Storytelling dilemma: Action vs. Moving Forward

[William Hall]

The San Francisco Chronicle reviewed the new Mummy movie. And there was part of the review that caught my improviser-eye.

He talks about the trap of action in place of story. It reminded me of the difference between snack food that fills you up but isn't a meal.

His comments are right in-line with our work on moving stories forward.

To performers, action (and we might include ‘conflict’ too) feels like something exciting...but if it doesn’t have an affect on the characters then it’s just effort. We want to observe and empathetically experience change in the characters.

I’ve included an excerpt below...and highlighted the section that could be lifted from a good Improv book.

Here’s wishing you plenty of action!

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The new installment, "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," fails despite being given the best possible chance of success, with Rob Cohen in the director's chair. Cohen ("The Fast and the Furious") is one of the most talented action directors in the business. He's no hack who just stands there shaking a camera. His action scenes are imaginatively conceived and meticulously edited and choreographed. He doesn't sacrifice clarity for commotion, and he also knows how to work with actors. "Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" has the most natural acting and is the most human and emotionally inhabited of this recent "Mummy" franchise.

Yet none of this matters because of the way the action is used - or misused - which brings up a major script problem. It's a problem this movie shares, alas, with a lot of action movies. The action isn't used to advance the story but to delay it.

Audiences want to see things happen. But to an audience, "what happens" refers to story, to stuff happening to the characters, to the narrative advancing. Action sequences, at their best, advance the narrative in an exciting way. Conversely, if the audience knows that an action sequence, placed as it is, won't move the story forward - that it can only be a lot of smartly crafted movement - the audience will become bored. As in real bored. As in climbing the walls.

[Leif Hansen]

great convo William (and others). So I'm curious, how would you take what you've noticed and apply it to biz/personal development?

[Jack Christopher]

Action is effort that doesn't take you anywhere. You take action but within your comfort zone.

Ex. Say you goal is to make new friends. So you take action: put out business cards, call people etc—do actions you already do.

Moving forward is effort that takes you someplace new. You take action that breaks your comfort zone.

Ex. (Goal same as above). So you take new actions: hang with friends of friends, explicitly ask people to be your friend etc—do actions you haven't done before.

[William Hall]

Jack....yep...action is effort that doesn't take you anywhere. And the trap is that if 'feels' like you're doing something.

In storytelling writers use 'conflict' so that they can change the characters. But some writers and improvisers think that conflict is the goal....when conflict is the tool....and change is the goal.

In, improv and storytelling, if action serves to change the characters then it's useful action. If it's just, as in the review, shaky camera and commotions then it's just effort.

Thanks...fun to think about.

[Tess Doucet]

Great stuff William! We went to see Yes Man saturday night, which has some interesting and nicely done surprising developments. Yet, somehow, it failed to surprise. Your excerpt explains why: the plot itself is overly predictable. Of course Jim Carrey's character is going to end up with the girl, the better job, the interesting friends, being the life of the party, with a future that's completely rosey.

Now I know why I left with a faint sense of disappointment, in spite of my prior enthusiasm and a few laughs we did have.

Thanks!