December 23, 2006 10 Comments

Five Stories Everyone Wants to Hear

Chris's Head I was reading in Wired Magazine about an otaku geek boy in Japan who met a gorgeous girl on a train and then documented their little romance on a message board. The story is suspected of being fake, a marketing ploy, a LonelyGirl15 for the otaku set. But it’s the story that people want, and they want it desperately.

Here are five stories that I think are tirelessly sought out by most people. There are more. Some of these might not be YOUR story of choice, but it doesn’t change the main premise. We NEED certain stories in our lives the way we need religion and myths and roadmaps for our future.

The Seesaw Love Story

Boy meets girl he can’t possibly get. Boy doesn’t much impress girl. Boy eventually wins girl over and we all feel for a moment, “Hey, even if I’m a bit of a loser, maybe someday I will get a girl way out of my league.

Variations: older woman, workplace fling, vacation romance, romeo & juliet, angry parents.

What it means: This is a story that gives us a drop of self-esteem and a sense of self-worth. We think, “maybe there IS someone for me,” or “love hasn’t come to me yet, but it might still.”

The Underdog

Bunch of lovable losers join a state basketball team with no chance of winning and somehow find their way to the championships, with everything riding on a three point shot. MTV buys and films this story once every two years with a different sport.

Variations: guy at work put down by everyone finally lands big gig, woman ostracized for trying to cross gender borders but wins big, most band stories.

What it means: this is the “hard work pays off” story. Determination. If you can work super hard, you’ll make it.

Undeserved Jackpot

These are the fantasy stories. Harry Potter isn’t an underdog story. It’s a “you WERE a loser, but really, you’re part of a magical subculture” story. Lots of comic book stories are like this: a spider bit me so I’m cool, I found a suit of armor and a sword, I won the lottery.

Variations: Um… I just wrote some variations. They all involve you getting something for not working at it.

What it means: These stories are reserved for two types of people. One type are just having the worst time ever, and can use the fantasy of things magically getting better sooner than later (money windfall, etc). The other type are NEVER going to realize they have to work to get anywhere and hope these stories are really true.

Revenge

Boy, these are easy. Bad guy does mean things to you, and you get back at the bad guy. A good lot of movies fall into this category. Want one you might’ve missed? Payback with Mel Gibson. No, it’s not THAT story.

Variations: divorce fantasies, fight movies, martial arts flicks, work dramas.

What it means: these stories resonate well with people who often find themselves saying, “That’s not fair!” It’s a matter of feeling that life is supposed to be fair. While you’re waiting for that, just enjoy these stories, okay?

Secret Society

These stories are my personal favorite. They tell of some clandestine group that no one else seems to know about. They are world-deep stories where there’s a club or society or magic band or gang that the average people don’t know about. Vampire books are all about this.

Variations: magician stories, people’s jobs you don’t know about, some sci fi and fantasy stories, superhero stories.

What it means: you want more from life, and you feel maybe you just haven’t found the secret yet.

Which Story Do YOU Fall For?

If you stumble upon a story on the internet, or watch something on TV, or pay money to go to the movies, which story resonates with you? Which one satisfies a need in your belly? Have I missed an archtypical story? Sure. I’ve missed the Savior stories, where a lone hero comes into a situation and makes everything better. I missed tons of stories. Want to add a few to the comments?

And which story do you like to TELL, in whatever form you prefer? I’d love to know.

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  • http://www.timetowrite.com Jurgen Wolff

    My favorite is a variation of the underdog story–the “it’s never too late” story, in which someone has failed and given up but then is given a final chance. I haven’t seen the new “Rocky” film, but it probably fits.

  • http://www.timetowrite.com Jurgen Wolff

    My favorite is a variation of the underdog story–the “it’s never too late” story, in which someone has failed and given up but then is given a final chance. I haven’t seen the new “Rocky” film, but it probably fits.

  • http://www.ldpodcast.com Whitney

    I thought about this long and hard. I think great story telling requires a story arc, and characters that fit certain archetypes.

    In addition to the stories you outline, there are the chick flick subgenres:

    “What I wanted was always within my reach and often right in front of me.” The Wizard of Oz, When Harry Met Sally, While You Were Sleeping”- I have to admit I like these stories.

    Love against difficult odds with mixed results- Casablanca; Pride and Prejudice; Serendipity; Sabrina, etc.
    Mothers, sisters, and women: The Joy Luck Club, In Her Shoes- these are ok stories, but I don’t find them as compelling as others.
    One of the most interesting films I’ve ever seen has been “The Story of Us” by Rob Reiner. This film spoke to me as one of the best portraits of married life once kids come along-that unless you keep some grown up time and the fun in the relationship, it all becomes about the business of having a family, not about the closeness and sharing. And that can be a recipe for growing apart. I’ve seen it happen to alot of people, and I certainly don’t want to become a statistic, so this held a lot of “cinema verite” to it for me.
    I think we all tell stories using certain cultural threads- some resonate better than others, and these story lines are incorporated in all sorts of weird ways throughout life.

    For example, most successful campaigns for politicians have an overarching story arc- Rags to Riches, Born to privilege, but still one of the little people, etc.
    People love to read the tabloids because it is installment melodrama about people we think we know through their work in the media. We want to root for the good guys, and cry for the victims; we want the underdog to win against impossible odds, and the bad guys to get their due. We want Tom Cruise to suffer for treating Nicole Kidman badly, but we love Katie and the new baby; We want Jennifer Aniston to continue being the tragic girl next door; women want Oprah to succeed, but we also liked her when she was heavy and just like the rest of us. All of these stories fit into our stereotypes and prejudgments about people. What is the story arc, though?
    One of the main tabloid media arcs is “fame does weird things to people and makes them go crazy” or “Women will go to any length to remain young and beautiful”. One magazine goes to lengths to show Stars are just like us! showing them grocery shopping and having a life. What I hate about these things is the violations of privacy; the other is the absolute unnecessary voyeurism they involve. I have gone beyond the point where I need to see others suffering to make myself feel good- I want to see everyone do well.
    I guess I go back to Calvin Trillin, who said that every family has a theme or subtheme- He says his was “You might as well be a mensch” and hoped his message to his kids was “Make sure your snowsuit is zippered” or something similar. I hope the theme or story arc for my family is something along the lines of “It’s really important to lighten up and have some fun” and I hope the kids don’t misread this as “My folks were really just big kids” although I could live with that, too.

  • http://www.ldpodcast.com Whitney

    I thought about this long and hard. I think great story telling requires a story arc, and characters that fit certain archetypes.

    In addition to the stories you outline, there are the chick flick subgenres:

    “What I wanted was always within my reach and often right in front of me.” The Wizard of Oz, When Harry Met Sally, While You Were Sleeping”- I have to admit I like these stories.

    Love against difficult odds with mixed results- Casablanca; Pride and Prejudice; Serendipity; Sabrina, etc.
    Mothers, sisters, and women: The Joy Luck Club, In Her Shoes- these are ok stories, but I don’t find them as compelling as others.
    One of the most interesting films I’ve ever seen has been “The Story of Us” by Rob Reiner. This film spoke to me as one of the best portraits of married life once kids come along-that unless you keep some grown up time and the fun in the relationship, it all becomes about the business of having a family, not about the closeness and sharing. And that can be a recipe for growing apart. I’ve seen it happen to alot of people, and I certainly don’t want to become a statistic, so this held a lot of “cinema verite” to it for me.
    I think we all tell stories using certain cultural threads- some resonate better than others, and these story lines are incorporated in all sorts of weird ways throughout life.

    For example, most successful campaigns for politicians have an overarching story arc- Rags to Riches, Born to privilege, but still one of the little people, etc.
    People love to read the tabloids because it is installment melodrama about people we think we know through their work in the media. We want to root for the good guys, and cry for the victims; we want the underdog to win against impossible odds, and the bad guys to get their due. We want Tom Cruise to suffer for treating Nicole Kidman badly, but we love Katie and the new baby; We want Jennifer Aniston to continue being the tragic girl next door; women want Oprah to succeed, but we also liked her when she was heavy and just like the rest of us. All of these stories fit into our stereotypes and prejudgments about people. What is the story arc, though?
    One of the main tabloid media arcs is “fame does weird things to people and makes them go crazy” or “Women will go to any length to remain young and beautiful”. One magazine goes to lengths to show Stars are just like us! showing them grocery shopping and having a life. What I hate about these things is the violations of privacy; the other is the absolute unnecessary voyeurism they involve. I have gone beyond the point where I need to see others suffering to make myself feel good- I want to see everyone do well.
    I guess I go back to Calvin Trillin, who said that every family has a theme or subtheme- He says his was “You might as well be a mensch” and hoped his message to his kids was “Make sure your snowsuit is zippered” or something similar. I hope the theme or story arc for my family is something along the lines of “It’s really important to lighten up and have some fun” and I hope the kids don’t misread this as “My folks were really just big kids” although I could live with that, too.

  • http://www.graemewatson.blogspot.com Graeme Watson

    We often refer to seven types of story,

    Monster, Rags to Riches, Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy and Rebirth.

    There’s a good explanation here,
    http://www.unique-design.net/library/word/legend.html

    Leading on from your comments about tabloids, in Australia we have a cultural phenononemon known as ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome’, as soon as anyone recieves too much success or praise, we automatically cut them down to size and put their feet back on the ground. This of course can damage many people’s career projectory.

  • http://www.graemewatson.blogspot.com Graeme Watson

    We often refer to seven types of story,

    Monster, Rags to Riches, Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy and Rebirth.

    There’s a good explanation here,
    http://www.unique-design.net/library/word/legend.html

    Leading on from your comments about tabloids, in Australia we have a cultural phenononemon known as ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome’, as soon as anyone recieves too much success or praise, we automatically cut them down to size and put their feet back on the ground. This of course can damage many people’s career projectory.

  • http://www.scarletlotus.net Shannon

    I read a book on this topic once. The author boiled down all stories into 21 story archetypes. I wish I could remember the name. It was very interesting to me, both as a reader of literature and (at the time) someone trying to write fiction.

    I guess it also sort of relates to the whole Jungian thing. I don’t know enough about that topic specifically to be able to add anything here.

    Since dancing is my thing, I guess I will add that I believe dance performances work best when the dancer has a story in mind. It does come across. Usually, I am performing some sort of love or flirtation story. It lends itself easily to this kind of dance and I understand it. I don’t really even have to think about it. But I have performed a piece where the intent was to express a specific storyline. It might sound a little cheesy, but the audience seemed to connect with it – basically it was about the thing where in religion, one philosophy is that you need to sacrifice everything, complete ascetism, suppression of self, up to the point of death. And then the other religious bent you could take is discovery of oneself and the universe, celebration of that, opening eyes up and experiencing the world. So my “priestess” so to speak went on that journey. The thing is – it’s hard to express all that in a dance so I’m not sure if the audience got it, but people said afterwards that it was very moving and they felt it was a more emotionally-charged/connected piece that they had seen me do before (if they had seen me perform before). So, I think story-telling is important to make art make sense, even if the story isn’t obviously out in the open.

    Delsarte said that if the art doesn’t resonate with someone, doesn’t make sense to other people besides the artist, then its not art.

  • http://www.scarletlotus.net Shannon

    I read a book on this topic once. The author boiled down all stories into 21 story archetypes. I wish I could remember the name. It was very interesting to me, both as a reader of literature and (at the time) someone trying to write fiction.

    I guess it also sort of relates to the whole Jungian thing. I don’t know enough about that topic specifically to be able to add anything here.

    Since dancing is my thing, I guess I will add that I believe dance performances work best when the dancer has a story in mind. It does come across. Usually, I am performing some sort of love or flirtation story. It lends itself easily to this kind of dance and I understand it. I don’t really even have to think about it. But I have performed a piece where the intent was to express a specific storyline. It might sound a little cheesy, but the audience seemed to connect with it – basically it was about the thing where in religion, one philosophy is that you need to sacrifice everything, complete ascetism, suppression of self, up to the point of death. And then the other religious bent you could take is discovery of oneself and the universe, celebration of that, opening eyes up and experiencing the world. So my “priestess” so to speak went on that journey. The thing is – it’s hard to express all that in a dance so I’m not sure if the audience got it, but people said afterwards that it was very moving and they felt it was a more emotionally-charged/connected piece that they had seen me do before (if they had seen me perform before). So, I think story-telling is important to make art make sense, even if the story isn’t obviously out in the open.

    Delsarte said that if the art doesn’t resonate with someone, doesn’t make sense to other people besides the artist, then its not art.

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