I love this thoughtful analysis, and also the lizard part of my brain is just going "hee hee" over "Hegel with action figures." An excellent summary of why sometimes these Big Themes feel clunky.
I particularly appreciate your reference to tension and conflict as the tip of the iceberg. This feeling of delving, starting with the conflict you see on the surface and getting deeper into a story, is so deeply satisfying to me. Playing through Elden Ring right now, one of the things that keeps me coming back to the game is the very rich texture of the world -- on the surface is the very obvious conflict between me and the NPCs, but my interest does not end when I land the killing blow. What's going on in this world? Why are so many people messed up? What is driving their terrible decisions? What happened in the past? Slowly I learn more and more, and to me that's the mark of a great vs. simply a good story.
Wishing you a good weekend, and I hope to see you again one of these days!
https://www.theguardian.com/books/picture/2020/apr/04/tom-gauld-on-the-seven-types-of-literary-conflict-cartoon!
http://dresdencodak.com/2009/05/11/42-essential-3rd-act-twists/
I love this thoughtful analysis, and also the lizard part of my brain is just going "hee hee" over "Hegel with action figures." An excellent summary of why sometimes these Big Themes feel clunky.
I love a good structural post!
I particularly appreciate your reference to tension and conflict as the tip of the iceberg. This feeling of delving, starting with the conflict you see on the surface and getting deeper into a story, is so deeply satisfying to me. Playing through Elden Ring right now, one of the things that keeps me coming back to the game is the very rich texture of the world -- on the surface is the very obvious conflict between me and the NPCs, but my interest does not end when I land the killing blow. What's going on in this world? Why are so many people messed up? What is driving their terrible decisions? What happened in the past? Slowly I learn more and more, and to me that's the mark of a great vs. simply a good story.
Wishing you a good weekend, and I hope to see you again one of these days!