Furfur
03-12-09, 12:37 PM
The need for story classification in the entertainment industry:
by classifying stories we can understand what the key ingredients are. This makes it easy to create story formulas which are refined and perfected over time.
by classifying stories the audience also knows what it is going to be told- this makes the audience more receptive and prepared for the story.
when stories have an underlying mythic tone it taps into our collective subconscious- communication becomes easier because we “know” the hero is good, good triumphs over evil, love will find a way, etc etc.
One example of story classification says there are only EIGHT (8) stories in the world. These can be combined to create new stories. They can be told in a variety of ways- eg as comedy, drama, soap opera, mystery stories.
These are:
Achilles- the fatal flaw story
Candide- the innocent abroad story
Cinderella- the dream come true story
Circe- the chase involving the innocent and the seductress
Faust- selling your soul/ the unfair bargain
Orpheus- the story of loss which affects everything
Romeo & Juliet- The love story
Tristan- The love triangle
Important note:
Story types should not be confused with genre
Genre is the style of telling a story.
GENRE SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED WITH FORMAT
Format is the way in which the story is presented
by classifying stories we can understand what the key ingredients are. This makes it easy to create story formulas which are refined and perfected over time.
by classifying stories the audience also knows what it is going to be told- this makes the audience more receptive and prepared for the story.
when stories have an underlying mythic tone it taps into our collective subconscious- communication becomes easier because we “know” the hero is good, good triumphs over evil, love will find a way, etc etc.
One example of story classification says there are only EIGHT (8) stories in the world. These can be combined to create new stories. They can be told in a variety of ways- eg as comedy, drama, soap opera, mystery stories.
These are:
Achilles- the fatal flaw story
Candide- the innocent abroad story
Cinderella- the dream come true story
Circe- the chase involving the innocent and the seductress
Faust- selling your soul/ the unfair bargain
Orpheus- the story of loss which affects everything
Romeo & Juliet- The love story
Tristan- The love triangle
Important note:
Story types should not be confused with genre
Genre is the style of telling a story.
GENRE SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED WITH FORMAT
Format is the way in which the story is presented