Spider-Man and the question of, whose story is this?
A lot of scriptwriting lore has pretty much gone mainstream by now. We're all supposed to know that good writers show and don't tell - so much so that it's enough to make you ask, reeeeeeally...? - and if you hang about around the local cinema you'll probably hear people coming out of screenings talking about delayed third acts and all that kind of densely technical stuff. (Also you'll go home smelling of popcorn, which is always money in the bank.) One of the most interesting things that scriptwriters like to talk about, though, doesn't seem to have broken through in quite the same way. One of the most interesting questions scriptwriters often ask themselves is also one of the most fundamental. Whose story is this?
Whose story is this? is a useful question to ask when you have a hero who keeps falling out of the plot, missing key scenes or turning up and having little to do. It's good for ensemble pieces - Whose story is Lost? I'm still turning that one over - and it's a nice way of getting a handle on a narrative that seems less than eager to come into focus. I know it's not a film - not a good one anyway lol - but stepping back from The Great Gatsby to ask whose story is this? is a whole afternoon of fun at the Donlan house, although maybe just for me. It's the kind of conversation that makes my wife announce she's willing to take up wood-chopping just to get out of the room. (Also, I think it's Carraway's. Not because he's the narrator, because that should probably count against him here, but because he has the moment where he talks about going home from school at winter towards the end, which has always struck me as a section in which a great unpicking of the knot is taking place. Don't agree? Sound off in the comments!)
Before you start to think about taking up wood-chopping, I should add that the whose story is it? question is particularly interesting when applied to games. I think this is because both authorship and narrative are muddled in games by a sense of doubleness. There's you on screen and also you on the other side of the screen. Gosh this is tricky!
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