The theory behind story arcs began with Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero With A Thousand Faces and he concluded that there are characteristics of an effective story and they are consistent regardless of race, time, ethinity or background. Dan Harmon simplified that theory and created the story circle, that is divided in 8 stages of the story.
He believes that there are 3 dualities that make it possible to maintain the rhythm of the story:
So, the 8 stages of the story circle are:
- A character is in a zone of comfort
- They want something
- They enter an unfamiliar situation
- Adapt to it
- Get what they wanted
- Pay a heavy price for it
- Then return to their familiar situation
- Having changed
Types of Characters
- Protagonist or Antagonist
- Dynamic or Static
- Round or Flat
Protagonist – is the main character
Antagonist – is the other main character, usually bad and an immediate threat to the main character (like cinderella evil stepmother)
Dynamic – is a character that grows throughout the story, it’s behavior has an important change of behavior, teaches a lesson.
Static – the opposite of a dynamic character, doesn’t change much and it’s ideas are fixed, like vilans
Round – are well developed characters, they are realistic in emotions, thoughts or even feelings
Flat – the opposite of a round character, a lack of depth in it’s development and personality can be seen, they’re not very important but they’re needed as secondary actions in the background
Breakdown a Story Arc of a movie that we like and enjoyed!
Based on this we had to choose a movie and breakdown it’s story arc and characters, so I chose the movie Avatar by James Cameron. One of my favourite movies of all time, and despite it being released in 2009 it is still a movie that blows my mind away. Every. Single. Time.
(SPOILER ALERT!!!)
The movie takes place in 2154 and humans had exhausted earth’s natural resources and found an habitable moon orbiting Polyphemus, called Pandora. It’s atmosphere is poisonous to humans and is inhabited by the Na’vi, blue skinned 3 meter humanoids that live in harmony with nature and worship a goddess called Eywa. Humans use Na’vi hybrids called avatars who have the same looks as the human who operates them through a machine that transfers them to the avatar body, making them look exactly like the Na’vi people in order to explore pandora’s biology.
Jake Sully, a former marine who lost his ability to walk in battle, is asked to replace his bother Tommy who died to be an operator of an avatar and finish his bother’s mission. Jake is considered an outsider due to his ignorance to the Na’vi people and pandora and Dr. Grace, the head of the Avatar Program, doesn’t really like him at the beggining but accepts his entrance in the program. On their first mission jake is attacked by an animal and disappears into the deep forest and is recued by Neytiri, a female Na’vi who then takes him to the head of the people and Neytiri is ordered to teach jake and iniciate him to their society.
Jake is promised that when the mission is over he will have his ability to walk again and his lifestyle will improve as a motivation to convince the Na’vi to leave their home so the humans could mine an extremelly profitable mineral who’s richest mines lay under the Hometree (their sacred place and home. When Dr. Grace learns about this she takes Jake and Norm to a hidden place and in the following 3 months Jake falls in love with Neytiri and the Na’vi people, Neytiri and Jake mate and the humans soon discover that he has changed his side of the war. Humans destroy a sacred site and the general orders that the home tree is destroyed.
The general then gives Dr. Grace and Jake an hour to convince the Na’vi to leave the place orelse they’re killed along with the hometree. Jake confesses he entered their society by being a spy and becomes their captive but is then freed by the head of the Na’vi as a cry for help but they are detached from their avatar bodys and imprisoned by humans. The pilot trudy helps them escape and takes them to a hidden place and jake regains the Na’vi trust by connecting his mind to a dragon-like predator and honoured by the pandora people.
During the war between the Na’vi and the humans, the Na’vi gather every clan of pandora to fight with them and soon the rest of the biology of the planet joins them and overwhelms the humans winning the war. In that period the general is able to escape his falling airplane and finds Jake’s avatar unit where his human body was, shoots it and almost kills jake but Neytiri intervenes, killing the general and recuing jake from sofucating.
After winning the war, the hometree was destroyed and the Na’vi suffered a great lost of their people. The humans were expelled from Pandora and the Na’vi try to transfer Jake to his avatar body definitly. The movie ends with Jake opening his eyes.
Story Arc
- YOU – Jake is a former marine, who was hurt in battle and he lives with the dream of getting is legs back, something possible with the worlds technology but he doesn’t have the resources for it.
- NEED – his brother dies and he is asked to step into his shoes.
- GO – wakes up from his 6 year trip to pandora, is introduced to the team, the program and the mission.
- SEARCH – goes for the first time in a mission to get to know the forest and its environment and biology and gets attacked and lost. Saved by Neytiri he is introduced to the Na’vi and gets their first glimpse of trust and starts learning their habits.
- FIND – When sent to a remote place to focus on the mission, he gets more and more of the Na’vi trust and starts to really enjoy his time in pandora and with Neytiri. Jake now has their trust and becomes a member of their society. He is pressured to rush the process as the humans want to start mining the product.
- TAKE – Jake and Neytiri mate and humans realise that his allegiance has changed and want to attack immediatly. Jake and Grace have an hour to convince the Na’vi to relocate. They confess to be spies in the Na’vi society and loose their trust, humans destroy the Hometree and the people are devastated but fight until the end.
- RETURN – Jake connects with a dragon-like predator and regains the Na’vi trust. With the help of the other clans and all the animals from Pandora they win the war and humans are sent back to Earth. Allowing the habitants from pandora to start over and heal from all that destruction.
- CHANGE – The Na’vi chooses Jake as their leader and attempt to transfer him to his avatar body definitly and make him part of the clan as one of their own.
Main Character’s Timeline (Jake)
Character Archetypes
Hero – Jake sully is the hero and engages in a dangerous mission in the most hostile place for humans. As an outsider no one believes he is worthy of the mission but he believes he can do it and does it better than anyone. In the end, despite all his conditions and ignorance of Pandora, he is the one who saves them all and is trully commited to the mission (that mission changes thoughout the movie). He had no use and yet, became the most usefull of them all.
Mentor/Threshold Guardian – Despite her misjudgement of Jake when she meets him, she is the one who trully knows Pandora’s biology and the Na’vi people, being the author of a book about it. She is the head of the Avatar Program and provides all the insight the avatar operators need to be in the field. Other than mentor, I see Dr. Grace as the Threshold Guardian as she is the one trying to protect them and to test everyone for their skills to engage the mission. She tests everyone’s commitment and worth.
Herald – When Jake gets into a fight and is kicked out of a bar, lying on the floor, two men in suits appear and break the news to him – his brother had died in an assault. These men are the entity that propose to him to take on the mission in his brothers shoes.
Shapeshifter – Tsu’tey is the one I believe to be the shapshifter due to his evolution of opinion on Jake since the beggining of the movie. At first he does not like him and believes he does not deserve to be among his people but in the end he respects him and supports him as the new leader of the Na’vi. He even learns with Jake, despite the fact that Jake stole the woman he was supposed to mate with.
Shadow – Colonel Miles Quaritch is the opposite of the hero, Jake Sully. He has to complete the mission despite it’s casualties and is willing to go at any length to get what he wants. At the beggining of the movie he is the one who comands everyone to do their jobs, but he never cared about the Na’vi people and has no remorse for killing them and destroying their sacred places and worships.
Allies (sidekicks) – Norm and Trudy are the allies, norm as the one who knows what Jake should know about Pandora and the mission itself, and Trudy as the one who gets them out of difficult situations, helps them escape. She is the cool pilot who has an immeadiate good relationship with Jake and helps them until the end.