress mother Doris Mann, setting
into motion an easing of tensions between the pair. By contrast in Lady Bird
(2017), Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson yearns to escape her suffocating
life in Sacramento, that inner discord projected onto the relationship with
her mother Marion (Fig. 10.4). Ironically, once she does break away cross-
country to New York City, the final moment in the movie finds Lady Bird
calling home to thank her mother and tell her, “I love you.”6
Closely related to the narrative function of families are friends and the
variety of these character types is nearly limitless. There are old friends (Billy,
Paddy, Archie, and Sam in Last Vegas, 2013) and young friends (Max, Lucas,
6There are also stories which feature father–daughter relationships such as Father of the Bride (1950)
and the 1991 remake, as well as mother–son connections like Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
10 Attractor 167
and Thor in Good Boys, 2019). There are mismatched friends (Tony Lip and
Dr. Donald Shirley in Green Book, 2018) and indistinguishable friends (Barb
and Star in Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021). There are humans
and animals (Dooley and Jerry Lee in K-9, 1989), humans and monsters
(Boo and Sulley in Monsters, Inc., 2001), humans and aliens (Elliot and E.T.
in E .T. the Extra-Terrestrial , 1982), and humans and robots (Hogarth and
The Iron Giant in The Iron Giant, 1999). Whether the friendships are long-
standing in nature (Gordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern in Stand By Me, 1986) or
discovered along the way (Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion
in The Wizard of Oz, 1939), “frenemies” (Neal and Del in Planes, Trains, &
Automobiles, 1987) or fast friends (Frodo and Sam in The Lord of the Rings
trilogy, 2001–2003), each character in the relationship plays the role of both
Protagonist (to themselves) and Attractor (to the other).
One of the most popular Protagonist–Attractor relationship in movies
and television is the Buddy Story. Two characters may have a pre-existing
connection or are thrown together by fate, but whatever the origin of their
intersection, buddy stories allow for the exploration of contrary personali-
ties who, more often than not, grow together as a symbolic “couple,” each
character the Attractor to the other.
Buddy stories have a prominent place in film history including the seven
“Road To” movie series starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, and the thirty-
eight movies featuring Bud Abbot and Lou Costello from 1940 to 1965.
These type of pairings exist across genres: action (Léon and Mathilda in Léon:
The Professional , 1994), comedy (Withnail and I in Withnail & I , 1987),
action comedy (Asburn and Mullins in The Heat, 2013), drama (Ratso and
Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy, 1969), drama comedy (Philippe and Driss in
The Intouchables, 2011), adventure crime (Thelma and Louise in Thelma &
Louise, 1991), crime comedy (Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker in The
Sting, 1973), and crime thriller (Ray and Ken in In Bruges, 2008) to name
just a few.7
The history of television is filled with series populated by friends, perhaps
most notably the aptly named series Friends (1994–2004) which tracks the
camaraderie of six characters whose lives are intertwined: Rachel, Monica,
Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross. Indeed, exploring the weekly exploits
of a group of friends has been a staple for TV sit-coms including such
long-running series as Seinfeld (1989–1998) and The Big Bang Theory (2007–
2019). A common narrative framework is a work environment in which
7 Buddy stories are particularly popular in action comedies. Examples: 48 h. (1982), Lethal Weapon
(1987), The Last Boy Scout (1992), Bad Boys (1995), Rush Hour (1998), 21 Jump Street (2011), The
Nice Guys (2016).
168 S. Myers
friendships evolve as the characters coexist in a shared common space like

M*A*S*H (1972–1983), Taxi (1978–1983), Night Court (1984–1992),
Scrubs (2001–2010), The Office (2005–2013), 30 Rock (2006–2013), Parks
and Recreation (2009–2015), and Community (2011–2020).
Television series like Laverne & Shirley (1976–1983), the misadventures
of blue-collar roommates in the 1950s and 1960s, and Beavis & Butthead
(1993–2011), the misadventures of two idiotic adolescent heavy metal music
fans, feature characters who are already best friends. By contrast, the sit-com
The Odd Couple (1970–1975) and one-hour drama series The X-Files (1993–
2002, 2016, 2018) spotlight characters who meet in the series pilot. In The
Odd Couple, two divorced bachelors become roommates: Felix Unger is a
neatnik, while Oscar Madison is a slob. In The X-Files, two F.B.I. agents are
assigned to explore unexplained paranormal activity: Fox Mulder is a true
believer while Dana Scully is a sceptic. In these type of narrative constructs,
the contrast in personalities and world views not only engenders conflict
between the characters, a key source of entertainment, it sets up the series
to probe how opposites eventually attract.
Perhaps no television sitcom reflects the transformative power of friend-
ships more than The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977). In the pilot
episode (“Love is All Around”), Mary moves to Minneapolis after the demise
of a long-term romantic relationship and applies for a job in the newsroom at
WJM, a small local television station. During her tense interview with gruff
news director Lou Grant, there is this exchange:
Lou Grant: You know what? You’ve got spunk.

Mary: Well, yeah…
Lou Grant: I hate spunk! I’ll tell you what. I’ll try you out for a couple of
weeks and see if it works out. If I don’t like you, I’ll fire you. If
you don’t like me, I’ll fire you.8
Ironically, after seven years together, the new station manager fires Lou,
Mary, Murray, and Sue Ann, while allowing the inept newscaster Ted Knight
to keep his job. In the final scene of S7, Ep24 (“The Last Show”) as the co-
workers bid farewell to each other, the normally irascible Lou says: “I treasure
you people.” This leads to the famous series-ending group hug (Fig. 10.5).
The fact that Lou, a surly curmudgeon being able to express that emotion,
is a testament to the power of friendship which enables characters to embrace
their hearts and grow into a surrogate family.
8 The Mary Tyler Moore Show, S1, Ep1 (“Love is All Around”), written by James L. Brooks and Allan
Burns, directed by Jay Sandrich. CBS, September 19, 1970.
10 Attractor 169
Fig. 10.5 The TV crew’s group hug in the finale of The Mary Tyler Moore Show
(1970–1977)
Attractor as Inspiration
Whether lover, family, or friend, the baseline function of an Attractor char-
acter is to inspire the Protagonist. Motivated by the Attractor and empowered
by a newfound connection to their emotional life, the Protagonist can not
only change, but also achieve goals which would have seemed impossible at
the beginning of their journey.
Often, the scope of the Protagonist’s pilgrimage is not geographical, but
psychological in nature. In such cases, the Attractor’s primary function is
to spur a change in the Protagonist’s self-perception, affecting their habits,
attitudes, and disposition.
In Trainwreck (2015), Amy Townsend’s adult behavior of excessive
partying and casual sex with a string of random hook-ups derives from her
parents’ divorce when she was a child. The father justified his adulterous
ways by telling his daughters, “Monogamy isn’t realistic.” As an adult, Amy
embraces this philosophy. Then she meets the Attractor (Dr. Aaron Conners)
and struggles against her ingrained behavior, at first unable to imagine herself
in a committed relationship, even as their romance intensifies. Eventually,
her feelings for Aaron win the day and she changes her lifestyle, discovering
170 S. Myers
that inside herself, she actually has the ability to commit to a monogamous
relationship.
The eponymous Protagonist of Jojo Rabbit (2019) is a ten-year-old boy
living in Germany in World War II. Jojo trains with the Hitler Youth and very
much strives to be a good little Nazi, assisted in this goal by his imaginary
friend Adolf Hitler. Jojo’s world is turned upside down when he discovers that
his mother (Rosie) has been hiding a teenage girl (Elsa), who is Jewish, in the
family’s attic. Having been inundated with German propaganda, Jojo begins
his psychological journey as an anti-Semite and peppers Elsa with xenophobic
questions for a book he intends to write to help the Nazi movement. Over
time, however, he discovers racist stereotypes do not ring true considering
his growing friendship with Elsa. The boy develops a crush on his newfound
teenage friend. Inspired by Elsa, Jojo evolves from being in an I-It relation-
ship—perceiving her through the lens of Nazi indoctrination—to an I-You
connection—acting toward her as a fellow human being.9
There are stories in which an Attractor inspires the Protagonist to depart
their home and embark on a quest. In the futuristic world of Children of
Men (2006), a plague has made all women infertile and there have been
no human births in eighteen years. Society has suffered greatly as a result.
The Protagonist (Theo Faron) agrees to transport the Attractor (Kee), who
miraculously is eight months pregnant, to a secret compound inhabited by a
group of scientists known as the Human Project, dedicated to reviving human
fertility. Similarly in Logan (2017), part of the X-Men series of films, the year
is 2029 and no mutants have been born in over two decades. The Protag-
onist (Logan), who begins the story as a dissipated, alcoholic limo driver,
reluctantly agrees to shepherd the Attractor (Laura), a young girl, to safety in
Canada. Brought to life from mutant DNA to become a weapon, Laura is
wanted by her creators after she escapes. Logan (a.k.a. Wolverine) uses what
remains of his diminished mutant power to fend off the Nemeses, sacrificing
his life in the process for Laura, who he discovers is his “daughter,” created
from his own DNA. In the post-apocalyptic world of Mad Max: Fury Road
(2015), Immortan Joe is a tyrannical ruler who hoards the area’s depleted
resources and doles them out to desperate citizens. One of his lieutenants is
the Protagonist (Imperator Furiosa). She is sent out in an armored War Rig
to obtain fuel and weapons. However, she diverts from that destination as she
9 This I-It to I-You transformation arc is a common one in movies and television series, and reflects
the insights of philosopher Martin Buber (1878–1965) as explored in his book Ich un Du. Originally
published in 1923, it is available translated into English as I and Thou (Charles Scribner’s Sons,
1970).
10 Attractor 171
Fig. 10.6 Imperator Furiosa and the Wives in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
has other plans: to save the Attractors (The Wives), five concubines enslaved
to Immortan Joe (Fig. 10.6).10
Each of these stories features a Protagonist on a quest to save the life of
the Attractor. Inspiration, however, can cut both ways as there are stories in
which the Protagonist pursues revenge for the death of an Attractor char-
acter. In the Death Wish series (1974, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1994), Paul Kersey
becomes a vigilante seeking retribution after his wife is beaten and dies (Death
Wish), and his daughter is raped and leaps to her death (Death Wish II ).
Other movies in this tradition: Braveheart (1995), The Limey (1999), Glad-
iator (2000), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), and The
Revenant (2015). Indeed, John Wick (2014) echoes the box office success of
Death Wish as to date, it has spawned two sequels: John Wick: Chapter 2
(2017) and John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum (2019). Whether the victim is
a spouse, child, or even a puppy symbolizing the deceased wife in John Wick,
the Protagonist is inspired to seek vengeance against the killers.
Then there are stories with a more nuanced form of inspiration. In Arrival
(2016), Louise Banks is a linguist who the U.S. government prevails upon
to travel to a remote Montana location. It is the site where one of twelve
10 In the Mad Max: Fury Road - "Wives" Featurette, actress Courtney Eaton who plays one of The
Wives (Cheedo the Fragile) says, “Furiosa saw what they were going through and she took them
away.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slTH9lFJjKU.
172 S. Myers
Fig. 10.7 Louise Banks and the baby Hannah in Arrival (2016)
alien spaceships has landed in various locations around the world. Her task:
Communicate with the creatures (“heptapods”) to determine their intent.
Over time, Louise teaches the aliens the basics of human language, but more
importantly, they bestow upon her their form of communication, one which
enables Louise to peer into the future. With this capability, Louise experiences
a recurring series of images featuring a young girl named Hannah. This is
Louise’s daughter, not yet born. These flash-forward moments stitch together
a narrative of Hannah’s life, one in which she eventually dies from cancer as
a teenager. Armed with this foreknowledge, Louise faces a question: Will she
embrace her growing feelings toward Ian, one of the members of the govern-
ment team, eventually leading to her pregnancy and the birth of Hannah …
or not (Fig. 10.7). In the end, despite knowing the girl’s tragic death, Louise
decides to embrace a future with Hannah, inspired by the love Louise feels
for the Attractor: her daughter-to-be.
Summary
As part of their journey, the Protagonist must engage their feelings and allow
their emotions to emerge into the light of consciousness as this is one key to
empowering their character arc. The figure, who is most closely aligned with
the process through which the Protagonist integrates matters of the heart, is
the Attractor. Lover, family, or friend, the Attractor inspires the Protagonist,
enabling them to tap into their intuitive nature and power them through the
many challenges on their journey.
10 Attractor 173
Exercise
the Attractor. Explore their relationship with the Protagonist. If they are a
lover, what is it about them which connects with the Protagonist’s need? If
they are family or friend, how do they influence the Protagonist’s emotional
development? How does the Attractor inspire the Protagonist?
Further Study
Shakespeare for Feminists: An Oral History of 10 Things I Hate About You, Carrie
Rickey, RogerEbert.com, April 5, 2019, https://www.rogerebert.com/features/sha
kespeare-for-feminists-an-oral-history-of-10-things-i-hate-about-you.
Why Dirty Dancing Is a Subversive Feminist Masterpiece, Lara C Cory, Little White
Lies, August 12, 2017, https://lwlies.com/articles/dirty-dancing-subversive-fem
inist-masterpiece/.
The Best Will-They-Won’t-They TV Couples Ever, Hanh Nguyen, IndieWire,
February 13, 2018, https://www.indiewire.com/2018/02/best-tv-couples-shows-
1201928118/.
‘The Sopranos’: An In-Depth Analysis, Dan Redding, Culture Creature, March 5,
2018, https://www.culturecreature.com/sopranos-analysis/.
The Sopranos Sessions, Matt Zoller Seitz (author), Alan Sepinwall (author), Abrams
Books, January 2019.
The Real Feminist Impact of The Mary Tyler Moore Show Was Behind the Scenes,
Hope Reese, The Atlantic, May 16, 2013, https://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/
archive/2013/05/the-real-feminist-impact-of-i-the-mary-tyler-moore-show-i-was-
behind-the-scenes/275875/.
In Search of Our Better Selves: The Rebirth, Redemption and Road Warriors of George
Miller’s ‘Mad Max: Fury Road,’ Tim Pelan, Cinephilia & Beyond, April 8, 2019,
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/mad-max-fury-road/.
ARRIVAL: When Is Now?, David Bordwell, November 23, 2016, http://www.davidb
ordwell.net/blog/2016/11/23/arrival-when-is-now/.
References
Bergstein, E. (written by) (1987). Dirty Dancing; Vestron Pictures.
Brooks, J. L. and Burns, A. (created by) (1970–1977). The Mary Tyler Moore Show;
CBS / MTM Enterprises.
174 S. Myers
Ephron, N., Ward, D. S. and Arch, J. (screenplay), Arch, J. (story) (1993). Sleepless
in Seattle; TriStar Pictures.
Heisserer, E. (screenplay), Chiang, T. (short story) (2016). Arrival ; Paramount
Pictures.
Schumer, A. (written by) (2015). Trainwreck; Universal Pictures.
Waititi, T. (screenplay), Leunens, C. (book) (2019). Jojo Rabbit; Fox Searchlight
Pictures.
11
Mentor

• Mentor: A character or characters whose primary narrative function is to
connect with and influence the Protagonist’s intellectual life.
• Heart: Symbol of the Attractor reflecting their connection to the Protago-
nist’s emotional life.
• Brain: Symbol of the Mentor reflecting their connection to the Protagonist’s
intellectual life.
• Guide: The Mentor has knowledge about the road which lies ahead which
helps steer the Protagonist through their journey.
• Guardian: The Mentor has unique skills which they use to defend the
Protagonist and assist them in overcoming challenges along the way.
• Insight: The Mentor is imbued with a higher level of understanding, not only
about the world around them, but also about the Protagonist psychological
self.
• False Mentor: A character who presents as a True Mentor only to be
revealed as working against the best interests of the Protagonist.
In the 1987 movie The Untouchables, when Treasury Department agent

Eliot Ness arrives in Chicago on government assignment, this is what he
discovers:

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_11
176 S. Myers
FADE IN:
A CRAWLSHEET
1931. Prohibition has transformed Chicago into a city at

War. Rival gangs compete for control of the city’s
billion dollar empire of illegal alcohol, enforcing their
will with the hand grenade and tommy gun. It is the time
of the Ganglords. It is the time of Al Capone. a
aThe Untouchables, written by David Mamet, suggested by a book by Oscar

Fraley and Eliot Ness. Movie script dated May 5, 1986, p. 1.
Ness attempts to collar Capone using legal means, but as an outsider to

a city rife with corrupt police bribed to protect the mob boss, combined
with a strong inner circle of criminal allies, the federal agent gets nowhere.
Committed to bringing Capone to justice, Ness seeks out the assistance of a
veteran street cop named Malone.
Ness walks over to Malone. Malone stands very close to

him. Under his breath, intensely:
MALONE
You said you wanted to know how
to get Capone. Do you really
want to get him?
(beat)
You see what I’m sayin’? What
are you prepared to do?
NESS
Everything within the law.
MALONE
And then what are you prepared
to do… ?
(pause)
If you Open the Ball on these
people, Mr. Ness, you have to be
prepared to go all the way.
(pause)
Because they will not stop the
fight ‘til one of you is dead.
Pause.
11 Mentor 177
NESS
I want to get Capone. I don’t
know how to get him.
MALONE
You want to get Capone, here’s how
you get him: He pulls a knife,
you pull a gun; he sends one of
yours to the hospital, you send
one of his to the morgue. That’s
the Chicago Way. That’s how you
get Capone. Now: do you want to
do that, are you ready to do that… ?
I’m makin’ you a deal. You want this
deal?
NESS
I have sworn. To put this man
away, with any and all legal means
at my disposal. And I will do so.
MALONE
(sighs)
Waal, the Lord hates a coward.
Malone, ceremoniously, extends his hand. Ness shakes it.
MALONE
You know what a “Blood Oath” is?
NESS
Yes.
MALONE
You just took one.b
b Ibid., pp. 27–28.
Eliot Ness has tried and failed to arrest Capone. He needs a Mentor …
and he finds one in the street-wise Malone who has intimate knowledge of
“the Chicago way” (Fig. 11.1).
Whether the Protagonist ventures forth into a new world or something
happens which transforms their home environment into an unfamiliar milieu,
they need the assistance of a character who understands the lay of the land.
At their most basic level, a Mentor can point the Protagonist in the right
direction on their journey such as Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of
178 S. Myers
Fig. 11.1 Eliot Ness and Jim Malone in The Untouchables (1987)
Oz (1939): “Follow the yellow brick road”; procure needed items like Red in
The Shawshank Redemption (1994): “I’m the guy who can get it for you”; or
provide caution about entering suspicious territory such as Rod in Get Out
(2017): “I told you not to go in that house.”1
That, however, is not the full extent of a Mentor’s narrative function.
Based upon their own life experiences, they have acquired a unique world-
view and often develop a keen understanding of the psyche of the Protagonist
during their shared time together. In Good Will Hunting (1997), Will’s
therapy sessions with Sean lead to a personal catharsis for the troubled young
genius about his abusive past, provoked by the psychologist’s repeated obser-
vation, “It’s not your fault.” In the television series Dexter (2006–2013) in
which the Protagonist, a serial killer, slays other murderers, Dexter’s deceased
father repeatedly appears as an apparition to provide advice and remind him,
“Remember this forever: You are my son, you are not alone, and you are
loved.” In A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019), jaded journalist Lloyd
Vogel receives a new assignment: write an article about Fred Rogers, beloved
host of the children’s television series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Over
time, the interviewer becomes the interviewee as Rogers identifies what lies
at the heart of Vogel’s cynicism: “There is no normal life that is free from
pain” (Fig. 11.2).
There is a saying attributed to Kantalipa, one of eighty-four mahāsiddha
(“perfected ones”) in the Chinese Buddhist tradition: “When the student is
1The term mentor derives from a character in The Odyssey: Mentor (Mšντoρ), an adviser to Odysseus
who entrusts his longtime friend to help raise and tutor Telemachus during the father’s extended
absence.
11 Mentor 179
Fig. 11.2 Fred Rogers and Lloyd Vogler in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
(2019)
ready, the teacher arrives.”2 No matter the nature of the Protagonist’s disunity
state at the beginning of a story, when the universe delivers a call to adven-
ture event that disrupts the Protagonist’s old life, the path ahead inevitably
intersects with a teacher. This Mentor provides wisdom which facilitates the
Protagonist’s progress through their adventure.
Thus, if the Attractor is more connected to the Protagonist’s emotional
growth and thereby associated symbolically with the Heart, the Mentor is
most involved with the Protagonist’s intellectual development, physically
represented by the Brain. This involves not only the character’s growing
understanding of the world around them, but also the mental perception of
their “self ’”—who they are and what their authentic nature is.
As with each character archetype, a Mentor may present in any shape or
size, a limitless panoply of personalities. However, there are key Protagonist-
Mentor dynamics which commonly occur in movies and television series:
Guide, Guardian, Insight.
Mentor as Guide
A character qualifies as a Mentor in part because they know things and,
thus, naturally function as the Protagonist’s guide. Sometimes that knowledge
2 Tao Te Ching: The Power of Goodness, the Wisdom Beyond Words, https://laotzu.xyz/author/display?
id=570.
180 S. Myers
can be of life-altering significance. In the World War I film 1917 (2019),

General Erinmore has learned something which Colonel Mackenzie does not
know: If Mackenzie proceeds with his planned assault the next day, some
sixteen hundred British soldiers will be slaughtered by the German army. The
General provides this information to a pair of young soldiers—Lance Corpo-
rals William Schofield and Tom Blake—along with a map to guide them to
find Mackenzie and order him to call off the attack. That one of the soldiers
under Mackenzie’s command is Schofield’s brother adds to the stakes of their
mission.
Other times, there may be a mentoring moment in which the wisdom
conveyed is of apparent modest importance. In The Godfather (1972), after
Vito Corleone is gunned down in an assassination attempt, the Corleone clan
gathers in a safe house. While there, Clemenza provides Michael Corleone
with inside tips on how to prepare pasta sauce:
Hey, come over here kid, learn something. You start out
with a little bit of oil. Then you fry some garlic. Then you
throw in some tomatoes, tomato paste, you fry it. You
make sure it doesn’t stick. You get it to a boil, you shove in
all your sausage and your meatballs. Add a little bit a wine…
cTheGodfather, screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, novel by

Mario Puzo. Paramount Pictures, 1972.
As Clemenza says, “You never know, you might have to cook for twenty
guys someday.” It is a seemingly innocuous observation, but in retrospect
given what transpires as Michael takes over the Corleone family’s don respon-
sibilities when his father dies, Clemenza’s comment serves as a portent of
things to come.
The knowledge a Mentor provides the Protagonist may be practical in
nature: Rosie teaching her son in Jojo Rabbit (2019) how to tie his shoes;
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket (1987) training his boot
camp recruits how to handle a rifle; Miyagi instructing Daniel to “wax on,
wax off ” in The Karate Kid (1984). The discernment a Mentor possesses may
also provide an opportunity to convey significant exposition which makes
clear the Protagonist’s path. In a key scene in Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Dr.
Carter lays out the stakes of an alien invasion:
11 Mentor 181
The thing you’ve got to understand is this is a perfectly

evolved, world conquering organism. For all we know, there
are thousands, millions of those asteroids, floating around in
the cosmos like a virus. And they’re just waiting to crash
land into a world with the right conditions.e
d Edgeof Tomorrow, screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie and Jez Butter-

worth & John-Henry Butterworth, based on the novel "All You Need Is Kill"
by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2014.
Carter makes clear the nature of the time loop the Protagonist (Cage) finds
himself in—dying in battle, awakening before he first goes to war against
the aliens, reliving the same deadly day. Carter’s knowledge makes clear what
Cage must do, albeit, as a reluctant hero.
More often than not, the Mentor functions as a guide by speaking to
the more substantive issue of how the Protagonist should move forward
with their life. In this regard, there are Mentors who are teachers, ranging
from caustic Ivy League law school professor Charles W. Kingsfield in The
Paper Chase (1973) to nurturing rural West Virginia high school educator
Miss Riley in October Sky (1999). Then there is Mr. Bruner in The Edge of
Seventeen (2016), who responds with dripping sarcasm to recurring surprise
visits from the Protagonist (Nadine Franklin), an emotionally overwrought
seventeen-year old, while actually considering her to be his favorite student.
There are Mentors who provide guidance in countless forms such as:
philosophical rock music critic Lester Bangs sharing rock and roll wisdom
over the phone to adolescent journalist William Miller in Almost Famous
(2000); reclusive author William Forrester cajoled into tutoring young
writing prodigy Jamal Wallace in Finding Forrester (2000); Rufus schooling
the two “dudes” in the ways of time travel in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
(1989) and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991); Lenny Bruce helping to steer
Miriam “Midge” Maisel through her initial foray into the stand-up comedy
world in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017).
A Mentor may take the form of a long-time professional associate like
Mickey Morrissey in The Verdict (1982) or Pete Strickland in Perry Mason
(2020); a wandering truck driver and ramen guru Goro in Tampopo (1985); a
superhero costume designer Edna Mode in The Incredibles (2004); a numbers
crunching baseball brain Peter Brand in Moneyball (2011); a best friend Peik
Lin Goh in Crazy Rich Asians (2018); an acting instructor Gene Cousineau
in Barry (2018-present), even the serial killers interviewed by Holden Ford
and Bill Tench in Mindhunter (2017–2019) (Fig. 11.3).
As with Attractors, there can be a False Mentor providing guidance which
has the potential to lead to the Protagonist’s undoing. In The Shawshank
182 S. Myers
Fig. 11.3 Edmund Kemper in Mindhunter (2017–2019)
Redemption (1994), fellow convict Brooks carves a path for Red once he is
finally released from prison: Red rents the identical room Brooks lived in;
Red takes the same grocery store job which Brooks had before; Red struggles
with life outside prison, just like Brooks. Brooks’ solution? Suicide. This is
the path of “get busy dyin’.” Were it not for a promise he made to Andy, Red
may very well have followed Brooks’ self-destructive example.
In Iron Man (2008), Obadiah Stane plays the mentor, acting as a surrogate
father for Tony Stark and chief advisor on matters related to Stark Industries.
It is only well into the story that Obadiah is revealed to be a Nemesis, plotting
to take over the Stark business empire, eventually donning the Iron Monger
armor in an attempt to destroy Iron Man.
In the limited TV series Devs (2020), the Protagonist (Lily) is an employee
of the tech company Amaya which has cornered the market on quantum
computing. Its founder Forest is a genius, obsessed with the company’s ultra-
secret Devs lab. Within it is housed a super-computer that assimilates all
knowledge, then uses that data to create simulations of both past and future
events. Forest’s assessment of these projections supports his theory of deter-
minism: Everything that is was predestined to be. This includes the tragic
deaths of his wife and beloved daughter for whom the company is named.
Lily gets caught up in corporate espionage searching for her missing boyfriend
who disappeared while working for Amaya. Little does she know, she is
destined to be present at a pivotal moment in the future: inside the Devs lab,
holding a gun on Forest. The tech guru has foreseen this event many times
and how it always plays out: Lily shoots Forest, then she dies in an accident.
11 Mentor 183
That precise moment in time does arrive, but instead of firing the gun, Lily
tosses it aside. This choice creates an alternate chain of events which results
in the destruction of the Devs system, but with a surprising twist: Forest and
Lily end up in a computer simulation, one in which Forest’s wife and child
are alive, and Lily is free to follow a different life-path of her choice.
Series writer-director Alex Garland has explored this thematic terrain
before in his movie Ex Machina (2014) with the character Nathan.3 In Devs,
Forest is a False Mentor. The deterministic path he foresees turns out to be
wrong. Indeed, it is Lily’s act of free will which transports the pair to a parallel
universe in which both characters have an opportunity to carve new futures
for themselves.
That said, most Mentors serve as allies who provide important guidance to
the Protagonist on their journey. In Yesterday (2019), failing singer-songwriter
Jack has awakened from a terrible accident to discover a remarkable fact: Only
he knows the music of The Beatles, the rest of humanity living in a parallel
reality where the band does not exist. Jack skyrockets to fame claiming one
Lennon and McCartney song after another as his own. Torn between the lure
of fame and living an authentic life, Jack is on the verge of not only losing
his soul, but also Ellie, the woman he eventually realizes he loves. Receiving
a tip from the only two other people in the world who are aware of The
Beatles, Jack travels to a remote seaside house to discover none other than
John Lennon. Unlike the real world, John has lived to the ripe old age of
seventy-eight. He and Jack take a walk along the shore where John offers this
wisdom:
Want a good life? It’s not complicated. Tell the girl you love,
that you love her. Then tell the truth to everyone … whenevear
you can.h
eYesterday,screenplay by Richard Curtis, story by Jack Barth and Richard

Curtis, Universal Pictures, 2019.
This wisdom becomes a guiding light for Jack as he sorts out the mess he
has created with his faux life of fame.
Thus, it is that Mentors provide guidance to the Protagonist. However,
there are scenarios in which they are called upon to do more: act as a guardian.
3 By substituting the “v” in Devs with the Anglicized iteration of the Roman letter, the project is
actually called Deus, i.e., God. This not only dovetails nicely with philosophical questions at the
heart of the TV series, such as predestination and free will, it also ties this story world to the 2014
movie Ex Machina (i.e., Deus ex machina).
184 S. Myers
Mentor as Guardian
In It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), George Bailey finds himself at the end of his
rope. Due to Uncle Billy’s gaffe, the Bailey Bros. Building & Loan Association
is eight thousand dollars in arrears. Having been discovered by a no-nonsense
bank auditor, this fiscal discrepancy has led to a pair of law enforcement
officers awaiting George’s return home to arrest him for embezzlement. It
is ironic in the extreme that his entire adult life has been spent reluctantly
overseeing his father’s “nickel and dime” business in the tiny town of Bedford
Falls, when all he ever wanted to do was “see the world” and build things:
airfields, skyscrapers, bridges. This night on Christmas Eve, George stands
atop a bridge, not one of his own design, but offering him an opportunity to
jump into the icy waters below and end his life.
It is at this precise moment that Clarence Oddbody leaps into the river.
Casting aside personal concerns, George dives off the bridge and pulls
Clarence to safety. Drying out in the bridge toll house, Clarence explains
why he dove into the frigid stream. “I knew if I were drowning, you’d try to
save me. You see, you did. And that’s how I saved you.” George presses the
old fellow further who explains, “That’s what I was sent down for. I’m your
guardian angel” (Fig. 11.4).
Fig. 11.4 Clarence Oddbody and George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
11 Mentor 185
The Mentor as guardian is more likely to conjure images of Gandalf

in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring —2001, The
Two Towers—2002, The Return of the King —2003), armed with his staff
capable of blasting opponents with the flame of Anor or Kyle Reese in The
Terminator (1984), slinging a Valmet M82A bullpup assault rifle to protect
Sarah Connor. However, as Clarence demonstrates in It’s a Wonderful Life,
a guardian can be as much about caring for the Protagonist’s cognitive well-
being as their physical safety. As George’s wish to have “never been born”
turns into reality, it is Clarence who steers his charge through the psycholog-
ical upheaval George experiences in this extraordinary world, realizing how
significant an influence his real life has been.
Sometimes the Protagonist may reject the advice of a Mentor as Charles
Foster Kane frequently did with his legal guardian Walter Parks Thatcher
in Citizen Kane (1941). More often than not, however, a powerful bond
develops between the pair, the overseer’s commitment to their ward worthy of
adoration such as: Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series (Harry Potter
and the Philosopher’s Stone—2001, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets—
2002, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban—2004, Harry Potter and
the Goblet of Fire—2005, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix —2007,
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince —2009); Alfred Pennyworth in the
Dark Knight trilogy (Batman Begins—2005, The Dark Knight —2008, The
Dark Knight Rises—2012); Erik Heller in Hanna (2011); and Saul Berenson
in Homeland (2011–2020).
Mentors who act as guardians can be larger-than-life figures, but like all
character archetypes they are also scalable to the scope of the story universe.
In Juno (2007), the Protagonist (Juno) has unprotected sex with her adoles-
cent boyfriend resulting in her pregnancy. Rejecting an abortion, Juno finds
a yuppie couple, Mark and Vanessa Loring, who unable to have children of
their own, agree to adopt Juno’s baby. Naturally, when Juno confesses the
news of her predicament to her father (Mac) and stepmother (Bren), they
respond with shock and dismay, but almost immediately assume the role of
guardian. Mac insists he will accompany Juno to meet the adoptive couple
saying, “You’re just a kid. I don’t want you to get ripped off by a couple of
babystarved wingnuts.” Much later, when Juno is in the hospital about to give
birth and in extreme physical pain, it is Bren who wrangles a nurse by yelling,
“Excuse me, can we get my kid the damn spinal tap already?” Throughout
the travails of pregnancy, Juno is not alone, accompanied by parental figures
as advocates and psychological protectors.
186 S. Myers
In Zorba the Greek (1964), Basil is an uptight Englishman who inherits

property on the island of Crete. En route to his new home, he meets Zorba,
a local with an oversized personality who attaches himself to the Brit, a
self-imposed guardian amidst the sometimes dangerous ways of rural Greek
culture. Over time, these two characters, representing utterly contrasting
personality types, break down lifestyle differences and form a bond of friend-
ship. Indeed, despite the utter failure of Zorba’s cockeyed business scheme
which has burned through much of Basil’s financial resources, Basil turns to
Zorba and asks, “Teach me to dance.” In the face of financial disaster, that is
precisely what they do in the movie’s very last scene (Fig. 11.5).
As Mentor, Zorba not only protects Basil as he navigates his way through
the mysterious customs of the local citizenry, the Greek also encourages the
Englishman to live life with gusto. In short, Zorba provides Basil with a
profound insight into the absurdity and joy of the human experience.
Fig. 11.5 Alexis Zorba and Basil in Zorba the Greek (1964)
11 Mentor 187
Mentor as Insight
Amidst the comic mayhem of National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978), there
is a key Mentor moment featuring a character one would not expect to rise to
the occasion. The members of the Delta Tau Chi fraternity, a group of slacker
college students predisposed to Toga parties, cheating on exams, and drunken
debauchery, have been kicked out of school by their long-time Nemesis (Dean
Wormer). This turn of events does not sit well with one particularly dissolute
frat member: John “Bluto” Blutarsky. Disgusted by the defeatism displayed
by the brotherhood, Bluto attempts to inspire his peers with an impassioned
speech:
What the fuck happened to the Delta I used to know? Where’s

the spirit? Where’s the guts? This could be the greatest night
of our lives, but you’re gonna let it be the worst.i
f National
Lampoon’s Animal House, written by Harold Ramis & Douglas
Kenney & Chris Miller, Universal Pictures, 1978.
Despite historical inaccuracies in his oratory (“Was it over when the

Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”), Bluto somehow manages to summon up
an essential truth about his comrades: Their acquiescence to an authoritarian
decree is antithetical to the Delta “spirit.” This insight galvanizes the group
to embrace a “futile and stupid gesture” which leads to the movie’s ludicrous,
yet hilarious final scenes.4
As inane as Bluto’s exhortation is, it reflects a penetrating awareness into
the frat members’ fellowship. This is one of the Mentor’s key functions: seeing
something others do not about a character’s core being.
In The Matrix (1999), Thomas Anderson (a.k.a. Neo) is recruited by a
group of rebels led by Morpheus. What Neo experiences as reality is in
actuality a “neural-interactive simulation” known as the Matrix. It has been
created by an army of artificial intelligent machines to provide people with a
sense of normalcy while their bodies are used to provide energy … in effect,
reduced to human batteries. Morpheus has an intense interest in Neo:
4 In the movie’s credit sequence, we learn Bluto’s unique insights into human nature enable him to
eventually become Senator John Blutarsky.
188 S. Myers
MORPHEUS
And then I saw you, Neo, and my
world changed. You can call it
an epiphany, you can call it
whatever the hellk you want.
It doesn't matter. It's not
about a word. It's about this.
So I can't explain it to you.
All I can do is believe, Neo,
believe that one day you will
feel what I felt and know what
I know; you are the sixth and
the last. You are the One.k
gThe Matrix, written by The Wachowskis. Movie script dated May 29, 1998,
p. 69.
Even when Neo visits Oracle and she confronts him with the possibility he
is not The One, Morpheus refuses to give up his belief. He has a deep insight
into Neo’s nature and as it turns out … he is right.
A Mentor may provide wisdom based upon something they discern within
the Protagonist’s psyche. In Bridesmaids (2011), Annie’s stint as maid-of-
honor results in her public humiliation and rejection by her best friend,
the bride-to-be. Fellow bridesmaid Megan disrupts Annie’s “pity party”
by showing up unannounced and quite literally engaging in a physical
tousle, even biting Annie in “the ass,” to provoke her to fight back. Post-
confrontation, Megan provides this perspective: “Glad to see you’ve got a
little bit of a spark in you. I knew that Annie was in there somewhere.”
In The Queen’s Gambit (2020), nine-year-old Beth Harmon receives this
advice from Mr. Shaibel, the school janitor who teaches her how to play chess:
People like you have a hard time. Two sides of the same coin. You’ve
got your gift … and you’ve got what it costs. Hard to say for you what
that will be. You’ll have your time in the sun, but for how long? You’ve
got so much anger in you. You have to be careful. l
hThe Queen’s Gambit, S1, Ep4 (“Middle Game”), written and directed by Scott
Frank. Netflix, 2020.
Mr. Shaibel’s words are prescient as he conveys insight into the dual drivers
in Beth’s psyche: her genius for chess and her weakness for drugs and alcohol
(Fig. 11.6).
Sometimes wisdom the Mentor provides is more expansive in nature. In
City Slickers (1991), Mitch Robbins confronts his thirty-ninth birthday by
11 Mentor 189
Fig. 11.6 Beth Harmon and Mr. Shaibel in The Queen’s Gambit (2020)
traveling with his two best friends to a dude ranch for an Old West getaway.
After several fish-out-of-water comic misadventures, Mitch ends up riding
horseback alongside an honest-to-God cowboy by the name of Curly, leading
to this exchange:
Curly: Y'all come up here about the same age, same problems. Spend
about fifty weeks a year getting knots in your rope, then you think two
weeks up here will untie them for you. None of you get it. Do you know
what the secret of life is?
Mitch: No, what?
Curly: (holds up index finger) This.
Mitch: Your finger?
Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else
don't mean shit.
Mitch: That’s great, but what’s the one thing?
Curly: That's what you've got to figure out.m
i CitySlickers, written by Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel, Castle Rock

Entertainment / Columbia Pictures, 1991.
In the 2011 animated movie Rango, the Protagonist (Rango) falsely

assumes the role of sheriff in a dusty dry town Dirt. Chased away by the
Nemesis (Rattlesnake Jack), Rango staggers through the desert until he passes
190 S. Myers
out from heat exhaustion. When he awakens, he finds himself nearby a myth-
ical character: The Spirit of the West. The Spirit’s first words offer insight into
Rango’s psyche: “Sometimes you gotta dig deep to find what you’re looking
for.” Then there is this exchange:
Rango: I don’t even know what I’m looking for anymore.

I don’t even know who I am. They used to call you the man
with no name.
Spirit of the West: These days they got a name for just
about everything. Doesn’t matter what they call you.
It’s the deeds makes the man.
Rango: Yeah, but my deeds just made things worse.

I’m a fraud! I’m a phony! My friends believed in me,
but they need some kind of hero.
Spirit of the West: Then be a hero.
Rango: Oh, no! No! No! You don’t understand.

I’m not even supposed to be here.
Spirit of the West: That’s right. You came a long way to

find something that sn’t out here. Don’t you see?
It’s not about you. It’s about them.
Rango: But I can’t go back!
Spirit of the West: Don’t know that you got a choice, son.
[he draws a square on his golf cart windshield framing Rango]
No man can walk out on his own story.
j Rango, written by John Logan, story by John Logan and Gore Verbinski &
James Ward Byrkit, Nickelodeon Movies / Paramount Pictures, 2011

(Fig. 11.7).
“No man can walk out on his own story.” That is wisdom which pertains to
every Protagonist’s journey: The path they take is the path they need to take,
their destiny, their narrative imperative. That is some deep insight offered by
a mysterious figure trundling through the desert in a battered golf cart.
Summary
Struggling to make their way through the new world of adventure, the Protag-
onist intersects with a Mentor who serves as guide and guardian. At their
11 Mentor 191
Fig. 11.7 The Spirit of the West in Rango (2011)
highest level of being, the Mentor also provides insights into the Protagonist’s
nature. This wisdom facilitates the intellectual development of the Protago-
nist and their self-understanding, as they evolve into the individual they were
meant to be.
Exercise
Choose a notable movie, television, or book character who plays the role
of the Mentor. Explore their relationship with the Protagonist. How do
they guide the Protagonist? How do they act as a guardian? What insights
do they offer the Protagonist which feeds into the Protagonist’s evolving
understanding of their true self?
Further Study
Gang Wars, the Prohibition Menace: Brian De Palma’s ‘The Untouchables,’ Tim Pelan,
Cinephilia & Beyond, September 11, 2020, https://cinephiliabeyond.org/the-unt
ouchables/.
Making Sense of the Science and Philosophy of ‘Devs,’ Ben Lindbergh, The Ringer,
April 10, 2020, https://www.theringer.com/tv/2020/4/10/21216149/devs-hulu-
quantum-physics-philosophy-alex-garland.
Yesterday’s Surprise Cameo Proves What The Movie Is Really About, Q.V. Hough,
Screen Rant, June 30, 2019, https://screenrant.com/yesterday-movie-john-len
non-cameo-explained/.
192 S. Myers
Kim Morgan on It’s A Wonderful Life, Kim Morgan, Beverly Cinema, December
15, 2017, https://thenewbev.com/blog/2017/12/kim-morgan-on-its-a-wonder
ful-life/.
Great Scene: “Zorba the Greek,” Scott Myers, Go Into The Story, October 9, 2019,
https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/great-scene-zorba-the-greek-284abcdb2f.
The Matrix Revelation: How the Wachowskis Opened Our Eyes to a New Kind of Action
Cinema, Tim Pelan, Cinephilia & Beyond, March 7, 2019, https://cinephiliabe
yond.org/matrix/.
The Queen’s Gambit, Walter Tevis, Vintage; Reprint edition, March 11, 2003.
References
Cacoyannis, M. (screenplay), Kazantzakis, N. (novel) (1964). Zorba the Greek;
Twentieth Century Fox.
Cody, D. (written by) (2007). Juno; Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Coppola, F. F. and Puzo, M. (screenplay), Puzo, M (novel) (1972). The Godfather;
Paramount Pictures.
Curtis, R. (screenplay), Barth, J. and Curtis, R. (story) (2019). Yesterday; Universal
Pictures / Working Title Films.
Darabont, F. (screenplay), King, S. (short story) (1994). The Shawshank Redemption;
Columbia Pictures / Castle Rock Entertainment.
Frank, S. and Scott, A. (creators) (2020). The Queen’s Gambit; Netflix.
Ganz, L. and Mandel, B. (written by) (1991). City Slickers; Columbia Pictures /
Castle Rock Entertainment.
Garland, A. (creator) (2020). Devs; Hulu / FX Productions.
Goodrich, F. and Hackett, A. and Frank Capra (screenplay), Stern, P. V. D. (story),
Swerling, J. (additional scenes) (1946). It’s a Wonderful Life; RKO Pictures /
Liberty Films.
Logan, J (written by), Logan, J. and Verbinski, G. and Byrkit, J. W. (story) (2011).
Rango; Paramount Pictures.
Mamet, D. (written by) (1987). The Untouchables; Paramount Pictures.
Mendes, S. and Wilson-Cairns, K. (written by) (2019). 1917 ; Dreamworks Pictures.
Ramis, H. & Kenney, D. and Miller, C. (written by) (1979). National Lampoon’s
Animal House; Universal Pictures.
Wachowski, L. and Wachowski, L. (written by) (1999). The Matrix; Warner Bros. /
Village Roadshow Pictures.
12
Trickster

• Trickster: Guided by their own wants and needs, this character seamlessly
shifts from ally to enemy, enemy to ally, testing the will of the Protagonist.
• Shapeshifter: A Trickster’s instinct to deftly slip on or off any archetype mask
at a moment’s notice in order to further their goals.
• Test: A complication, roadblock, or reversal which challenges the Protago-
nist, forcing them to rely on what they have learned on their journey about
the world and themselves.
• Will: The level of determination the Protagonist embraces during their
journey, most emphatically in response to the all is lost plotline point at
the end of Act Two.
• Complication: An event or circumstance which slows the Protagonist’s
progress toward their goal.
• Roadblock: An event or circumstance which stops the Protagonist’s progress
toward their goal.
• Reversal: An event or circumstance which reverses the Protagonist’s progress
toward their goal.
In the opening scene of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
(2003), twelve-year-old Elizabeth Swann, daughter of Governor Weatherby
Swann, stands aboard the HMS Dauntless en route to her new home in Port
Royal, Jamaica. Peering into the foggy night, she sings, “Yo, ho, yo, ho, a
pirate’s life for me.” Chastened by her father to “comport ourselves as befits
our class and station,” Elizabeth gazes out upon the murky ocean.

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_12
194 S. Myers
ELIZABETH
(to herself)
I still think it would be exciting
to meet a pirate...
The fog still hems in the ship; very little of the sea is
visible --
-- but suddenly, a FIGURE comes into view. A young boy,

WILL TURNER, floating on his back in the otherwise empty
water. There is nothing to show where he came from, or how
he came to be there.a
a Piratesof the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl , screenplay by Ted
Elliott & Terry Rossio, screen story by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Stuart
Beattie & Jay Wolpert. Movie script dated September 1, 2002, pp. 2–3.
Fetched from the sea strewn with fiery scraps of a destroyed ship, it turns
out the boy is the lone survivor of a mysterious nautical attack. The enigma
deepens when Elizabeth discovers a chain around the unconscious lad’s neck
featuring a gold medallion with a skull engraved on it, causing her to exclaim,
“You’re a pirate!”
Eight years later, Will has become a swordsmith and respectable member of
Port Royal society. He is smitten by Elizabeth who has grown into a beautiful,
strong-willed young woman, yet despite their personal history and friendship,
he refuses to call her by her first name.
ELIZABETH
Will, how many times must I ask you
to call me 'Elizabeth'?
WILL
At least once more, Miss Swann. As
always.
Elizabeth is disappointed and little hurt by his response.
SWANN
Well said! There's a boy who
understands propriety.
b
b Ibid., p. 10.
Proper conduct or not, the fact remains that Will Turner has pirate’s
blood coursing through his veins: He cannot continue to live in that state
12 Trickster 195
of disunity. Destiny intervenes in the form of Jack Sparrow, a pirate through

and through. Their paths cross in the blacksmith’s forge where Will works,
Jack seeking to escape the pursuit of local authorities. After the two engage
in combative swordplay, Jack notices the entire room is filled with bladed
weapons.
JACK
Who makes all these?
WILL
I do. And I practice with them. At
least three hours a day.
JACK
You need to find yourself a girl.
(Will sets his jaw)
Or maybe the reason you practice
three hours a day is you've found
one -- but can't get her?
A direct hit -- and Will coils even more tightly with anger.
WILL
No. I practice three hours a day
so that when I meet a pirate ... I
can kill him.
c
c Ibid., p. 28.
When Elizabeth is kidnapped by the pirate Barbossa and held hostage

aboard the marauding galleon, the Black Pearl, an imprisoned Jack cuts a
deal with Will: He promises to lead Will to Elizabeth in exchange for Jack’s
freedom. Jack has two ulterior motives. First, his goal is to steal the Black
Pearl as it was once his ship. Second, having learned that Will is the son
of famed buccaneer “Bootstrap” Bill, Jack knows young Will, specifically
his pirate’s blood, will be a bargaining chip with Barbossa. Once shed, it
has the power remove a curse which has been cast upon the criminal crew.
Thus begins the twisting relationship between Will and Jack: Protagonist and
Trickster(Fig. 12.1).1
Trickster is a slippery term. The root—“to trick”—implies guile and deceit.
However, in the realm of mythology and folklore, the Trickster archetype has
1 Jack Sparrow so influences Will Turner that by the very end of the movie, Will fights to free Jack
from a public hanging. When Elizabeth ends up in Will’s arms, Governor Swann remarks, “So, this
is the path you have chosen. After all, he is a blacksmith.” Elizabeth responds, “No, he’s a pirate.”
This caps off Will’s metamorphosis and full embrace of his authentic nature.
196 S. Myers
Fig. 12.1 Jack Sparrow and Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the
Black Pearl (2003)
an elevated status, surprising given their conniving ways. This is reflected in

a definition of the term:
Supernatural figure appearing in various guises and typically engaging in

mischievous activities, important in the folklore and mythology of many
primitive peoples and usually conceived as a culture hero.2
How does such a sly figure end up in the esteemed position of culture
hero? To answer this question, we must think about the human experience as
the ancients did, divided into two realms: the Ordinary World and the World
Out There.
The Ordinary World is home, where we live. Because we are familiar with
this place and these people, the Ordinary World is safe. However, if we move
beyond its boundaries into the World Out There, all bets are off. We do not
know these new places, these new faces. Who can we trust? The Trickster’s
appearance serves as a challenge, forcing individuals to be on their toes and
summon their highest skill levels in assessing the true nature of The Other.
The principle of ambivalence is incorporated into the myths and rituals

of primitive peoples to an extraordinary degree… That personification of
2 Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 1997.

12 Trickster 197
ambivalence, since we are dealing with primitive perceptions and not abstract
conceptualizations… is… most directly realized in the figure of the trickster.3
Ambivalence. Ambiguity. This is the narrative terrain trafficked by the

Trickster and it pertains directly to the Protagonist in three recurring
dynamics: Shapeshifter, Test, Will .
Trickster as Shapeshifter
The Trickster is a fluid figure and as such, they above all other character
archetypes are the most adept at donning “masks.” If it serves their needs, they
can ease into and out of any character archetype at any time: co-protagonist,
nemesis, attractor, or mentor.
Trickster is at one and the same time creator and destroyer, giver and the
negator, he who dupes others and who is always duped himself. He wills
nothing consciously. At all times he is constrained to behave as he does from
impulses over which he has no control. He knows neither good nor evil yet
he is responsible for both. He possesses no values, moral or social, is at the
mercy of his passions and appetites, yet through his actions all values come
into being.4
The Trickster is a shapeshifter, possessed of a preternatural ability to slide

from one narrative function to another. In particular, with regard to the
Protagonist, the character flips from ally to enemy … enemy to ally … back
and forth depending upon the Trickster’s mood, disposition, and goals.
Sometimes the Trickster evolves from enemy to ally. In To Kill a Mock-
ingbird (1962), children fear Boo, an almost mythical character who is said
to live in a run-down house in the neighborhood. Not so young Scout. She
secretly exchanges items with Boo—marbles, crayons, a stopwatch, and the
like—using a knothole in a nearby tree as their means of connection. Over
time, Scout befriends the local “boogeyman” and at a pivotal moment in the
young girl’s life, when she being assaulted by vicious drunk Bob Ewell, it is
Boo who rescues her from peril, potentially saving her life.5
3 Paul Radin, Karl Kerenyi, and C.G. Jung, The Trickster: A Study in American Indian Mythology
(Schocken Books, 1972), p. xiii.
4 Ibid., p. ix.
5 The example of Boo in To Kill a Mockingbird is an interesting one in that he does not change, rather
peoples’ perception of him changes, shifting from fear and prejudice to gratefulness and acceptance.
198 S. Myers
In Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope (1977), when Han Solo is intro-
duced, all he cares about is getting paid to transport Luke Skywalker,
Obi-Wan Kenobi, R2-D2, and C-3PO to Alderaan. He does not believe in
the Force, nor does he concern himself with the Rebel alliance; rather his
focus is securing funds to pay off gambling debts he owes to Jabba the Hutt.
Despite being roped into helping Luke rescue Princess Leia, once Han gets
paid, he and first mate Chewbacca take off in the Millennium Falcon …
only remarkably to return at a pivotal moment in the final struggle, blasting
Darth Vader’s TIE fighter into outer space. This surprising act of bravery—
and seeming reversal of character—enables Luke Skywalker to successfully
launch his X-wing’s proton torpedoes and destroy the Death Star.
In Juno (2007), Vanessa Loring could not be more different than Juno, the
pregnant adolescent whose child Vanessa and husband Mark plan to adopt. In
the teen’s eyes, Vanessa is an uptight yuppie, the antithesis of “cool,” some-
thing Juno values. Moreover, once Juno develops a crush on Mark who is
cool (he plays guitar and used to be in a rock band), Vanessa is an imped-
iment to Juno spending time with the prospective father of her baby. Later
in Juno’s pregnancy, there is a key scene in which she runs into Vanessa at
a shopping mall and invites her to talk to the baby, planting Vanessa’s hand
on her engorged belly. There amidst a crowd of passersby, Vanessa overcomes
the awkwardness of the situation, drops to her knees, and addresses Juno’s
tummy saying, “Hi, baby. It’s me, it’s Vanessa. I can’t wait to meet you. Can
you hear me, baby? Sweet angel?” Just then, the baby kicks and Juno watches
Vanessa’s face fill with joy. The moment marks a turning point in their rela-
tionship. Months later, when Juno is nearly ready to give birth, Mark abruptly
announces he does not want to be a father: He and Vanessa are going to sepa-
rate. Crushed by this turn of events, Juno writes a note to Vanessa: “If you’re
still in, I’m still in.” By story’s end, Vanessa turns out to be an ally—the
adoptive mother of Juno’s child (Fig. 12.2).
Sometimes, however, the Trickster begins as an ally only ultimately to be
revealed as an enemy. In The Matrix (1999), Cypher is part of the resistance
crew on the hovercraft Nebuchadnezzar. From the beginning, he exhibits
suspicious behavior: an unrequited affection for Trinity; a lack of respect
for Morpheus and what Cypher believes to be the resistance leader’s deluded
belief in The One, a messianic figure who will save humanity; a disgust with
his impoverished life in the real world. Eventually, he cuts a deal with Agent
Smith to give up the location of Morpheus, then proceeds to murder fellow
resistance members. His traitorous behavior is based upon his self-serving
needs and a preference to live in comfort in the ersatz reality of the Matrix.6
6 Another science fiction movie which features a key Trickster character is 2001: A Space Odyssey
(1968). Perceived by Discovery spaceship crew members Dave Bowman and Frank Poole as an ally,
HAL 9000, an artificial intelligence computer, eventually turns against the humans, killing three
12 Trickster 199
Fig. 12.2 Vanessa Loring and baby in Juno (2007)
In The Dark Knight (2008), Harvey Dent is the newly appointed district
attorney of Gotham City and, thus, forges an alliance with Batman to go
after the city’s criminal element. However, their relationship is complicated by
the fact Dent is also the current boyfriend of fellow attorney Rachel Dawes,
who happens to be Bruce Wayne’s longstanding romantic interest. Circum-
stances change when both Rachel and Dent are kidnapped as part of Joker’s
evil scheme, resulting in Rachel’s death while Dent’s face is badly disfig-
ured by fire. Living up to his nickname “Two-Face,” Dent turns vigilante
seeking revenge, murdering five people including two policemen, and even-
tually shooting Batman. These actions are bad enough, but when Batman
survives and Dent dies, the superhero is forced to take the blame for Dent’s
homicidal rampage in order to protect the district attorney’s gilded reputation
(“Gotham needs a true hero”). Dent fulfills his own prophecy: “You either die
a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
In The Old Guard (2020), Booker is a member of a quartet of immortal
assassins including Joe, Nicky, and leader Andy. Although the group members
have intervened in history dozens of times for the cause of good, they are
cursed to die and live again, over and over. After a betrayal by CIA Agent
Copley results in their slaughter and painful “resurrection” yet again, the
crew seeks Copley who, as it turns out, is in the pocket of the Nemesis:
Merrick, head of Merrick Pharmaceuticals. At a crucial point in the Guards’
people in hypersleep while sending Frank hurtling off into space. In the end, Dave is forced to “kill”
HAL by removing crystals from the computer’s memory center while HAL sings “Daisy, Daisy.”.
200 S. Myers
Fig. 12.3 Andy and Booker in The Old Guard (2020)
final assault, Booker shoots Andy in the back. The justification of his double-
crossing act? He believes Merrick may have discovered a medication which
will allow the Guard members to die peacefully and forever. After taking
down Merrick, the Guard votes to send Booker into exile for a century.
In the denouement, a drunken Booker stumbles back to his apartment to
discover the presence of another previous member of The Old Guard: Quynh,
Andy’s former lover, now turned Nemesis, setting up a potential plotline for
the inevitable sequel. Booker’s fate appears to be sealed—that of an enemy
(Fig. 12.3).
While some Tricksters shapeshift from enemy to ally or ally to enemy,
this character type can veer from these extremes back and forth to points
in between. Walter in The Big Lebowski (1998) is a capricious influence
who continually gets the Dude into and out of trouble. In Pan’s Labyrinth
(2006), Faun serves as both guide and tempter to young Ofelia, luring
the girl into the underground labyrinth to complete three tests to prove
she is actually a princess. In Coco (2017), Ernesto de la Cruz is a hero to
twelve-year-old Miguel, not only a musical icon, but also the boy’s great-
great-grandfather—or so Miguel presumes. Over time together in the Land
of the Dead, Ernesto presents himself as mentor, attractor, and finally nemesis
before Miguel discovers the truth about his own musical heritage.7
In Firefly (2002–2003), Saffron (a.k.a. Bridget, a.k.a. Yolanda) claims to
have married Serenity spaceship captain Malcolm Reynolds in a drunken
night of debauchery, only to betray he and his crew in order to turn over the
7 Family members eventually revealed as Tricksters is a recurring dynamic in The Godfather (1972)
and The Godfather: Part II (1974) as both of Michael’s brothers—Sonny and Fredo—prove to be
slippery figures who test Michael and his evolution as a Mafia don.
12 Trickster 201
ship to pirates. In a subsequent episode, Saffron allies herself with Malcolm

to steal a priceless laser pistol, then forsakes her ex-lover, leaving him naked
in the desert.
In Michael Clayton (2007), Arthur Edens is a longtime associate and
friend of Michael Clayton, both working as lawyers at the same firm. Arthur
has begun representing an agricultural conglomerate U-North, a corporation
which knowingly manufactured a weed killer with a carcinogen, which ended
up killing over four hundred innocent victims. These deaths cause Arthur
to have a psychic break, threatening to expose the company’s negligence.
Michael is forced to try to corral Arthur’s erratic behavior, however, Arthur
is assassinated by corporate hitmen, his death leading Michael to act against
his own self-interest and expose the truth of U-North’s illicit schemes.
In Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), Mike Shiner is
a talented and well-known actor who comes aboard Riggan’s struggling play
lending it credibility in the eyes of New York city’s Broadway elite. Unfortu-
nately for Riggan, Mike attempts to engage in actual intercourse with the lead
actress in an on-stage rehearsal, appropriates Riggan’s backstory for a news-
paper article, and beds Riggan’s daughter Sam—all in a day’s work for the
narcissistic method actor (Fig. 12.4).
Whether ally, enemy, or acting from a vantage point in between, the
Trickster can demonstrate sophisticated skills at shifting shapes. This is
not, however, a random competence. Rather, the Trickster’s slippery nature
provides an important narrative function: to test the Protagonist.
Fig. 12.4 Riggan Thomson and Mike Shiner in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue
of Ignorance) (2014)
202 S. Myers
Trickster as Test
It is one thing for the Protagonist to develop emotional maturity via the
Attractor and gain intellectual wisdom from the Mentor. It is quite another
to put that knowledge into practice. In creating Complications, Roadblocks,
and Reversals for the Protagonist, the Trickster instigates key moments in the
Protagonist’s metamorphosis process. During deconstruction, these tests serve
to break down old ways of being, whereas in reconstruction, Trickster chal-
lenges generate opportunities for the Protagonist to increasingly rely on their
authentic nature. By embracing that emerging need, the Protagonist moves
forward in evolving into a new self.
In Bull Durham (1988), the Trickster (Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh) is
a high-flying pitching prospect known as having a “million dollar arm, but
a five cent head.“ Enter the Protagonist (“Crash” Davis), a veteran minor
league catcher who is traded to the hapless Durham Bulls in order to train the
hotshot rookie in his inevitable advance to the major leagues. LaLoosh poses
one challenge after another for Crash, not the least of which is the youngster’s
romantic relationship with the Attractor (Annie Savoy), a potential object of
Crash’s affection. The tests created by LaLoosh help Crash eventually realize
he has the potential to become a baseball coach, enabling him to bid farewell
to his quixotic dream of making it in The Bigs as a player.
In Shrek (2001), when the Protagonist, an anti-social green ogre, is
discomforted in his self-imposed solitude when his swamp is invaded by
exiled fairy tale creatures, he sets out to confront Lord Farquaad to rectify
the situation. Much to his chagrin, Shrek is accompanied by the Trickster
(Donkey), an irksome chattering ass who shapeshifts from nemesis (will not
leave Shrek alone) to mentor (knows how to find Lord Farquaad) to attractor
(becomes a good friend). Their growing companionship tests Shrek’s cynicism
which in turn enables him to get in touch with his feelings, opening him up
to a romantic relationship with the Attractor (Princess Fiona).
Gereon Rath is the Protagonist of Babylon Berlin (2017-present), a neo-
noir crime drama set in Germany during the 1920s. A survivor of combat
during World War I, Rath is a policeman transferred from his home in
Cologne to Berlin. Detective Chief Inspector Bruno Wolter takes Rath under
his wing … or so it seems. Throughout Season One, Wolter continuously
plays the angles with Rath, sometimes supportive and friendly, other times
suspicious, even adversarial. During Season Two, Wolter discards the ally
mask, revealing himself as Rath’s enemy, leading to an eventual final deadly
struggle between the two characters (Fig. 12.5).
The Trickster dynamic may manifest itself in surprising ways. For example,
the passing of a loved one can create a test for the Protagonist in processing
12 Trickster 203
Fig. 12.5 Bruno Wolter and Gereon Rath in Babylon Berlin (2017–present)
their grief. The murder of his son Hawk in The Revenant (2015) causes Hugh
Glass to seek revenge by tracking down the killer John Fitzgerald. Likewise
in True Grit (1969, 2010), Mattie Ross is driven by the need for justice for
her father’s shooting at the hands of Tom Chaney. By contrast, Evelyn and
Lee in A Quiet Place (2018) are haunted by the death of their young son
Beau, snatched away by monsters who hunt guided by sound. Two years later
and still wracked by guilt, Evelyn asks, “Who are we … if we can’t protect
them?” Similarly in the television comedy Never Have I Ever (2020–present),
adolescent Devi Vishwakumar is vexed by memories of her father Mohan, a
joyous, optimistic figure who embraced the family’s transplanted life in Cali-
fornia’s San Fernando Valley. The sudden and shocking nature of his passing
leaves the girl without his support and at odds with her mother. Each of
these deceased characters is an ally to the Protagonist based upon the familial
connection and love they share, but an enemy—functionally speaking—in
leaving the Protagonist to deal with their deaths, a Trickster haunting them
in their dreams and memories.
This speaks to one underlying reason why a Trickster’s tests are so impor-
tant: to challenge the Protagonist to determine if they have the will to go
forward.
Trickster as Will
During their journey, these questions inevitably arise: Has the Protago-
nist learned what they need to know about themselves? Have they broken
free from their old beliefs and behaviors, and embraced their evolving true
204 S. Myers
self? Have they tapped into newfound power springing forth from within
providing them the energy to take on whatever challenges lie ahead, no matter
the odds?
In Alien (1979), Ellen Ripley is the third officer aboard the spaceship
Nostromo, a commercial towing vehicle. As the ship makes its long journey
home to Earth, the crew is awakened from hypersleep by a signal on the
planetoid LV-426. Nostromo lands there and a trio of crew members (Dallas,
Kane, and Lambert) head out to investigate. They discover a wrecked alien
ship and what look to be hundreds of alien eggs. When one suddenly attaches
itself to Kane’s helmet, Dallas and Lambert struggle to bring back their
injured crew member. Ripley is dead set against allowing an alien entity to
board the ship, but Ash, the crew’s science officer, overrides Ripley and Kane
is brought inside. What ensues is the emergence of a growing alien presence
which threatens the well-being of the entire crew. At a critical moment, Ripley
discovers that Ash is in reality an android beholden to the company’s prime
directive: Bring home any alien life-form. This leads to a pivotal conversation:
Ripley: How do we kill it, Ash? There's gotta be a way of killing it. How?
How do we do it?
Ash: You can't.
Parker: That's bullshit.
Ash: You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? The
perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its
hostility.
Lambert: You admire it.
Ash: I admire its purity. A survivor... unclouded by conscience, remorse,
or delusions of morality.
Parker: Look, I am... I've heard enough of this, and I'm asking you to pull
the plug.
Ash: Last word.
Ripley: What?
Ash: I can't lie to you about your chances, but... you have my
sympathies.
d Alien,screenplay by Dan O’Bannon, story by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald

Shusett, Twentieth Century Fox, 1979.
Ash is a Trickster, an ally turned enemy who actually admires the Nemesis
(the Alien) and describes accurately the test confronting the humans. The
12 Trickster 205
only crew member who survives is Ripley as she alone demonstrates the
smarts, strength, and will to defeat the Alien.8
Set in the early 1900s, the Protagonist of The Natural (1984) is Roy
Hobbs. As a youth, the nineteen-year old displays incredible talent as a base-
ball pitcher and heads off to Chicago for a tryout with the Cubs. That dream
ends when Roy is shot in the stomach by delusional woman. Sixteen years
later in 1939, Roy shows up as a right-fielder just signed with the hapless
New York Knights ball club. It takes a while for the team’s manger Pop Fisher
to warm up to Roy, but eventually he inserts the old rookie into the lineup.
His presence provides immediate dividends as Roy excels both at the plate
and in the field. Inspired by his play, Roy’s teammates up their game and
the Knights go on a remarkable winning streak, putting them within striking
distance of the pennant. This is where the Trickster intervenes. Memo Paris
is a striking beauty who seduces Roy. It turns out she is in the pocket of
nefarious individuals who stand to gain ownership of the Knights, but only if
the team fails to win the league championship. At the behest of her overlords
and despite her growing affection for Roy, Memo poisons him sending him
to the hospital and the team into a late season spiral. It all comes down to
one final game to determine the championship. Roy wills himself out of the
hospital bed and despite his debilitated physical condition, hits a thunderous
game-winning home run (Fig. 12.6).9
In The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Andy Dufresne is wrongfully
imprisoned for the murders of his wife and her lover. Captain Byron Hadley
plays a significant role in Andy’s life during his nineteen-year tenure in
Shawshank prison, a Trickster who veers from one extreme to the other.
Fundamentally, he is Andy’s enemy, a hotheaded guard who at one point
threatens to toss Andy off the roof to his death. There are other times when
Hadley functions as Andy’s ally, most notably when the guard beats Boggs,
the leader of The Sisters, who have been sexually assaulting Andy, paralyzing
the predator and sending him far away from Shawshank.10 Later at a critical
moment, when Tommy meets with Warden Norton (Nemesis) sharing infor-
mation which can exonerate Andy for the dual murders for which he has been
imprisoned, Hadley turns enemy again, assassinating Tommy and preventing
8 There is an interesting twist in the sequel Aliens (1986): The crew’s android Bishop turns out to
be Ripley’s ally while the Trickster function is provided by Weyland-Yutani corporate representative
Carter Burke.
9 In The Verdict (1982), the Laura Fischer character provides the same Trickster function: seduce
Frank Galvin (Protagonist) and use her wiles for the benefit of the Ed Concannon (Nemesis) and
his legal team.
10 Hadley’s concern is not so much for Andy’s safety and well-being, but rather Andy’s help with the
guard’s finances and tax liability.
206 S. Myers
Fig. 12.6 Roy Hobbes in The Natural (1984)
the truth from setting Andy free. This presents a test: Can Andy demonstrate
the will to finally escape Shawshank prison through the tunnel he has spent
years digging? In the end, Andy takes up the challenge and crawls to freedom,
passing the test and his own final struggle.
Summary
The Trickster is an adept shapeshifter, skilled at donning any archetype mask
at any time. Their propensity to veer from ally to enemy … enemy to ally
… may derive from their ego-driven goals, but their actions provide a crit-
ical dynamic in the Protagonist’s journey. They create tests which compel the
Protagonist to use the emotional and intellectual knowledge they have picked
up along the way, and in that process deepen their understanding of who they
are. Ultimately, this leads to the Protagonist tapping into their will to advance
in their physical and psychological journey.
Exercise
the Trickster. Explore their relationship with the Protagonist. How do they
shapeshift from one archetype role to another? How does their switching alle-
giances from enemy to ally, ally to enemy test the Protagonist? How do the
complications, roadblocks, and reversal challenge the will of the Protagonist?
12 Trickster 207
Further Study
Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio on Pirates of the Caribbean, Steve Ryfle and Den
Shewman, Creative Screenwriting, June 17, 2016, https://creativescreenwriting.
com/pirates-caribbean/.
Juno: The Shooting Script, Diablo Cody, Newmarket Press, January 2, 2008.
Diablo Cody Sets the Record Straight on Juno, Jenna Marotta, Vanity Fair,
April 9, 2017, https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/04/diablo-cody-sets-
the-record-straight-on-juno.
Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: “Juno,” Scott Myers (editor), Go Into
The Story, July 6, 2017, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/go-into-the-story-scr
ipt-reading-analysis-juno-3ad5805c0c62.
How Michael Clayton Presaged 2017 , James Parker, The Atlantic, November 2017,
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/11/the-bonfire-of-hum
anity/540609/.
Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: “Michael Clayton,” Scott Myers (editor),
Go Into The Story, July 7, 2017, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/go-into-the-
story-script-reading-analysis-michael-clayton-401ae62648e3.
Flying High Again: Alejandro González Inárritu on the Making of ‘Birdman,’ David
Fear, Rolling Stone, October 18, 2014, https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/
movie-news/flying-high-again-alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu-on-the-making-of-bir
dman-184433/.
Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: “Birdman or (The Unexpected
Virtue of Ignorance),” Scott Myers (editor), Go Into The Story, August
15, 2015, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/go-into-the-story-script-reading-ana
lysis-birdman-9514cf00dfe1.
Years of Hurt, Face-Hugging Dreams of Breathing: Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien,’ Tim Pelan,
Cinephilia & Beyond, September 30, 2020, https://cinephiliabeyond.org/alien-
40th-anniversary/.
References
Cody, D. (written by) (2007). Juno; Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Darabont, F. (screenplay), King, S. (short story) (1994). The Shawshank Redemption;
Columbia Pictures / Castle Rock Entertainment.
Elliott, T. and Rossio, T. (screenplay), Elliott, T. and Rossio, T. and Beattie, S. and
Wolpert, J. (screen story) (2003). Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black
Pearl ; Walt Disney Pictures.
Elliott, T. and Rossio, T., Stillman, J. and Schulman, R. (screenplay), Steig, W.
(book) (2001). Shrek; DreamWorks Animation.
Foote, H. (screenplay), Lee, H. (novel) (1962). To Kill a Mockingbird ; Universal
Pictures.
208 S. Myers
Gilroy, T. (written by) (2007). Michael Clayton; Warner Bros. / Castle Rock
Entertainment.
Henk, H., Tykwer, T. and Borries, A. v. (creators) (2017-present). Babylon Berlin;
X-Filme Creative Pool.
Lucas, G. (written by) (1977). Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope; Twentieth
Century Fox / Lucasfilm.
Nolan, J. and Nolan, C. (screenplay), Nolan, C. and Goyer, D. S. (story), Kane, B.
(characters) (2008). The Dark Knight; Warner Bros.
O’Bannon, D. (screenplay), O’Bannon, D. and Shusett, R (story) (1979). Alien;
Twentieth Century Fox.
Radin, P., Kerenyi, K. and Jung, C. G. (1972). The Trickster: A Study in American
Indian Mythology; Schocken Books.
Rucka, G. (screenplay), Rucka, G. (graphic novel) (2020). The Old Guard . Netflix.
Shelton, R. (written by) (1988). Bull Durham; Orion Pictures.
Towne, R. and Dusenberry, P. (screenplay), Malamud, B. (novel) (1984). The
Natural ; TriStar Pictures.
Wachowski, L. and Wachowski, L. (written by) (1999). The Matrix; Warner Bros. /
Village Roadshow Pictures.
13
Subplots

• Family of Characters: The assembly of primary characters intersecting with
the Protagonist, each in their own way influencing the Protagonist’s journey.
• Subplot: A mini-story with its own beginning, middle, and end which ties
into the plotline. Screenwriting principle: Subplot = Relationship.
• Relationship: The intersection between two characters, typically the Protag-
onist and another primary character, which has a specific influence on the
Protagonist’s journey.
Protagonist. Nemesis. Attractor. Mentor. Trickster. While there are dozens

of character types and sub-types, these five primary character archetypes
appear in stories with striking frequency. They not only convey narra-
tive dynamics common to storytelling—drive (Protagonist), opposition
(Nemesis), inspiration (Attractor), insight (Mentor), test (Trickster)—collec-
tively, they represent a Family of Characters. Each has a role to play in the
Protagonist’s journey. As such for a writer, their respective connections to the
Protagonist are a critical point of focus. We may think of them as Subplots.
A subplot is a mini-story with its own beginning, middle, and end. They
exist in both worlds of the screenplay universe: the external world (events
which transpire in the physical realm) and the internal world (meaning which
plays out in the psychological realm). Subplots provide several significant
benefits:

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_13
210 S. Myers
• Because individual characters have different personalities, perspectives,

and preoccupations, each subplot offers an opportunity to influence the
Protagonist’s arc in distinctive ways.
• Subplots generate a variety of storylines which a writer may cross-cut to
and from creating a more entertaining narrative.1
• As the plotline moves forward, so too does each subplot, contributing to
the story’s sense of narrative drive.
Some of the most memorable storylines in movie and television history are
subplots, and for good reason: A subplot almost invariably involves a relation-
ship between characters and it is the complexity of those connections which
involves us more deeply with the story. Indeed, writers may frame the subject
this way: Subplot = Relationship.
Protagonist-Attractor Subplots
There are stories in which the Protagonist-Attractor dynamic constitutes the
core of the plotline, such as love affairs between Francesca Johnson and
Robert Kincaid in The Bridges of Madison County (1995), Mia Dolan and
Sebastian Wilder in La La Land (2016), and Céline and Jesse in the Before
trilogy (Before Sunrise – 1995, Before Sunset – 2004, Before Midnight – 2013).
However, most often this storyline exists as a subplot. Consider these memo-
rable cinematic relationships: Maria and Tony in West Side Story (1961),
Joan Wilder and Jack Colton in Romancing the Stone (1984), Jack Dawson
and Rose Dewitt Bukater in Titanic (1997), and Jamal Malik and Latika
in Slumdog Millionaire (2008). Each is a Protagonist-Attractor subplot set
amidst the context of the larger plotline.
The Attractor is a character most closely associated with the Protagonist’s
emotional development. The Protagonist is not only attracted to this char-
acter, either as friend, family member, or lover, but due to the influence
of the relationship, they are drawn into their own inner life of feelings.
A case in point is Jerry Maguire (1996). In this Academy Award-winning
drama-comedy, the Protagonist (Jerry) is an up-and-coming agent at Sports
Management International, a firm which represents some of the world’s top
athletes.2 Inspired by a reflective epiphany, Jerry impulsively composes and
1 Cross-cutting is an editorial technique writers use to shift or “jump” the action from one storyline
to another, often but not always in concurrent time.
2 Writer-director Cameron Crowe was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay
Written Directly for the Screen.
13 Subplots 211
circulates a “mission statement” to his colleagues in which he critiques the

cutthroat nature of the business. As this humanistic approach does not align
with the company’s work ethos, Jerry is fired. As he departs the office in a fit
of pique, Jerry announces he is going to start a rival agency and invites anyone
to join him. Only one person does: Dorothy Boyd, a twenty-six year-old
assistant and single mother. The plotline focuses on Jerry’s attempts to nego-
tiate a rich multiyear contract for his sole remaining client, Arizona Cardinal
wide receiver Rod Tidwell (“Show me the money!”) to provide a secure future
for he, his wife Marcee, and their family. The Protagonist-Attractor subplot
involves Jerry being dumped by his superficial fiancé, falling in love with
Dorothy, and bonding with her young son Raymond. When he initially fails
to obtain a deal for Tidwell, Jerry learns that Dorothy is going to move to
San Diego to take a more reliable job. Afraid of losing her, Jerry impetu-
ously proposes to Dorothy. They get married, but after a few months, they
separate when it becomes clear he is conflicted between married life and his
work. Later, during an important Monday Night Football game and with
Jerry in attendance, Tidwell delivers a career-defining performance resulting
in the Cardinals making the playoffs. This leads the team to offer him a
lucrative long-term contract. Celebrating afterward, Jerry watches Tidwell
surrounded by reporters, the athlete focused on one thing: Not the contract,
nor the game-winning catch, but sharing the moment with Marcee on a very
public cell phone call (“I love you, baby”). This causes Jerry to have another
epiphany: He misses Dorothy. He flies home only to discover she is hosting
a women’s group meeting.
INT. LIVING ROOM -- NIGHT
Jerry enters. Dorothy is seated toward the back.
JERRY
Hello. I'm looking for my wife.
Dorothy looks up, robbed of words. Stunned, she does not

move.
JERRY
Alright. If this is where it has
to happen, then this is where it
has to happen.
Dorothy says nothing.

212 S. Myers
JERRY
I'm not letting you get rid of me.
How about that?
He shares a look with some of the other women. She's not

going to say a word. Neither do they.
JERRY
This used to be my specialty. I
was good in a living room. Send
me in there, I'll do it alone. And
now I just... I don't know... but
on what was supposed to be the
happiest night of my business
life, it wasn't complete, wasn't
nearly close to being in the same
vicinity as complete, because I
couldn't share it with you. I
couldn't hear your voice, or laugh
about it with you. I missed my
wife. We live in a cynical world,
and we work in a business of tough
competitors, so try not to laugh --
(directly)
I love you. You complete me.
DOROTHY
Aw, shut up. You had me at hello.
He moves to her. They embrace. a
a Jerry Maguire, written by Cameron Crowe. Movie script, undated, pp. 131–
132.
Jerry begins the story in a state of disunity: He has all the trappings of
success, but does not yet know who he is. He is rash and emotionally under-
developed. Jerry’s relationship with Dorothy and her son draws him deeper
into his emotional life, ultimately inspiring him to embrace the human-
istic intention of his original mission statement in both his professional and
personal life (Fig. 13.1).
Protagonist-Attractor storylines are not confined to romance relationships.
Any character who has a meaningful impact on the emotional nature of
the Protagonist may qualify as an Attractor. One such subplot is found in
Monsters, Inc. (2001). As imagined by the Pixar creative team, there is a realm
parallel to the human world which is inhabited by monsters. Its main city
Monstropolis satisfies its energy needs by frightening human children and
harvesting their screams, which are a source of power. Monsters trained as
13 Subplots 213
Fig. 13.1 Jerry Maguire and Dorothy Boyd in Jerry Maguire (1996)
“scarers” access the human world via a vast network of closet doors stored in
the Monsters, Inc. factory. Ironically, monsters fear human children believing
them to be toxic. When the company’s top scarer James P. “Sulley” Sullivan
accidentally allows Boo, a two-year-old girl, to enter Monstropolis, mayhem
ensues.3 Throughout their madcap adventure, Boo is inseparable from Sulley
(she calls him “Kitty”) and their growing relationship leads him to a pair of
realizations: A child’s laughter generates more energy than screams … and
Boo has become an intimate part of Sulley’s life. The Sulley-Boo relationship
not only inspires a new way for monsters to relate to humans—by eliciting
laughter instead of screams—it deepens Sulley’s emotional being, his heart
captured by the little girl. Their relationship speaks to the transformational
power of a Protagonist-Attractor subplot (Fig. 13.2).4
Protagonist-Mentor Subplots
Chief among the allies, the Protagonist meets on their journey is the Mentor.
They may act as guide and guardian, but it is their insight which expands the
3 Much of the movie’s humor derives from inverting expectations: Instead of the monsters scaring
humans, humans scare monsters. This inversion of the norms is a trademark of Pixar storytelling.
4 The Mandalorian television series (2021-present) explores a similar Protagonist-Attractor relationship
between the Protagonist (The Mandalorian) and the Attractor (Baby Yoda a.k.a. Grogu). Much
like Monster’s Inc., the Protagonist evolves from an I-It relationship with the Attractor to an I-You
connection. This development is emblematic of the Protagonist’s emotional maturation.
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Fig. 13.2 Boo and Sulley in Monster’s, Inc. (2001)
Protagonist’s understanding of the world around them and their own inner
life. Notable Protagonist-Mentor subplots: Rocky (1975) in which Rocky’s
manager Mickey pushes the boxer to tap into the fighter within; Dead Poets
Society (1989) as private school teacher John Keating uses poetry to encourage
his students, a group of adolescent boys, to get in touch with their authentic
natures; The Sixth Sense (1999) where Cole Sear shepherds Malcolm Crowe
through a world of “dead people,” including as it turns out Crowe himself;
Donnie Darko (2001) in which Frank, attired in a freakish rabbit costume,
convinces Donnie the world is going to end in twenty-eight days, then leads
Donnie down a path of increasing violence; Inside Out (2015) whereby
Sadness teaches Joy an important lesson: Feeling blue is as legitimate a human
emotion as happiness is.
Most often Mentors exist to improve the life of the Protagonist, but there
are occasions where their guidance proves misguided. In The Wolf of Wall
Street (2013), a young Jordan Balfort has just gotten his first professional
break, hired to work as a broker for the stock trading firm L.F. Rothschild.
He is invited to dine at Windows of the World, “a lunchtime power spot”
with his supervisor Mark Hanna.
13 Subplots 215
MARK HANNA
OK, first rule of Wall Street.
Nobody -- and I don’t care if
you’re Warren Buffet or Jimmy
Buffet -- nobody knows if a
stock’s going up, down or fucking
sideways, least of all stock
brokers. But we have to pretend
we know. Make sure you stay
relaxed. Nobody wants to buy
something from someone who sounds
like they haven’t gotten laid in a
month. Take breaks when you feel
stressed, jerk off if you can.
You like jerking off, right?
JORDAN
Well... sure.
MARK HANNA
Good, jerking off is key. And I
highly recommend cocaine, which
will make you dial faster, which
is good for me. Churn ‘em and
burn ‘em, baby.b
bThe Wolf of Wall Street, written by Terence Winter, based on the book by
Jordan Belfort. Movie script, undated, pp. 10–11.
Thus begins Jordan’s education in the ways of unbridled capitalism. Hanna

disappears from the story as Jordan quickly embraces the rapacious “wolf ”
within and goes his own way, but at the beginning of this Protagonist’s
journey, it is Hanna as Mentor who starts Jordan on a path which eventually
leads to his greed-infused downfall (Fig. 13.3).
More commonly, a Mentor accompanies the Protagonist throughout much
of their adventure and to positive effect. Such is the case with The Intouch-
ables (2011), a French language drama-comedy. The Protagonist is Philippe,
a millionaire who has been leading a sequestered life in his Paris mansion
ever since a paragliding accident left him a quadriplegic. Enter Driss, who
despite a suspect background, is hired to become Philippe’s live-in caregiver.
Philippe’s logic: Driss is the only applicant for the position who does not treat
Philippe with pity. This pairing of strange sojourners—Philippe a wealthy
white man reared in a privileged French environment, Driss a poor Black man
raised as an orphan in Senegal—provides an opportunity for each to learn
from the other. Over time, the free-spirited caretaker breaks down his ward’s
self-imposed shell of isolation and encourages Philippe to rediscover beauty
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Fig. 13.3 Mark Hanna in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
and joy. Yet there is one hurdle Driss cannot bring Philippe to overcome: the
fear of revealing his physical state to Eléonore, a woman with whom Philippe
has carried on a longtime epistolary relationship. Driss arranges a get-together
for the two, a chance to finally meet in person, but Philippe backs out over-
come by anxiety over what Eléonore will think of him when she learns he is
wheelchair-bound. When family troubles arise back in Senegal, Driss departs
and in his absence, Philippe lapses into a state of depression. Beckoned by
Philippe’s assistant, Driss returns, but both men realize Driss cannot spend
his life tending to Philippe. How to resolve this conundrum?
After a hair-raising drive through the countryside in Philippe’s Maserati,
Driss brings Philippe to a seaside restaurant with a magnificent view of the
ocean. There they have their final conversation:
Driss: So, Philippe, I’m not staying for lunch.

Philippe : Why?
Driss: I’m not leaving you alo ne. You just happen to have
a dat e.
Philippe: A date? What do you m ean?
Driss: (rising from his seat) Don’t freak out. It’ll be fine .
Only this t c
cThe Intouchables, written by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano, adapted from
an autobiography by Philippe Pozzo di Borgo. Gaumont Film Company, 2011.
13 Subplots 217
Fig. 13.4 Bakary “Driss” Bassari and Philippe in The Intouchables (2011)
A bewildered Philippe watches as Driss departs, strides outside and gives

his now former boss a smile through the window. A woman arrives at
Philippe’s tableside. It is Eléonore. The Mentor is now free to go on his way.
Through his presence in Philippe’s life, he has taught this broken man to
reconnect with the vitality of life. With his absence, he forced Philippe to
confront a fear even greater than being seen as a cripple: that he can no longer
live a life of seclusion. Thus, as Driss leaves and Eléonore arrives, the torch is
passed from Mentor to Attractor to usher Philippe into the next chapter of
his life (Fig. 13.4).5
Whether in a handful of scenes, as with Jordan Belfort and Mark Hanna
in The Wolf of Wall Street, or through a far-reaching storyline like the one
between Philippe and Driss in The Intouchables, the insight the Mentor
provides has the potential to have a profound impact on the Protagonist’s
life.
Protagonist-Trickster Subplots
As a shapeshifter who has an instinct to switch allegiances, the Trickster
plays an important role in creating challenges which test the Protagonist’s
will. Noteworthy examples of a Protagonist-Trickster subplot include Sunset
5 In the closing titles of The Intouchables, it is revealed that Philippe is now married again and has
fathered two daughters. Driss owns his own company, is married, and has three children.
218 S. Myers
Blvd. (1950) wherein financially desperate screenwriter Joe Gillis is enticed by

former silent era movie star Norma Desmond to move into her Hollywood
estate. When he rebuffs her amorous advances, the spurned woman shoots
and kills him. In Psycho (1960), Norman Bates is taunted by Mother, both
to look after her … and enact violence on her behalf. Margaret White is an
oppressive mother to her daughter in Carrie (1976), a religious fanatic whose
obsession with the evils of sex causes Carrie to rebel, eventually emerging in a
telekinetic rampage. In Fight Club (1999), the nameless Narrator falls under
the sway of the charismatic but incendiary Tyler Durden, luring him into an
underground club of men drawn to bloody fights. That turns out to be a front
for much grander violent plans, leading to a final revelatory confrontation
between the pair. By contrast, Mal’s deceptive identity in Inception (2010) is
disclosed early, Cobb’s deceased wife kept “alive” only through his recurring
immersions into his own subconscious. Her goal of having Cobb join her in
death (which she believes is actually life) imperils his inception scheme which
would allow him to reconnect with his children.
The Protagonist-Trickster subplot is often comedic in nature. In Planes,
Trains, & Automobiles (1987), due to inclement weather canceling airplane
flights, Neal Page, struggling to travel home for the holidays, finds himself
stuck with Del Griffith, an over-friendly, needy shower ring salesman whose
personal story turns out to be a fabrication. Dr. Paul Sobel is forced to take
on a new client in Analyze This (1999): Paul Vitti, a mob boss who in seeking
treatment for his acute anxiety issues, draws the psychologist into the world
of criminal activity. In Sideways (2004), Miles Raymond agrees to take a
road trip through California’s wine country with groom-to-be Jack Cole, only
to discover his friend cares more about carousing and chasing women than
his impending wedding. Similarly, Bridesmaids (2011) finds Annie Walker
agreeing to be the maid-of-honor at her best friend Lillian’s marriage cere-
mony, but after a series of public catfights between Annie and rival Helen,
Lillian rejects Annie and then switches sides again when she turns into a last
minute runaway bride. In Lady Bird (2017), Christine McPherson (a.k.a.
“Lady Bird”) loathes her decidedly middle-class life and wants nothing more
than to flee her mundane life in Sacramento and go to college in a city with
culture. Her attempts to escape lead to two romantic dalliances: The first
a crush on fellow high schooler Danny, who turns out to be gay and the
second with musician Kyle, who intimates he has never engaged in sexual
intercourse. When Christine loses her virginity to Kyle only to discover he has
had sex before, she feels betrayed. She learns a tough, but important lesson
from these Trickster experiences: How she feels about herself should derive
from inside, not from the opinions of others.
13 Subplots 219
These examples demonstrate how Tricksters may span all genres and
personality types, yet these characters have in common a highly developed
ability to deceive others. An intriguing example is the Protagonist-Trickster
subplot in A Beautiful Mind (2001), a movie which won four Academy
Awards.6 The Protagonist is John Nash, a brilliant but socially awkward
mathematician who upon receiving his doctorate from Princeton Univer-
sity lands a teaching position at MIT, an appointment he celebrates with
his roommate Charles. Some years later, Nash’s life takes a turn when he is
recruited by William Parcher, a mysterious figure from the Department of
Defense, to track magazines and newspapers searching for codes tied to a
Russian plan to detonate a mobile nuclear device on American soil. Soon,
Nash is making clandestine drops at a special mailbox, followed by men who
appear to be Soviet agents, even getting involved in a shootout with Parcher
at his side. His growing paranoia and concern for the safety of his wife Alicia
and their young child leads to this intervention with a psychiatrist named
Rosen.
NASH
I know who you are. You work for a
group called the New Freedom.
ROSEN
I see.
NASH
I don’t know anything else, okay?
I’m just a code breaker. That’s all.
(a beat)
What are you going to do with me?
Are you going to kill me?
ROSEN
No, I’m going to try and help you.
John nods, then shoves Rosen onto the floor. Jumps up, tries for
the door. But he goes down, hard. His ankles have restraints
around them too.
John looks up from the floor. What he sees chills his bones.
Sitting on a window seat in the corner are two figures. Charles

and Marcee, staring at him expressionlessly.
6 Among the Oscars the movie received, screenwriter Akiva Goldsman won the Best Writing,
Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published award.
220 S. Myers
NASH
Charles?
But his old friend says nothing, just sits there impassively.
NASH
Say something. Why won’t you answer
me? …What are you doing?d
dA Beautiful Mind , screenplay by Akiva Goldman, based on a book by

Sylvia Nasar. Movie script, August 11, 2000, pp. 66–67.
What John learns is Charles, his niece Marcee, William Parcher, the
shootout, the supposed Soviet nuclear threat is all an invention of Nash’s
mind. Suffering from schizophrenia, Nash made it all up. This is a case where
the Protagonist created the Tricksters who in turn deceived him into believing
they were real (Fig. 13.5).
An intriguing inversion of this scenario occurs in the movie Adaptation
(2002). In real life, the movie’s screenwriter Charlie Kaufman does not have
a brother, but he invented one to join Charlie as characters in the film’s
actual storyline: Hired to adapt the book The Orchid Thief , Charlie becomes
trapped in a creative miasma. His twin brother Donald—again, a fictitious
character, but real within the story universe—does his best to help. However,
Charlie is embarrassed by Donald, a good-natured man-child who deduces
if his brother can make a living as a screenwriter, why can’t he? Charlie, a
purist, does not want to adapt The Orchid Thief as a conventional Holly-
wood story, but write something different (“Let the movie exist rather than be
Fig. 13.5 John Nash in A Beautiful Mind (2001)

13 Subplots 221
artificially plot driven”). Meanwhile, his brother happily laps up the pontifi-
cations of screenwriting guru Robert McKee as Donald writes a spec script of
his own: Me, Myself, and I , a crime thriller in which a serial killer holds his
next victim hostage while being stalked by a cop. But there is an absurd twist
as Donald explains to a confused Charlie, “See, we find out the killer suffers
from multiple personality disorder. Okay? See, he’s really also the cop and the
girl. All of them. It’s all him! Isn’t that crazy?” Charlie feels so disconnected
from his brother, at one point he says, “You and I share the same DNA. Is
there anything more lonely than that?”
Stuck with a debilitating case of writer’s block and weeks past the script’s
due date, a desperate Charlie flies to New York City to attend a Robert McKee
seminar. Afterward, he buys a drink for McKee explaining his dilemma.
McKee offers this advice: “Tell you a secret. The last act makes the film.
You can have an uninvolving, tedious movie, but wow them at the end, and
you’ve got a hit.” This is precisely what Charlie does, but not in the script
… in real life. With his brother, Charlie travels to rural Florida. In short
order, they witness a couple having sex and doing drugs, they get captured
and are held hostage, escape with shotguns blasting behind them, and stagger
through swamps where an alligator devours one of their pursuers. Finally:
Donald makes it to shore. He climbs out and is helping

Kaufman, when he gets hit by a bullet and falls.
KAUFMAN
Donald!
Kaufman sloshes to shore. His right leg is bloody and

mangled. He lifts his brother's head onto his lap.
KAUFMAN
You're gonna be okay.
DONALD
No. But don't let them get you, too.
(weak smile)
You got a fucking awesome third act.
KAUFMAN
(crying)
Donald, this is an awful, bizarre thing
to say and an awful time to say it, but
I'm sorry I didn't get to know you
better. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.
222 S. Myers
DONALD
It's really... You've been really nice.
KAUFMAN
See, it's just I thought I knew you
already. I thought you were me. And I
hated me.
Donald touches Kaufman's face. Kaufman looks at his brother.

Donald's face glows radiantly in the fire light.
DONALD
Well, don't do that anymore. Okay?
KAUFMAN
Okay.
Donald dies.e
e Adaptation., screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, based on a book by Susan

Orlean. Movie script, September 24, 1999, p. 110. The script was nomi-
nated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the credits read
“screenplay by Charlie Kaufman & Donald Kaufman,” even though the latter
is a fictitious character (Fig. 13.6).
For much of the movie, Donald represents an enemy to Charlie, a man of

meager taste, a simpleton for whom Charlie feels little connection. In the end,
Donald is an ally, someone who cares enough about his brother to help him
with his writer’s block, even to the point of sacrificing his own life. The movie
Fig. 13.6 Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman in Adaptation (2002)

13 Subplots 223
takes the Protagonist-Trickster subplot to a whole other level of complexity

given the slippery nature of what is real … and not real. Donald tests the will
of his brother to determine if he can actually finish The Orchard Thief script
project, but more importantly to see if he is able to overcome his prejudices
… and bond with his brother..7
Summary
While Protagonist-Nemesis storylines commonly manifest themselves as the
plotline, the Protagonist’s relationships with Attractor, Mentor, and Trickster
figures most often occur as subplots. These mini-stories augment the plot-
line by not only focusing on events which move the narrative forward, but
also creating interpersonal dynamics which influence the Protagonist in their
psychological journey.
Exercise
Pick a favorite movie Protagonist. Focus on a key relationship the Protagonist
has with another primary character. What is the nature of that relation-
ship? What archetype does the other character represent? Track the beginning,
middle, and end of that subplot. How does the subplot tie into and support
the story’s plotline?
Further Study
Cameron Crowe Reflects On His ‘Jerry Maguire’ Journey, Mike Fleming Jr., Deadline,
January 2, 2017, https://deadline.com/2017/01/jerry-maguire-cameron-crowe-
tom-cruise-james-l-brooks-cuba-gooding-glenn-frey-leigh-steinberg-drew-rosenh
aus-20th-anniversary-1201877503/.
Monsters Inc: Pete Docter Dives Deep into Movie’s Legacy and Creation, 15 Years Later,
Marc Snetiker, Entertainment Weekly, November 2, 2016, https://ew.com/article/
2016/11/02/monsters-inc-anniversary-pete-docter/.
‘Sunset Boulevard’: Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett’s Sobering Exposure of the
Dark Side of Hollywood , Sven Mikulec, Cinephilia & Beyond, November
26, 2016, https://cinephiliabeyond.org/sunset-boulevard-billy-wilder-charles-bra
cketts-sobering-exposure-dark-side-hollywood/.
7 The movie version of the final struggle spends much more time with Charlie and Donald, the pair
sharing key secrets from their past capped off by them singing The Turtles’ song Happy Together just
as Donald dies.
224 S. Myers
‘Psycho’: The Proto-Slasher That Brought On a Revolution in Cinema, Sven Mikulec,

Cinephilia & Beyond, June 15, 2020, https://cinephiliabeyond.org/psycho-
proto-slasher-brought-revolution-cinema/.
Four decades later, Brian De Palma’s ‘Carrie’ Stands Out as One of the Most
Capably Crafted Horror Films of All Time, Sven Mikulec, Cinephilia & Beyond,
January 18, 2015, https://cinephiliabeyond.org/four-decades-later-brian-de-pal
mas-carrie-stands-one-capably-crafted-horror-films-time/.
The Men Who Still Love “Fight Club,” Peter C. Baker, New Yorker, November 4,
2019, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-men-who-still-
love-fight-club.
‘Fight Club’: David Fincher’s Stylish Exploration of Modern-Day Man’s Estrange-
ment and Disillusionment, Sven Mikulec, Cinephilia & Beyond, June 16,
2017, https://cinephiliabeyond.org/fight-club-david-finchers-stylish-exploration-
modern-day-mans-estrangement-disillusionment/.
A Beautiful Mind: The Shooting Script, Akiva Goldsman, Newmarket Press, First
Trade Paper Edition, January 25, 2002.
Adaptation: The Shooting Script, Charlie Kaufman, Dey Street Books, December 19,
2002.
References
Crowe, C. (written by) (1996). Jerry Maguire; TriStar Pictures.
Goldsman, A. (screenplay), Nasar, S. (book) (2001). A Beautiful Mind ; Universal
Pictures.
Kaufman, C. (screenplay), Orlean, S. (book), (2001). Adaptation; Columbia Pictures
/ Propaganda Films.
Nakache, O. and Toledano, E. (written by), di Borgo, P. P. (book) (2001). The
Intouchables; Quad Productions.
Winter, T. (screenplay), Belfort, J. (book) (2013). The Wolf of Wall Street; Paramount
Pictures.
14
Character Map

• Character Map: A visual representation of the relationships between
Protagonist-Nemesis, Protagonist and Attractor-Mentor, and Protagonist-
Trickster.
• Existential Connection: The storyline featuring the Protagonist-Nemesis rela-
tionship, oftentimes the plotline. At its foundation lies this Protagonist
question: Who am I?
• Behavioral Connection: The storylines featuring the Protagonist-Attractor
and Protagonist-Mentor. At the foundation of these subplots lies this
Protagonist question: How am I?
If one were asked to visualize the shape of a story, they would likely
respond by drawing a horizontal line extending left to right. There may be
diagonal lines up or down representing emotional highs and lows or plot
complications and reversals, but there is an inevitable forward movement. In
Hollywood development circles, this linear progression from scene to scene—
beginning to middle to end—is the most conventional way to consider story
structure.
A character-driven approach to screenwriting offers an ancillary way to
think about the subject: Assemble a story’s five primary archetypes—Protago-
nist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, and Trickster—and create a Character Map.
This cyclical representation of a story’s family of characters identifies the

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_14
226 S. Myers
Fig. 14.1 Protagonist icon
essential narrative function of each relationship and depicts key dynamics

influencing the psychological component of the Protagonist’s journey. As a
result, writers may use the map as a visual touchstone during the story-
crafting process.
Constructing the Character Map

In order to create a character map, we begin with the Protagonist, typically
the most important character in developing and writing a story.1 As an icon
we may associate with the Protagonist, the map uses the image of a Homeric
galley, an homage to the ancient epic tale The Odyssey. The Protagonist sets
out on a journey, often a literal outing whereby the character departs their
old world and enters a figurative new world, as Odysseus does by leaving
his home in Ithaca for his extended adventures.2 The Protagonist represents
forward movement like a ship slicing through the sea toward a destination
(Fig. 14.1).
As the adage goes, “You cannot have drama without conflict,” therefore,
we next turn our attention to the Nemesis. They generate conflict by creating
opposition, striving to prevent the Protagonist from attaining their goal. As
to their character map icon, if the Protagonist is depicted as a ship at sea, the
Nemesis can be thought of as Nature, a powerful wind creating resistance,
capable of growing into a thunderous storm with the potential to scuttle the
galley’s forward progress (Fig. 14.2).
1 See Part I, Chapter 1: The Protagonist’s Journey to explore the primacy of this central character.
2 Sometimes, the Protagonist does not leave home, but rather the appearance of visitors or unforeseen
events transforms their ordinary world into an extraordinary one.
Fig. 14.2 Nemesis icon
Along the way, the Protagonist encounters a host of characters including

some who may join the quest as companions. One such character is the
Attractor, whose fundamental narrative task is to forge an intimate connec-
tion with the Protagonist and augment their emotional development. For our
map, their icon is that of a heart, the metaphorical center of an individual’s
feelings and passions (Fig. 14.3).
Fig. 14.3 Attractor icon

228 S. Myers
Another character type encountered during the journey is a figure most

closely associated with the Protagonist’s intellectual growth. This is the
Mentor, who offers insight into the world at large and also guides the Protag-
onist toward a more profound understanding of their self-identity. In terms
of a character map, the Mentor icon is a brain, the symbolic base of an
individual’s thoughts and self-awareness (Fig. 14.4).
Lastly, the Protagonist confronts a character who is a shifty figure. This
individual has their own agenda and if it aligns with the Protagonist’s goal,
they may act as an ally. If not, they deftly switch sides and oppose the Protag-
onist. This is the Trickster and the icon we use for the character map is a
coyote or jackal, a prominent conniver in fables and oral traditions from
native cultures around the world (Fig. 14.5).
Fig. 14.4 Mentor icon
Fig. 14.5 Trickster icon

The character map extends to the four corners of the world. At the north-
ernmost point is the Protagonist. Navigation is impossible without locating
what is “true north” and this applies to the Protagonist’s journey. The point
of their outer quest is an inner exploration, delving inside to discover some
previously hidden aspects of their psyche which need to rise into the light of
consciousness. This emerging psychological dynamic acts as a metaphorical
North Star guiding the character’s metamorphosis.
Due south is the Nemesis. They create cross-winds and turbulence to
disrupt the Protagonist’s forward movement. Often, the Nemesis is tied to
the Protagonist’s deepest fears and negative impulses, a projection or physical-
ization of their shadow forcing the Protagonist to symbolically face what they
dread the most. The challenges presented by the Nemesis cause the Protag-
onist to question themselves: Who am I? Do they continue their journey
against significant opposition created by the Nemesis or return to their old
world even though it represents an inauthentic existence? In relation to our
character map, we may consider the vertical link stretching north to south
between the Protagonist and Nemesis as an Existential Connection (Fig. 14.6).
Fig. 14.6 Existential connection: Protagonist - Nemesis

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Fig. 14.7 Behavioral connection: Attractor - Mentor
At the far west point of the map is the Attractor. Their movement toward
the middle represents an intersection with the Protagonist and the initi-
ation of a subplot. Likewise at the map’s easternmost tip is the Mentor,
who also engages the Protagonist, another subplot in the making. These
relationships—Protagonist and Attractor, Protagonist and Mentor—represent
a Behavioral Connection, Attractor and Mentor impacting the Protagonist’s
attitude and demeanor (Fig. 14.7).
If the existential connection is fundamentally about who the Protagonist
is, the behavioral connection is about how the character acts. The Nemesis
compels the Protagonist to peer within and determine what lies at the core
of their being. The Attractor and Mentor provide emotional and intellectual
tools which influence how the Protagonist conducts their activities during
the course of their journey. This is the domain of an additional question the
Protagonist confronts: How am I?
Then there is the Trickster. They are adept at adopting any archetype mask
at any point to further their aims and in so doing test the will of the Protag-
onist. As far as the character map is concerned, their presence is represented
by a circle encompassing the vertical and horizontal lines, suggestive of how
skilled they are at shifting from one archetype mask to another (Fig. 14.8).
Here then is the character map, a representation of the interconnectedness
of the family of characters. To explore how the map can work, we return to
three movies previously analyzed in Part I, Chapters 3 through 6: The Silence
of the Lambs, Shakespeare in Love, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Character Map: The Silence of the Lambs

Logline: An F.B.I. trainee seeks the assistance of a brilliant, incarcerated
psychopath to help catch a serial killer who skins his victims.3
Protagonist: Clarice Starling. Conscious goal: Save the latest kidnap victim
Catherine Martin. Unconscious goal: Resolve emotions she associates
3 A logline is a one-to-two line summation of a story’s plot.

Fig. 14.8 Character map: Family of characters
with the slaughter of her father, murdered in the line of duty as a law
enforcement officer.
Nemesis: Buffalo Bill, the serial killer who has taken Catherine Martin
hostage and intends to kill her. To Clarice, he represents the “boogeyman,”
a reflection of the pair of unidentified criminals who murdered her father.
Attractor: Catherine Martin, the young single woman who has been
kidnapped by Buffalo Bill. The fact she is a victim resonates with Clarice
because she, too, has been victimized as a result of her father’s violent death.
Mentor: Hannibal Lecter, though a killer in his own right, is perfectly
suited to act as a guide for Clarice, not only providing clues about Buffalo
Bill, but also the inner journey she must take to confront her deepest fears
and silence the recurring nightmares which haunt her.
Trickster: Jack Crawford, head of the F.B.I. Behavioral Science Unit, who
plucks Clarice out of obscurity to take on an “interesting task,” using her
to unwittingly “seduce” Lecter into providing insights into the Buffalo Bill
case.
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Trickster: Dr. Alex Chilton, director of the sanitarium which houses

Hannibal Lecter. After agreeing to provide access to Lecter, Chilton makes
an indiscreet pass at Clarice. Later, he secretly records her conversations
with the prisoner, then moves Lecter to Memphis to put his prized patient
out of Clarice’s reach (Fig. 14.9).
Each of the members of this family of characters serves Clarice’s journey,

compelling her to confront her tragic past, tapping into her survivor’s
strength, then achieving a measure of redemption by slaying Buffalo Bill and
shedding his blood.
Fig. 14.9 The Silence of the Lambs character map

Character Map: Shakespeare in Love

Logline: Hamstrung by writer’s block, young William Shakespeare finds a
muse in Viola De Lesseps, their love affair inspiring him to pen Romeo and
Juliet.
Protagonist: William Shakespeare. Conscious goal: Break through his
creative malaise. Unconscious goal: Tap into and give expression to his
authentic voice instead of frittering away his talent.
Nemesis: Lord Wessex, who intends to marry Lady Viola, not out of love,
but for the accompanying dowry he can use to finance tobacco plantations
in Virginia.
Attractor: Viola De Lesseps, whose passion for the life of the theater is
matched only by her ardor for young Shakespeare.
Mentor: Christopher Marlowe, a renowned playwright who despite the
large shadow he casts over the creative community provides input to Will
on his fledgling play.4
Trickster: Queen Elizabeth who, by giving her blessing to the arranged
marriage between Viola and Wessex, sets into motion the wedding which
will take Viola away from Will. Furthermore, she approves of a wager of
fifty pounds to resolve this question: “Can a play show us the very truth
and nature of love?” The Queen is skeptical, but in the end, she is so
moved by the debut performance of Romeo and Juliet, her mind is changed
and she makes several key public proclamations to support Shakespeare the
playwright (Fig. 14.10).
At the beginning of the story, Will Shakespeare has been existing on the
surface of life. The individuals as depicted in this character map intersect with
Will and lure him to feel both joy and grief, pulling him into the heights
and depths of human experience. This journey facilitates his path toward
becoming the great playwright he always had the potential to be.
4 We could also include Philip Henslow as a Mentor because of his unflagging belief in Shakespeare’s
talent and that things will somehow turn out well. In Marlowe’s absence after his death, Henslow
fills that void.
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Fig. 14.10 Shakespeare in Love character map
Character Map: Spider-Man: Into

the Spider-Verse
Logline: When an adolescent is bitten by a radioactive spider, he develops
superpowers and evolves into one Spider-Man among several who join
together to fend off the destruction of the universe.
Protagonist: Miles Morales, an intelligent, creative teen born of African-
American and Puerto Rican parents, struggles with expectations, particu-
larly those of his policeman father. This weight of responsibility increases
exponentially when Miles finds himself thrust into the role of Spider-Man.
Nemesis: Wilson Fisk (a.k.a. Kingpin), a New York City crime lord who
uses Fisk Industries to “launder” his reputation. With his financial support,
physicists at Alchemax are working to create a collider which will enable
Kingpin to access parallel universes in the hopes he can reconnect with his
deceased wife and son. However, if the collider is activated, it could destroy
the universe in which Miles and his family live.5
Nemesis: Kingpin’s enforcers—Green Goblin, Prowler, Scorpion, Tomb-
stone, and Olivia Octavius (a.k.a. Doctor Octopus, a.k.a. Doc Ock).
Attractor: Jefferson Davis, Miles’ father with whom he has much conflict.
The deepening of their feelings for each other lies at the heart of the
emotional storyline.
Mentor: Peter B. Parker, a Spider-Man from another dimension whose
struggles in his home universe have left him jaded, world-weary, and out of
shape. He begrudgingly trains Miles in the ways of Spider-Man, but Miles’
impassioned temperament causes Peter to rediscover his own inner hero.6
Trickster: Aaron Davis, who is Jefferson’s brother and Miles’ uncle. Miles
often runs off to spend time with his uncle because Aaron appreciates his
nephew’s artistic potential as manifest in Miles’ graffiti art. However, Aaron
leads a double life as Prowler, one of Kingpin’s enforcers which eventually
pits him against Miles (Fig. 14.11).
The journey Miles takes forces him to embrace expectations laid upon him
by a radioactive spider’s bite and his superhero fate. He struggles along the
way, at first learning to control his Spidey-powers, then summoning enough
belief in himself that he can take on Kingpin and his henchmen. Through the
support of the Spidey-crew and inspired by the love he feels for his parents,
Miles becomes who he was supposed to be. As he says, “I never thought I’d
be able to do any of this stuff. But I can.”
5 Kingpin blames Spider-Man for the death of his wife and son, so the battle he wages against Miles
and the various other iterations of Spider-Man is a personal one.
6 After Peter Parker is killed by Kingpin’s henchmen, Peter’s widow MJ (Mary Jane) provides a Mentor
moment for Miles when he watches her on TV give a eulogy for her deceased husband: “He didn’t
ask for his powers, but he chose to be Spider-Man … We all have powers of one kind or another.
But in our own way, we are all Spider-Man.” Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil
Lord and Rodney Rothman, story by Phil Lord. Movie script, dated December 3, 2018, p. 41. As
allies in the fight against Kingpin, we can look at Spider-Man Noir, Peni Parker, and Spider-Ham as
Mentor figures.
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Fig. 14.11 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse character map
Summary
As we have seen in Part I, the Protagonist’s journey can be viewed as a narra-
tive imperative: The events which transpire in their adventure are what need
to happen to spur the Protagonist through their metamorphosis. As Part II
demonstrates, the same pertains to the characters the Protagonist encounters
along the way: They, too, influence the Protagonist in a variety of ways which
feeds into the character’s transformation. As such, in a well-told story, there
is a feeling of inevitability once the reader or audience reaches the end: The
way in which the narrative turned out is precisely how it was supposed to
resolve.
This, however, is not what a writer’s mindset should be upon their initial
foray into the potential narrative. When we start our own journey into a story
universe, we should carry little in the way of preconceptions about events and
arcs. Rather, our focus should be on this: immersing ourselves in the lives of
our characters. Let them drive the story-crafting process. After all, it is their
story. Who knows it better than the characters? This is where we begin Part
III: Breaking the Story.
Exercise
Select a notable movie, limited TV series, or novel. Create a roster of the
story’s primary characters. Assign each character what you think best fits
their respective archetype function. Create a character map reflecting those
relationships.
Further Study
A Screenwriter’s Guide to Aristotle’s “Poetics,” Scott Myers (editor), Go Into The
Story, May 4, 2017, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/a-screenwriters-guide-to-
aristotle-s-poetics-37aa7667b1d6.
References
Lord, P. and Rothman, R. (screenplay by), Lord P (story) (2018). Spider-Man: Into
the Spider-Verse; Marvel Entertainment / Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Films.
Pictures.
Part III
The Protagonist’s Journey as Screenplay
15
Breaking Story I Protagonist Character
Treatment

• Breaking Story: A term commonly used in Hollywood to describe the process
of working out a story in great detail before the physical act of writing the
actual script.
• Protagonist Character Treatment: The first prep-writing exercise involves
responding to eight key questions to engage the story’s most important
character: the Protagonist.
In the preceding pages, the underlying principle we have explored is this:

Character drives plot. It is time to put that theory into practice by Breaking
Story. This terminology, commonly used in Hollywood film and television
development circles, likely derives from the practice of breaking a horse: A
Author’s note: As indicated previously, there is no right way to write. Every writer is different. Every
story is different. The same pertains to breaking story. The process presented in the next six chapters
is one I have taught to thousands of writers. Indeed, it is the foundation of an undergraduate and
graduate level college course called Story Development at the DePaul University film school where I
teach. This process has proved to be successful in guiding writers from story concept to outline. This
stage of story development is critical in that it exponentially increases the odds a writer will not only
get from Fade In to Fade Out, but also their initial pass at the material will result in a solid first
draft. That said, the character-driven approach to story prep detailed in Part III is a way to tackle
the process, not necessarily the way. I encourage writers to feel free to adapt this method to best fit
their unique creative practices and instincts.

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_15
242 S. Myers
handler works with an untrained colt or filly and over time, through a series
of exercises, tames the animal. This enables a rider to ride it. This is also the
case with breaking story as described in these next six chapters in which the
writer uses a set of exercises to “tame” the narrative. This enables a writer to
write it.
The process begins with the story’s most influential figure: the Protagonist.
As detailed in Chapter 1, the Protagonist’s impact upon the unfolding narra-
tive summons the writer to start the story-crafting process with this pivotal
character.
The goal of this first stage of breaking story is a Protagonist Character
Treatment. At its core lie eight questions:
• Who is the Protagonist?

• What does the Protagonist want?
• What does the Protagonist need?
• What is the eventual resolution of the Protagonist’s want and need?
• What is at stake for the Protagonist?
• Who or what opposes the Protagonist?
• What does the Protagonist fear the most?
• Why does this story have to happen to this Protagonist at this time?
Why this set of questions? You use each to engage the Protagonist in an
initial foray into narrative elements connected to this central character. Think
of each query as a diamond-tipped drill used to penetrate into the core essence
of the Protagonist’s state of being. In aggregate, the answers you discover in
this exercise provide raw content which is shaped into a Protagonist Character
Treatment and lays the foundation for everything else going forward in the
story prep process.
Who Is the Protagonist?

While the response to this question may seem obvious, you do well to
consider each character as a possible Protagonist. Sometimes, shifting the
narrative viewpoint from one character to another may inspire a fresh take
on the material. Consider the successful Broadway musical Wicked , an inter-
pretation of The Wizard of Oz (1939) told from the perspective of the Wicked
Witch of the West. Or Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), a movie version
of the classic fairy tale which is framed through the eyes of the hunter ordered
to slay Snow White. Then, there is the animated movie The Star (2017)
which tells the traditional Nativity story of Jesus’ birth through the point
of view of a donkey and other animal characters. These examples serve not
only to underscore the importance of choosing one’s Protagonist, but also
creative possibilities inherent in that choice.
If the writer is uncertain which character best fits the role of the story’s
Protagonist, here are some further questions to assist that decision-making
process:
• Who is the story’s central character?1

• Which character embarks on a physical and/or psychological journey?
• Which character goes through the most significant metamorphosis?
• Which character is most actively involved in the story’s culminating events?
• Which character has a goal that is realized (or not) in the final struggle?
If there is one character whose identity emerges as the answer to several or

all these questions, that is likely the story’s Protagonist. If the status remains
unclear, there is one final consideration: Which character’s point of view best
serves telling the story? This question is relevant not only to the script reader
or audience member, but also to the writer, who should reflect on which
perspective excites them the most to explore and write.2
What Does the Protagonist Want?

The best way to ensure that a story has an active Protagonist is if they have a
specific goal, something they want:
1 It is possible for the Central Character and Protagonist to be different characters. For example, one
way to interpret the movie Little Miss Sunshine is that Olive is the Central Character: It is her goal—
to win the Little Miss Sunshine pageant competition—which drives the whole plot culminating in her
performance on stage. However, the characters who go through the most significant metamorphosis
around the theme of success and failure are Richard, Frank, and Duane, who can be considered
Co-Protagonists.
2 Stories may have more than one Protagonist. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Trading
Places are examples of Co-Protagonists, two characters who interact throughout a majority of the
story and whose arcs are parallel in nature. The Shawshank Redemption is an example of a Dual
Protagonist narrative for although Andy and Red interact throughout the narrative, each has a distinct
transformation arc. The Hangover, Horrible Bosses, and Book Club are examples of Multiple Protagonist
stories in which several Protagonists have their own individual transformation arc as well as an overall
arc for the group itself. In contrast, movies like Magnolia, Crash, Traffic, and Babel are examples of
multi-linear narratives which track several individual Protagonists connected by some sort of plot
and/or thematic elements whether they intersect directly with each other or not. In any case, the
writer must treat each character as a Protagonist in their own right for that is their experience of the
story universe.
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• In Die Hard (1988), John McClane wants to defeat the criminals holding
a group of hostages and rescue his wife.
• In The Hangover (2009), Phil, Stu, and Alan want to find Doug who they
somehow lost in a night of bachelor party debauchery.
• In Wild (2014), Cheryl wants to hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail to prove
she has the strength to overcome self-destructive behaviors.
While it is possible to craft a successful screenplay in which a Protagonist is

largely reactive,3 there are distinct advantages to working with a Protagonist
who has an identifiable goal:
• As the Protagonist actively pursues their want, that forward-moving energy

creates narrative drive.
• The importance of that goal contributes to the stakes of the story.
• The specific nature of that goal shapes the end point of the Plotline.
The Graduate (1967) is a movie which highlights these points. For much
of the first half of the story, the Protagonist (Benjamin) drifts through
post-college life, symbolized by the numerous times he is shown floating
directionless in his family’s swimming pool. Disconnected from the values of
his parents and their friends (“Plastics”), Ben only rouses out of his personal
doldrums when he sets a goal: marry Elaine Robinson. He follows her to
Berkeley where she attends college and relentlessly woos her. When the truth
is revealed about his affair with Elaine’s mother and all seems lost, Ben refuses
to give up, speeding his way to Santa Barbara to intervene at Elaine’s wedding.
The contrast between the listless, passive Ben in the first half of the movie and
the energized, focused Ben in the second half could not offer a more stark
illustration of the impact a conscious goal can provide a story (Fig. 15.1).
Ben’s example in The Graduate raises an interesting point about the distinc-
tion between want and conscious goal. Protagonists often enter a story with a
generalized sense of want. In Back to the Future (1985), Marty McFly wants
to be in a successful rock and roll band, largely to distinguish himself from
his family who are decidedly undistinguished. In The Wizard of Oz (1939),
Dorothy wants to fly “somewhere over the rainbow… where the clouds are
far behind me,” an expression of how disconnected she feels from her life
on that Kansas farm, yet with no specific destination in mind. In Spirited
3 In It’s a Wonderful Life, the Protagonist (George Bailey) never achieves his want: travel the world,
build skyscrapers. Even though his existence is largely one of reacting to circumstances which happen
to him, he manages to carve out a meaningful life in Bedford Falls, even if it takes an angelic
intervention to help him realize that fact.
Fig. 15.1 Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate (1967)
Away (2001), Chihiro is unhappy about the family’s move to a new home
and wants nothing to do with it. In all three cases by the end of Act One,
the Protagonist’s general want becomes a specific conscious goal: to get back
home.
It is important to consider this question in terms of both the Protagonist’s
state of being at the beginning of the story and after the inciting incident has
compelled them into the new world: their want at the outset of the story and
their conscious goal at the end of the story’s first act.
What Does the Protagonist Need?

Distinct from their want or conscious goal, there is a dynamic within the
Protagonist’s psyche which is often referred to as their need. From a psycho-
logical perspective, we may think of it as their Authentic Nature, True Self,
or Core Essence. Any of these terms work, they are simply ways of referring
to some genuine aspect of the Protagonist’s inner self which struggles to rise
to the surface of their awareness. At the beginning of the story, the character
may have some inkling of what their need is; however, more likely than not,
they are disconnected from it. The emergence of this inner dynamic into the
light of consciousness is a primary driver in their transformation process.
Here, too, the question can be split into two parts: a generalized sense
of need at the very beginning of the story and an unconscious goal which
emerges by the end of Act One:
• In Inception (2010), Cobb needs to busy himself with his unique form
of con jobs to avoid dealing with the complicated nature of his past. His
246 S. Myers
unconscious goal: Confront Mal in order to free himself to reunite with

his children.
• In The Lion King (1994), Simba needs to enjoy his life as the son
of Mufasa. His unconscious goal: Embrace his monarchical powers and
responsibilities.
• In Rocky (1976), Rocky Balboa needs to believe he can make something
special from his ordinary life. His unconscious goal: Tap into his inner
strength to go the distance with the world’s heavyweight boxing champion.
Cobb: Become a father. Simba: Become a king. Rocky: Become a cham-

pion. Each has the potential to become who they are supposed to be. This
capacity exists within the Protagonist at the beginning of the story in a
more or less dormant state and then surfaces into the character’s conscious-
ness through the series of events-and-responses that comprise the narrative,
growing in influence as part of their metamorphosis journey. Thus, identi-
fying the Protagonist’s need and unconscious goal is a key concern in breaking
story.
What Is the Resolution of the Protagonist’s Want

and Need?
The tension between what the Protagonist wants and what they need often
lies at the base of their inner conflict. Indeed, one way to look at a story
is that it exists precisely to force the Protagonist to get in touch with and
embrace their need, fueling the growth of their new self. This process of
metamorphosis also influences their perspective about their want.
Sometimes need supplants want. In Liar, Liar (1997), Fletcher Reede is
a successful lawyer who has built his career based in large part on his skill
at deceit. After missing his son’s birthday party, the boy makes a wish for
his father to tell the truth for twenty-four hours … which is what happens.
Fletcher’s want: to win a high profile divorce case and further his career. His
need: to be forced to tell the truth in order to realize how much of a lie his
life is, including his approach to fatherhood. Through his experiences as the
story unfolds, Fletcher’s need to engage in a true relationship with his son
supplants his false want.
Sometimes need transforms want. In Legally Blonde (2001), Elle Woods is
a vivacious sorority girl whose idyllic life receives a jolt when her longtime
boyfriend Warner dumps her and heads off to Harvard Law School. There
he reunites with his former prep school flame. Determined to win back her
Fig. 15.2 Leonard in Memento (1967)
former lover, Elle cajoles her way into the same law school. Elle’s want: to
impress Warner enough to lure him to be her boyfriend again. Her need: to
get in touch with her inner lawyer and realize she is capable of standing on
her own two feet as a practicing attorney. In the end, she does not require
Warner’s good name and good looks to feel good about herself.
Sometimes want resists need. In Memento (2000), Leonard searches for a
man who was involved in the murder of Leonard’s wife. One major problem:
Leonard suffers from anterograde amnesia, a condition which allows him to
remember details from the distant past, but not recent events. Another issue:
Leonard’s memory of his wife’s murder is a fabrication. Leonard’s want: to
find his wife’s murderer and exact revenge. His need: to realize it is quite likely
that he actually killed his wife. The way the story plays out suggests Leonard’s
life is consumed with retribution based on a memory which is a lie in order
to resist confronting his own culpability in his wife’s death (Fig. 15.2).
Whether there is a synthesis or not between a Protagonist’s want and need,
it is important to explore this pair of dynamics at work in the character’s
metamorphosis process.
What Is at Stake for the Protagonist?

For a story to have an impact on a reader or audience, something must
be at stake. What does the Protagonist stand to gain or lose? If the poten-
tial outcome in the story has serious meaning for the Protagonist, that
adds pressure to their journey making for a more dramatic narrative. Thus,
the question of stakes is an essential one to consider as part of crafting a
Protagonist character treatment.
248 S. Myers
• In The Exorcist (1973): Will the religious rituals conducted by Father

Merrin and Father Karras save the young girl Regan or will she continue
to be possessed by the spirit of the Devil?
• In Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): Will Indiana Jones manage to snare the
Lost Ark of the Covenant or will it end up in the hands of the Nazis,
potentially allowing Germany to use the secret weapon and rule the world?
• In The Dark Knight (2008): Will Batman defeat the Joker or will the
maniacal madman continue to torment Gotham City until Batman’s true
identity is revealed?
These are examples of stories with larger than life stakes, however, the
question is scalable to the size and scope of any story:
• In Ordinary People (1980): Will therapy sessions help Conrad survive his
troubled past and tension-filled family life or will he give into his suicidal
instincts?
• In Home Alone (1990): Will Kevin be able to fend off two robbers long
enough to be reunited with his wayward family?
• In Room (2015): Will Ma and Jack succeed in escaping their long-term
imprisonment or will they continue to be held captive by Old Nick?
(Fig. 15.3)
Fig. 15.3 Ma and Jack in Room (2015)

Big or small, the stakes of a story have to be important and compelling

to the Protagonist which by extension adds emotional heft to the audience’s
experience.
Who or What Opposes the Protagonist?

The most obvious type of conflict in a movie, stage play, or other narrative
form is through the active presence of a Nemesis. The primary function of
this character is to provide opposition to the Protagonist. That opposition
creates conflict, two entities engaged in a struggle against each other. What
will be the outcome? Who will win? Who will lose? That said, there are many
sorts of oppositional dynamics in stories:
• Psychological: Melvin’s obsessive compulsive disorder in As Good As It Gets

(1997), Claudia Draper’s anti-social behavior in Nuts (1987), and Norman
Bates’ split personality in Psycho (1960).
• Geographical: The ocean in Cast Away (2000), the boulder in 127 h
(2010), and Mars in The Martian (2015).
• Systemic: The authoritarian governments in V for Vendetta (2005), The
Hunger Games (2012–2015), 1984 (1984), and Brazil (1985).
One common approach is two characters or sets of characters repre-

senting Protagonist vs. Nemesis. Whether the genre is Action (e.g., Leon vs.
Stansfield in Léon: The Professional—1994), Comedy (the members of Delta
House vs. Dean Wormer in Animal House—1978), Drama (Jake vs. Noah
Cross in Chinatown—1974), Family (Shrek vs. Lord Farquaad in Shrek—
2001), Fantasy (Frodo vs. Sauron and the forces of Mordor in The Lord of
the Rings—2002–2004), Horror (Laurie vs. Michael Myers in Halloween—
1978), Science Fiction (Neo vs. Agent Smith in The Matrix—1999), or
Thriller (Mills vs. John Doe in Se7en—1995), the Protagonist-Nemesis rela-
tionship makes for a clean narrative dynamic rife with potential for dramatic
conflict.
Therefore, the question of who or what opposes the Protagonist is a critical
consideration at the gestational stage of story development and throughout
the writing process.
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What Does the Protagonist Fear the Most?

Screenwriter Robert Towne (Chinatown, Shampoo, Mission: Impossible) said
this in an interview:
The single most important question, I think, that one must ask one’s self about
a character is what are they really afraid of? What are they really afraid of? If you
ask that question, it’s probably the single best way of getting into a character.4
One reason why this is such a ripe area for character development is simple:
As a rule, human beings do what they can to avoid pain and things they fear.
Thus, much of what constitutes an individual’s psyche is grounded in the
defense mechanisms they adapt to keep themselves safe, both physically and
psychologically. By posing this question to a story’s Protagonist, the writer is
presented a pathway into the character’s deepest, darkest secrets, an inward
journey which can also reveal the web of psychological dynamics created to
protect that individual from anxieties, apprehensions, and experiences which
may bring them close to terror.
If a writer identifies what the Protagonist is “really afraid of,” this can
have an enormous influence on the development of another character: the
Nemesis. What if the Nemesis is the physicalization of the Protagonist’s
greatest fear? This can transform the Protagonist vs. Nemesis relationship into
one with a specific psychological connection between the characters, wherein
the Protagonist has to face that which they fear the most in the form of the
story’s central oppositional figure.5
In the movie Jaws (1975), Chief Martin Brody’s job is to maintain order
in the quiet community of Amity Island. What does he fear the most? Chaos,
the antithesis of law and order. What does the shark represent but chaos and
disorder? In Fatal Attraction (1987), Dan Gallagher, a married father of two,
has a one-night stand with Alex Forrest. What does he fear the most? The
damage which could arise from the revelation of his affair caused by his adul-
terous instincts. What does Alex represent but a threat to Dan’s existence, a
damaged woman prepared to exact revenge on the lover who has spurned her.
Therefore, one of the most valuable questions a writer can pose when
digging into the core of this character’s psychological makeup is “What does
the Protagonist fear the most?”.
4 “Word Into Image: Writers on Screenwriting: Robert Towne,” DVD, 30 min, American Film
Foundation, 1984.
5 Read Chapter 9 for an in-depth analysis of the Nemesis as the projection of a Protagonist’s shadow.
Why Does This Story Have to Happen to This

Protagonist at This Time?
The choice of when to begin a story should not be an arbitrary one. Rather,
it ought to be tied to the specifics of the Protagonist’s original state of being.
Questions of who they are, how they are, why they are, and where they are
directly influence when they enter the narrative. It is at this moment … not a
month ago … not a year from now … but right now when their story begins.
Everything in their life leading up to Once Upon a Time has in some
way prepared them for the journey they are about to take. Of course, the
Protagonist is not aware of that reality, they do not know their story is actually
starting, but the writer does and should ponder this question: Why does this
story have to happen to this Protagonist at this time? There is an inevitability
at work in the Protagonist’s life: their narrative imperative.
The presence of this fate influences when the story begins, how the call to
adventure occurs, all of the events of the Plotline, the characters with whom
the Protagonist intersects, the resolution of the narrative, and the end point
of the Protagonist’s transformation arc. Some examples:
• In Double Indemnity (1944), Walter Neff falls under the sway of Phyllis
Dietrichson, propelling him on a journey in which he embraces his
larcenous instincts, with murderous results.
• In Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Ted’s wife leaves him and their young son
Billy, sending Ted on a journey to grow into the father he always had the
potential to become.
• In Arrival (2016), Louise Banks is enlisted to create a line of communi-
cation with aliens, setting her on a journey which reveals a complicated
potential future involving motherhood.
Television writer-producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost, Boomtown,

Medium) tweeted this: “A great script creates an irresistible narrative flow that
propels a reader to an inevitable dramatic conclusion.”6 This question—Why
does this story have to happen to this Protagonist at this time—sets the writer
on a journey of discovery about their story’s “irresistible narrative flow.”
6 Go into the Story interview: Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Scott Myers (editor), Go Into The Story,
November 12, 2020, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/go-into-the-story-interview-javier-grillo-mar
xuach-ab7b9970b613.
252 S. Myers
Summary
The first stage in breaking story focuses on the Protagonist as they are
the most critical character in the story-crafting process. In the Protagonist
Character Treatment exercise, there are eight questions writers may use to
delve into the Protagonist’s state of being at the beginning of a story. The
responses to these questions draw to the surface key psychological and narra-
tive dynamics which have a direct bearing on the emergence of the story’s
structure.
Writing Exercise Example: Protagonist Character Treatment

For Chapters Fifteen through Twenty, each writing exercise example is based
on the Pixar movie Up. Here is a Protagonist Character Treatment for that
story’s central character (Fig. 15.4).
Protagonist Character Treatment
Carl Fredricksen
Logline: A grief-stricken widower flies his balloon house to South America
only to discover challenges and new friends on his adventure.
Who is the Protagonist?
Carl Fredricksen.
What does the Protagonist want?
After his wife Ellie dies, Carl wants to live out the string of his days and
join his deceased wife.
Fig. 15.4 Carl Fredricksen in Up (2009)

What does the Protagonist need?

To honor Ellie by embracing a new adventure and enjoy the personal
revitalization he discovers with a surrogate family.
What is the eventual resolution of the Protagonist’s want and need?
Carl’s need supplants his want, as the connection he forges with a young
stowaway (Russell), a talking dog (Dug), and a mysterious giant bird
(Kevin) leads him to relinquish his goal of getting the balloon house to
the top of Paradise Falls in order to save his newfound “family” from the
threat posed by the false mentor / Nemesis (Charles Muntz).
What are the stakes for the Protagonist?
Initially, Carl faces the prospect he may not be able to fulfill his promise
to Ellie by transporting the house to Paradise Falls, but as he bonds with
Russell and Dug, he stands to lose his surrogate family.
Who opposes the Protagonist?
Despite obstacles created along the way by Russell, Kevin, and Dug, the
real Nemesis Carl faces is Muntz.
What does the Protagonist fear the most?
Carl fears if he moves on with his life, he will dishonor Ellie’s memory. He
discovers that embracing the spirit of adventure and the emotional bond
created with his surrogate family is the truest way to honor his late wife.
Why does this story have to happen to this Protagonist at this time?
Ellie’s death creates a void which is unsustainable for Carl as he needs to
change or continue on a slow descent to his own death.
Breaking Story Exercise One: Protagonist Character Treatment

Use the eight questions cited above to explore your story’s Protagonist:
• Who is the Protagonist?
• What does the Protagonist want?
• What does the Protagonist need?
• What is the eventual resolution of the Protagonist’s want and need?
• What are the stakes for the Protagonist?
• Who opposes the Protagonist?
• What does the Protagonist fear the most?
• Why does this story have to happen to this Protagonist at this time?
Be thoughtful. Do not go for the easy answer. Characters are complicated. The
more clearly you understand them, especially the Protagonist, the more their
complexities will inform both your character development and story-crafting
process.
254 S. Myers
Almost inevitably, when directing this set of questions at your Protagonist,

narrative elements will emerge: moments, scenes, other characters, lines of
dialogue, images. Chapter Sixteen will guide you into a deep engagement with
your story and its characters through several brainstorming exercises, but for
now, include any raw ideas which emerge in this phase of the process in your
Protagonist Character Treatment.
This is the first of six story prep stages which will ultimately lead to a
scene-by-scene outline. The focus during these first two exercises is character
development and, thus, the touchstone word is this: Explore.
Television Development
Television storytelling is similar to movies, but also substantially different.
Perhaps the single biggest distinction relates to the core conceit of character
arc. In a movie, the Protagonist begins in one state of existence and ends
in another. Their metamorphosis has a beginning, middle, and end aligning
with the movements and events within the plotline. While limited series and
mini-series may mimic this type of character arc, albeit over several episodes,
conventional television series have a different focus by virtue of the fact they
span multiple episodes over numerous seasons.
While the story prep process detailed in Part III focuses on developing a
screenplay for a feature length film, much of what is explored here is relevant
to writing for television. For example:
• Protagonist arc: Assuming the series Protagonist undergoes some sort of
metamorphosis, the work a writer does exploring the character’s psycholog-
ical journey can provide a clear, pitchable take on the trajectory of their
arc.
• Character development: Immersing oneself in the lives of the series’ “family
of characters” can lead to multiple storylines and potential episode hooks.
• Subplot relationships: Each of the series’ primary characters represents a
potential relationship which can be exploited episode-to-episode, season-
to-season.
• Pilot outline: While the specifics of story structure for a one-hour or half-
hour television series differ from a feature film screenplay, the work of
wrangling and constructing an outline for an original pilot script can be
adapted from what is presented here.
The primary value of the process of breaking story, as represented in the
following chapters, lies with the series’ characters. The pilot script is impor-
tant, no doubt, but, it is the characters—their personalities, backstories, flaws,
psychological and emotional issues, wants and needs, conscious and uncon-
scious goals—in conjunction with the narrative engine at the core of the series
which provide the story elements necessary to pitch a television show which
has “legs” to run for multiple seasons.
References
Guay, P. and Mazur, S. (written by) (1997). Liar, Liar; Universal Pictures / Imagine
Entertainment.
McCullah, K. and Smith, K. (screenplay), Brown, A (novel) (2001). Legally Blonde;
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
Myers, S. (editor) (2020). Interview: Javier Grillo-Marxuach; Go Into the Story.
Nolan, C. (screenplay), Nolan, J. (short story) (2000). Memento; Newmarket Films.
Peterson, B. and Docter, P. (screenplay), Docter, P., Peterson, B. and McCarthy, T.
(story) (2008). Up; Walt Disney Pictures / Pixar Animation Studios.
Willingham, C. and Henry, B. (screenplay), Webb, C. (novel) (1967). The Graduate;
Embassy Pictures.
16
Breaking Story II Master Brainstorming List

• Brainstorm: A creative process writers employ to immerse themselves in the
lives of their characters and the story universe in which the characters exist.
• Master Brainstorming List: A file into which the writer transcribes each
brainstorming exercise and aggregates all of the narrative elements which
emerge along the way.
• Indirect Engagement Exercises: A series of brainstorming exercises where the
focus is on observing and speculating about a character.
• Questionnaire: A series of questions about a specific character upon which
the writer reflects and provides responses.
• Biography: The writer targets specific aspects of a character’s life experience
in order to create an initial chronology of that individual’s personal history.
• Free Scene: The writer sets a character into a distinct scenario involving
another character, then sketches what transpires in the moment.
• Direct Engagement Exercises: A series of brainstorming exercises where the
focus is on delving into and melding with a character’s psyche.
• Interview: The writer constructs a scenario setting the stage for a one-on-
one question-based conversation with an individual character.
• Monologue: The writer enters into the head-space of a character and writes
down the dialogue they “hear” in that session.
• Stream of Consciousness: The writer enters into the head-space of a
character and records the inner thoughts of a character.
• Receptive Writing: Where the writer goes into the story universe and
interacts directly with the characters, actively receiving their thoughts,
experiences, and dialogue.

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_16
258 S. Myers
• Executive Writing: Where the writer steps out of the story universe
and assesses everything from character functions, plot, scene construction,
transitions, and the like.
• Top Sheets: The writer goes through the entire Master Brainstorming List
and aggregates individual narrative elements which they feel have potential
in the story-crafting process.
• Narrative Elements: Any detail including characters, dialogue, scenes,
images, moments, themes, objects, scene description, and the like.
As the writer begins to explore a new story universe, brainstorming offers

a process that carves a path into and through their journey. When you brain-
storm, you engage both your left brain (logic, linear, sequencing) and right
brain (intuition, feelings, imagination) in surfacing raw material that informs
your understanding of characters, plotline, themeline, and all the rest that
goes into writing a screenplay, novel, or stage play.1 It is an essential and
often overlooked aspect of breaking story. The history of the word Brainstorm
is instructive:
Originally a brainstorm was a momentary malfunction of the mind, a “cerebral

disturbance,” in the words of an 1894 investigator. A bright idea was not yet
called a brainstorm but a brain wave, as far back as Harper’s magazine of 1890:
“Lucilla, with what she was fond of terming a brain wave, comprehended the
situation. But by the 1920s brain wave was subsiding, while brainstorm took
over the meaning of “a sudden surge of ingenuity.”2
Within a few decades, the idea of group brainstorming became popular

as indicated by a 1955 article in Business Week. It explained how the process
involved “free-wheeling sessions that encourage wild ideas but prohibit any
evaluation or discussion until the session is over.“3
In terms of breaking story, writers brainstorm to engage characters and
explore their environment. Through a series of writing exercises, you track
where the brainstorming takes you, transcribing observations. This is an
opportunity to give free rein to one’s creative instincts and “encourage wild
ideas.” Now is not the time to pre-judge content that materializes; one
never knows when a single discovery may be key to unlocking a story.
1 While scientific research has called into question the concept of “hemisphericity,” writers may use
left brain and right brain as metaphors for specific types of writing exercises. See: The left brain /
right brain myth, OECD.org, https://www.oecd.org/education/ceri/neuromyth6.htm.
2 Allan Metcalf and David K. Barnhart, America in So Many Words: Words That Have Shaped America
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1999), pp. 220–221.
3 Ibid., p. 221.
Record every significant or even potentially promising scene, character,

image, dialogue, moment, emotion, and theme that comes your way. Over
time as you continue to probe this narrative space, patterns begin to emerge
and characters take shape which in turn feeds the story-building process.
As you prepare to dive into this formalized brainstorming stage, create a
Master Brainstorming List.4 Put everything you discover during your exercise
sessions into this file. The list becomes an invaluable resource for the entirety
of breaking story, a go-to platform to aggregate narrative elements as well as
wrangle them, then ultimately construct a scene-by-scene framework for the
story.
Start brainstorming with your Protagonist. They are almost always the
single most important character in your story or television series. It is their
physical and psychological journey which lies at the center of the story
universe. In addition, you will want to brainstorm the primary characters
who emerge along the way, treating each as if they were the Protagonist …
because in their experience, they are with respect to their own journey. This
comprehensive approach to story development empowers the writer to tap
into and shape a “family” of multilayered characters.
While there are many brainstorming techniques, the focus here is on six
specific exercises because of their value in exploring and cultivating characters.
Individually, then collectively, they enable you to burrow into your characters’
personal histories, backstories, and personalities, eventually revealing their
respective narrative functions. The first three fall into the category of Indirect
Engagement Exercises. Their focus is on observing and scrutinizing characters.
You think about a character, speculate about them. You seek to connect the
dots with clues which appear, cobbling together information which suggests
an initial profile of each individual. These three exercises are Questionnaire,
Biography, and Free Scene.
Questionnaire
One common brainstorming tool is a questionnaire. From a series of queries,
such as the ones listed below, you pose each question about an individual
character.
4 There is an example of a Master Brainstorming List at the end of this chapter.

260 S. Myers
What is their name?

Do they have a nickname?
How old are they?
Where do they live?
How would they describe their physical appearance?
How do they feel about the way they look?
Who are their parents?

Describe their relationship with each of their parents.
Do they have any siblings?
Describe their relationship with each of their siblings.
What is their gender identity?

What is their racial identity?
What is their socioeconomic status?
What do they do for a living?
Do they like their job? Why or why not?
Who is the most important person in their life? Why?

Are they in love?
If so, describe their lover(s) and their relationship with them.
If not, why not?
Describe what their soul-mate would be like.
Do they believe in God?

If so, describe their relationship with God.
If not, why not?
Do they consider themselves to be an optimist or a pessimist? Why?
Answer these questions:

Their biggest strengths are…
Their biggest weaknesses are…
They are most proud of…
They are most ashamed of…
They are most angry about…
This is simply a starting point. As you think about the character and details
begin to emerge in the form of answers, follow up with other questions. Feel
free to generate your own extending into politics, hobbies, prejudices, medical
history, and so on. Allow your mind the freedom to roam through possible
responses. Work through the questions and answers, filling them out in your
Master Brainstorming List. This enables you to take an initial pass at your
characters, providing a tentative portrait of each individual who makes an
appearance during this stage of breaking story.5
5 A concern sometimes arises about the questionnaire exercise: Are the answers to questions more a
reflection of the writer’s take on characters or that of the characters themselves? This is a legitimate
concern, one addressed at the end of this chapter in the section BRAINSTORMING STRATEGIES.
Biography
In taking on the role of biographer, you strive to assemble details of a char-
acter’s life into a chronology. Here is a list of subject areas posed as questions
you may use as prompts:
• Who are they? Origins, ancestry, life goals.

• Why are they? Upbringing, education, seminal moments.
• Where are they? Neighborhood, travel, subcultural influences.
• How are they? Temperament, personality, character flaws.
Over time, you start to stitch together bits and pieces of what you learn
about a character into a coherent biography. Again, do this work in the
Master Brainstorming List.
Free Scene
Another way to get at a character is to write a scene in which they are a
participant. Create a scenario which might arise out of their life experience
in which they engage with at least one other character. As you write the free
scene, you act as an observer, recounting in words what you see and hear
transpiring in the individuals’ interactions. Do not be concerned whether the
scene will have any direct bearing on your story. The point of this exercise is
merely to set two characters into motion, then see what they do with each
other.
Since format is not an issue at this point, open the Master Brainstorming
List and sketch how the scenario plays out. Apart from whatever clues emerge
about a character’s behavior or personality, there is an additional bonus: In
writing a scene, you make a subtle shift in your relationship to the character.
Instead of answering a questionnaire or writing a biography about someone,
by writing a free scene, you draw closer to their inner world: Why are they
saying what they are saying? Why are they doing what they are doing? What are
they thinking? What are they feeling?
You may find you benefit from writing more than one scene per char-
acter. Indeed, as you write, another scenario may jump to mind. Follow your
creative instincts more deeply into each character. As you do, you open the
door to another brainstorming category: Direct Engagement Exercises.
Whereas indirect engagement exercises exist more at an arm’s length from
the characters—watching them, reflecting about them, speculating about
262 S. Myers
them—with direct engagement exercises, the writer connects with individ-

uals personally. Here are three direct engagement brainstorming exercises:
Interview, Monologue, and Stream of Consciousness.
Interview
This takes the questionnaire and biography process, and transforms it into an
intimate experience. The writer “sits” with a character and “interviews” them.
Imagine a variety of scenarios:
• You are interviewing them for a job.

• You are out on a date with them.
• You are a journalist writing a feature on them.
• You are a police detective interrogating them.
One favorite approach: You are a therapist and the character is your
patient. You can even ratchet up the pressure: This is a court-mandated
arrangement, so the character you interview is legally bound to answer your
questions. This is an excellent device to force a character to reveal key aspects
of their inner life.
Again, open your Master Brainstorming List, briefly sketch out the setting,
and then pose questions directly to the character. The goal of the interview
exercise is to engage the characters in a one-on-one setting and entice them
into sharing personal life experiences.
Monologue
An extension of the interview exercise is where the writer enters into the inner
consciousness of a character and “hears” what they are saying. This emerges
as a monologue.
How to gain access to a character’s “head space?” This exercise requires an
approach akin to meditation. Close the door. Turn off the phone. Relax into
a comfortable seated position. Set a timer for ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes.
Open the Master Brainstorming List. Place fingers onto keyboard. Close your
eyes. Fix an image of the character in your mind. Take some deep breaths to
gather focus. Then begin typing.6
6 If you prefer, use a pen and paper.

Like meditation, you will likely find your mind straying. No judgment.
Simply bring yourself back to the character’s mind-space, keeping the focal
point on what they are saying. Type or write down the words … and keep
writing for the duration of the session.
The timer chimes. Usually, the minutes will have flown by and there in
front of you appear pages of text, much of it in the form of the character’s
“dialogue.” Do not be surprised if you are surprised by the words on the
page. Patterns of speech … mysterious references to past experiences … raw
emotions … confessional moments. Much of the verbiage may make little to
no sense, but like a miner digging for gold, search for those nuggets which
suggest something specific and authentic to that character.
Stream of Consciousness
A variation on this type of character sit-down is Stream of Consciousness.
Like the monologue exercise, it is analogous to meditation. Find a quiet place.
Open the Master Brainstorming List. Set the timer. Deep breaths. Fix a char-
acter in your mind’s eye. Then type or write. Only here, instead of dialogue,
the writer goes deeper into the character by entering their psyche. What
emerges? Random words. Images. Inner thoughts. Feelings. Do not pre-edit.
Do not forejudge. Everything is fair game. Put it all down, no matter how
far-fetched or absurd.7
The timer dings. Once again, there are words on the page. Probably
multiple pages. Reading it over, similar to the monologue exercise, much
of it may seem nonsensical. Indeed, a majority of the content may have no
apparent connection to the story, yet at least some of it is … intriguing …
unanticipated … curious. This is all grist for the creative mill. If you allow
yourself the freedom to brainstorm in this open and nonjudgmental way,
you will be rewarded with insights into your Protagonist and the family of
characters surrounding them.
7 I tell my students the Monologue and Stream of Consciousness exercises are like Spock on the
TV series Star Trek conducting a “Vulcan mind meld” wherein he places his fingertips on a person’s
forehead and merges his mind with theirs.
264 S. Myers
Top Sheets
The final step in this second stage of breaking story is to begin to Wrangle the
narrative. This lays the groundwork moving forward into the next two stages.
The writer does this by creating Top Sheets.
Go through the entirety of the Master Brainstorming List. Consider each
character, scene, image, dialogue, moment, and theme. These are Narrative
Elements and what you are looking for at the end of this formal brain-
storming stage is individual items you feel may have relevance in the ongoing
story-building process. Copy and paste each narrative element you select and
aggregate them as bullet points into one or more top sheets.
You will be certain some items belong in a top sheet as they definitely
have a role to play moving forward. Some you will know with equal clarity
are not relevant. Leave them in the list, but do not copy them into the top
sheets. Then, there are narrative elements about which you are uncertain. It
is best to include them in the top sheets as they may emerge as something of
importance. If not, you may discard them later.
This wrangling process brings into view two types of writing: Receptive
Writing and Executive Writing. This subject arose in an interview I did
with screenwriter and filmmaker Robin Swicord, whose screenwriting credits
include Little Women (1994), Matilda (1996), The Jane Austen Book Club
(2007), and the television mini-series When They See Us (2019):
I think that all of this dialogue comes out of the characters themselves. What
happens… there’s a kind of mystical transference that happens when you’ve
done this very deep thinking and feeling about your character. You begin to
embody your character. I literally feel like a character enters me sometimes.
I don’t worry about writing the dialogue. I just sit at my desk and feel their
presence, and then they speak and I write down what they say. Then later I’ll
come back to the page, and I’ll go, ‘But I don’t like this scene.’ Or ‘I don’t feel
like we need this scene.’ Or ‘I think this goes on too long.’ The writer in the
room starts adjusting things, so what’s on the page is not just mental run-on
sentences of dialogue. We have two creative minds. An executive mind, a plan-
ning, strategic, putting-my-ducks-in-a-row mind. But that’s a different kind of
writing than the receptive writing of hearing your characters and embodying
them. We need both. One mind where you sit and craft sentences that draw
the reader into the scene. Another that allows your characters to come alive.8
8 Go Into The Story interview: Robin Swicord , Scott Myers (editor), Go Into The Story, May 30,
2017, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/interview-robin-swicord-7d43e3fa8177.
This part of the conversation specifically focused on writing dialogue, but

it pertains to the writing process in general. During the Protagonist Character
Treatment and Master Brainstorming List stages, you will focus on receptive
writing, wherein you open yourself to your story’s characters, each with their
own unique thoughts, feelings, impulses, and personalities. Acting on the
belief they exist, you reach out to them through various exercises that provide
channels through which they open up about their inner life.
Moving forward, you embrace executive writing. That entails examining
what you have learned about characters, bringing your critical thinking to
bear in shaping them and as a result, the evolving story structure. You do
not abandon receptive writing, as you always want to stay in touch with your
characters; rather, the goal is to find a balance between the two frames of
reference to the story, shifting from one mindset to the other as the need
arises.
Brainstorming Strategies
As noted previously, there is no right way to write. The same pertains to
brainstorming. Some may favor indirect engagement exercises. Others direct
engagement. You may find success using an interview with one character, but
writing scenes with another. These six exercises are organized so a writer may
go through them in linear fashion, delving deeper into a character with each
session, yet this is not a rigid pattern. What works best depends upon the
writer, the story, the characters, and the moment. Consider each exercise to
be a tool that you can use at any time to engage any character at any level of
depth.
While you are free to follow your creative instincts, here are some strategies
to maximize the benefit of the brainstorming process:
• The key is to ask questions. Whenever you are in doubt with any of these
exercises, create prompts which pose questions to your characters. Follow
your curiosity. If you sense a mystery or riddle with a character, pursue
that. Keep asking questions. Answers will come.
• If one exercise does not work, try another. The goal is to find a fit for
both the writer and the character. One of the main virtues working with
six different brainstorming exercises is they provide flexibility. If you find
yourself dealing with a recalcitrant character, switch to a different exercise.
• If a character interrupts you, follow them. You may be doing a sit-
down with one character when suddenly another character “shows up.”
Switch your focus to the visitor. Act on the assumption they want to share
something important. Allow them to lead the interaction.
266 S. Myers
Finally, do not worry if it takes time to become comfortable brainstorming.

This is especially true of direct engagement exercises. If you have practiced
meditation, this likely will not be an issue. For others, it may feel awkward
to “sit” with a character in an attempt to meld with their inner life. The very
idea that your story’s characters exist in a sort of magical way may present an
intellectual challenge.
This is understandable. In the “real” world of schedules, jobs, and respon-
sibilities, it is easy to grasp the concept of characters because they exist around
us in the form of other people. We can see, smell, and touch them. Yet writers
are asked to believe their story’s characters live, their story universe exists. If
as the saying goes, “seeing is believing,” as writers, we invert it: believing is
seeing. That is, if you believe your characters exist, you will see them, you
will hear them. Consider the reflections of these notable authors:
William Faulkner : I would say get the character in your mind. Once he is
in your mind, and he is right, a nd he's true, then he does the work
himself. All you need then is to trot along behind him and put down
what he does and what he says … You've got to know the character.
You've got to believe in him. You've got to feel that he is alive. a
Ray Bradbury : Plot is no more than foot prints left in the snow after your
characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations. b
Elizabeth Bowen : The term ‘creation of character’ (or characters) is

misleading. Characters pre-exist. They are found. c
a Faulkner at Virginia, Graduate Class in American Fiction, Tape 1, February

21, 1958, https://faulkner.lib.virginia.edu/display/wfaudio21.
b Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing (Harper Voyager, 2015), p. 114.
c Elizabeth Bowen, Notes on Writing a Novel , Narrative Magazine, Orion
II, 1945, https://www.narrativemagazine.com/issues/fall-2006/classics/notes-

writing-novel-elizabeth-bowen.
If you can “find” your characters, brainstorming becomes nothing more

than getting curious, asking questions, and uncovering secrets lurking within
each figure’s inner psyche.
Summary
As a writer, it is critical to explore the story universe and its characters, most
importantly the Protagonist. To facilitate this stage of breaking story, you may
Fig. 16.1 The Ellie Badge in Up (2009)
use six brainstorming exercises: Questionnaire, Biography, Scene, Interview,

Monologue, and Stream of Consciousness. Aggregate all of this content in a
Master Brainstorming List, then identify each narrative element which feels
like it may play a role in the story-crafting process. By creating top sheets
with these selected items, you begin the process of wrangling the story.
Writing Exercise Example: Master Brainstorming List

As with each of Chapters Fifteen through Twenty, the writing exercise example
is based on the Pixar movie Up. In this case, imagine a parallel universe in
which that movie does not yet exist. The Master Brainstorming List repre-
sents the writer’s initial efforts at brainstorming the story and engaging the
characters in a variety of exercises.
Master Brainstorming List Top Sheet

A list of narrative elements that emerged during the brainstorming process which feel
like they have relevance for the story-crafting process moving forward.
• Balloon house
• Carl is a widower
• Ellie has died
• Show Carl’s depression / day-in-the-life
• He is Life-Less
• A promise to take her to Paradise Falls
• Both inspired by Charles Muntz
• Muntz disgraced in the past
• Searching for a rare bird
• The bird is colorful, playful, a Trickster
• Bird looking for babies
• He is a she
268 S. Myers
• There’s a young boy

• Accompanies Carl on trip?
• Ice cream shop
• Boy fills Carl’s void caused by Ellie’s death?
• Boy = Russell / “wrestle” re Carl dealing with his grief
• Dug the dog?
• Muntz is Dug’s master
• Tracking the rare bird
• “Squirrel”
• Ellie purple soda badge
• Ellie’s scrapbook
• Establish young Ellie as a firecracker personality
• Adventure
Notes
Here’s what I am starting out with: An old widower Carl. A balloon house flying
through the sky. And Carl’s beloved Ellie having died leaving Carl to grieve alone.
Questionnaire: Carl Fredricksen

What is their name?
Carl Fredricksen
How old are they?
Old, probably in their 70s.
How to describe their physical appearance?
Stocky, square lines, lives by the rules, represses feelings.
How do they feel about the way they look?
Doubt that he cares one way or the other, although there is a recurring image of ties.
Perhaps of a generation in which appearing in public required getting dressed up.
Who is the most important person in their life? Why?
His wife Ellie. Why? Because she was the love of his life. Was. Did she leave him? Die?
Their life together … have an impression he thinks of it as having been “paradise.”
Do they believe in God?
Feels like they used to. Maybe more of a generational thing where everybody of that
age attended church, prayed, and so forth. Once Ellie died … guess that answers that
… Carl is a widower, his beloved wife recently passed away. Figure that has shaken
whatever belief they may have had in God.
Do they consider themselves to be an optimist or a pessimist? Why?
Carl comes across as a grumpy old man, so hard to imagine him as an optimist. But
has he always been this way? Maybe he was an optimist, but Ellie’s death – how did
she die? – may have really thrown this old guy for a loop.
What do they do for a living?
Retired. No idea what job he held. Maybe something he did alongside Ellie. The fact
they may have worked together could really underscore why her death has completely
discombobulated him.
In ten years, where will they be and what will they be doing?
First word which came to mind: Dead. Part of that is he’s really old. Part of that is he
does not have much zest for life. But a big part of that has to be wanting to reunite
with Ellie. Maybe sooner rather than later…
Answer these questions:

Their biggest strengths are…
No idea.
Their biggest weaknesses are …
Get the feeling Carl is depressed. Again, life-less. Just stringing out the days until he
departs this world. A sad, lonely guy.
They are most proud of …
Has to be his married life with Ellie. A growing impression she meant everything to
him.
They are most ashamed of …
Something to do with Ellie. Maybe that he could not stop her death. Or wait … maybe
he made a promise, something he could not fulfill before she died. That’s interesting.
Unfulfilled pledge would weigh heavily upon him. Unresolved issue which may be a
lingering concern which keeps him waking up each morning. No resolution even in his
own death.
They are most angry about …
Clearly, Ellie’s death, but is there something more? Not sensing any children around.
Did they have children? Or maybe not? Did they want children, tried, but perhaps
could not have them? Get the feeling she would have made a good mother. Could see
that as a source of Carl’s anger, the unfairness of it all…
Finally, they are most afraid of … what?
If through Carl’s death, he could be at least symbolically reunited with Ellie, what is
stopping him from seeking his own demise? Maybe he is afraid of dying. Maybe he is
afraid of dying without fulfilling his pledge to Ellie? Maybe he is afraid of being alone
… dying alone …
Notes
Carl really on his emotional heels with death of Ellie. How best to convey?
Image: Carl in chapel after memorial service, holding a single balloon.
How about show a day-in-the-life post-Ellie. Wakes up, heads downstairs (would he
have one of those stair lift chairs?), breakfast (maybe show he still has a place setting
for Ellie). Basically, he is going through the motions.
Occurs to me: This is a resurrection story. Carl is life-less at the beginning, just stringing
out his days. He needs a jolt to come back to life.
If life with Ellie was, as Carl describes, “paradise,” why not make that the name of the
place she dreams of going to: Paradise Town. Paradise Valley. Mt. Paradise. Not sure
exactly what that is just yet, but something with Paradise in it.
Biography: Ellie
Who are they? Origins, ancestry, life goals.
As they say, opposites attract. So if Carl is a grumpy guy, what if Ellie was a bundle
of positive energy? Maybe that’s what he saw in her in the first place, someone who
could elicit joy in his life.
But what could they have had in common? Maybe they have a relationship that goes
way back in time. Did they meet as kids? If Carl is basically a loner as an adult, prefers
solitude and quiet, what if Ellie is an extrovert, a noisy adventurous character?
Adventure. That’s an interesting thought …
270 S. Myers
Why are they? Upbringing, education, seminal moments.

There’s something to the idea she and Carl met when they were young. She’s not a
“girly” girl, indeed, maybe she was what they used to call a “tomboy.” Her family
respected and supported her, allowing her to fully embrace her dynamic personality.
I think she likes to have fun. What does that mean for her …
Where are they? Neighborhood, travel, subcultural influences.
If Carl is old now and he intersected with Ellie when they were young, that would be
decades ago. Figures they grew up in a nice suburban neighborhood. Pretty little houses
all in a row.
That doesn’t seem to fit what’s emerging as Ellie’s personality. What if she feels restricted
by the narrow confines of suburbia? What if she wants to travel? There’s that word again:
adventure.
What if she’s like George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, she wants to see the world, do
things, go out there on an adventure and see where it takes her.
That doesn’t feel like Carl, at least how he exists as an old man. Perhaps he had a secret
wanderlust. Maybe it’s Ellie who awakens his desire to see the world…
How are they? Temperament, personality, character flaws.
What’s coming into view is that Ellie is a firecracker, a bundle of energy. Maybe she sees
in Carl someone who can be her buddy in fantasizing about traveling and adventure.
That may be a flaw for her, that she can bulldoze over others as she gets so caught up
in her excitement.
It figures she has such a big personality, she would make quite a big impression on
Carl.
Notes
For some reason, I have an image: A floating balloon house. Where does it go? Why is
it airborne? Where are Carl and Ellie going? Or is the house flying after Ellie is gone?
Wait. Maybe the house is flying somewhere to fulfill that pledge we hit on earlier. A
land far away. That could have been Ellie’s dream. To go to Asia… that would be too
far, wouldn’t it, for a floating balloon house. How about South America? That’s not so
far. Maybe something there Ellie always wanted to see. Carl and Ellie had plans to go
there, but never go around to it. Why? What stopped them?
Two things popped to mind while I was speculating about Ellie, trying to work out
more of a biography about her. The first image was a scrapbook. Does Carl keep one?
Or maybe that’s Ellie’s thing. What would she be doing with a scrapbook? Ah, that’s
interesting. What if the scrapbook is stuff she keeps related to the place she wants to
travel to, her dream destination?
She’s collected images of Paradise… Falls? Something about a waterfall. It’s like her diary,
only filled with visuals. Not sure if this is important. Keep around and brainstorm.
What if when Ellie and Carl first meet, she makes him promise he’d take her to Paradise
Falls? What did they do back in the day … cross your heart?
For some unknown reason, I had an image of a grape soda pop top, like this (Fig. 16.1):
A grape soda twist-off top with a safety pin stuck through it. That’s just too weird,
tempted to set that image aside, but this is brainstorming, so no prejudging.
And what’s it doing on that boy’s sash? Hmm …
I’ll stick it here. Never know, may be something there.
Free Scene
I had this thought: Carl and a young boy sitting at the curb, eating ice cream cones.
Start with that and see where the scene goes.
EXT. ICE CREAM SHOP – DAY

CARL sits next to a YOUNG BOY. Plunked on the curb. Each licking an ice cream
cone.
Carl: What are we doing here?
Young Boy: I like ice cream, so maybe ‘coz of that?
Carl: But what does it mean, sitting here with you? I don’t even know you?
Young Boy: I feel like we’ve become friends and this is something I’d think is cool.
A car rumbles by.
Carl: Watch out for the red car!
Young Boy: You mean the blue car.
Carl [points to a different car]: No, that one, not that one.
Just then, a DOG barks. Carl and Young Boy turn. It’s a scruffy Labrador. Staring at
them … and their ice cream cones.
Young Boy: Cool! A dog!
Carl: Where’d he come from?
Young Boy: I don’t know, but I’m keeping him.
The dog barks again, then nabs Young Boy’s ice cream cone.
Notes
Not sure about the boy or the dog, but how would Carl and the boy become friends?
If Carl flies the house down to South America, maybe … the boy comes with him?
Does that make sense? That would give Carl someone to talk to.
Maybe the boy helps Carl deconstruct some of the old man’s ways of being.
Maybe the boy represents Carl’s younger self.
If Ellie’s death leaves a void, I wonder if the boy could help fill it …
Possible name: Russell. Sounds like “wrestle” which could work if the boy causes Carl
to wrestle with his cynicism and negativity.
Interview
Charles Muntz sits in the office of a psychiatrist (Docter). More accurately, Muntz paces
in the office. He is not happy and has no reservations letting Docter know it.
Docter: You seem highly agitated.
Muntz: Agitated? I’m furious! Why did you people drag me from my jungle.
Docter: Your jungle?
Muntz: Yes, mine!
Docter: You don’t own it, do you?
Muntz: I might as well, I’ve lived there for decades. And now you’re taking away
from my work.
Docter: What precisely is your work?
Muntz: To find what I’ve been searching for all these years!
Docter: Ah, yes. That disgraceful incident in your--
Muntz: The only thing disgraceful was the conduct of the press. Daring to question
me and my authority. I’m a discoverer. And I discovered that rarest of rare--
Docter: But with no proof--
Muntz: THEY HAD MY BIRD!
Slams fist onto Docter’s desk
272 S. Myers
Docter: Excuse me, did you say bird?

Muntz: I said word!
Docter: Your word about the bird?
Muntz: Yes-yes-yes, the bird. The rare bird. Haven’t you been paying attention?
Notes
That was interesting. I knew this Muntz character had been disgraced in the past and
that’s why he was living down in the jungle, searching from some rare creature, but I
didn’t know what. But then this exchange between Docter and Muntz: word / bird. So
for now, let’s say Muntz is looking for a rare bird.
What could the backstory of this bird be? Is that a character worth making a primary
figure?
Monologue
Oh, boy! Oh, boy! Oh, boy! I am a dug. And that is what I am. I can bark. [BARK] I
can sniff. [SNIFF] I can slobber. [SLOBBER] Yes, a dog. Doggie dog dog doggie dog
… SQUIRREL!
Okay, where was I? If I am a dog, I must have a master. That is the way of the world.
A master who I love. But then, I love everybody.
How could master love me more? If I did something for him. And what can I do for
him? My master needs something and I … a dog … can help him … because I can
bark. [BARK] I can sniff. [SNIFF] I can slobber. [SLOBBER]
Wait! I know! My master is Muntz! He needs help! He is trying to find a bird! Birds
cannot bark, sniff, or slobber. I feel sorry for birds. But I love them. Because I am a
dog. And I love …
SQUIRREL!
Notes
Now that was fun. This dog is a hoot. And for now, I’ll call him Dug because I
misspelled “dog” in that first paragraph. Dug the dog? Does that work? Maybe stupid,
I don’t know yet, but it’s a working name.
Interesting that Muntz is Dug’s master, but that makes sense. Dogs can track other
animals. Muntz is trying to find the rare bird. I wonder if Muntz has other dogs he’s
trained as trackers?
But wait. If Dug is Muntz’s dog, how does the dog end up in that scene with Carl
and the Young Boy eating ice cream?
Have no idea. Will keep digging into the characters to see what comes up.
Stream of Consciousness
I see a bird. Big bird. Not like Sesame Street, that would be too close. So not yellow,
but … purple. A big purple bird.
He’s looking for something. Missing something. What could it be missing? Family?
Home?
A rainbow. Just saw a rainbow. Tropical rain forest, so maybe it rained and …
Wait. The bird isn’t purple. He’s multicolored, like a rainbow.
Colorful plumage. Maybe colorful personality?
He just cawed at me. Now he’s stuck out his tongue at me.
This bird definitely has a playful instinct.
But it stops. Peers around. He’s still looking for something. What …
Keeps looking on the ground. Maybe a nest. Maybe his babies …
Ooh, wait. What if he is a she?
Ha-ha! This bird is a real trickster.
Now she’s run off. Following her. She stops. Pokes her head through some bushes.
Then back. Turns around. What’s that in her mouth?
A chocolate bar?!?!
Notes
That really surprised me. I thought Muntz’s bird would be some regal creature, but this
guy … I mean gal is kind of a clown.
This whole mother-looking-for-babies angle … that feels like something worth
exploring. Have no idea how and what part it will play in the plot, but Muntz has to
be looking for something to make him live in a jungle for decades. Why not a bird?
This bird?
Connection to Carl. The young boy. The dog. TBD.
What about the dog? Is there something there?
Time to go through the list and create some top sheets …
Breaking Story Exercise Two: Master Brainstorming List

Beginning with the Protagonist, use the six brainstorming exercises to engage
your story’s characters and immerse yourself in their story universe:
• Questionnaire
• Biography
• Free Scene
• Interview
• Monologue
• Stream of Consciousness
Working with each of the primary characters who have emerged or do emerge
during this process, aggregate all of that content into a Master Brainstorming
List. To round out this formal stage of brainstorming, go through every single
item you have included in the list and identify each narrative element you feel
has the potential to be relevant going forward. Create top sheets into which
you copy and paste these items as bullet points.
By focusing on brainstorming, you immerse yourself in your story universe,
providing a wealth of potential narrative material you can use to shape the
contours of story structure and character relationships—the next stage of the
story-crafting process.
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References
Myers, S (editor) (2017). Interview: Robin Swicord; Go Into The Story.
Peterson, B & Docter, P (screenplay), Docter, P & Peterson, B & McCarthy, T
17
Breaking Story III Four Primary Plotline
Points

• Three-Act Structure: A conventional way of looking at story structure: Three
movements—Beginning (Act One), Middle (Act Two), and End (Act Three).
Also: Four-Act Structure.
• The Hero’s Journey: The story’s central character departs their old world,
enters a new world where they encounter challenges, and then returns
home a transformed individual.
• Conscious Goal: A specific objective which compels the Protagonist forward
and provides an end point for the plotline. Also: Want.
• Narrative Drive: A story’s ingrained motion which continually propels it
ahead from scene to scene to scene. Often referred to as a story’s “engine.”
• All Is Lost: A major plot reversal at the end of Act Two which tests the
Protagonist to determine if they have the will to go forward or give up and
go back home.
• Four Primary Plotline Points: Act One beginning, Act One end, Act Two end,
and Act Three ending.
A personal anecdote. In the spring of 1988, I, along with about nine

thousand other Writers Guild of America West members, found myself on
strike in a work stoppage that lasted five months and seven days. What
this amounted to, apart from being restricted from writing for income for
that span of time, were numerous protest rallies at various entertainment
headquarters in the Los Angeles area.

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Since I had only broken into the business the year before, I was still a
screenwriting neophyte. Thus, as Guild members shouldered picket signs and
tramped around studio lots stretching from Culver City to Burbank, I used
these mass meetings to learn what I could about the craft from my fellow
writers.
One day, I was picketing at the Twentieth Century Fox lot in West Los
Angeles when I struck up a conversation with an elderly gentleman. He had
written professionally for over forty years in every form: screenplays, TV,
plays, novels, short stories—you name it, he had done it. He regaled me
with one tall tale after another about the highlights and pitfalls of life as a
Hollywood writer. Toward the end of our conversation, he turned serious
and in his gruff New York accent shared this insight with me: “Here’s the
thing. To write a screenplay, you gotta know four things. What’s the begin-
ning, what’s the end of the first act, what’s the end of the second act, and
what’s the ending. You know that, you got a story. You don’t know that, you
got diddly squat.” Slang translation: “You got nothing.”
The fellow’s name has long since vanished from my memory, but not his
advice. (Going forward, we shall refer to him as Mentor.) Indeed, as I have
reflected on that Mentor’s words over the years, I have come to realize what he
advocated recalls both Aristotle and Joseph Campbell. His observation speaks
to the foundation of story structure.
Aristotle and Three Act Structure

In Part VII of Poetics, Aristotle writes this about the proper structure of plot:
“óλoν δε εστιν τo εχoν αρχην και μεσoν και τελευτην,” which is trans-
lated, “A whole is that which has a beginning, a middle, and an end.” He
goes on to expand on this idea:
A beginning is that which is not itself necessarily after anything else, and which
has naturally something else after it. An end is that which is naturally after
something itself, either as its necessary or usual consequent, and with nothing
else after it. And a middle, that which is by nature after one thing and has also
another after it.1
Arguably, this represents the roots of what has come to be known as Three-
Act Structure: Act One sets up the story (Beginning), Act Two progresses
through the story (Middle), Act Three resolves the story (Ending). The model
1 Poetics, Aristotle, Part VII, http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.html.

as proposed by my Mentor that afternoon we intersected as picketing writers

slots right into this structure:
• The Beginning: The status quo of the Protagonist when the story starts.
• Act I End: An event which transitions the Protagonist from the Beginning
into the Middle.
• Act II End: An event which transitions the Protagonist from the Middle
into the End.
• The Ending: The resolution of the Protagonist’s story.
My aged acquaintance was speaking from years of experience dealing with

Hollywood development executives. To this day, no matter what variation of
screenplay structure any given writer may have adopted in studying the craft,
script note meetings invariably involve dissecting the story in terms of three
acts.
My reflections about the wisdom shared by my Mentor that sunny
Southern California morning did not stop with Aristotle. As I mused further
upon that venerable writer’s words, I found a connection to the writings of
Joseph Campbell.
Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey

I first studied Joseph Campbell when I was an undergraduate student at the
University of Virginia. As a member of the religious studies honors program,
I was assigned to read Campbell’s seminal book “The Hero with a Thou-
sand Faces,” a study in comparative mythology. Campbell was fascinated by
the idea that stories from around the world and throughout history shared
a common structure, a universal narrative archetype he called The Hero’s
Journey:
A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of super-
natural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is
won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to
bestow boons on his fellow man.2
2 Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Princeton University Press, 1968), p. 30. In this
description, we see an echo of three-act structure. Using Campbell’s language: Separation, Initiation,
Return.
278 S. Myers
Heroes were significant to Campbell because they represent the individual.

Each of us is a hero in our own way. The journey is a metaphor for one’s
life. The events the hero experiences on that journey result in the individual’s
personal growth. Given that the dynamic of a character’s change—their arc—
lies at the heart of most movies, television series, plays, and novels, it is little
wonder Campbell’s ideas have been so influential with storytellers since his
first book’s publication.
The following version of the hero’s journey is transcribed verbatim from
Joseph Campbell’s interview with Bill Moyers in the PBS series, “The Power
of Myth.”
The Hero is found in the ordinary world.

In ancient myths it used to be the cottage or village.
In films, it is usually the suburbs or common urban environment.
The Hero is making do, but feels something missing, a sense of discomfort or
tension.
The Hero needs to change, even if they are unaware of that need.
Something happens.
Maybe the Antagonist enters the Protagonist’s world, disrupting it. Or maybe
someone comes, a Herald, who calls the Protagonist to action.
The call to adventure is about transformation and that’s terrifying.
The Hero has to confront fear.
Will the Hero survive?
Will they change for the good or the bad?
During the first half, the Hero is tested.
The Hero has to determine the rules of the Extraordinary World into which they
are moving - Who can the Hero trust?
Along the way, the Hero meets “threshold guardians,” people who guard the
entrances.
The trick to facing any opponent is to get into their skin, understand their habits,
maybe make them friends and allies.
The midpoint from a mythological standpoint is that moment when the Hero
confronts that which they fear most, often related to entering the headquarters of
the enemy.
Afterwards, the Hero feels the consequences of the Midpoint.
Reflects on their task, often a chance to rest.
Then a chase scene often occurs.

The enemy has been struck a mighty blow, but recovers enough to mount one final
act.
A black moment where it looks like all is lost, there is no way to defeat the enemy.
The final test.

To demonstrate whether the Hero has learned his lesson or not.
The process has purified him to ensure that he hasn’t become part of the Other
World – but will he succeed?
The Hero returns home with some booty, an elixir, the source of power from the
Other World, i.e., treasure, Holy Grail, knowledge, gold, love, wisdom, humility.
In the end, the Hero is a transformed individual.a
aThePower of Myth, Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell, Episode 1, Mystic Fire
Video / Wellspring, 1988.
Once again, we can see the presence of what my Mentor conveyed years
ago:
• The Beginning: The status quo of the Protagonist when the story starts.
This establishes their ordinary world and sets into motion the first act’s
exploration of the character’s disunity state.
• Act I End: An event that transitions the Protagonist out of the ordinary
world and into the new experience, where they will confront obstacles and
tests. By this point in the story, their want crystallizes as a Conscious Goal ,
a specific objective which provides a target toward which the Protagonist
aims. This in turn generates Narrative Drive to fuel their progress toward
their goal.
• Act II End: A reversal in fortune which challenges the Protagonist’s will to
continue their journey … an All Is Lost event.
• The Ending: A final test and the resolution of the Protagonist’s journey
where they return home a transformed individual.
Did my Mentor long ago understand that his words about the importance
of these four plot elements echoed insights into story espoused by Aristotle
and Joseph Campbell? Who knows. Yet I grabbed onto them, both as a writer
and as a teacher, as the next stage in breaking story.
Four Primary Plotline Points

As detailed previously, a writer may think of a screenplay universe as
comprised of two worlds3 :
3 See Chapter 7: Screenplay Universe.

280 S. Myers
• Plotline: The physical realm of a screenplay universe, the domain of

character action and dialogue. This is the story’s external world.
• Themeline: The psychological realm of a screenplay universe, the domain
of character intention and subtext. This is the story’s internal world.
Our focus at this stage of the story-crafting process is the external world,
specifically Four Primary Plotline Points: Act One beginning, Act One end,
Act Two end, Act Three ending. For if as my Mentor believed to be true—
when a writer has not identified this set of significant narrative turning points,
they have nothing—then it stands to reason if a writer can determine this
ensemble of events, they have something. That “something” is the spine of
the plotline.
Summary
Four Primary Plotline Points not only echo Aristotle and Joseph Camp-
bell’s theories about story, they also provide the cornerstones for the overall
structure of the narrative’s chronology of events.
Writing Exercise Example: Four Primary Plotline Points
Fig. 17.1 Dug, Carl, and Russell flying in the dirigible in Up (2009)
is based on the Pixar movie Up. Here is a take on that story’s Four Primary
Plotline Points as they relate to the Protagonist: Carl Fredricksen (Fig. 17.1).
Act One beginning: Carl is introduced as a young boy, caught up in fantasies of being
a world adventurer.
This establishes that Carl does have the spirit of adventure within, even if Ellie’s death
and old age have caused it to lie dormant deep within his psyche .
Act One end: Threatened with a forced relocation into an old folks home, Carl vows
to fulfill his promise to Ellie by flying his balloon house to Paradise Falls in South
America.
This represents his conscious goal, however, his plan is complicated when he discovers a
stowaway: Russell.
Act Two end: Faced with a choice created by the Nemesis (Charles Muntz)—fight to
rescue Kevin or save his house which has been set afire—Carl chooses the latter.
Carl achieves his conscious goal by bringing the balloon house to settle atop Paradise Falls,
but it is a pyrrhic victory, both because he has betrayed a promise he made to Russell – to
get Kevin back to her brood – and the end of this journey only reminds him of the pain
he feels at Ellie’s absence.
Act Three ending: Carl, along with Russell and Dug, vanquish Muntz and return
Kevin to her youngsters.
In a dramatic final test, Carl discovers he has found a surrogate family in Russell and
Dug.
Carl’s conscious goal creates the story’s narrative drive , but it is the relationships he forges
with Russell and Dug which empowers his character arc .
Breaking Story Exercise Three: Four Primary Plotline Points

Based on what you have learned about your characters and the story emerging
around them as a result of the Protagonist Character Treatment and Master
Brainstorming List exercises, take an initial pass at the Four Primary Plotline
Points.
• What is the Beginning: Explore an effective way to establish the story
universe and create the foundation for the Protagonist’s journey.
• What is the Act One end: Think of an event which marks the Protagonist’s
departure from the old world, locking down their journey into the new
world.
• What is the Act Two end: Brainstorm an event or events which twist the
plotline into a major reversal against the Protagonist, putting into doubt
their ability to succeed while testing them to see if they have the will to go
forward against all odds.
282 S. Myers
• What is the Ending: Imagine what the culminating challenge the Protag-
onist faces wherein they bring together all they have learned during their
journey and face their deepest fears, often in the form of the Nemesis.
You may already envision a scene or scenes for any or all of these plotline
points. If so, sketch out key details. If not, describe the purpose of each plot-
line point as it relates to the narrative and the Protagonist’s role in it. In
either case, none of what you write in this exercise is definitive and unal-
terable; rather, the mindset you should have is that this represents an initial
take on the backbone of your plot’s structure. Your understanding of it will
continue to evolve as you enter more fully into the lives of your characters.
This exercise lays the groundwork for the next stage in breaking story,
whereby the focus shifts from the external world to the internal world and
the psychological journey of the characters, specifically the Protagonist.
References
Aristotle (author), Bywater, I (translator) (2017). Poetics; Digireads.com Publishing.
Moyers, B and Campbell, J (1988). The Power of Myth; Mystic Fire Video /
Wellspring.
18
Breaking Story IV Four Themeline
Movements

• Four Themeline Movements: Disunity, Deconstruction, Reconstruction, Unity,
the four stages of the unity arc. Also: Four-Act Structure.
• Inactive: The inert status of the Protagonist before they commit to the
journey leading to their metamorphosis. Also: Disunity.
• Reactive: Upon entering the new world, the Protagonist struggles to adapt
as their old ways of being are found wanting when facing challenges and
tests. Also: Deconstruction.
• Proactive: Once their authentic nature emerges from within, the Protag-
onist discovers newfound energy as they grow into their true self. Also:
Reconstruction.
• Coactive: Integrating everything they have learned along with the empow-
erment they experience by embracing their core essence. Also: Unity.
• Unconscious Goal: The Protagonist’s ultimate need, to engage and integrate
aspects of their Core Essence in order to grow into who they are to become.
Also: Narrative Imperative.
The previous chapter’s focal point was the external world of the screen-
play universe: the plotline. This is the domain of the story’s progression
through physical space and time. The writing exercise in that third stage of
breaking story involves considering four questions: What is the story’s begin-
ning? What is the Act One end? What is the Act Two end? What is the story’s

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ending? These Four Primary Plotline Points lay the foundation for the story
structure of the external world.
However, the plotline does not comprise the totality of story structure.
There is also the internal world, the narrative progression through psycho-
logical space and time. In almost all stories, the Protagonist undergoes a
metamorphosis, their emotional and cognitive nature transformed by the
events they experience during their journey, along with the characters they
encounter, each influencing the Protagonist in their own unique way.
While there are different types of character arcs, the predominant paradigm
in movies and television is the unity arc.1 In it, the Protagonist evolves from
an initial state of disconnection from their authentic nature toward an ending
state where they have aligned themselves with that nature. Sometimes this
involves confronting an emotional wound from events in their past. The
Protagonist must pierce through whatever psychological fortress they have
created to imprison those painful associations. This is a challenging, but
necessary part of their journey in order to know, understand, and embrace
their true self, enabling them to move toward a state of wholeness.2
The Protagonist does not leap from one condition of being to the other;
rather, they go through a series of psychological stages. While it is the events
of the plotline that incite this growth and the influence of other char-
acters that foster transformation, it is the reactions by the Protagonist to
these occurrences that drive them deeper into their inner self. Through these
experiences, they eventually connect with their ultimate need. For purposes
of the story-crafting process, you may think of this internal world as the
themeline.3 It is comprised of Four Themeline Movements: Disunity, Decon-
struction, Reconstruction, and Unity.4 The writer’s exploration of these
passages unfolding within the Protagonist’s psyche is the point of focus during
this next stage of breaking story.
1 Chapter Two: Character Arc explores three examples of alternate arcs: Change Agent, Refuse Change,
and Disintegration.
2 As noted previously, there are multiple ways to describe a character’s authentic nature such as true
self, core essence, and ultimate need.
3 For more on themeline, see Chapter Seven: Screenplay Universe.
4 For an in-depth analysis of the Four Themeline Movements, refer to Chapter Three: Unity, Chapter
Four: Deconstruction, Chapter Five: Reconstruction, and Chapter Six: Unity. This is also how we
can look at story structure as having a Four-Act Structure.
Four Themeline Movements

Disunity: At the story’s beginning, the Protagonist dwells in their ordinary
world. It may be rooted to a specific locale, their lifestyle, or more typically
both, but one thing is clear: From a psychological perspective, this existence
is not the one they are supposed to be leading. They are living their life one
way when they are fated to live it differently. As Joseph Campbell says of the
initial state of the hero’s journey: “The hero needs to change, even if they
are unaware of that need.”5 Whatever way of life they have created for them-
selves or has been created for them has put the Protagonist out of alignment
with the individual they are to become. Again from Campbell: “The hero is
making do, but feels something missing, a sense of discomfort or tension.”6
This is the essence of disunity: The Protagonist is fundamentally separated
from their core essence and as such is initially leading an inauthentic exis-
tence. In part, Act One serves as an exploration of the character’s disunity
state.
Another way to think about disunity is this: Relative to the journey they
need to take, the Protagonist is Inactive. Detached from their genuine nature,
they are not even engaged in a process to lead them toward that nature …
yet.
Examples: While intent upon career advancement, C.C. Baxter is discon-
nected from his inner “mensch” (The Apartment – 1960); Annie’s romantic
delusions mask an inability to accept her flawed, ordinary self (Bridesmaids –
2011); Chris represses the paralyzing fear he experienced as a boy on the night
of his mother’s death (Get Out – 2017); Fleabag seeks meaningless hook-ups
to distract from the guilt she feels about her best friend’s suicide (Fleabag –
2016, 2019); Miriam “Midge” Maisel has lapsed into the roles of wife and
mother while ignoring a creative comedic voice yearning to be heard (The
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – 2017–2019, 2021).
From the perspective of the Protagonist’s psychological journey, this is the
function of the inciting incident: An initiating event which jolts the Protag-
onist out of their existential inertia. By Act One’s end, they are compelled
to depart their ordinary world and plunge into a new world of life-altering
challenges and encounters.
Deconstruction: At first, the Protagonist experiences this different envi-
ronment as a stranger in a strange land. They may confront unknown faces,
unfamiliar subcultures, and peculiar norms. Instinctively, the Protagonist
5 The Power of Myth, Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell, Episode 1, Mystic Fire Video / Wellspring,
1988.
6 Ibid.
286 S. Myers
relies on their old ways of being, however, these learned behaviors are found
wanting. Established habits and practices simply do not work well or at
all amidst the unpredictable tests which arise along this precarious path.
The Protagonist’s world has changed and they must also change in order to
survive.
During this movement, commonly exhibited through the first half of Act
Two, the Protagonist shifts into a Reactive mode. Tests they encounter, both
large and small, set them back on their heels. It does not help that their
preexisting beliefs, coping skills, and defense mechanisms prove increasingly
fruitless from one hurdle to the next.
Examples: Antonio Salieri’s devotion to God and music is shaken to the
core when he has to compete as court composer with the irreverent genius
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Amadeus – 1984); through a series of therapy
sessions with Dr. Melfi, Tony Soprano confronts his emotional vulnerabil-
ities (The Sopranos – 1999–2007); when he learns his father is dying of
cancer, Will Bloom returns home and is forced to face deep-seated grievances
from the past (Big Fish – 2003); seventeen years after an acrimonious split,
homicide detectives Cohle and Hart must work through mistrust and mutual
recriminations to solve a murder which hearkens back to deadly events years
ago (True Detective – 2014); after living in poverty for years, the Kims
discover a collective ability to lie, cheat, and steal their way into cushy jobs
with a naïve wealthy family (Parasite – 2019).
Interestingly, while the Protagonist likely experiences this part of their
pilgrimage as a negative, in fact, it is an essential stage in their journey toward
wholeness. For it is precisely the fact their old customs prove ineffectual—
battered and broken by the onslaught of unfolding events—which enables
their core essence to emerge from the dusky confines of their unconscious
into the light of consciousness.
Reconstruction: Freed from the strictures of the Protagonist’s original
psyche state whereby they repressed or ignored their true self within, hidden
aptitudes and latent instincts manifest themselves. The process whereby the
character integrates these previously untapped dynamics takes time, usually
during the second half of Act Two.
Here, the Protagonist shifts into a Proactive posture. No longer hamstrung
by the misfit old ways of being, they progressively rely on empowering inner
dynamics which continue to emerge in both thought and deed.
Examples: By bonding with the traumatized orphan Newt, Ripley not only
reconnects with her maternal instincts, she overcomes her dread of the alien
beings (Aliens – 1986); in discovering a passion, if not talent, for acting,
Barry seeks a new life while resisting the pull back into his assassin ways
(Barry – 2018-present); obsessed with success as a crime scene videographer,

Louis Bloom embraces his own smoldering criminal instincts, leading him
into evermore serious illegal activities (Nightcrawler – 2014); in pursuing the
truth of a kidnapping gone horribly awry, second-rate private investigator
Perry Mason trains to become an attorney to defend a client he believes is
innocent of a capital offense (Perry Mason – 2020); his soul trapped inside
the body of a therapy cat, Joe chases 22, who has inhabited Joe’s body, and
comes to see his earthly existence in a new light (Soul – 2020).
Each obstruction and test is an opportunity for the Protagonist to embrace
their authentic nature. The more they do, the more empowered they become.
The process of metamorphosis is one in which the Protagonist increasingly
aligns themselves with their core essence and in so doing fuels their passage
forward.
Unity: While the events of the plotline in Act Three move the narra-
tive toward some sort of final test, from a psychological standpoint, this is
all about what the Protagonist has learned during their journey: emotional
wisdom from the Attractor; intellectual wisdom from the Mentor; an embrace
of their emerging true self; and a grasp of their ultimate need. The latter is
their Unconscious Goal , that deepest aspect of their inner psyche which, once
recognized, becomes the cornerstone of the Protagonist’s unity state.7
During this determinative stage of the Protagonist’s journey playing out in
Act Three, they shift into a Coactive mode of being, whereby they coalesce
transformative truths they have discovered along the way and connect them
with their emerging authentic nature.
Examples: George Bailey comes to understand that, indeed, he has built
“big things” in the small but meaningful lives of the inhabitants of Bedford
Falls, overriding his wish to have never been born (It’s a Wonderful Life –
1946); after a series of life lessons in morality and personal growth, Eleanor—
along with other citizens of the Good Place—chooses mortality on Earth over
immortality, the opportunity to begin a new life (The Good Place – 2016–
2020); realizing that the abuse he suffered as a foster child was not his fault,
Will Hunting finally accepts his genius, but on his own terms as he heads to
California to seek out the woman he loves (Good Will Hunting – 1997); Beth
Harmon struggles with drug and alcohol addiction to wrangle her talent as a
chess prodigy, finally besting her rival while discovering a sense of balance in
her life (The Queen’s Gambit – 2020); coming to grips with the death of her
7 Indeed, one way of looking at Story is the events of the plotline and the characters surrounding
the Protagonist all exist to serve and support the Protagonist’s psychological pilgrimage. From this
perspective, it is all about the Protagonist discovering their ultimate need which serves as the fulcrum
of their metamorphosis toward unity.
288 S. Myers
daughter, Ryan Stone rekindles a desire to live, pulling her out of a suicide
attempt, then overcomes one reentry obstacle after another in a miraculous
“rebirth” on Earth (Gravity – 2013).8
If the Protagonist has integrated all they have learned into their conscious
being, they stand a good chance of succeeding in the final struggle, thus,
ushering them toward a state of unity.
Summary
It is important to understand that while the Protagonist forges ahead through
the events of the plotline in the external world, their journey fundamentally is
an inward one, for the key to their metamorphosis already lies within. Indeed,
it has been there all along. As Joseph Campbell says, eventually the hero
makes this realization: “The perilous journey was a labor not of attainment
but reattainment, not discovery but rediscovery.”9 That authentic nature …
true self … core essence … ultimate need … represents their unconscious
goal, the existential reason why they are fated to go on the journey they
undertake, their narrative imperative: to become who they already are. From a
psychological perspective, the Protagonist does this through four movements:
Disunity (Inactive), Deconstruction (Reactive), Reconstruction (Proactive),
and Unity (Coactive).
Writing Exercise Example: Four Themeline Movements

is based on the Pixar movie Up. Here is a take on that story’s Four Themeline
Movements as they relate to the Protagonist: Carl Fredricksen (Fig. 18.1).
Disunity: Carl has lost the love of his life, his deceased wife Ellie. The spirit of
adventure he felt as a youth is now buried deep within his psyche. The house in which
he lives acts as a constant reminder of Ellie’s absence. The home is surrounded by
skyscrapers, symbolic of Carl’s unwillingness to change. The house is also the physical
manifestation of Ellie, even after she has died. Carl is a loner who rejects human
interaction. He is a sad, sour curmudgeon. He is stringing out the remaining days of
his existence, a lifeless individual.
8 For an in-depth analysis of Stone’s Protagonist journey, see: Movie Analysis: ‘Gravity,’ Scott Myers,
Go Into The Story, August 2019, https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/movie-analysis-gravity-43ef07
f181a5.
9 Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, (Princeton University Press, 1968), p. 24.
Fig. 18.1 Russell, Carl, and Dug eating ice cream and counting cars in Up (2009)
Deconstruction: The privacy of Carl’s house is disrupted by the unwanted appearance

of Russell. The boy’s enthusiasm for adventure rubs Carl the wrong way. Russell’s
presence creates an impediment for Carl to achieve his conscious goal: get the house to
the top of Paradise Falls. His desire for isolation is disrupted further by the appearance
of Kevin and Dug. Try as he may to escape these three interlopers, they refuse to
leave his side. He is forced to accommodate their presence. Upon learning how Russell
has “lost” his father, echoing Carl’s loss of Ellie, Carl develops a fledgling emotional
connection with the boy.
Reconstruction: Carl makes a promise to Russell: He will make sure Kevin gets back
to her brood. Carl meets his childhood hero Muntz, but realizes Muntz’s obsession with
finding the mysterious bird represents a danger to Russell, Kevin, Dug, and himself.
In attempting to escape from Muntz and keep Kevin out of Muntz’s clutches, Carl
reconnects with his inner instinct for adventure. In the process, Carl discovers a growing
bond with Russell, Kevin, and Dug.
Unity: Given the choice of saving Kevin or his burning house, Carl chooses the latter.
This turns out to be an empty victory because while Carl achieves his conscious goal
(i.e., get the house to the top of Paradise Falls), he has broken Russell’s trust based
on his promise to get Kevin back to her babies. When Carl receives Ellie’s “beyond
the grave” blessing to have a new adventure, he takes off to rescue Kevin and protect
Russell. Working as a team with Russell and Dug, Carl vanquishes Muntz. Carl fulfills
his promise to Russell by bringing Kevin back to her family. Carl willingly acts as a
stand-in for Russell’s Wilderness Explorer promotion ceremony. Carl, Russell, and Dug
enjoy ice cream together as a surrogate family. In effect, Carl is “resurrected” into a
vibrant new life.
290 S. Myers
Breaking Story Exercise Four: Four Themeline Movements

After focusing on the plotline in the previous assignment, the next stage in
breaking story is to venture into the psychological domain of the Protagonist’s
journey by exploring Four Themeline Movements.
• What is the Protagonist’s disunity: Explore aspects of the character’s
psyche from which they are disconnected at the story’s beginning including
their true self.
• What is the Protagonist’s deconstruction: Consider how the Protagonist’s
old ways of being fail them as they navigate their way into and through the
new world.
• What is the Protagonist’s reconstruction: As deconstruction allows the
Protagonist’s authentic nature to emerge into the light of conscious-
ness, identify how that dynamic manifests itself as part of the character’s
transformation process.
• What is the Protagonist’s unity: Reflect on the nature of the change that
lies at the heart of the Protagonist’s unity arc.
Be mindful that this key character’s metamorphosis has a coherence to it.
Unlike real life in which an individual’s conscious attempts to change often fall
aside, subject to the “one step forward, two steps back” syndrome, the Protag-
onist’s progression from disunity to unity is incremental in nature. This is
especially true in movies in which characters may undergo significant changes
to their psychological state in two hours or less.
Thus, as you work with your Protagonist, be conscious that every event
and character interaction contributes to their process, relative to where they
are in the unity arc. This connection between plotline and themeline, external
world and internal world lies at the foundation of a story’s synergy between
events which the Protagonist encounters and their reactions to those events.
This is the substance of the character’s metamorphosis—moment by moment,
scene by scene, plotline point by plotline point.
References
Moyers, B and Campbell, J (1988). The Power of Myth; Mystic Fire Video /
Wellspring.
19
Breaking Story V Ten Major Plotline Points

• Opening: A scene or scenes that begin the story and introduce key narrative
elements to be explored moving forward.
• Hook: An event near the midpoint of Act One that disrupts the Protagonist’s
normal life and compels them to respond.
• Lock: An occurrence at the end of Act One, confirming the Protagonist’s
shift from their old world into the new world.
• Deconstruction Test: A challenge the Protagonist survives only to grasp how
their old ways of being are ineffectual in this new environment.
• Transition: At the midpoint of Act Two, a test which compels the Protagonist
to recognize the potential of their true self as it emerges from their inner
psyche.
• Reconstruction Test: A hurdle the Protagonist overcomes by embracing their
authentic nature which in turns grows in strength.
• All Is Lost: A major reversal at the end of Act Two which stops the Protago-
nist in their tracks and causes them to question if they have the will to go
on.
• Offensive: Tapping into an inner power, the Protagonist summons the
resolve to continue their journey despite the long odds against success.
• Final Struggle: A decisive showdown between who the Protagonist has
become and the adversarial forces aligned against them.
• Denouement: An unwinding of the journey which depicts the ending
physical and psychological state of the Protagonist.

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_19
292 S. Myers
There are moments in their journey where the Protagonist takes time to
reflect upon where they have been and how they have reached where they
are. These thoughtful junctures not only give the character perspective on
the trials they have recently confronted, but also inspire them to continue
forward on the uncertain path awaiting them. Such a scene occurs in The
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Frodo and Sam are just about done
in by the many physical and mental hardships they have confronted during
their quest. There on the slopes of Mount Doom, they contemplate the past,
present, and future.
EXT. GORGOROTH PAIN, MORDOR - NIGHT
CLOSE ON: SAM crawls to FRODO who lies SLUMPED against the
rock-face ...he turns him over, holding him in his ARMS.
SAM
(softly)
Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo?
... It'll be spring soon, and the orchards
will be in blossom; and the birds will be
nesting in the hazel thicket; and they'll
be sowing the summer barley in the lower
fields; and eating the first of the
strawberries with cream.
(looking down at FRODO)
Do you remember the taste of strawberries?
CLOSE ON: FRODO shuts his eyes, his breath coming in GASPS.
FRODO
(weak whisper)
No, Sam. I can't recall the taste of food;
nor the sound of water; nor the touch of
grass ... I'm naked in the dark.
(rising panic)
There's no veil between me and the wheel of
fire. I can see him with my waking eyes!
CLOSE ON: SAM looks at FRODO with GRIM DETERMINATION.
SAM
Then let us be rid of it - once and
for all! Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can't
carry it for you ... but I can carry
you! Come on!
With that, SAM lifts FRODO onto his shoulders and starts to
CLIMB MOUNT DOOM! His plain hobbit-face grows stern, almost
grim, as the will hardens in him.
WIDE ON: TWO TINY HOBBITS on the ENDLESS shale SLOPES of

the MOUNTAIN...a
aThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, screenplay by Fran Walsh &
Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson, novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. Movie script,
October 2003, pp. 129–130.
So, too, with writers on their journey in breaking story. The quest to
discover a story is not an easy one, the struggle to understand the characters
and make sense of the plot at times an overwhelming task. There are even
moments when voices in your head, like Gollum, may tempt you to give
up your “precious” creative undertaking. Yet by pausing and looking back at
your sojourn, you realize how far you have come … and how close you are
to reaching the goal. Thus, consider the story-crafting process which has led
you to this point.
• Breaking Story I: Protagonist Character Treatment. Using eight key

questions, you initiated the exploration of your story’s most critical char-
acter: Who is the Protagonist? What does the Protagonist want? What does the
Protagonist need? What is the eventual resolution of the Protagonist’s want and
need? What is at stake for the Protagonist? Who or what opposes the Protagonist?
What does the Protagonist fear the most? Why does this story have to happen
to this Protagonist at this time? You aggregated the questions and responses
into a Protagonist Character Treatment. Your expectation was not to know
all of the answers, but rather to use the queries as a way to open the door
to this uncharted narrative space with the Protagonist as your guide.1
• Breaking Story II: Master Brainstorming List. In this next stage, you
widened the scope of your inquiry into the far corners of the story universe.
You accomplished this through a rigorous focus on brainstorming, using
a series of freewheeling character development activities to engage your
story’s inhabitants: three indirect engagement exercises where you reflected
about individual characters (Questionnaire, Biography, and Free Scene) and
three direct engagement exercises where you immersed yourself within
the experience of your characters (Interview, Monologue, and Stream of
Consciousness). Amassing this content into a Master Brainstorming List,
you sorted the wheat from the chaff, identifying promising narrative
1 See Chapter 15 for more on the Protagonist Character Treatment.

294 S. Myers
elements which you collected as a series of bullet points in the form of

top sheets. This last part of the formal brainstorming process transitioned
you from exploration mode into the next phase: wrangling the story.2
• Breaking Story III: Four Primary Plotline Points. Here you considered
a group of questions selected to pinpoint the spine of the story’s plotline:
What is the Beginning? What is the Act One end? What is the Act Two end?
What is the Ending? Ideally, you could etch those responses in stone, but for
some in their process, this exercise may be more akin to plunging prelim-
inary stakes in the sand. No matter how clear or unclear the answers are,
they represent a first pass at pulling together the overall trajectory of the
Protagonist’s journey through physical time and space.3
• Breaking Story IV: Four Themeline Movements. After absorbing your-
self in the story’s external world, you shifted focus to the internal world, the
domain reflecting the Protagonist’s psychological journey. You delved into
the character’s emotional life with another set of questions: What is their
Disunity state? What is their Deconstruction process? What is their Reconstruc-
tion process? What is their Unity state? If their sojourn is one where hidden
aspects of their psyche emerge into the light of day and the Protagonist
integrates them in their passage toward wholeness, these four movements
represent a logical, yet organic path to understanding the character’s unity
arc.
Having worked with both the external and internal worlds of the screen-
play universe, you are prepared to progress from wrangling the narrative to
the next and final aspects of breaking story: construction.4
Ten Major Plotline Points

The goal of this stage is to expand Four Primary Plotline Points into Ten
Major Plotline Points. Why ten? This hearkens back to a conversation with
Larry Gordon, who produced the movie K-9 (1989), based upon a spec
script I co-wrote. What he shared about the plotting process, the “whammo
theory,” is detailed in this excerpt from a book written by another Hollywood
producer Art Linson:
2 See Chapter 16 for more on the Master Brainstorming List.

3 See Chapter 17 for more on Four Plotline Points.
4 See Chapter 18 for more on Four Themeline Movements.
When you run out of theories and you can sense the writer’s eyes are getting
glassy, you can always pull out the Whammo Chart. Supposedly Joel Silver
got this from Larry Gordon, who got it from some Egyptian who worked at
American International Pictures (AIP) many years ago. As the legend spreads,
it is a scientifically tested theory which requires each action script to have a
“Whammy” every ten pages. This would be a big-action set piece, something
that would kick you in the groin and wake you up. If the script wavers a bit,
spending a little too much time on nuance and character, it violates the theory.
According to the natural laws of physics, without a bang the audience is buying
popcorn by the twelfth page and looking for the exit sign if you stretch it to
page twenty-five.5
It is a worthy and admirable undertaking to study Aristotle’s theory of

Beginning, Middle, and End … to delve into Joseph Campbell’s reflections
on The Hero’s Journey… to ponder Carl Jung’s concept of Individuation. As
you have learned in these pages, each has relevance in grasping the essence of
character-driven storytelling and its role in determining a story’s structure.
However, in the realpolitik of commercial storytelling, movies and televi-
sion are fundamentally about entertaining an audience by engaging them
emotionally. Therefore, in a very real and pragmatic way, a writer does well
to heed the admonition of veteran Hollywood producers: Every ten pages or
so, give the reader a whammo.6
To be sure, something happens in every scene. At their core, scenes exist to
move the narrative forward. Thus, each scene must have a point to justify its
existence. An event happens which engages characters, the outcome of which
pushes them ahead in their collective journey. That is a given for any and all
scenes.
However, plotline points are sizably different. Something big happens.
Big enough to jolt a reader’s imagination. Big enough to reset the audi-
ence’s perception of everything that has come before. Big enough to act as
a cliffhanger. From a writing point of view, a plotline point is a significant
event that twists the narrative in a dramatic new direction.
With that as a preface, here is an overview of Ten Major Plotline Points.
5 Art Linson, A Pound of Flesh: Perilous Tales of How to Produce Movies in Hollywood (Grove Press,
1998), p. 64.
6 There is no set number of plotline points. For example, in a Go Into The Story interview with
2012 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting recipient Allan Durand, he responded to a question about
how he structured the plot for his Nicholl-winning script: “The way I did it is every five to ten
pages, I wanted a big fist to come out of the screenplay and punch the reader right in the gut.”
Interview: Allan Durand, Scott Myers (editor), Go Into The Story, January 2013, https://gointothe
story.blcklst.com/interview-allan-durand-2012-nicholl-winner-5377f9638f3d.
296 S. Myers
ACT I
OPENING
An introduction to the story universe and some of its major characters,
including the Protagonist and their disunity state.
HOOK
An unexpected incident occurs, jumbling the Protagonist’s world which
necessitates a response.
LOCK
Events propel the Protagonist out of their ordinary world and into the
new world of their metamorphosis journey.
ACT II
DECONSTRUCTION TEST
On the defensive, the Protagonist confronts signi icant opposition,
capped by an occurrence that tests their old ways of being.
TRANSITION
A major challenge arises which the Protagonist survives by a tentative
embrace of some key aspects of their emerging authentic nature.
RECONSTRUCTION TEST
In this biggest trial to date, the Protagonist rises to the occasion
inspired by emotional and intellectual wisdom learned along the way.
ALL IS LOST
The Protagonist suffers a massive blow, serving as a major reversal in
fortune putting into question their will to go forward.
ACT III
ON THE OFFENSIVE
The Protagonist digs down to reserves of inner strength and summons
the determination to move ahead despite the odds against them.
FINAL STRUGGLE
The climactic challenge in which the Protagonist, empowered by their
true nature and acquired wisdom, passes this ultimate test.
DENOUEMENT
The Protagonist returns or inds a home, a re lection of their new life as
they have moved toward a state of unity.
Notes on Ten Major Plotline Points

While acknowledging this paradigm is but one way to approach story struc-
ture, there is an inherent flow and internal logic to this sequence of plotline
points.
• Opening: A story must begin somewhere and while the Opening may
occur in the narrative’s past or future, or in some different or parallel
storyline, what appears in the first few pages of a screenplay, television
pilot script, novel, short story, or play has a baseline function of ushering
the reader into that story universe. Since it is critical to create a bond
between the Protagonist and the audience, it is important to establish this
key character as soon as possible. While many promote the importance
of creating a “sympathetic Protagonist,” it is better to focus on writing
a compelling Protagonist, one with a complex psyche featuring at least
some dynamics with which the reader can identify emotionally. One way
to achieve this is to begin the story by portraying aspects of the Protago-
nist’s state of disunity, their flawed, imperfect nature representing the start
of their psychological journey.
• Hook: Some refer to this plotline point as the “inciting incident.” Others
the “call to adventure.” Here we use Hook for it has a double meaning:
This is a significant event that hooks into the narrative and turns it in a
new direction; the event is so dramatic, it hooks the audience’s attention.
This Act One midpoint is a surprising occurrence, unexpected compared
to what has transpired thus far as well as suggesting an unpredictable—
and entertaining—adventure ahead. The Hook is not a random event, but
rather something tethered to the Protagonist’s conscious goal (want) and
unconscious goal (need). The Hook happens because it needs to happen
to jump-start this particular Protagonist on this specific journey.
• Lock: This plotline point at the end of Act One marks a threshold in
which the Protagonist finalizes their departure from the old world and
enters a new experience where the rest of their adventure will take place.
The Lock also serves as a reminder to the writer to have locked down key
narrative elements in setting up the story in the first act: establish the story
universe; introduce the Protagonist and most, if not all of the story’s family
of characters; explore the Protagonist’s disunity state; set up the central
conflict most often involving a Nemesis character or dynamic; make clear
the genre; convey a sense of narrative voice; and suggest the Protagonist’s
conscious goal and unconscious goal. By Act One’s end, the Protagonist
is symbolically locked out of their old world while the audience is locked
into everything they need to know to follow the story as it unfolds in the
pages ahead.
• Deconstruction Test: Amidst the Protagonist’s foray into this unknown
world, they discover something: Out here, their old ways of being—beliefs
and behaviors, coping skills, and defense mechanisms—no longer work so
well or at all. Stumbling along in reactive mode and struggling to survive
298 S. Myers
emotionally and physically, the Deconstruction Test is an event driving

home the point that the Protagonist needs to find a different way forward.
Fortunately, when previous attitudes and practices are found wanting, then
fall to the wayside, the resulting fractures in the Protagonist’s psyche allow
formerly latent dynamics of their true self to creep into their conscious
awareness.
• Transition: A consequential event occurs, forcing the Protagonist to
embrace instincts arising from their authentic nature. The experience may
surprise the Protagonist as this newfound power helps them overcome the
current challenge and yet, there is something familiar about these impulses.
As well there should be, for this first flare of the character’s hidden potential
has existed within their psyche for years—repressed, ignored, or avoided—
but now freed from the chains of their original state of disunity. The
midpoint of the story marks a Transition: From here on out, the char-
acter will rely less on their old ways of being … and more on the positive
dynamism emerging from deep within.
• Reconstruction Test: Pulling together wisdom they have gleaned from
allies, along with a growing connection to their inner self, the Protagonist
is confronted by the most daunting test to date. They succeed, not just
by luck, but through an embrace of their inner strength. This Reconstruc-
tion Test confirms to the Protagonist they are on the right path, not only
toward their conscious goal, but also providing them a foretaste of who
they have the capacity to become. Encouraged by their burgeoning power,
the Protagonist shifts fully into proactive mode with their eyes focused on
the prize.
• All Is Lost: Then, it all falls apart. No matter how empowered the Protago-
nist may now be, the Nemesis is still stronger and manifests that strength in
a decisive response. Staggered, the Protagonist’s forward momentum stops.
Peering into the near future, the path vanishes swallowed by a gloomy
haze of despair and potential defeat. The All Is Lost moment marks a dire
reversal. The Protagonist contemplates their situation, confronted by an
existential question: “Who am I?” Do they give up and return to their
old world as an act of failure … or do they push ahead despite the now
significant odds against success?
• Offensive: A flicker of hope surfaces. Perhaps the Protagonist recalls a key
piece of wisdom they have grasped along the way. Maybe their unique
perspective from the depths of emotional despair provides a revealing
insight into their circumstance. But always, there are an emotion, a feeling,
and a passion which rise up from within to enliven them. True, they are an
underdog and the opposition forces are the overlord, but in this pivotal
moment, the Protagonist experiences a profound connection with their

true self. Mobilizing their courage and focusing their will, the Protagonist
goes on the Offensive.
• Final Struggle: Just as logic (and Aristotle) dictates a story must have a
beginning, it also has an ending. No matter the size or scope of the narra-
tive, intimate family drama to superheroes saving the universe, everything
builds toward a climatic sequence. For the Protagonist, this usually pertains
to their conscious goal, but it always involves their unconscious goal. For
it is their ultimate need—why they were called to this journey in the first
place—which drives the Protagonist through this Final Struggle. While
there may be shades of gray as to the meaning of the story’s resolution,
it is inescapable that this culminating set of events speaks to the end point
of the Protagonist’s metamorphosis: reaching their potential.
• Denouement: There remains one last beat in the story, a chance for the
reader to get a sense of what it all means for the Protagonist and other
key characters … what has been learned during the journey, what has been
gained. If it is a unity arc, the Denouement will portray a semblance of
how this has changed the Protagonist’s life for the better. Now in align-
ment with their true self, they begin a new life. Questions for the writer
to ask about this final moment in the story: What do you want the audi-
ence to feel when they walk out of a theater or turn off their television? What
emotions do you want a reader to carry with them when they close the book?
The denouement provides a final few moments to convey what the story
means on a fundamental human level.
As should be clear from this overview of the Ten Major Plotline Points,
there is a synergy between the inner life of the Protagonist and the events
of the plot. As a writer, you seek to identify plotline points that serve
and support the Protagonist’s psychological journey, encouraging, provoking,
forcing, and eliciting change as part of the character’s arc.
Summary
In constructing the story structure, the writer identifies a succession of plot-
line points which occurs every ten pages or so. As compared to most scenes,
these are significant events which twist the narrative in a new direction. They
not only shift the plot, but also cause the Protagonist to change, moving them
incrementally forward from disunity to deconstruction to reconstruction to
unity.
300 S. Myers
Fig. 19.1 Balloon house atop Paradise Falls in Up (2009)
Writing Exercise Example: Ten Major Plotline Points

Once again using the Pixar movie Up as an example, here is a take on the
story’s Ten Major Plotline Points (Fig. 19.1):
Opening: Introduce Young Carl; his fascination with world famous explorer Charles
Muntz; meet Young Ellie; she enlists him in her adventure club; Young Carl breaks his
arm; that night Ellie visits and shares My Adventure Book; she cajoles Young Carl into
swearing someday he will fly her to Paradise Falls; he immediately falls in love.
Hook: Carl meets and chases away Russell; has an altercation with a construction
worker; summoned to court; ordered to relocate to an old folk’s home.
Lock: Airborne in the balloon house, Carl is annoyed by stowaway Russell; a mighty
storm, Carl knocked unconscious; when he wakes up, it turns out Russell has guided
them to South America.
Deconstruction Test: Guiding the balloon house toward Paradise Falls; Carl picks up
Kevin the bird and Dug the dog to go along with Russell the boy; a frustrated Carl
just wants to be left alone.
Transition: At night in the rain, Carl listens to Russell’s confession about hoping his
absent father will attend Russell’s Wilderness Explorer badge ceremony; Russell coerces
Carl to swear he will help get Kevin back to her babies.
Reconstruction Test: Taken in by Muntz, Carl learns the explorer is obsessed with
finding none other than Kevin; a big chase during which Carl surprisingly helps he,
Russell, and Kevin to escape.
All Is Lost: When Muntz captures Kevin, Carl turns his back on the bird; chooses to
bring the balloon house to the top of Paradise Falls; a hollow achievement as Russell
is crushed by Carl’s betrayal; Ellie’s absence makes Carl’s accomplishment that much
more sorrowful.
Offensive: Carl flips through Ellie’s My Adventure Book only to find a set of
photographs depicting their married life; Ellie’s words beyond the grave, “Go have
a new one (adventure)”; Russell flies away to save Kevin; Carl tosses furniture from the
house to lighten the load and follows Russell.
Final Struggle: Along with Russell and Dug’s assistance, Carl defeats Muntz; says
goodbye to the balloon house as it floats down through the clouds; they all fly away
in Muntz’s dirigible.
Denouement: Carl brings Kevin to her babies; Carl bestows the “Ellie badge” to Russell
at his Wilderness Explorer ceremony; Carl, Russell, and Dug eat ice cream and play
“red car/blue car” fulfilling Russell’s paternal wish; they have become a surrogate family;
the balloon house rests atop Paradise Falls.
Breaking Story Exercise Five: Ten Major Plotline Points

As the focus shifts to constructing the framework of the narrative, use these
ten questions to grow the story’s spine.
• What is the Opening?
• What is the Hook?
• What is the Lock?
• What is the Deconstruction Test?
• What is the Transition?
• What is the Reconstruction Test?
• What is the All Is Lost?
• What is the Offensive?
• What is the Final Struggle?
• What is the Denouement?
A plotline point may consist of one scene or a set of scenes, but each in
its own way will be substantial enough to alter the course of the narrative,
twisting it in a new direction. This process lays the groundwork for the final
stage in breaking story: the scene-by-scene outline.
302 S. Myers
References
Linson, A (1998). A Pound of Flesh: Perilous Tales of How to Produce Movies in
Hollywood ; Grove Press.
Walsh, F & Boyens, P & Jackson, P (screenplay), Tolkien, J.R.R. (novel) (2003).
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; New Line Cinema.
20
Breaking Story VI Scene-By-Scene Outline

• Index Card: A tool a writer uses to note details of individual scenes which
then can be grouped into act or sequence stacks leading to a scene-by-scene
outline. Also: Note Card.
• Scene-by-Scene Outline: A comprehensive version of a story laying out its
structure one scene to the next.
• Sequence Theory: The concept that a screenplay is divided into a set
of scenes, each having a Beginning–Middle–End, which when connected
comprises the story structure.
• Beat Sheet: A scaled down version of the story in which each scene is
described in minimalist terms.
This is where the rubber meets the road. Or when it comes to breaking
story, where the pen meets the paper. Specifically: Index Cards.1 With the
expanse of hi-tech software available nowadays, it is perhaps surprising that
for many writers, an essential tool in the story-crafting process is something
as basic as three-by-five inch index cards.Karen McCullah and Kirsten “Kiwi”
Smith, whose screenwriting credits include 10 Things I Hate About You and
Legally Blonde, use cards.2 So does Dustin Lance Black, who won an Academy
1Also: Note Cards.

2Creative Spark: Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith, Academy Originals, August 2014. https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=dKU8K_Npc-M.

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_20
304 S. Myers
Fig. 20.1 The index card outline for this book
Award in 2009 for Best Original Screenplay for the movie Milk.David Seidler
as well, who received an Academy Award in 2011 for Best Original Screenplay
for the movie The King’s Speech.3 In fact, virtually all television writers employ
index cards to break story. A typical television writers room will have dozens
of cards tacked on walls, the team working on character arcs, brainstorming
potential scenes, sketching out A, B, and C storylines, all ending at some
point with each episode laid out, one card after another. That final product
before a writer goes to pages? A Scene-by-Scene Outline (Fig. 20.1).
Why are index (or note) cards such valuable tools? They are inexpensive
and readily available at any office supply store or even the local drug store.
They can be pinned to the wall, laid out on a table, or arranged on the floor,
thus, they are adaptable to all work environments. You can easily switch the
order of scenes by merely swapping cards. It is a simple, yet satisfying process.
You jot down notes, one scene per card. As the stack of cards grows and you
hold them in your hands, there is a tactile sense the story is coming together,
one scene after another.
3 Creative Spark: David Seidler, Academy Originals, December 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=Z43xej7evbk.
You begin the carding process with Ten Major Plotline Points. Fill out
ten cards, one by one, describing a scene or set of scenes comprising each
plotline point. That short stack of ten cards represents the spine of your story,
the foundation for the plotting process to follow. The next step? The story’s
subplots.
Working with Subplots

As detailed in Chapter Thirteen, this is the relevant writing principle: Subplot
= Relationship. Building off that precept, you create a list of important
character relationships. For example, here is a roster for the Pixar movie Up:
Carl—Ellie
Carl—Russell
Carl—Kevin
Carl—Dug
Carl—Muntz
Carl—Real Estate Developer
Muntz—Kevin
Russell—His Father (in absentia)
Russell—Kevin
Kevin—Her Babies
Dug—Alpha and the Dog Pack
Each of these is a subplot. Each has a beginning, middle, and end. Each
has a specific function tied to both plotline and themeline. Most important,
each is a relationship.
Thus, yet again, it is time for character work. One approach is to pursue
this throughout the breaking story process:
• Master Brainstorming List: Make a list of the characters who have

emerged thus far. What are the central relationships?
• Four Plotline Points: Consider each relationship. What is its beginning
point? What is its end point?
• Four Themeline Movements: Reflect on each relationship. What is the
connection for each character to the Protagonist? What is the respec-
tive narrative function of each character and their relationships with the
Protagonist?
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• Ten Plotline Points: Think about each relationship. What happens during
the middle part of their subplot?
It also works to focus on the subplots at this final stage of story prep by
fleshing out scenes for every relationship from beginning … through the
middle … to the end. As an example, here is the Carl–Dug subplot from
the movie Up:
–– Carl, Russell, and Kevin first meet Dug. He’s a talking dog who has been
tasked by Muntz with tracking down a bird (i.e., Kevin).
–– Muntz’s lead enforcer dog Alpha contacts Dug via video. This leads Alpha,
Beta, and Gamma in the direction of Carl and the others.
–– Carl is fed up with the antics of Dug and Kevin. He tries to get rid of
them, but it is no use as they keep coming back.
–– Dug explains to Carl and Russell that Kevin needs to get back to her
brood and Kevin departs.
–– Dug inadvertently guides Alpha and his squad to Carl and Russell. Dug
feels bad.
–– Dug leads Carl, Russell, Kevin, and the balloon house in an escape from
Muntz and his Alpha dog pack. Dug creates a rock slide to help.
–– When Muntz captures Kevin, Carl tells Dug he is a “bad dog,” sending
the dog away before Carl makes his final push to Paradise Falls.
–– Airborne in the balloon house to find Russell, there is a knock at the door:
It is Dug. This time, Carl welcomes Dug as the dog’s master.
–– Dug assists Carl in his fight with Muntz’s attack dogs.
–– Dug bites Muntz’s leg. Muntz kicks Dug away and shuts him out, leaving
Muntz alone with Carl for a one-on-one battle.
–– Carl, Dug, Russell, and Kevin celebrate defeating Muntz.
–– Dug is in the audience beside Russell’s mother as Russell receives the Ellie
Award from Carl.
–– Dug sits next to Carl and Russell as they eat ice cream and count cars,
Carl calling “red car,” Russell “blue car,” and Dug “gray car.”
Notice the flow of this subplot. It is evidenced not only through the events
themselves, but also by the nature of the relationship between Carl and the
dog. At first, Carl wants nothing to do with Dug. Once Dug realizes Kevin
is the bird his “master” (Muntz) is desperately searching for, and as well that
Kevin is part of Carl’s “clan,” Dug sticks close to Carl and the others. This
allows time for Carl and Dug to interact with some high and low experi-
ences. The middle part of their relationship is capped off with the All Is Lost
plotline point: Carl yells at Dug, calling him a “bad dog” and sends him
away. However, when Carl flies up to Muntz’s airship, Dug reconnects with
Carl, only this time Carl embraces the role of Dug’s new “master,” replacing
Muntz. By the very end, Dug has become an integral part of Carl’s surrogate
family along with Russell, filling the void left by Ellie’s death.
The relationship between Carl and Dug is a helpful reference for the work
you do at this point filling out each your story’s subplots. What is the function
of the subplot in question? What is its specific three-act structure (Beginning–
Middle–End)? What is the relationship arc between the two characters? How
does the other character impact the physical and psychological journey of the
Protagonist?
You may very well already have scenes or at least the seeds of scenes for
various subplots in your Master Brainstorming List. Go through the top
sheets and write down a brief description of each scene on their respective
index card. Separate the cards into individual subplot stacks. The goal: Build
out each subplot into its own complete mini-story.
In order to achieve that goal, it is time to engage in more brainstorming.
Focus on one relationship at a time. Reflect on the questions cited above
related to a subplot: function, structure, relationship arc, impact on the
Protagonist. Allow your mind to wander into possible scenes. You will benefit
by returning to the direct engagement exercises used during the Master Brain-
storming List stage: Interview, Monologue, and Stream of Consciousness.
Pick one of the characters and interact with them, specifically about their
relationship to the Protagonist. You may also be rewarded by doing some
executive thinking, stepping outside the story universe, and connecting the
dots between subplot scenes. What sort of interstitial event could bridge this
scene and that scene? If none comes to mind, simply write TBD (To Be
Determined) on an index card, trusting the scene in question will reveal itself.
Undertake this brainstorming work with every key relationship, focusing
on one at time. As a possible scene emerges, write it down on an index card
and add to that subplot stack. Eventually, you will have developed several
subplots represented by a set of cards, each its own mini-story. Some may have
as few as three cards. Others may have a dozen or more. These in combination
with the Ten Major Plotline Points are the building blocks you will use to
create a scene-by-scene outline.
308 S. Myers
Working with a Character Map

By this stage in breaking story, you should have a clear sense of each char-
acter’s corresponding narrative function. As you move toward an outline,
consider the five Primary Character Archetypes: Protagonist, Nemesis,
Attractor, Mentor, and Trickster. As a point of reference, here is the family
of characters in the movie Up (Fig. 20.2).
Fig. 20.2 Character Map of the movie Up (2009)

• Protagonist: Carl Fredricksen. The story is told through his perspective.

His character undergoes the most significant metamorphosis. All the other
characters are connected to him.
• Nemesis (Major): Charles Muntz. Muntz begins as a false mentor, inspiring
Ellie and Carl’s dream of someday flying to Paradise falls. Ultimately, when
Carl realizes Muntz is his enemy, the Final Struggle becomes a battle
between them. They share a similar shadow: Muntz obsessed with locating
the mysterious bird (who turns out to be Kevin); Carl obsessed with getting
the balloon house to the top of Paradise Falls.
• Nemesis (Minor): Alpha and the Dog Squad. As Muntz’s minions, they
provide a looming threat throughout Act Two before Carl intersects with
Muntz.
• Attractor: Russell. As a Junior Wilderness Explorer, Russell awakens Carl’s
latent spirit of adventure. When the duo bonds over time, Carl embraces
Russell as part of a “father-son” surrogate relationship.4
• Mentor: Dug. As goofy as he is, the dog has insights about this new
world into which Carl and Russell have entered (e.g., Kevin is trying to
get back to her babies, Muntz is searching for Kevin). More importantly,
the example Dug sets (“I have just met you and I love you”) arouses Carl’s
latent ability to love. This enables Carl to bond with Russell and eventually
Dug.
• Trickster: Kevin. The very fact the bird they named Kevin is revealed to
be a female speaks to the character’s shifty persona. Moreover, Kevin is
a troublemaker, appearing when not wanted, disappearing when needed.
Kevin sometimes is an ally, other times an enemy, and tests Carl’s will to
fulfill his promise to Russell: bring Kevin back to her brood.
The relationship between Carl and Muntz forces Carl to answer this exis-
tential question: Who am I? Witnessing first-hand the dark side of obsession,
how Muntz is willing to do anything to restore his reputation, Carl real-
izes his preoccupation with getting the balloon house to the top of Paradise
Falls has blinded him to the possibilities of having a new life. The subplots
between Carl and Russell, and Carl and Dug inform the question: How am I?
These two characters influence Carl’s behavior facilitating his evolution from
cynical loner into a potential companion who grows into his roles as a surro-
gate father and master to a rambunctious talking dog. Finally, the Carl–Kevin
subplot tests Carl, zeroing in on the question: Does he have the will to do what
4 Ellie is the original Attractor. Her death creates a vacuum which Russell fills.
310 S. Myers
needs to be done? This involves Carl fulfilling the promise he made to Russell
to return Kevin to her babies … which eventually Carl does.
This map is a helpful way to sort through the characters who have emerged
in your story-crafting process by determining their respective narrative func-
tions. That insight can inform how you understand the purpose of every scene
in each subplot.
Working with the Sequence Approach

Before moving to the final stage of carding the story, there is one more
concept to incorporate into the process: Sequence Theory.5 It is a popular
approach to screenplay structure in contemporary Hollywood and has histor-
ical roots stretching back to the earliest days of the movie business. Once
filmmakers progressed beyond the era of the “cinema of attraction,” short
entertainments featuring oddities such as crying babies, snowball fights, and
boxing cats, they began to produce actual stories. Initially, they were limited
to one-reel movies which typically held about ten minutes of film stock. The
demand for longer stories led to multiple reel movies as well as serials, over-
arching sagas presented in theaters as weekly episodes. As a result, filmmakers
approached each reel as its own mini-story with a beginning, middle, and
end: a setup of the situation, rising action as the Protagonist seeks to achieve
a goal, resulting in a partial resolution, thus propelling the story into the next
reel. Indeed, once the studio system evolved in the 1920s, scripts (which were
called “continuities”) often designated each reel as a “sequence.”6
The most common use of the sequence approach is to break down a screen-
play into eight sequences, each anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes. As you
will see, this aligns nicely with the Ten Major Plotline Points. The main take-
away: As you card the script structure, you may use the sequence concept as
an organizing principle from one set of scenes to the next.
5 The definitive book on the subject is written by Paul Joseph Gulino: Screenwriting: The Sequence
Approach (Continuum Press, 2004).
6 This practice may have vanished into the mists of time were it not for Czech-American screenwriter,
filmmaker, and educator Frank Daniel. He rediscovered what he called the “sequenced approach” to
film story and promoted it over the course of decades at a number of film schools including Columbia
University, the University of Southern California, and the American Film Institute. As a result, this
approach took root among Hollywood screenwriters and has continued to be popular to this day,
even as it evolves at the hands of working writers.
Working with Index Cards

Let us presume you have done due diligence brainstorming your characters
and fleshing out key subplots. At this point, you will have several stacks of
index cards: one for the Ten Major Plotline Points, one for each subplot. Now
it is time to re-stack the cards.
• Four stacks: They represent Act One, Act Two Part A, Act Two Part B, and
Act Three. Place the Opening, Hook, and Lock cards in Act One; Decon-
struction Test and Transition in Act Two Part A; Reconstruction Test and
All Is Lost in Act Two Part B; Offensive, Final Struggle, and Denouement
in Act Three. Sort through each subplot and their respective cards, placing
each card (scene) in one of the four stacks. If you are uncertain where a
particular scene should go, consider this: Act One = Disunity; Act Two
Part A = Deconstruction; Act Two Part B = Reconstruction; Act Three
= Unity. Use the Protagonist’s character arc as a touchstone to help place
each of the subplot cards.
• Eight sequences: Working with each of the cards in the Act One stack,
divvy them up into two sequence stacks: Opening to Hook (Sequence
One), Hook to Lock (Sequence Two). Do this with Act Two Part A,
Lock to Deconstruction Test (Sequence Three), Deconstruction Test to
Transition (Sequence Four); Act Two Part B, Transition to Reconstruc-
tion Test (Sequence Five), Reconstruction Test to All Is Lost (Sequence
Six); Act Three, All Is Lost to Offensive (Sequence Seven), Offensive
to Final Struggle (Sequence Eight); then the story’s tag representing the
Denouement.
Depending upon the exigencies of the story, a sequence may have four or
fewer cards or ten or more. Whatever the number, your task at this point in
working with the cards is this: see the movie. Starting with cards from the
Opening to the Hook, lay them out, and feel free shuffle their order. Imagine
one scene leading to the next. This is where Aristotle comes back into play:
What sets the sequence into motion? What transpires in the middle, character
actions and events? What leads to a partial resolution, something is resolved
while a new challenge or possibility is set into motion? Once you have those
cards in an order that you can envision as a set of scenes in your movie, set
that stack aside and pick up the next one: Hook to Lock. Do the same thing
for each sequence of cards.
Once you have eight stacks, plus the Denouement, it is time to sort the
cards yet again. Does one scene flow to the next? Is there a timeliness and
312 S. Myers
pacing to the crosscuts between the plotline and various subplots? Is there a
balance between conflict and resolution? Is there a variety of scene types—
exposition, interaction, action, and revelation—to elevate the entertainment
experience of the audience?7 Is there a sense of narrative drive to propel the
story forward? Does each scene answer a question, then raise another to send
the audience onto the next scene?
Of all the questions you may ask as you go through your cards over and
over, the most important one is this: Does each scene, each sequence, each
act serve and support the Protagonist’s journey? Every part of the plot must
be tied to the Protagonist’s fate, each event and each character relationship an
integral part of this critical character’s arc.
Scene-By-Scene Outline
Once you have sorted your cards enough times so you can “see” your movie
from sequence to sequence, you are ready for the final step: create a scene-
by-scene outline. Since every writer and every story is different, there is no
single template. Some writers may begin writing from their cards. Others may
transfer the story into a spreadsheet. Some writers may use a Word or Pages
file and put together something akin to what is often referred to as a Beat
Sheet. Here is an example of this type of outline: The Final Struggle sequence
and Denouement in Act Three from the movie Up.
FINAL STRUGGLE
INT. DIRIGIBLE, TROPHY ROOM
Carl and Muntz engage in an Old Man Sword

Fight.
INT. DIRIGIBLE, COCKPIT
Alpha backs Dug into the control panel, bumping

a lever.
EXT. DIRIGIBLE
It rocks wildly to the side.
7 What type of scene is it?, Scott Myers, Go Into The Story, August 2019, https://gointothestory.blc
klst.com/what-type-of-scene-is-it-f39ea907c302.
INT. DIRIGIBLE, TROPHY ROOM
Trophy cases topple and tumble toward Carl.

He crashes out the window, clinging to frame with
his cane.
Sees Russell hanging on the balloon house.
Carl pushes Kevin up the steps on the outside
of the dirigible.
EXT. DIRIGIBLE
Carl and Kevin make their way up the side.

Muntz follows.
Alpha leaps at Dug, but Dug jams the Cone of

Shame onto Alpha’s head.
Alpha is trapped.
The other dogs are stunned.
Dug tells them to sit. They obey.
EXT. CARL’S HOUSE
Dog-piloted biplanes attack the house, Russell

barely hanging on.
He sees Carl and Kevin on the outside of the
dirigible.
Russell yells at the pilot dogs: “Squirrel!”
Distracted they crash into each other and
parachute down.
EXT. DIRIGIBLE, TOP
Carl and Kevin make it to the top.

A door pops open: It’s Dug.
Russell steers the house over to the dirigible.
Muntz appears, firing a rifle at the house.
The house crashes onto the side of the dirigible.
Carl holds onto the house which now includes

Russell, Kevin, and Dug.
Muntz attacking.
INT. BALLOON HOUSE
Russell, Kevin, and Dug trapped, Muntz kicks

down door, gun in hand.
314 S. Myers
EXT. DIRIGIBLE
Carl waves a chocolate bar for Kevin to see:

“Chocolate!”
Kevin lunges for chocolate, knocking the rifle
from Muntz’s hands.
Muntz falls to his death.

Russell and Dug are alive, holding onto the
balloon house hose.
EXT. DIRIGIBLE, TOP
Carl pulls Russell and Dug onto the dirigible with

Kevin.
They watch the balloon house descend into the
clouds.
Russell: “Sorry about your house, Mr. Fredricksen.”
Carl: “You know, it’s just a house.”
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. KEVIN’S HOME
Kevin reunited with her brood.

Russell, Carl, and Dug bid farewell to the birds.
Carl and Russell pilot the dirigible away.

Dug and the other dogs stick their heads out windows
into the breeze.
DENOUEMENT
INT. AUDITORIUM
Russell there to receive his merit badge.

Father is a no-show.
Carl appears and awards Russell the Ellie badge.
EXT. FENTON’S ICE CREAM PARLOR
Carl and Russell sit on the curb, playing “red car,

blue car.”
Dug calls out: “Gray car.”
The dirigible floats above the store.
The three have become a family.
EXT. PARADISE FALLS
Carl and Ellie’s house rests atop the spot… just as

Ellie imagined it.
For some writers, this is enough detail. Others will include: more dialogue,
specific transitions from scene to scene, reminders about each scene’s central
conflict, character goals, the impact of each scene on the Protagonist’s char-
acter arc, and so forth. There is no “right” way to create an outline. The
critical thing is for you to feel comfortable with this final version of the story,
so you are confident when you move into the next chapter of your process:
writing the first draft.
Summary
An indispensable tool for this stage of breaking story is the index card.
Through a process of noting one plotline point and scene per card, brain-
storming and developing character relationships in order to flesh out key
subplots, and stacking cards, a writer ends up with a scene-by-scene outline.
Breaking Story Exercise Six: Scene-By-Scene Outline

Use the following process to create an outline which will guide you through
the page-writing process.
1. Ten Major Plotline Points: Assign each plotline point to its own indi-
vidual index card. Provide a brief description of what occurs that twists
the story in a new direction.
2. Key Relationships: Identify the story’s most important character subplots,
considering each one’s function, structure, relationship arc, and influence
on the Protagonist.
3. Subplots: Once again, immerse yourself in the lives of your characters,
brainstorming scenes which can flesh out each subplot.
4. Character Map: Consider the respective narrative function of each
member of the “family of characters” and their relationship to the
Protagonist.
5. Act Stacks: Distribute cards into four stacks: Act One, Act Two Part A,
Act Two Part B, and Act Three.
6. Sequence Stacks: Distribute cards into eight stacks: Opening-Hook
(1), Hook-Lock (2), Lock-Deconstruction Test (3), Deconstruction Test-
Transition (4), Transition-Reconstruction Test (5), Reconstruction Test-All
Is Lost (6), All is Lost-Offensive (7), Offensive-Final Struggle (8), plus
Denouement.
316 S. Myers
7. See The Movie: Go through the cards, scene by scene and sequence by
sequence, until you can envision the movie from beginning all the way to
the end.
8. Scene-By-Scene Outline: Based on the cards, create a beat for beat iter-
ation of the story either as an fully detailed outline or less comprehensive
beat sheet.
Feel free to include as much or little detail for your outline. This is a decision
you should make based upon your writing instincts, your past experience as
a writer, and—most importantly—what you will need to best support your
process writing the script.
Summary
This is but one way to approach screenplay structure. While it may reflect
mainstream commercial sensibilities of the Hollywood filmmaking business,
there is no limit to possible narrative paradigms as they relate to creating
movies. I believe it represents the path of least resistance for a writer as it is a
story structure which falls squarely into the wheelhouse of what development
executives, producers, managers, agents, and talent expect when they read
and assess a movie script. However, a writer should not feel constrained by
any structural formula they encounter in learning the craft. If the characters
are identifiable and complex … the story concept intriguing and distinctive
… the journey compelling and entertaining … the emotion authentic and
relatable … a story can be told however it needs to be told.
Yet, the stark reality is this: A story can never be told unless the writer
makes their way through the first draft. This is the next stage in the process
after breaking the story.
References
Black, D. L. (2014). Creative Spark: Academy Originals; Academy of Motion Pictures
Arts and Sciences.
Gulino, P. J. (2004). Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach; Continuum Press.
McCullah, K. and Smith, K. (2014). Creative Spark: Academy Originals; Academy
of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Peterson, B. and Docter, P. (screenplay), Docter, P., Peterson, B. and McCarthy, T.
Seidler, D. (2014). Creative Spark: Academy Originals; Academy of Motion Pictures
Arts and Sciences.
21
Writing the First Draft
No matter what kind of story—novel, short story, feature length screenplay,

one-hour teleplay, and half-hour script—the paramount goal of a first draft
is the same: to type the words The End. Reaching that point means you
have something. The initial draft is certain to be flawed in countless ways and
requiring rewrites, yet imperfect as it is, it can stand on its own as a story.
The first draft is a critical juncture in the story-writing process. Far too
many projects set sail with mighty ambitions, but crash on the rocky shores
of confusion, frustration, and despair. The writer loses sight of where they are
going because they have never figured out the course of the journey to begin
with. If, however, you have done due diligence in breaking story, you know
where you are headed one scene to the next. You have a map to guide you
through the turbulent waters ahead and reach your destination: Fade Out.
Even equipped with a scene-by-scene outline, you face an arduous task in
this stage of your writer’s journey. The sheer process of sitting down day after
day to confront a blank page, progress measured in scenes which struggle to
come to life, makes writing a first draft a battle of attrition. Fortunately, there
are proven practices you can adopt to gird you for the challenges ahead. This
final chapter presents a set of road-tested tactics grouped into three categories:
Attitude, Strategies, and Tricks.

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2_21
318 S. Myers
Attitude
Much of a writer’s success in completing a first draft derives from the attitude
they bring to this stage of the process. Even equipped with an outline, since
each scene still only exists in theory, there is a way in which the first draft
feels akin to creating something out of nothing. It is easy to be overwhelmed
by that undertaking. Embracing an appropriate writer’s attitude can make a
world of difference.
• Journey of discovery: No matter how much you may think you know
about your story and its characters, you will understand considerably more
by the time you reach the end of the first draft. That is because with every
scene you write, you will discover things: insights into character motiva-
tions, backstory, personality, voice; complexities of character relationships
and how each may impact the story; themes and hopefully even the story’s
central theme; objects which emerge as talismans, physical artifacts with
symbolic meaning. Every page has the potential to reveal something new
which you could not anticipate, even while breaking story. Thus, it is
important to embrace a spirit of openness to what comes your way as you
write the first draft because at its core, it is a journey of discovery.
• It will not be perfect: No matter how much you have prepared before
typing Fade In, nor how attuned you are to the emerging story as you write,
you must accept this fact: The first draft is going to need a rewrite. Indeed,
multiple rewrites. This may be a dispiriting thought, especially to a novice
writer, however, if you shift your perspective, this is actually quite freeing.
For if you know the first draft is not going to be perfect, that pressure is
off. You do not need to worry about dotting each “i” or crossing each “t.”
No one needs to see this initial pass at the material but you. Instead of
cringing at the thought of writing an imperfect draft, embrace it. Allow
yourself the freedom to have some fun with each scene. Play around with
transitions. Explore narrative voice. Conjure ways to create more visual
moments. Since it is inevitable the first draft is going to be flawed, revel in
the ride and lean into your creative instincts.
• Get the damn thing done!: There is only one rule about writing a first
draft: Finish it. If it is a journey of discovery, the more you write, the
more you learn, the further you get, the better your understanding. By
reaching The End, you will not only know your story at a much deeper
level than before you started the draft, you will have broken through a
psychological barrier. Instead of, “I want to write this story,” you can now
say, “I have written this story.” You are no longer dealing with something
which exists only in abstraction, you have an actual thing you can read,
review, and revise. That represents a world of difference since having a
first draft in hand provides you a foundation for the rest of your writing
journey. Embrace the golden rule of first drafts: Get the damn thing done!
Strategies
Once you have adopted an appropriate writer’s attitude, there are some key
strategies you can employ to facilitate the first draft process.
• Set a schedule: If you are a university or film school student, this is a given.
Your teacher will set specific dates upon which to deliver script pages. By
the end of the quarter or semester, you will have finished the first draft. If
you are not currently enrolled in school, adopt the same approach: Create
a schedule of due dates. The Ten Major Plotline Points in your scene-
by-scene outline creates an ideal template. Week One, you focus on the
Opening. Week Two, the pages leading up to the Hook. Week Three, the
scenes taking you to the Lock. Over the course of ten weeks, averaging
about ten pages per week—a mere one-and-a-half pages per day—you
will have reached The End. Creating a structure of weekly due dates is
an effective way to motivate yourself to pound out script pages.
• Always go forward: As tempting as it may be to return to previously
written pages and revise them, a more effective strategy for most writers
is to use each writing session to move the story ahead. Every screenwriting
software program includes the ability to insert notes. Make use of this.
When you run into a problem in a scene, note the concern, then go onto
the next scene. This is not only about pushing the story toward the finish
line, it also acknowledges how easy it is to slip into a rut of rewriting pages.
This can not only slow down your progress, but also derail the first draft
entirely, an insidious temptation conveyed by the Voices of Negativity (see
below). Whenever you are tempted to go back and rewrite, refresh your
writer’s attitude: The first draft is a journey of discovery, it will not be
perfect, and your goal is to get the damn thing done.
• Script Diary: Just before you type Fade In and begin the first draft process,
create a Word or Pages document. This is your script diary and you may
begin each writing session here. Note the date and time of day. Gather your
thoughts about the scene you are set to write: what the point of the scene
is, its central conflict, the respective function of each character, transitions
into and out of the scene, and so forth. This is not only your chance to
320 S. Myers
loosen your fingers and your creative muscles, it is also a way for you to
transition from the Real World into the Story World, a bridge to get your
head into a creative space where you can feel your characters and envi-
sion the environment of the scene in question. After you have made that
transition, open your screenwriting program and let your fingers fly.
Tricks
Attitude and strategies are all well and good, but sometimes a writer needs to
reach into their bag of tricks to augment their writing progress.
• Write every day: This may be the single most common piece of advice
professional writers provide when asked about their approach to the craft.
This simple commitment is a trick you can play against the influence of
procrastination. No matter how unenthusiastic or uninspired you may feel
on any given day, sit down … and write. Even if just one scene … one
page … one paragraph … you will have continued a string of consecu-
tive writing days and in so doing, pushed back against the gravitational
pull of lethargy. One key: Set a specific time each day for your writing
session. Ideally, you will have determined what your best creative time is.
Early morning? Late night? Mid-afternoon? Do your best to sync your daily
writing sessions with your personal circadian rhythm where you are at your
peak creatively. This will motivate you to sustain your daily writing ritual.
• Don’t finish that scene: As you approach the end of your daily writing
session and you find yourself in the middle of a scene, stop. Get up and
get on with your life. Why? First, since you know the ending to the scene,
that will ease you into your next writing session. You will be energized
to wrap up the scene and in so doing provide momentum into the next
scene. Second, by stopping in the middle of a scene, your create a kind of
cliffhanger. Your instincts will be to finish it. Carrying that tension with
you overnight will propel you to your desk the next day to experience the
release of writing the end of the scene.
• Voices of Negativity: Just as your characters have an inner world of memo-
ries, thoughts, and emotions, so, too, do you. Doubtless as a writer, you
know well these familiar voices in your head. Sometimes they are sly: “It’s
such a beautiful day, why waste it inside writing?” Sometimes they are
manipulative: “Don’t write that new scene, instead, go back and rewrite
those pages you rewrote yesterday.” Sometimes they can be downright
mean: “This story is awful. Who are you kidding? You are no writer!” These
Voices of Negativity conspire to undercut your creative ambition. Instead

of fighting them, accept that they will never go away. They are a daily part
of your writing experience. Often, you can deal with them by acknowl-
edging their presence, then simply letting them go. Take a deep, cleansing
breath. Go back to the writing. If the voices are particularly chatty, try
this: Have an honest conversation with them. The script diary is a perfect
place to conduct this exchange: “Hey, Perfectionist Voice? I don’t need you
now. Instead, what I need is the freedom to write whatever comes out of
my fingers on the keyboard. But I promise, when I reach the final draft
and do that last edit? You are more than welcome to participate. For now,
goodbye!”
Two Final Pieces of Advice

After all the hard work you have done breaking story and creating an outline,
when you sit down to a scene, set all that aside. Instead, clear your mind and
come at the writing from a feeling place. As the author Ray Bradbury wrote:
I’ve had a sign over my typewriter for twenty-five years now which reads,
“Don’t think.” You must never think at the typewriter, you must feel. Your
intellect is always buried in that feeling anyway. You collect up a data, you do
a lot of thinking away from your typewriter. But at the typewriter, you should
be living. It should be a living experience.1
How best to engender such a living experience, a feeling place when

writing? Why, through your characters, of course. For this scene, this living
moment, ask yourself: Where is each character emotionally? Where are they
in relation to the plotline? Where are they in relation to the themeline? What
are they feeling right now?
Just before you set your fingers on the keyboard, spend time with your
story’s most important character: the Protagonist. Since they are at the center
of the narrative, everything revolving around them, and they are in the midst
of a personal metamorphosis even as change is a challenge, what are they
feeling? What emotions do they bring to the start of this scene? What inner
dynamics are roiling around in their psyche? What need is emerging from the
dark corners of their self? What are they living right now?
1 Day At Night, James Day interviews Ray Bradbury, CUNY-TV, January 21, 1974, https://www.you
tube.com/watch?v=tTXckvj7KL4.
322 S. Myers
Finally, if ever you are confused about your story—and you will be—reach
out to your characters. After all, it is their story. No one knows it better than
your characters. And always…
Begin with character. End with character. Find the story in between.
Index
A disunity elements in 37
Adaptation (2002) 220–223 Nemesis in 148, 249
Addiction (as Disunity element) reconstruction in 80
36–37 Assumed Identity stories 55, 58
Alien (1979) 204–205 Attractor (Character Archetype)
Aliens (1986) 152–153, 286 145–157
All in the Family (1971–1979) 163 in The Apartment 134
All Is Lost (Plotline Point) 298, 301, in Barry 138
306 Buddy Story 159, 167
Almost Famous (2000) 181 in Casablanca 133
Amadeus (1984) 30, 286 in The Dark Knight 140
American Beauty (1999) 58–59, 97 definition of 132, 159, 161
Americans, The (2013–2018) 38 False Attractor 159, 164
Analyze This (1999) 218 as family and friends 165–168
Animal House (1978) 187–191, 249 as inspiration 169–172
Apartment, The (1960) 134, 156, in Killing Eve 139
285 as lover 162–165
Aristotle 276–277, 279, 280, 295, in The Social Network 134–135
299, 311 in television series 163, 167
Arrival (2016) in 10 Things I Hate About You
Attractor characters in 171–172 159–161
Protagonist’s journey in 5 in True Grit 135
Reconstruction in 80 in The Wizard of Oz 133
role of fate in 251 Authentic Nature
As Good As It Gets (1997) attractor characters and 179
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive 323
license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79682-2
324 Index
definition of 75 Big Little Lies (2017, 2019) 77

Mentors and 218 Big Sick, The (2017)
Protagonist’s Need and 245–246 disunity elements in 38
reconstruction and 76, 93, Protagonist-Attractor subplot in
286–288, 291 165
transition event and 298 reconstruction in 80
Tricksters and 201 unity arc in 99
unity arc and 283, 284 Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991)
see also Core Essence; True Self 181
Avengers, The (2012) 151 Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Avengers: Endgame (2019) 151 (1989) 181
Avengers: Infinity War (2018) 151 Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of
Ignorance) (2014) 151, 201
Black, Dustin Lance 303
B Black Swan (2010) 32
Babylon Berlin (2017–present) 202 Blade Runner (1982) 151
Backstory Body Heat (1981) 151
in Breaking Bad 101 Bowen, Elizabeth 272
definition of 35, 36 Bradbury, Ray 321
disunity and 36–38 Brainstorming. See Master Brain-
Back to the Future (1985) storming List (Breaking
disunity elements in 37 Story)
Nemesis in 151 Brainstorming, definition of 258
Protagonist’s Want in 245 Braveheart (1995) 171
reconstruction in 76 Brazil (1985) 249
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar Breaking Bad (2008–2013)
(2021) 167 deconstruction in 55–64
Barry (2018–present) 138, 181, 287 disunity in 42–44
Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, A old ways of being in 64
(2019) 179 reconstruction in 82–84
Beautiful Mind, A (2001) 148, role of fate in 125
219–220 unity in 101–103
Beavis & Butthead (1993–2011) 168 Breaking Story. See Four Primary
Before trilogy (1995, 2004, 2013) Plotline Points (Breaking
210 Story); Four Themeline
Being There (1979) 24 Movements (Breaking Story);
Big Bang Theory, The (2007–2019) Master Brainstorming List
167 (Breaking Story); Protagonist
Big Fish (2003) Character Treatment (Breaking
Deconstruction in 285 Story); Scene-by-Scene Outline
disunity elements in 38 (Breaking Story); Ten Major
Protagonist-Attractor subplot in Plotline Points (Breaking
166 Story)
Big Lebowski, The (1998) 200 Breaking Story, definition of 242
Index 325
Bridesmaids (2011) definition of 19

disunity elements in 38 in Forrest Gump 24
Mentors in 188 in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Protagonist’s journey in 4 24–25
Protagonist-Trickster subplot in in WALL-E 23–24
218–219 Character Arc
Bridges of Madison County, The definition of 19, 20
(1995) 210 in The Incredibles 20
Brokeback Mountain (2005) 164 in Legally Blonde 20
Buddy Story 159, 167 Protagonist as change agent
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1996–2003) 23–25
38, 163 Protagonist who refuses to change
Bull Durham (1988) 202 25–28
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in television storytelling 21, 26,
(1968) 25–27 27, 32
in True Detective 20
see also Disintegration Arc; Unity
C Arc
Cable networks 22 Character Archetypes 7–21, 131
Call to Adventure 35, 52, 179, 251, in The Apartment 134
297. See also Inciting Incident in Casablanca 137
Campbell, Joseph 279, 280, 295 classic movie examples 133–134
The Hero’s Journey 285, 295 contemporary movie examples
The Hero With a Thousand Faces 134–136
5, 277 definition of 135
influence of 5–6 list of Primary Character
on initial state of Hero’s Journey Archetypes 131–133
285 as masks 131, 139–141, 197,
on inward journey of the hero 202, 206, 230
288 in television series 137–139
on the Ordinary World 6, 279 in The Wizard of Oz 133
The Power of Myth (book) 7 see also Attractor (Character
The Power of Myth (PBS series) Archetype); Character
6–7 Map; Mentor (Character
Carnal Knowledge (1971) 32 Archetype); Nemesis (Char-
Carrie (1976) 38, 218 acter Archetype); Protagonist
Casablanca (1941) (as Character Archetype);
Character Archetypes in 133 Trickster (Character Archetype)
disunity elements in 38 Character-driven storytelling
Protagonist-Attractor subplot in character map and 226
163 disunity elements in 36
Cast Away (2000) 148, 249 story prep 241
Change Agent 25–27 in television projects 139
in Being There 24 Character Map
326 Index
behavioral connection 225, 230 D

construction of 226–230 Dallas Buyers Club (2013) 32, 80
definition of 225 Dave (1993) 58, 141
existential connection 225, 229 Dead Poets Society (1989) 32
for Shakespeare in Love 233 Death (as Disunity element) 36
for The Silence of the Lambs Death Wish series (1974, 1982,
230–232 1985, 1987, 1994) 39, 171
for Spider-Man: Into the Deconstruction (Themeline
Spider-Verse 234–235 Movement)
Cheers (1982–1993) 163 in Breaking Bad 62–64
Children of Men (2006) 170 comedic twists in 58
Chinatown (1974) 249 in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 66–69
Citizen Kane (1941) definition of 55–57
Disintegration Arc in 28–30, 31 in formalized settings 57
Mentors in 185 physical manifestations of 58
City Slickers (1991) 188 in Spider-Man: Into the
Coco (2017) 38, 200 Spider-Verse 69–71
Community (2011–2020) 168 variations of 57–58
Conflict, Nemesis as 150–153 in The Wizard of Oz 56–57
Conjuring, The (2013) 151 see also Reactive mode
Conscious Goal Deconstruction Test (Plotline Point)
definition of 275 291, 297, 301
Four Primary Plotline Points and Denouement (Plotline Point)
279 definition of 95, 291, 299
Protagonist’s Want as distinct in Finding Nemo 124
from 251 in The Old Guard 200
in Shakespeare in Love 233 in The Silence of the Lambs 100
in The Silence of the Lambs 230 in Spider-Man: Into the
Ten Major Plotline Points and Spider-Verse 113
294, 295 in 10 Things I Hate About You
in Up 281, 288, 289 159
Core Essence 242, 245, 283, 285, in Up 301, 314–315
286–287, 288 Descendants, The (2011) 97–98
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015–2019) Deuce, The (2017–2019) 38
deconstruction in 66–69 Devs (2020) 183
disunity in 46–49 Dexter (2006–2013)
reconstruction in 89–92 disunity elements in 38
role of fate in 125 Mentors in 178
unity in 106–110 Protagonist’s Character Arc in 32
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) 148, 181 Protagonist’s personal
Creed (2015) 151 metamorphosis in 5
Cujo (1983) 151 Die Hard (1988) 97, 148, 244
Dirty Dancing (1987) 162–163
Disintegration Arc 30–34
Index 327
in Amadeus 30 home 38
in Citizen Kane 28–31 mental illness 37
definition of 19 parent 38
in The Night Of 32 work 38
popularity of 22 disunity elements in 285
Taxi Driver 33 Divorce 2016–2019 163
in television storytelling 22 DNA, character 8
in The Wolf of Wall Street 30–32 Donnie Darko (2001) 214
District 9 (2009) 58 Double Indemnity (1944) 31, 251
Disunity (Themeline Movement) Drive (2011) 21, 80
285
in Aliens 152
Attractor characters and 161, 212 E
in Breaking Bad 42–44 Edge of Seventeen, The (2016) 181
character-driven storytelling and Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
38 deconstruction in 58
in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 49 Mentors in 180
deconstruction and 56, 69 Nemesis in 150
definition of 6, 35, 285 reconstruction in 80
Event and Response process and Elephant Man, The (1980) 149
119 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) 167
in The Hero’s Journey 275, 285 Euphoria (2018–present) 37
inauthentic existence and 75, 113 Event and Response 8, 119, 125
inciting incident an 293 Ex Machina (2014) 156, 164, 183
in Jerry Maguire 213 Exorcist, The (1973) 248
Mentors and 179 External World
narrative imperative and 11 Character Arc and 20
in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest definition of 19, 118
24 duality of human existence and
origins of 36 118
in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Event and Response process and
Curse of the Black Pearl 196 119–119
Protagonist’s Backstory and 36 in Finding Nemo 119–126
Protagonist’s Personal History and Protagonist’s Want and 20
36 subplots in 209
in Shakespeare in Love 44–46 see also Plotline
in The Shawshank Redemption Extraordinary World 185
14
in The Silence of the Lambs 40–42
in Spider-Man: Into the F
Spider-Verse 50–51 Falling Down (1993) 32
Disunity elements 36–38, 69 Family and friends, Attractor as 159,
addiction 36–37 165–168
death 37 Family of Characters
328 Index
character development and 254 writing exercise example for Up

Character Map of 225, 230–232, 281
308, 315 Four Themeline Movements
definition of 209 (Breaking Story) 291–299
subplots and 209 deconstruction 285–286
see also Character Archetypes disunity 285
Fatal Attraction (1987) 250 reconstruction 286–287
Faulkner, William 266 unity 287–288
Fault in Our Stars, The (2014) 164 writing exercise 288–289
Fences (2016) 166 writing exercise example for Up
Field of Dreams (1989) 38 288–289
Fight Club (1999) 218 seealso Deconstruction (Theme-
Final Struggle (Plotline Point) line Movement); Disunity
in Aliens 152 (Themeline Movement);
definition of 95, 99, 291, 299, Reconstruction (Themeline
301 Movement); Unity (Themeline
in The Shawshank Redemption 205 Movement)
in Spider-Man: Into the Friday the 13th (1980) 140
Spider-Verse 110 Friends (1994–2004) 163, 167
Full Metal Jacket (1987) 57, 180
in Star Wars: Episode IV—A New
Hope 198
in True Grit 135–136
G
in Up 309
Galaxy Quest (1999) 58, 141
Finding Forrester (2000) 38, 181
Game of Thrones (2011–2019) 9–10
Finding Nemo (2003) 124
Get Out (2017) 178, 285
Firefly (2002–2003) 200
Gladiator (2000) 39, 171
First draft writing 317–322 Glee (2009–2015) 163
attitude toward 318–319 Godfather, The (1972)
strategies for 319–320 Mentors in 180
tricks for 320–321 Narrative Imperative in 11–12,
(500) Days of Summer (2008) 32, 38 17
Fleabag (2016, 2019) 22, 285 Godless (2017) 4, 39
Fly, The (1958, 1986) 58 Gone With the Wind (1939) 164
Formulaic storytelling 23 Good Boys (2019) 167
Forrest Gump (1994) 24 Good Place, The (2016–2020)
Four Primary Plotline Points psychological arc of Protagonist in
(Breaking Story) 281–288, 294 4
Act One beginning 275, 280 unity arc in 287
Act One end 275, 280 Good Will Hunting (1997)
Act Three ending 280–281 disunity elements in 38
Act Two end 275, 280 Mentor in 178
Three-Act Structure and 276–277 Protagonist’s personal
writing exercise 287 Metamorphosis in 5
Index 329
unity arc in 287 I

Graduate, The (1967) I Love Lucy (1951–1957) 163
Protagonist’s Conscious Goal in I May Destroy You (2020) 38
4, 244–245 Inauthentic Existence 75, 229, 285
story’s end point in 4, 32, In Bruges (2008) 32, 151, 167
244–245 Inception (1999) 218, 245
Gran Torino (2008) 32, 38 Inciting Incident
Gravity (2013) 36, 148, 288 in the Batman trilogy 155
Green Book (2018) 167 definition of 35
Grey’s Anatomy (2005–2020) 164 disunity and 35, 52
Grillo-Marxuach, Javier 251 function of 285
Groundhog Day (1993) hook as 297
disunity elements in 38 Protagonist’s Want and 245
Metamorphosis in 7 see also Call to Adventure
Nemesis as opposition in 149 Incredibles, The (2004)
Protagonist-Attractor subplot in Attractor characters in 165
163 Character Arc in 8
reconstruction in 80 disunity elements in 38
Mentors in 181
Independence Day (1996) 151
Index Cards 303, 304, 311–312,
H
315
Halloween (1978) 140, 151, 249 Individuation
Handmaid’s Tale, The (2017–present) in Breaking Bad 104
39, 149 definition of 19
Hangover, The (2009) 244 Carl Jung on 21, 55, 118
Hanna (2011) 185 narrative imperative and 119
Happy Death Day (2017) 149 shadow and 154
Happy endings 21–22, 96 transformation and 21
Haunting of Hill House, The (2018) Inside Out (2015) 38
151 Inspiration, Attractor as 169–172
Heat, The (2013) 167 Internal World
Her (2013) 32, 39, 164 definition of 19, 118
Hero’s Journey, The 277–278, 285, Event and Response process and
295 119
High Noon (1952) 151 in Finding Nemo 119–124
Home (as Disunity element) 38 subplots in 209
Home Alone (1990) 248 see also Themeline
Homecoming (2018, 2020) 23 Intouchables, The (2011) 167,
Homeland (2011–2020) 32, 37, 185 215–217
Hook (Plotline Point) 291, 297, 300 Iron Giant, The (1999) 167
House of Cards (2013–2018) 23 Iron Man (2008) 141, 182
Hunger Games, The (2012, 2013, It Happened One Night (1934) 97,
2014, 2015) 149, 249 162
330 Index
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) Protagonist-Attractor subplot in

disunity elements in 37 166
Masks in 142 Protagonist-Trickster subplot in
Mentors in 184, 185 218
unity arc in 187 La La Land (2016) 210
Last Vegas (2013) 166
Laverne & Shirley (1976–1983) 168
J Law & Order (1990–2010) 137
Jaws (1975) 151, 250 Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 58
Jerry Maguire (1996) Leftovers, The (2014–2017) 22, 39
Finding Home narrative Legally Blonde (2001)
Archetype in 96 Character Arc in 20
Protagonist-Attractor subplot in Protagonist’s Need and Want in
210–213 246
Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) 97 screenwriters 303
John Wick (2014) 39, 171 Léon: The Professional (1994) 58,
Jojo Rabbit (2019) 170, 180 167, 249
Journey Liar, Liar (1997) 58, 246
definition of, 3 Limey, The (1999) 171
as universal narrative archetype 56 Linson, Art 294
see also Hero’s Journey, The Lion King, The (1994) 36, 96, 246
Jung, Carl 12 Little Miss Sunshine (2006) 76
on Individuation 22, 56, 118 Lock (Plotline Point) 291, 297, 300
on inner contradictions and fate Logan (2017) 36, 170
36, 39 Long Shot (2019) 165
on pain of consciousness 59, 72 Looper (2012) 156
on the unconscious Shadow 154 Lord of the Rings, The (trilogy; 2001,
on unity of character 113 2002, 2003) 151, 167, 185,
Juno (2007) 185, 198 292
Lost (2004–2010) 96–97, 148
Lover, Attractor as 159, 162–164
K Lucas, George 5
K-9 (1989) 167, 294
Karate Kid, The (1984) 151, 180
Kill Bill -Vol. 1 (2003) 171 M
Kill Bill -Vol. 2 (2004) 171 Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) 149,
Killing Eve (2018–present) 139 170–171
King’s Speech, The (2010) 156, 304 Martian, The (2015) 249
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) 251 Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The
(2017–present) 79, 181, 285
Mary Tyler Moore Show, The
L (1970–1977) 168
Lady Bird (2017) M*A*S*H (1972–1983) 168
disunity elements in 38 Masks
Index 331
Character Archetypes as 139–142 as guardian 184–186

definition of 131, 139 as guide 179–184
metaphor of 141 as insight 187–191
Trickster 196, 206, 230 in It’s a Wonderful Life 184, 185
Master Brainstorming List (Breaking in Juno 185
Story) 258–273, 293 in The Matrix 187–188
biography exercise 261 in 1917 180
direct engagement exercises in The Queen’s Gambit 188
261–263 in Rango 189–191
executive writing 264–265 in The Social Network 134
free scene exercise 261 in The True Grit 135
indirect engagement exercises in The Untouchables 175–177
259–262 in The Wizard of Oz 133
interview exercise 262 in The Wolf of Wall Street 214–215
monologue exercise 262–263 Metamorphosis
questionaire exercise 259–260 centrality of Protagonist and 4, 5,
receptive writing 264–265 7
strategies 265–266 Character Arc and 19, 30
Stream of Consciousness exercise deconstruction and 55–56, 59, 72
263 definition of 3
top sheets exercise 264–265 Disintegration Arc and 19, 30
writing exercise 273 Event and Response process and
writing exercise example for up 117, 119
267–273 Internal World and 20
Matrix, The (1999) as organic process 161
Mentors in 187 outside forces leading to 7–8
Protagonist vs. Nemesis in 249 proactive mode and 75
reconstruction in 80 Protagonist’s Need and 19, 79–80
Trickster in 198 reconstruction and 75–76, 85,
McCullah, Karen 303 90, 93
Mean Girls (2004) 151 role of Attractor characters in 162
Memento (2000) 247 role of Disunity in 12, 14, 17
Mental illness (as Disunity element) role of fate in 7–8
37 role of Trickster in 202
Mentor (Character Archetype) screenplay universe and 117–118
in The Apartment 134 in television storytelling 254
in Barry 138 unity arc and 19
in Bridesmaids 188 see also Transformation; Unity Arc
in Casablanca 133 Michael Clayton (2007) 201
in The Dark Knight 136 Midnight Cowboy (1969) 167
definition of 132, 175 Mindhunter (2017–2019) 4, 181
Devs 182–183 disunity elements in 38
False Mentor 175, 181–183 Mentors in 181
in The Godfather 180 Protagonists in 4
332 Index
Miracle Worker, The (1962) 149 Trickster in 205

Mistaken Identity stories 55, 58, 141 victory narrative archetype in 96
Modern Family (2009–2020) 163 Neighbors (2014) 96
Moneyball (2011) 38 Nemesis (Character Archetype) 145
Monk (2002–2009) 149 in The Apartment 134
Monsters, Inc. (2001) 167, 212–213 in Barry 138
Moonlight (2016) 38, 165 in Casablanca 133
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) 140 as conflict 150–153
Mulan (1998, 2020) 140 in The Dark Knight 136
definition of 132, 145
etymology of “nemesis” 147
N in Killing Eve 139
Narrative archetypes 22, 56, 96–98. as a Mask 140, 141
See also Hero’s Journey, The; as opposition 148–150
Unity Arc as Shadow 153–156
Narrative Drive 210, 244, 275, 279, in The Shape of Water 145–147
281, 312 in True Grit 135
Narrative Function 137, 139 in The Wizard of Oz 133
of Attractor characters 159 Nepo, Mark 59
Character Map and 226, 315 Never Have I Ever (2020) 36,
definition of 131, 132 202–203
of Mentor 175, 178 New Girl (2011–2018) 5
of Trickster 197, 201 New Ways of Being 75, 76
Narrative Imperative New World
definition of 3, 11, 17 Act One end and 280, 283
Event and Response process and Character Map and 225–226
119 deconstruction and 55–56, 65,
fate and 251 290
in Finding Nemo 121 definition of 3
in Game of Thrones 9–10, 17 in Finding Nemo 121
in The Godfather 9–11, 17 Hero’s Journey and 275
Mentors and 190 lock (Plotline Point) and 291
Protagonist’s journey as 8–12 Mentors and 190, 309
Protagonist’s Unconscious Goal Protagonist’s journey and 4
and 283, 288 Protagonist’s Want and 245
in reconstruction 76 Reactive mode and 283
in The Shawshank Redemption reconstruction and 76, 80
12–17 in Shakespeare in Love 65
in Star Wars: Episode IV—A New in The Silence of the Lambs 60
Hope 8–9, 17 see also Extraordinary World
National Lampoon’s Animal House Night Court (1984–1992) 168
(1978) 187, 249 Nightcrawler (2014) 37, 80, 287
Natural, The (1984) Night Of, The (2016) 32
Nemesis in 151 Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) 149
Index 333
1917 (2019) 180 127 Hours (2010) 148, 249

North by Northwest (1959) 141 Opening (Plotline Point) 291, 297,
Northern Exposure (1990–1995) 163 300
Nurse Jackie (2009–2015) 36–37 Opposition, Nemesis as 148–150
Ordinary People (1980) 36, 248
Ordinary World
O Act One end and 275, 283
October Sky (1999) 181 definition of 3
Odd Couple, The (1970–1975) 168 disunity state and 279, 285
Offensive (Plotline Point) 291, 298, in It’s a Wonderful Life 185
301 Joseph Campbell on 5, 6, 278
Office, The (2005–2013) 168 lock (Plotline Point) and 291
Officer and a Gentleman, An (1982) reconstruction and 77
57 Trickster and 196
Old Guard, The (2020) 199–200 World Out There and 196
Old Ways of Being see also Old World
in Breaking Bad 64
in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance
Kid 25 P
in deconstruction 55–56, 57, 72, Palm Springs (2020) 149
202, 286 Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) 200
deconstruction test and 291, 297 Paper Chase, The (1973) 181
definition of 55, 72 Parent (as Disunity element) 38
reactive mode and 283 Parks and Recreation (2009–2015)
transition and 298 168
see also New Ways of Being Perry Mason (2020) 181, 287
Old World Personal History
Act One end and 281 biography and 257
All Is Lost (Plotline Point) and definition of 35
298 disunity and 36
Character Map and 225–226 in Hero’s Journey 5
deconstruction and 56 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse
definition of 3 of the Black Pearl (2003)
disunity elements and 51 193–195
in Finding Nemo 121 Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (1987)
Hero’s Journey and 275 167, 218
lock (Plotline Point) and 291, 297 Plotline
Protagonist’s journey and 4 definition of 118, 280
see also Ordinary World External World and 19
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in Finding Nemo 121–124
(1975) subplots and 223
change agent in 24 see also Four Primary Plotline
Nemesis in 151 Points (Breaking Story)
101 Dalmatians (1961) 148 Postcards from the Edge (1990) 166
334 Index
Power of Myth, The (PBS series; writing exercise 253–254

1988) 5–7 writing exercise example for Up
Pretty Woman (1990) 165 252–253
Proactive mode 75, 80, 90, 283, Psycho (1960) 31, 218, 249
286, 298
Protagonist
as change agent 23–25 Q
character DNA and 8, 17 Queen’s Gambit, The (2020) 188,
definition of 3 287–288
etymology of the term 5 Quiet Place, A (2018) 151, 203
goal of 4
journey embarked upon by 4
other major characters linked to 4 R
personal Metamorphosis of 5 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
prime functions of 4–5 Masks in 142
psychological arc of 4 Protagonist’s journey in 4
refusal to change 25–28 stakes in 248
spine of plot created by journey Rango (2011)
of 4 deconstruction in 58
as story’s central character 4 Mentors in 189–190
Protagonist (as Character Archetype) as Mistaken Identity story 58
in The Apartment 134 reconstruction in 80
in Barry 138 Reactive mode 56, 76, 80, 283, 286,
in Casablanca 133 297
in The Dark Knight 136 Reconstruction (Themeline
definition of 132 Movement)
in Killing Eve 139 authentic nature and 76, 92–93,
as a Mask 140, 141 287, 291
in The Social Network 134 in Big Little Lies 77
in True Grit 135 in Breaking Bad 82–84
in Unorthodox 137–138 in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 87–89
Protagonist Character Treatment definition of 75–76
(Breaking Story) 241–254, 293 in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel 79,
identifying the Protagonist 181, 285
242–243 Protagonist’s Need in 79–80
Protagonist’s fears 250 in Spider-Man: Into the
Protagonist’s Need 245–246 Spider-Verse 90–92
Protagonist’s opposition 249 varieties of 76–80
Protagonist’s stakes 247–249 in The Verdict 78–79
Protagonist’s Want 243–245 Reconstruction Test (Plotline Point)
resolution of Protagonist’s Want 291, 298, 301
and Need 246–249 Revenant, The (2015) 39, 171, 203
role of fate 251 Rocky (1976) 96
in television development 254 Romancing the Stone (1984) 210
Index 335
Room (2015) 248 Sideways (2004) 218

Russian Doll (2019–present) 149 Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
Character Map 230–232
deconstruction in 59–61
S disunity in 44–46
Saving Mr. Banks (2013) 38 external and internal worlds in
Scene-by-Scene Outline (Breaking 125
Story) 303–316 Protagonist in 4
Character Map and 308 reconstruction in 80–82
index cards and 303, 304, 307, unity in 99–100
311–312 Silicon Valley (2014–2019) 32, 39,
Sequence Theory and 310 148
subplots and 305–307 Silver Linings Playbook (2012) 37, 97
writing exercise 315–316 Sister Act 140
writing exercise example for Up Sixth Sense, The (1999) 97
312–315 Sleepless in Seattle (1993) 162
Schindler’s List (1993) 58 Slumdog Millionaire (2008) 7, 210
Scrubs (2001–2010) 168 Smith, Kirsten “Kiwi” 303
Se7en (1995) 249 Snow White and the Huntsman
Seidler, David 304 (2012) 242
Seinfeld (1989–1998) 137, 167 Social Network, The (2010)
Shadow, Nemesis as 153–156 Character Archetypes in 142
Shakespeare in Love (1998) disunity elements in 39
Character Map 233 Nemesis as Shadow in 156
deconstruction in 64–65 Protagonist who refuses to change
disunity in 44–46 in 27
reconstruction in 85–86 Some Like It Hot (1959) 140
role of fate in 125 Sopranos, The (1999–2007) 32, 165,
unity in 103–106 286
Shameless (2011–present) 22 Soul (2020) 287
Shape of Water, The (2017) 145–147 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Sharp Objects (2018) 37 (2018)
Shawshank Redemption, The (1994) Character Map 235
False Mentors in 181 deconstruction in 69–71
Mentors in 178 disunity in 50–51
Metamorphosis in 12–17 reconstruction in 90–92
narrative imperative in 12–17 role of fate in 125
Tricksters in 206 unity in 110–113
Shield, The (2002–2008) 27 Spirited Away (2001) 245
Shrek (2001) Stand By Me (1986) 167
disunity elements in 39 Star, The (2017) 242
Protagonist vs. Nemesis in 249 Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope
reconstruction in 80 (1977) 8–9
Trickster in 202 narrative imperative in 9
336 Index
role of fate in 7–9 Terminator 2-Judgment Day (1991)

Tricksters in 198 151
Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Terms of Endearment (1983) 166
Strikes Back (1980) 142 Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The
Star Wars universe, influence of (1974) 151
Joseph Campbell on 5 Thelma & Louise (1991) 167
Sting, The (1973) 167 Themeline. See Four Themeline
Streaming services 22 Movements (Breaking Story)
Stream of Consciousness 263, 267, Themeline, definition of 117, 118,
272–273, 293, 307 280
Subplots 209–223 Theory of Everything, The (2014) 149
benefits of 209 30 Rock (2006–2013) 168
definition of 209 This Is Us (2016–present) 138, 165
Protagonist-Attractor 210–213 Thor (2011) 151
Protagonist-Mentor 213–217 Thor: Ragnarok (2017) 151
Protagonist-Trickster 217–223 Thor: The Dark World (2013) 151
Succession (2018–present) 26, 156 Three-Act Structure 275–277, 307
Sunset Blvd. (1950) 217–218 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,
Superman (1978) 151 Missouri (2017) 32, 39, 80
Superman II (1980) 151 Titanic (1997) 164, 210
Swicord, Robin 264 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 197
Tootsie (1982)
disunity elements in 38
T Masks in 140
Tampopo (1985) 181 Protagonist-Attractor subplot in
Taxi (1978–1983) 168 165
Taxi Driver (1976) 31 reconstruction in 80
Ten Major Plotline Points (Breaking spine of plot created by
Story) 294–301 Protagonist’s journey in 4
All Is Lost 291, 298, 301, 307 Trainspotting (1996) 36
deconstruction Test 291, 297, 300 Trainwreck (2015) 169
denouement 291, 299, 301 Transformation
final struggle 291, 299, 301 in Breaking Bad 44
hook 291, 297, 300 Joseph Campbell on 278
lock 291, 297, 300 Character Arc and 20
on the Offensive 291, 298, 301 in The Dark Knight 136
opening 291, 297, 300 deconstruction and 59, 72
reconstruction test 291, 298, 301 disunity elements and 28–52
transition 291, 298, 300 fate and 251
writing exercise 301 in Finding Nemo 124
writing exercise example for Up individuation and 21
300–301 New Ways of Being and 75
Terminator, The (1984) 185 positive 22
Index 337
Protagonist-Attractor subplot and True Detective (Season One, 2014)

213 20, 286
Protagonist’s Need and 246 True Self
Protagonist’s Unconscious Goal deconstruction and 56–57
and 99 definition of 55
reconstruction and 76, 77, 290 denouement and 299
self-destructive 30 in The Hero’s Journey 288
in television storytelling 137 inauthentic existence and 75
unity arc and 97, 99 narrative imperative and 125
see also Metamorphosis Plotline Points and 291, 299
Transition (Plotline Point) 291, 298, proactive mode and 283
300 Protagonist’s Need and 245
Trickster (Character Archetype) unity and 113, 287
in Alien 204–205 in The Wizard of Oz 56–57
in The Apartment 134 see also Authentic Nature; Core
in Barry 138 Essence
in Birdman or (The Unexpected 12 Years a Slave (2013) 58, 96
Virtue of Ignorance) 201 Twin Peaks (2017) 148
in Bull Durham 202
in Casablanca 134
in The Dark Knight 136–137 U
definition of 132, 193, 195 Unconscious Goal
in Firefly 200 in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 110
in Juno 198 definition of 283, 287
in To Kill a Mockingbird 197 final struggle and 99
in Killing Eve 139 in Inception 246
in The Matrix 198 in The Lion King 246
in Michael Clayton 201 in Rocky 246
in The Natural 205 in Shakespeare in Love 233
in Pirates of the Caribbean: in The Silence of the Lambs 230
The Curse of the Black Pearl Ten Major Plotline Points and
193–195 296–299
as shapeshifter 197–202 Unity (Themeline Movement)
in The Shawshank Redemption Becoming Lovers narrative
205–206 archetype 97
in Shrek 202 in Breaking Bad 101–103
in The Social Network 136 Coming Home narrative
in Star Wars: Episode IV—A New archetype 96
Hope 198 definition of 19, 20, 95, 283–284
as test 202 denouement and 299
in True Grit 135–136 Finding Home narrative archetype
as will 203–206 96
in The Wizard of Oz 133 formulaic storytelling and 23
338 Index
Four Themeline Movements of V

32, 288, 290, 294 Verdict, The (1982)
individuation and 23–24 disunity elements in 36
integration in 95, 103, 106, 118 Mentors in 181
Metamorphosis in 19 reconstruction in 78–79
narrative archetypes 96–99 Veronica Mars (2004–2007) 36
recovery narrative archetype 97 Vertigo (1958) 149
resurrection narrative archetype V for Vendetta (2005) 149, 249
97 Victor Victoria (1982) 140
Saying Goodbye narrative
archetype 97
in Spider-Man: Into the W
Spider-Verse 110–113 WALL-E (2008) 23–24
survival narrative archetype 96–97 Watchmen (2019) 140
victory narrative archetype 96 West Side Story (1961) 210
Unity Arc When Harry Met Sally… (1989) 97
definition of 283 Whiplash (2014)
denouement and 299 Disintegration Arc in 32
Four Themeline Movements of disunity elements in 39
32, 283 Nemesis as Shadow in 155
in Spider-Man: Into the Protagonist’s Want in 80
Spider-Verse 113 reconstruction in 80
variations of 22, 95–99 story’s end point in 4
Unorthodox (2020) 137–138 Wild (2014) 244
Up (2009) Withnail & I (1987) 167
Character Map for 308–310 Wizard of Oz, The (1939) 167
character relationships in 305–307 Character Archetypes in 133, 167
disunity elements in 39 deconstruction in 56
final struggle and denouement disunity elements in 37
outlines for 312–315 Mentors in 133, 178
Four Primary Plotline Points in Nemesis in 133
279–280 Protagonist’s Want in 244
Four Themeline Movements in psychological arc of Protagonist in
288–289 4
Master Brainstorming List for reconstruction in 76
269–273 Tricksters in 133
Nemesis in 155 Wicked (Broadway musical) and
Protagonist Character Treatment 242
for 252–254 Wolf of Wall Street, The (2013)
reconstruction in 80 214–215
subplots in 305–307 Wonder Years, The (1988–1993) 163
Ten Major Plotline Points in Work (as Disunity element) 38
300–301
Usual Suspects, The (1995) 141
Index 339
X Yesterday (2019) 162, 183

X-Files, The (1993–2002, 2016,
2018) 168
Y Z
Yentl (1983) 140 Zorba the Greek (1964) 186

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Scot t Myer s

ISBN 978-3-030-79681-5 ISBN 978-3-030-79682-2 (eBook)

To those about to have the pleasure of reading this book,

This book is the result of over three decades of my work as a screenwriter

Chicago, Illinois Scott Myers

My thanks to DePaul University for its backing of this project, including a

“The Protagonist’s Journey is a remarkable book. Scott Myers is an extremely

“The Protagonist’s Journey is a superb resource for writers: sharp, engaging,

“When Scott Myers talks about screenwriting, I listen. So many writing

“Finally, there is a screenwriting book that focuses on the most important

books teach structure with the protagonist as an afterthought. The Protago-

“Scott Myers is a canny and thoughtful teacher of the craft of screenwriting,

“A fresh (and refreshing) way to look at storytelling. Scott expertly crystallizes

“The Protagonist’s Journey is a focused, well-written, and welcome insis-

“The Protagonist’s Journey is a nod of respect to the craft of screenwriting.

“Scott Myers understands the craft of screenwriting. The Protagonist’s Journey

“Building on his vast expertise as a writer and a screenwriting teacher, with

“Maybe you have an interesting character, or a compelling premise, and then

Part I The Protagonist’s Journey as Narrative Imperative

Deconstruction: Rebecca Bunch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 66

Part II The Protagonist’s Journey as Family of Characters

Part III The Protagonist’s Journey as Screenplay

Fig. 1.1 Jamal Malik in Slumdog Millionaire (2008) 7

Fig. 4.1 Dorothy flanked by Tin Man, Cowardly Lion,

Fig. 14.1 Protagonist icon 226

Key Concepts Covered in This Chapter

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 3

• The Protagonist is the story’s central character . Whether it is Clarice Starling

aliens to Louise Banks in Arrival (2016) or Nick, Schmidt, Winston, and

The Hero is found in the ordinary world.

The Hero is making do, but feels something missing,

The call to adventure is about transformation and that’s terrifying.

Fig. 1.1 Jamal Malik in Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

is no story, no movie, no television series. In the business domain of film

Fig. 1.3 Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones (2011–2019)

Fig. 1.4 Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972)

This feud results in an assassination attempt on Don Corleone. While

This is a powerful idea when applied to storytelling. If a Protagonist does

EXT -- PRISON YARD -- DAY (1966)

Andy finally glances to Red, seeking a reaction. Silence.

cTheShawshank Redemption, screenplay by Frank Darabont, novella by Stephen

Andy admits to culpability in the failure of his marriage, how he used to

7 The Shawshank Redemption is an example of a Dual Protagonist narrative.

d Ibid., Scene 150.

e Ibid., Scene 274.

f Ibid., Scene 292.

g Ibid., Scene 297.

“I hope.” This from a character who initially said “hope is a dangerous

Key Concepts Covered in This Chapter

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 19

The Protagonist’s journey is fundamentally about change. While that is

There is an old Hollywood axiom about movie and television audiences:

Fig. 2.2 The Priest and Fleabag in Fleabag (2016, 2019)

Therefore an advance always begins with individuation, that is to say with

In its simplest form, individuation is the process whereby a person becomes

The Protagonist: Change Agent

• Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump (1994) whose homespun wisdom and

WALL-E, Forrest Gump, and Chance may be perceived as uncomplicated

The Protagonist: Refuse Change

• In the television series Succession (2018–present), Logan Roy, the patriarch

• The external circumstances in Mark Zuckerberg’s life in The Social Network

In each of these cases, the character’s refusal to change leads to a negative

Roy’s family and business relationships become increasingly contentious and

The Protagonist: Disintegration