STORIES that have Mental Sex of Male:

A Clockwork Orange: Alex evaluates matters primarily by cause and effect. When Alex wants something, he simply goes out and gets it. If he needs money, he steals it; if he wants to let out aggression, he beats people up; if he wants sex, he rapes; if his droogs do not listen to him, he teaches them a lesson; wanting to leave prison, he sees the Ludovico treatment as the way out, not as the process it places him in.

The Age of Innocence: Newland moves to solve problems by using linear thinking. When he realizes at the opera that May and her family support Ellen, he immediately goes to the box and suggests announcing his and May’s engagement that very evening to add his family’s support as well; when Mrs. Mingott’s dinner invitations are turned down, he goes to the van der Luydens and convinces them to support Ellen; after Newland learns that Ellen is visiting nearby in Portsmouth, he immediately voices a plan to buy a new horse so that he can travel to see Ellen; he then tracks her down and finds her in Boston.

All That Jazz: Joe evaluates problems in terms of cause and effect. For example, when he comes across organs preserved in formaldehyde, he jokes:

Listen . . . I told you guys you should take better care of yourselves. Too much booze . . . too much smoking . . . too much screwing around . . . it’ll get ya every time. (Aurthur and Fosse 120)

Amadeus: Salieri solves his problems using cause and effect techniques. Once he has perceived Mozart as the problem, he methodically begins his years long campaign of destruction. And he is sure that it will result in resolving the problem.

Apt Pupil: Todd has a linear way of thinking, as illustrated when Rubber Ed asks how it all happened, “‘Oh, one thing just followed another,’ Todd said…’That’s really how it happened. One thing just…followed another'” (King, 1982, p. 285).

Barefoot in the Park: Paul solves problems by taking steps, for example, he comes to the realization that his controlling behavior is responsible for his imminent divorce. He decides to lose control by getting “Lousy, stinkin’ drunk!” and taking on Corie’s madcap ideas:

Paul: Hey, Corie….Let’s do that thing you said before….Let’s wake up the police and see if all the rooms come out of the crazy neighbors…I want to be a nut like everyone else in this building.

Being There: Chance uses the male problem solving technique of cause and effect. For example, when faced with threatening gang members, he attempts to turn them off with a television remote control.

Blade Runner: Deckard follows clues leading to the replicants in a linear problem-solving technique, and also uses binary reasoning:

DECKARD: Replicants are like any other machine. They can be a benefit or a hazard. If it’s a benefit, it’s not my problem.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 12A)

Body Heat: Ned sees each problem as a separate hurdle to jump–each with its own issues, costs, and benefits. As such, Ned is completely blinded to the “bigger picture” of Mattie’s con and consistently falls prey to her manipulations.

Boyz N The Hood: Tre tends to view problems in a linear way, without considering the big picture. In his relationship with Brandi, he wants to take the immediate step of having sex with her, without regard to the consequences that could adversely affect their relationship. For example, Brandi could become pregnant, impeding their college plans and creating a financial struggle to maintain an income necessary to provide for a child. When Tre seeks revenge for the death of his friend, he does not immediately recognize the action will also put himself in danger.

Braveheart: Wallace throws his whole effort into vanquishing the cause of Scotland’s (and his own personal) misery–English rule and Longshanks’ treachery.

Bringing Up Baby: David is not one to see the big picture. He has a tendency to look only at the effects and causes of his circumstances and doesn’t appreciate the process until it is all over. He looks at the effects of Susan’s actions and blames her for all of his problems. He does not understand, nor have patience, for Susan’s decidedly non-linear way of thinking.

Candida: Morell thinks linearly; when his marriage is threatened he considers nothing but the threat itself; if he had put the threat in perspective of his happy marriage, he would realize the danger never existed.

Casablanca: A linear thinker, Rick jumps to the conclusion that Ilsa left him in Paris because she loved Laszlo more. When he decides to help Laszlo and Ilsa, he takes a logical series of actions that ensure they will be able to escape without interference from the police or the Nazis.

Charlotte’s Web: Wilbur evaluates problems in terms of cause and effect; for example, when he escapes his pen, it causes an uproar.

Chinatown: Jake looks for clues to see where they will lead him. Though this helps him locate and identify Evelyn’s daughter/Noah’s granddaughter, he misses the big picture (the intermingled relationships) that a person using female mental sex problem solving techniques might have picked up.

The Crucible: John focuses on what is the specific cause of a problem, without considering all other possibilities.

Proctor: . . . I know the children’s sickness has naught to do with witchcraft.

Hale: Naught to do–?

Proctor: Mr. Parris discovered them sportin’ in the woods. They were startled and took sick.

Hale: Who told you this?

Proctor: Abigail Williams.

Hale: . . . Abigail Williams told you it had naught to do with witchcraft! Why–why did you keep this?

Proctor: I never knew until tonight that the world is gone daft with nonsense. (Miller 68)

El Mariachi: El Mariachi understands his problem of being pursued is caused by a case of mistaken identity.

Four Weddings And A Funeral: Charles tries to solve problems by looking at causes and their effects. Unfortunately for him, there isn’t always a clear cut relationship between the two which makes solving his problems very difficult. For example, when he first discovers that Carrie is engaged to Hamish, he immediately (in his conversation with Matthew) tries to figure out what he’s been doing wrong.

The Fugitive: Dr. Kimble is trying to find out who was responsible for his wife’s murder, and the reasons behind the heinous act, by locating the information that leads back to the killer.

The Godfather: Michael uses a linear, cause and effect manner of looking at problems. He sees the relations of all the families as different links in one hierarchy of power, completely ignoring the holistic effects the families’ methods have on the women and children who are, in his eyes, “not involved.” His keen sense of logic is what allows him to see that he is the perfect candidate to kill the “Turk.” He sees a very binary relationship between people who are “in” the family vs. people who aren’t, warning Fredo never to take sides against the family. He is also able to ultimately convince himself that his “business” has nothing to do with his wife and that because she is “not involved” she should not ask him about it.

The Graduate: Ben tends to solve problems from a very linear, cause and effect perspective, without paying much attention to the big picture.

The Great Gatsby: Nick uses the problem solving technique of cause and effect.

Hamlet: Hamlet tends to use male mental sex problem solving techniques as illustrated in his attempts to gather evidence that “there is something more deeply amiss than his mother’s overhasty marriage to her deceased husband’s brother. . .” (Bevington xx).

Harold and Maude: When Harold sees the effect his supposed death has on his mother, he causes it to happen again and again in a bid to get her attention; to avoid being drafted, he causes his uncle to think he has psychotic tendencies.

Heavenly Creatures: Pauline applies cause and effect reasoning to her encounter with the child psychologist, having him killed by Diello in her imaginary world; with Juliet, she’s worked out the Borovnian “entire royal lineage for the last five centuries”; desperate to go overseas, Pauline takes steps to make in happen–stealing silverware for the fare, applying for a passport, etc.; distressed over the one obstacle standing in her way, Pauline causes an effect–her mother’s death–having carefully worked out the steps of the murder plan.

Klute: Klute uses the linear reasoning techniques of the policeman that he is, tracking down anyone known to have contact with Tom and gathering evidence.

Lolita: Humbert uses the male mental sex problem solving technique of cause and effect. For example, he impresses upon Lolita exactly what will happen to her if she tells anyone the true nature of their relationship:

“. . . A nice grim matron . . . the reformatory, the juvenile detention home . . . By rubbing all this in, I succeeded in terrorizing Lo . . .” (Nabokov 138-9).

Othello: Othello moves to solve his problems by using linear thinking. When Brabantio accuses Othello of using witchcraft to seduce Desdemona, Othello suggests that she be summoned to give evidence of their courtship. When he’s disturbed by the commotion during the celebration, Othello demands the witnesses identify those responsible, weighs the evidence, and metes out a punishment. When Iago accuses Desdemona of adultery, Othello asks for proof. Having been presented with “evidence” Othello accepts it on face value, without considering why Iago is defaming Desdemona, or contemplating the larger issues surrounding the accusation.

The Philadelphia Story: Tracy is a goal setter. She immediately looks at causes and effects, and tries to solve problems in a very linear manner.

Quills: Abbe de Coulmier evaluates events as cause and effect. He sees each problem he has with The Marquis as a new issue, to be handled separate and apart from the last. This problem solving method fails, as The Marquis is able to counter his efforts with his own holistic methods.

Rain Man: Charlie, using linear thinking, attacks his problems straight on. He puts one business fire out at a time; when the EPA officials bug him, he considers paying them off; when his buyers want to back out of the deal, he gives them a discount; when his loan is due, he gets an extension; when his inheritance is given away, he finds out who got it and tries to make a deal. When Dr. Bruner doesn’t give Charlie his half of the inheritance, he keeps Raymond, something they want, until he gets what he wants.

Rebel Without a Cause: Jim tends to use the technique of binary reasoning to problem solve. As an example, he demands yes or no answers from his parents. He also looks at problems in terms of cause and effect. For example, he believes his mother runs the family because his father won’t stand up to her.

Reservoir Dogs: When Mr. White is confronted with a problem, his solution is to pull out his gun and eliminate the cause. He comforts the injured Mr. Orange by telling him not to worry, “it takes days to bleed to death” from gunshots to the stomach.

Revenge of the Nerds: Lewis’s first way of understanding anything is structural and he is able to objectify any problem or idea. He sees getting a house as a set of steps which he tackles one at a time. When he seduces Betty by pretending to be her boyfriend in a mask, he sees it as an act of obtaining her, rather than a process of deceiving her.

Romeo and Juliet: Romeo uses cause and effect problem solving techniques. As an example, in his first scene with Benvolio, he explains Rosaline’s cold heart is the cause of his morose behavior–he does not look beyond this to determine the real reason for his unhappiness–that he has not yet found true love.

The Silence of the Lambs: Clarice methodically follows up each clue provided by Hannibal Lecter and others to gather evidence that eventually leads her to Buffalo Bill.

The Simpsons Christmas Special: Homer uses the male problem solving techniques of cause and effect. As an example, he thinks by taking a part-time job, he will earn enough money to buy gifts. He is quite dismayed later to discover the big picture–gross pay minus many deductions equals minimal net pay.

All Good Things (Star Trek: The Next Generation): Picard chooses to “CAUSE AND EFFECT” by solving the problem of the paradox and saving mankind.

Star Wars: Luke is extremely goal (and results) oriented.

The Sun Also Rises: Jake is goal oriented, as exemplified by his focus on the possibility of winning Brett. He doesn’t see the big picture–that is, he can’t see that his physical impairment will never change and that she will never be able to accept it. He tries to pull it all together by always being available to her and her needs, and by continually pleading with her to stay with him.

Sunset Boulevard: Joe tends to solve problems by using linear thinking: When his car is about to be repossessed, Joe tries to sell a story to a producer, when that effort fails he asks for money from everyone he knows to make the payments; when he feels suffocated by Norma on New Year’s Eve, he leaves to find a happier party; when offered a chance to work on one of his stories that might sell, Joe sneaks out of Norma’s house to develop the idea; when he decides that he’s no good for Betty, he disgusts her into forgetting about him and marrying a better man.

Taxi Driver: When Travis decides to act on the idea of “True Force” that’s been building up in his brain, he gets “organezized” and breaks the job down into steps: he buys an arsenal of guns; he does physical exercise; he practices at the shooting range; he clips articles on Palantine; he practices drawing his weapons; he cuts his hair into a Mohawk; etc.

To Kill a Mockingbird: Scout considers each problem she comes up against as a separate issue, not realizing the connections that make up a bigger picture.

Tootsie: Michael tends to solve his problems using linear thinking: He needs money to produce Jeff’s play and tells his agent he’ll do anything to get it, even appear in commercials. When he’s told he’s unemployable as a actor, he poses as an actress to get an audition for “Southwest General.” After he lands the job, Michael devises a step-by-step morning routine to transform himself into Dorothy, and creates an allergy story to avoid the studio makeup person. When informed that his soap opera character is a wimp, Michael solves the problem by improvising Dorothy’s lines on the spot–without consulting the show’s producer or writers.

Toy Story: Woody is almost entirely focused on the effects he wants to achieve and how to directly cause them; “balance,” “surplus,” and “deficiency” rarely enter his considerations. His very linear approach is most dramatically demonstrated when he thinks, “Hmm, if I cause Buzz to disappear behind the desk, Andy will have to pick me to go to Pizza Planet, and I’ll win his favor back.” He then attempts a very simple cause-and-effect operation to use RC Car to push Buzz off the desk, but fails to see the relationships among the objects on the desk that will make his plan go awry. He also fails to consider how his actions will tip the delicate balance of public opinion against him. Later, however, when he pulls the mutant toys together and lays out a very linear, step-by-step strategy to save Buzz from Sid, his Male approach is very effective.

Unforgiven: Munny uses cause and effect, linear reasoning. Having trouble with animals, he figures that:

MUNNY: Now this here horse is gettin’ even on me… hold on gal… for the sins of my youth… before I met… your dear-departed mother… I was weak an’ givin’ to mistreatin’ horses an’ such. An’ this here horse… an’ that ole pig, too, I guess… is my comeuppance for my cruelty…

(Peoples, p. 21)

When he can’t hit a coffee can with the pistol, he switches to a shotgun; told that Little Bill caused Ned’s death, Munny eliminates him.

The Verdict: Frank tries to determine the cause of Ms. Kay’s condition by examining the effects.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: George formulates a plan to end one particular game (the fantasy of their son) and takes steps to bring it to fruition.

When Harry Met Sally: Harry does not need to be fulfilled mentally when seeking a solution to a problem. He needs only to be satisfied.

X-Files: Beyond the Sea: Scully approaches problems using linear thinking: She decides that since her father never told her he was proud of her being in the FBI, he must not have been; follows clues to an abandoned warehouse and finds evidence; decides that with only three days left to save the teenagers, they must deal with Boggs to get information; reasons that because Mulder was shot, Boggs must have orchestrated the attack.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

STORIES that have Approach of Do-er:

A Clockwork Orange: Alex acts impulsively doing whatever he wishes. On whims, Alex beats the tramp, attacks Billy Boy’s gang, steals a car and runs others off the road, rapes Mr. Alexander’s wife, has serendipitous sex with two teenagers. He does not deliberate over these actions as is apparent when the consequences he has not even considered catch up with him.

All About Eve: Margo is a woman of action: Initially she’s protective of Eve, and takes her into her home the first night they meet; she becomes jealous of Bill’s attention to Eve, chews Bill out about it, and gets drunk at his birthday party; suspicious of Eve’s true motives, Margo asks Max to employ her in his office; upon learning that Eve has secretly become her understudy, Margo immediately accuses Lloyd, Bill, and Max of a conspiracy against her.

All That Jazz: When faced with a problem, Joe takes action. At a loss for staging ideas or faced with problems editing The Standup, he works late into the night–exhausting himself rather than giving up; when Katie confronts him about their relationship, he tells her he loves her to head off a break-up; and so forth.

Apt Pupil: Once Todd thinks he may have spotted a Nazi war criminal, he sets about tracking him down; instead of accepting his poor grade report he changes it with the help of ink eradicator; when confronted by Rubber Ed, he kills him; and so forth.

Body Heat: Ned prefers to resolve problems physically. To address his lust for Mattie, he smashes through the glass to get to her; when Mattie comments on how her husband’s death would solve HER problems, Ned suggests that they murder him; Ned goes through complex machinations (goes to Miami, rents a car, etc.) to establish an alibi; he physically threatens Mattie when he believes her actions will expose their involvement in Edmond’s murder; etc.

Boyz N The Hood: Tre looks for physical solutions to his problems: As a kid he gets into a fight with his classmate without regard to the consequences; he tries to coax his girlfriend, Brandi, into bed without thinking it through; after his run-in with the police, his first instinct is to high-tail it out of LA; when Ricky is murdered, he rushes to seek revenge without stopping to think about the consequences until after he’s in the car with Doughboy and the gang.

Braveheart: Unlike the Scottish lords, who “do nothing but talk,” William’s first approach to conflict is to take action. While the Scottish nobles are quibbling over the rightful successor to their throne and “squabbling over the scraps from Longshanks’ table,” Wallace prepares for battle and the invasion of England.

Bull Durham: Not one to sit back and wait for life to happen, Annie constantly takes control of her environment. Note the way she ties her charges to the bed and reads them poetry. In fact, whenever she sees something wrong in her external environment, she fixes it, whether sending a note with the correct procedure to individual team members, correcting Millie’s misconceptions “You were not lured. Women are too strong and powerful for that,” or physically seducing Nuke, when she thinks he’s ignoring her.

Charlotte’s Web: Wilbur tries to make friends to ease his loneliness on Zuckerman’s farm; when Charlotte informs him he is not capable of spinning a web, he still makes an attempt to perform this feat; and so forth.

Chinatown: “Act first, pay the consequences later,” could easily describe Jake’s general approach. When given a choice, he clearly prefers to solve problems by doing something (e.g. jump the fence near the reservoir, tear the page out of the county land registry, trespass on the land in the San Fernando Valley, slap Evelyn to get the truth, etc.).

El Mariachi: El Mariachi travels from town to town soliciting work as a mariachi; when pursued, he is not afraid to fight back; when he finds out Domino is looking for him at Moco’s ranch, he goes after her at risk to himself.

The Fugitive: Dr. Kimble responds by acting first, thinking later, which often puts him into dangerous situations.

The Godfather: Michael prefers to problem solve externally. He has just come back from WW II as a veteran hero, then he insists that he can solve the “Turk”(Sollozzo) problem by killing Sollozzo and the police captain. When he falls in love with Appollonia from afar, he proposes marriage before even meeting her. He is virtually unable to cope with problems internally, always finding a way to solve them externally. This leads to many murders such as the “baptism of blood” when Michael secures his family’s seat of power by having all other threats eliminated during his godson’s baptism.

I Love Lucy: Lucy attempts several different ways to divulge the news to Ricky about her pregnancy, and does not give up until she has accomplished her goal.

Klute: When his friend Tom goes missing, Klute goes to New York City to find him; When Bree won’t talk to him, he surreptitiously tape-records her conversations; Seeing a prowler through Bree’s skylight, Klute runs to the roof and gives chase; When the scared Bree moves back in with Frank, Klute physically attacks him; etc.

Lawrence of Arabia: Lawrence tries to mold Arabia to suit him through his strength of character, charisma, and leadership qualities: Provoked to give the Arabs:

FEISAL: What no man can provide, Lieutenant. We need a miracle.

(Bolt and Wilson, p. 52)

Lawrence goes and takes Akaba, crossing the impossible-to-cross Nefud desert; he solves the Auda-Ali tribal dispute by executing the wrongdoer, his friend Gasim; he competes with Allenby to reach Damascus first; etc.

Othello: Othello is a man of action: His reputation as an effective warrior and leader earns him a command against the Turks and a position as governor of Cyprus; he seizes his chance at happiness with an expedient, secret marriage to Desdemona; he quickly determines Cassio’s drunken brawling is a disgrace to his rank and strips him of it; once he’s convinced of Desdemona and Cassio’s guilt, he orders Iago to execute Cassio and he kills his wife himself.

The Philadelphia Story: When she hears about the reporters in her house, Tracy’s first reaction is to give them “a picture of home life that will stand their hair on end.” When she sees George at the stables looking “too clean,” she knocks him down and dirties him up. When Uncle Willie shows up, Tracy automatically refers to him as “Father,” just to stir things up. When Dexter tells her he’s planning to name his next boat the “True Love II” she promises to “blow you and it right out of the water.”

The Piano Lesson: Berniece’s approach to solving problems is to take action: After her husband died, she moved to Pittsburgh with her daughter, and got a job to support them both. When Avery proposed, she refused him, acting upon her feelings. When Boy Willie barges into her house unexpectedly, she tells him to leave. After he ignores her orders and tries to remove the piano from the house, she threatens to shoot him. When Sutter’s ghost attacks her brother, Berniece summons her ancestors’ spirits to exorcise it.

Platoon: There are a number of examples illustrating how Chris prefers to deal with situations externally, and looks for physical solutions to his problems. For instance: Chris drops out of college and enlists in the military to do something positive for his country; He shoots his rifle at the feet of a young, retarded man he finds hiding. This is done as a means of releasing the tension and frustration that has built up from horrific ordeals he and his platoon have recently experienced; While his platoon pillages a small village, Chris rescues a young village girl from being raped by some of the men in his platoon; When Sgt. Elias is missing in the jungle, Chris sets out to find him until he’s stopped by Sgt. Barnes; Chris attacks Sgt. Barnes when Barnes confronts him and others about killing Sgt. Elias; In the film’s climatic battle, instead of relying on the safety of his foxhole, Chris leaves to engage the enemy in hand to hand combat; Ultimately, he ends up murdering Sgt. Barnes in an act of revenge for Elias and for himself.

Pride and Prejudice: Elizabeth’s tendency to solve a problem is to handle it through activity. For example, after learning that Jane has taken ill at the neighbor estate of Netherfield Park, Elizabeth is not content to stay at home until she is assured of her recovery. Instead, she braves a rainstorm and lengthy journey on foot to personally tend to her sister’s health.

Quills: Abbe de Coulmier takes on his responsibilities with great energy and enthusiasm. He actively looks for positive ways to solve problems, as illustrated in his conversation with Dr. Royer-Collard regarding rehabilitating The Marquis:

Coulmier: I implore you, do not insist that I negate my principles. Let me continue in my charitable course. (Wright 20)

Rain Man: When bureaucratic red tape threatens his car deal, Charlie appeases his customers and knocks $5,000 off the price of the cars. When his father’s lawyer refuses to reveal the identity of the beneficiary of the will, Charlie goes to the bank and finds out who it is. He goes to Walbrook, discovers he has a brother, then kidnaps Raymond, and finally demands half of the inheritance.

Rear Window: Though seemingly a passive observer (because of his physical predicament), Jeff will risk his neck (or rather leg) to get the best photo. Eager to go on a big assignment despite his injury, he asks:

JEFF: Okay. When do I leave? Half-hour? Hour?

GUNNISON: With that cast on – you don’t.

JEFF: Oh, stop sounding stuffy. I can take pictures from a jeep or a water buffalo if necessary.

To get the goods on Thorwald, he brings in Doyle, Lisa, and Stella to do his legwork.

Rebel Without a Cause: Jim tries to solve his problems by first taking action. For example, when he’s called a chicken, he puts his fists up; his concern for Plato compels him to run into the planetarium at the risk of being shot (by the police or by Plato); interestingly, he tries to change his tendency to fight first and reflect later by stalling when he is challenged by the gang “I don’t want trouble” (Stern 41) but when backed against the wall he fights “All right–you want it, you got it” (Stern 43).

Reservoir Dogs: When the cops close in on Mr. White, he empties both guns into them rather than figuring a way to escape the conflict. He pulls his gun on Mr. Blond instead of arguing with him. He forces a shoot-out with Joe and Mr. Nice rather than re-evaluate his beliefs about Mr. Orange.

Revenge of the Nerds: Lewis’s first response to a problem is to do something about it. He immediately starts looking for a house for the nerds, he finds the house, he asks Betty out the first time he talks to her, he invents a robot to clean up for him, etc. He actively tries to change his situation to one that suits him.

Searching for Bobby Fischer: Josh tries to accomplish his purposes by engaging in activities. For example, despite the advice from all corners, he determines his own course.

The Silence of the Lambs: As a child, Clarice took action by kidnapping the lamb to save it from being slaughtered; she actively joined the FBI to go after killers, like the ones who killed her father; encountering Buffalo Bill, she tries to apprehend him herself.

The Simpsons Christmas Special: Homer looks for a physical solution to his problems. It is really his only option, as his mental capabilities are limited, and he is emotionally immature.

All Good Things (Star Trek: The Next Generation): In the beginning, even though Picard is not exactly sure why he is time-shifting and there is a possibility that he (in the future) is suffering from the mental disorder, he urgently seeks helps from his friends and colleagues to figure out what is going on.

Star Wars: Luke is frequently acting first, thinking later. He chases after R2D2 into dangerous parts of the Tatooine desert and gets captured by the Sand People; he rushes to rescue Princess Leia without a plan of escape; he blasts the shield door closed and strands Leia and himself on a ledge without an escape route; etc.

The Sun Also Rises: Jake first looks for a physical solution when faced with a problem. For example, when Robert Cohn insults him, he throws a punch:

“At the Cafe Suizo we had just sat down and ordered Fundador when Robert Cohn came up. ‘Where’s Brett?’ he asked. ‘I don’t know.’ . . . ‘I’ll make you tell me’–he stepped forward–‘You damned pimp.’ I swung at him and he ducked” (Hemingway 190-91).

Sunset Boulevard: Joe takes action to solve his problems: When he needs money to make his car payments, he immediately hustles to raise the it; when the finance men chase him, he races up Sunset Blvd. and hides his car in Norma’s garage; when he’s offered the chance of a job, Joe grabs it, embellishing on his experience and pay rate; when Norma comes on too strong on New Year’s Eve, Joe leaves her house, hitches a ride, and finds people his own age to party with; when he discovers that Norma is harassing Betty, he takes charge of the situation, tells Betty to come see him, then tells her the truth.

Taxi Driver: When he can’t sleep nights, Travis goes out and gets a job driving taxis; attracted to Betsy, he walks into her office and volunteers in order to be near her; seeing a stick-up man holding up the deli, he shoots him; feeling down, he goes to Wizard for advice; etc.

To Kill a Mockingbird: Scout attempts to solve a problem by first taking action, an approach that often gets her into trouble. As an example, she is reprimanded when Miss Caroline wants to lend the poor but proud Walter Cunningham lunch money, and Scout jumps in to explain that it is not the Cunningham way:

I would have saved myself some inconvenience and Miss Caroline subsequent mortification, but it was beyond my ability to explain things as well as Atticus, so I said, “You’re shamin’ him, Miss Caroline. Walter hasn’t got a quarter at home to bring you, and you can’t use any stovewood.” Miss Caroline stood stock still, then grabbed me by the collar and hauled me back to her desk. “Jean Louise, I’ve had about enough of you this morning,” she said. “You’re starting off on the wrong foot in every way…” (Lee, 1960, p. 24)

Tootsie: When Michael is faced with a problem, he immediately takes action: He disagrees with a director’s orders and walks off the production. When Sandy needs to be angry to get her part right, Michael accompanies her to the audition and enrages her with insults. After he learns that another actor got a part he was promised, Michael bursts into his agent’s office and demands an explanation. When his agent declares that no one will hire him, Michael dresses in drag and lands a role on the soap opera. When he can’t break his contract, Michael reveals himself as a man on live television to get out of it.

Toy Story: Woody is a very active, take-charge kind of cowboy. He calls meetings, plots strategies, mobilizes other toys, and approaches all problems by jumping into the fray, even if it means starting an unpleasant confrontation. He is loath to check his attitudes at the door, and that often gets him in trouble.

The Verdict: Frank acts impulsively and often regrets his actions which frequently forces him to make uncomfortable decisions.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: Rather than trying to “cope” with the impact of the mind games by adjusting himself to those around him, George externalizes his problem solving by actively manipulating or “psyching-out” those around him.

When Harry Met Sally: Harry’s first approach to dealing with a problem is to work it out externally. When his wife asks for a divorce, instead of accepting her reasons he secretly follows her to determine what she has really been up to; when he unexpectedly runs into his wife at a later date, instead of bottling up his hurt and resentment for a more appropriate time he lets out his anguish at what is supposed to be a friendly house warming for Jess and Marie:

Sally: Harry, I know you’re upset, but do we have to talk about this right now?

Harry: What’s wrong with right now? It’s a perfect time to talk about this. I just want them to see. (he’s becoming more and more upset) I just want them to see the realities of what this leads to. Everything’s fine, everybody’s in love, everybody’s happy–and before you know it, you’re screaming at each other about who owns the stereo. (Ephron, Reiner, & Scheinman, 1988, p. 78)

The Wild Bunch: Knowing that the bounty hunters are waiting for him, Pike pushes the Paymaster out the door first; When the buckshot Buck can’t go on, Pike executes him; When his stirrup breaks, Pike heaves himself back into the saddle without it; Concerned about being double-crossed by Mapache, Pike booby-traps the gun wagon with dynamite; etc.

X-Files: Beyond the Sea: In spite of the grief over her father’s death, Scully continues to work. She accompanies her partner to the prison to assist him with the case. When Scully sees the landmarks Boggs described as leading to the kidnapper’s lair, she immediately investigates the warehouse and finds valuable clues. She takes over the lead in the case when her partner is shot; threatens Boggs when she believes he set her and Mulder up to be murdered; tries to obtain a deal for Boggs in order to get information to save Jim Summers; leads the chase after the kidnapper.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Pro Story Development Software

STORIES that have Approach of Be-er:

A Doll’s House: As a child in her father’s home, and as a wife in her husband’s home, Nora does everything in her power to adapt herself to her environment-even to the detriment of her self-esteem and peace of mind:

“It’s perfectly true, Torvald. When I was at home with Papa he told me his opinion about everything, and so I had the same opinions; and if I differed from him I concealed the fact, because he would not have liked it. He called me his doll child, and he played with me just as I used to play with my dolls. And when I came to live with you…I was simply transferred from Papa’s hands to yours. You arranged everything according to your taste, and so I got the same tastes as you-or else I pretended to.” (Ibsen, 1879, p. 195)

The Age of Innocence: Newland prefers to internalize his problems instead of resolving them externally. Rather than act to change May into a more enlightened wife, Newland internally acknowledges that she’ll never be an intellectual partner, and resigns himself to living within a boring marriage.

NARRATOR: Archer had gradually reverted to his old inherited ideas about marriage. It was less trouble to conform with tradition. There was no use trying to emancipate a wife who hadn’t the dimmest notion that she was not free.

Amadeus: Salieri prefers to deal with his world indirectly, internally. He manipulates his world. He waits years to get the job of First Kappelmeister. He is willing to flatter; to be self-deprecating. Even with Mozart, in his war with God, he prefers to manipulate those around him rather than challenge Mozart directly. When he has the opportunity to sleep with Constanze, he refuses, preferring to adapt to his new sense of his world. This harkens back to his statements that he always wanted to sleep with his pretty students, but because of his bargain with God, he had to be chaste.

Barefoot in the Park: Paul prefers to adapt himself to his environment:

Mother: I worry about you two. You’re so impulsive. You jump into life. Paul is like me. He looks first.

Corie scathingly remarks to Paul:

Corie: Do you know what you are? You’re a watcher. There are Watchers in this world and there are Do-ers. And the Watchers sit around watching the Do-ers do. Well, tonight you watched and I did.

Being There: Chance accepts any situation he finds himself in; he adapts himself to the environment:

“Chance did what he was told” (Kosinski, 1970, p. 7).

Blade Runner: When Deckard’s picked up by Gaff, he goes along rather than fight; Recruited by Bryant to blade run again, he adapts to the system that walks all over “little people”; When questioning Salome, he pretends to be a petty bureaucrat, fighting and killing her only as a last resort.

Bringing Up Baby: In the opening shot, David is sitting on a scaffold, in perfect imitation of Rodan’s famous “Thinker” sculpture. Although he does quite a bit of protesting, David rarely takes direct action to get what he wants. He quietly accepts Alice’s proclamation that they will have no children. He grudgingly goes along with Susan’s story that his name is David Bone and that he recently suffered a nervous breakdown. When Alice leaves, calling him a butterfly, he simply mutters to himself and lets her go.

Candida: As an example of James Morell’s approach as a be-er, when Eugene Marchbanks announces Candida is better off with himself rather than the clergyman, Morell accepts him as a threat instead of dismissing the poet’s youthful foolishness. He then puts the burden of settling the crisis upon Candida, avoiding handling the matter himself.

Casablanca: Rick allows his club to be an open house for a wide variety of patrons, from refugees to Nazis to Vichy French. Whichever way the political wind blows, Rick will bend with it.

The Client: When there are problems, Reggie prefers to internalize them over trying to resolve them externally. When her husband left, taking the kids, she became an alcoholic; to gain Marcus’ trust, she becomes motherly; when she is verbally attacked and accused of being an alcoholic, she swallows her hurt and doesn’t offer an explanation; when Marcus tries to hitchhike from her house, she waits for him inside; etc.

The Crucible: John would prefer to wait out a problem–hoping it will resolve itself–rather than to take immediate action. An example of this is when he first hears of the young girls in town making accusations of witchcraft:

Proctor: Oh, it is a black mischief.

Elizabeth: I think you must go to Salem, John. I think so. You must tell them it is a fraud.

Proctor: Aye, it is, surely.

Elizabeth: Let you go to Ezekiel Cheever–he knows you well. And tell him what she [Abigail] said to you last week in her uncle’s house. She said it had naught to do with witchcraft, did she not?

Proctor: (in thought) Aye she did, she did.

Elizabeth: God forbid you keep that from the court, John. I think they must be told.

Proctor: (quietly, struggling with his thought) Aye, they must, they must. . . .

Elizabeth: I would go to Salem now, John–let you go tonight.

Proctor: I’ll think on it.

Elizabeth: You cannot keep it, John.

Proctor: I know I cannot keep it. I say I will think on it! (Miller 53)

Four Weddings And A Funeral: Charles prefers to solve problems by changing his mind or adapting to a given situation rather than doing something about it. For example, Charles makes no move to change tables at Lydia and John’s wedding, even after seeing that he will be sitting at a table filled with “Ghosts of girlfriends past;Ó When he is stuck in the closet of Lydia and Bernard’s honeymoon suite, he chooses to quietly adapt to the situation and wait it out, rather than disturb the newlyweds; finally, he almost convinces himself to marry someone he doesn’t love because it is easier for him to pretend it is OK than to tell everybody that the wedding is called off.

The Glass Menagerie: Laura approaches problems by internalizing them. This often paralyzes her–keeping her from being able to do ANYTHING.

The Graduate: Ben is most definitely a ponderer. From the first frame of the film, his preference is clearly to think out situations before taking action.

The Great Gatsby: Nick Carraway deals with personal issues internally — he prefers to adapt himself to his environment:

“I am slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires…”

Hamlet: Hamlet is a gifted thinker that is incapable of positive action–“the native hue of resolution/Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought” (3.1.92-93).

Harold and Maude: Harold reacts to his mother’s domineering ways by pretending to be dead, instead of fighting her or leaving home; when Maude steals his hearse, he passively lets her drive him home; he modifies his new sports car into a hearse like his old one; etc.

Heavenly Creatures: Reluctant to be in the school photo, Pauline adapts to the situation by hanging her head down rather than running away; Pauline responds to Juliet’s tuberculosis by wishing illness on herself and refusing to eat; when her mother threatens to not let her see Juliet again, Pauline’s initial response is to wish herself dead; she responds to threatening authority figures internally by having them killed by Diello in the 4th World of Borovnia.

Lolita: Humbert prefers to approach his problem internally and adapt himself to his environment (like a chameleon). “Years of secret suffering have taught me superhuman self control” (Nabokov 28). He puts up a romantic front for Charlotte: “Bland American Charlotte frightened me . . . I dared not do anything to spoil the image of me she had set up to adore” (Nabokov 78), and he internalizes and compartmentalizes his lust for Lolita by keeping a detailed diary.

Romeo and Juliet: Romeo’s first preference in approaching a conflict is to adapt himself to the environment, for example, he lacks interest in the (contentious) ” . . . activities of his gang of friends, whom he accompanies only reluctantly to the Capulet feast: ‘I’ll be a candle holder and look on'” (1.4.38) (Paster 258); After making Juliet his wife, he tries to placate Tybalt rather than fight him; and so forth.

Rosemary’s Baby: Rosemary tries to accommodate everyone before herself. She agrees to the dinner invitation with the Castevets, even though she doesn’t want to go. Then she feels obligated, but tells Guy that it’s all right if he doesn’t want to attend. When Rosemary learns she is pregnant, she lets the Castevets push her into giving up a doctor she likes for one they recommend. Even though she is in great pain, she finds a way to adapt to it rather than confront her doctor:

Tiger: You’ve been in pain since November and he (Dr. Sapirstein) isn’t doing anything for you?

Rosemary: He says it’ll stop.

Joan: Why don’t you see another doctor?

Rosemary shakes her head.

Rosemary: He’s very good. He was on “Open End.”

Sula: From childhood, Nel copes with problems internally:

“…the girl became obedient and polite. Any enthusiasms that little Nel showed were calmed by the mother until she drove her daughter’s imagination underground” (Morrison, 1973, p. 18).

When Nel finds Jude and Sula naked in her bedroom, she thinks:

They are not doing that. I am just standing here seeing it, but they are not really doing it…I just stood there seeing it and smiling, because maybe there was some explanation, something important that would make it all right. (Morrison, 1973, p. 105)

After Jude leaves Nel, she winds up her anger into an imaginary gray ball so that she may function.

Unforgiven: Munny has lost the hair-trigger response of his youth, preferring to work problems through peaceably: though taunted by Kid Schofield over his reputation, he lets it slide and tries again to solve the hog problem; provoked by Little Bill in the bar, Munny bides his time:

LITTLE BILL: Well, Mister Hendershot, if I was to call you a no good sonofabitch an’ a liar, an’ if I was to say you shit in your pants on account of a cowardly soul… well, I guess then, you would show me your pistol right quick an’ shoot me dead, ain’t that so?

MUNNY: I guess I might… but like I said, I ain’t armed.

(Peoples, p. 76)

After a kicking by Little Bill, Munny doesn’t even seek revenge; this doesn’t happen until Ned is killed.

Washington Square: When faced with a problem, Catherine’s preference is to solve it internally, as illustrated in a conversation between her father and Aunt Almond:

“‘And, meanwhile, how is Catherine taking it?’ ‘As she takes everything–as a matter of course.’ ‘Doesn’t she make a noise? Hasn’t she made a scene?’ ‘She is not scenic.'” (James 69)

Once her father refuses her lovers’ suit, Catherine contemplates:

The idea of a struggle with her father, of setting up her will against his own, was heavy on her soul, and it kept her quiet, as a great physical weight keeps us motionless. It never entered into her mind to throw her lover off; but from the first she tried to assure herself that there would be a peaceful way out of their difficulty. The assurance was vague, for it contained no element of positive conviction that her father would change his mind. She only had the idea that if she should be very good, the situation would in some mysterious manner improve. To be good she must be patient, outwardly submissive, abstain from judging her father too harshly, and from committing any act of open defiance. (James 81)

Witness: Rachel adapts to the situations she finds herself in: she accepts being detained by Book and taken to his sister’s house:

SAMUEL: But do we have to stay here?

RACHEL: No, we do not. Just for the night.

Rachel accommodates Book’s presence on the farm; she remains in the Amish community, even though she has doubts about her faith; etc.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Pro Story Development Software

STORIES that have Growth of Start:

A Doll’s House: Nora must stand on her own and start a new life.

The Age of Innocence: Newland must start to externalize his liberal ideas of living, if he is to achieve true happiness in his life.

All About Eve: Margo has to start believing in herself. She must begin to be comfortable with her age, and accept that Bill loves her for who she is, on the stage and off.

Apt Pupil: Todd starts acting on the evils of Dussander’s memories. He tortures and kills winos, then moves on to kill whoever gets in his way (Rubber Ed), and next, anonymous freeway travelers.

Blade Runner: Deckard needs to start getting in touch with his emotions if he’s to get past being a killing machine and become more human.

Bringing Up Baby: David ultimately needs to do something about the fact that deep down he really loves Susan. Early on, he admits that “In moments of quiet, I’m strangely drawn to you. But, well, there haven’t been any quiet moments.” When David jumps to Susan’s rescue at the end (after Susan has just dragged in the wild leopard), Susan accepts it as an acknowledgment of his love.

Candida: Morell needs to hold out for Candida to make the decision to stay with him.

Casablanca: Rick must start becoming the conscientious man he was in Paris, pick up the fight against the Nazis, and fill the hole in his heart created by Ilsa’s desertion.

The Glass Menagerie: Laura is holding out for something good to come into her life — for her “Prince Charming” to arrive and take her away to live happily ever after.

The Graduate: Ben has a hole in his heart. A huge sucking chest wound (metaphorically speaking) of a hole that needs to be filled by starting on a path of his own choosing. However, it could be said that Ben is wasting his time and should stuff aside all of his feelings, lie about the affair, pretend to be interested in plastics, and move onto the business of aggressively pursuing his future. That’s probably what he should start doing if he wants to achieve the objective story goal. But would that make him happy?

Klute: While investigating leads in Tom’s disappearance, Klute stays close to Bree, holding out for the man who’s stalking her to make a mistake and reveal himself.

Othello: Othello must start to realize that he can’t run his marriage using the same unbending discipline and militaristic thinking he uses to rule his soldiers. He must start to question Iago’s motives for accusing Desdemona of being unfaithful, and look beyond the surface of events for their true meaning and greater implications.

The Philadelphia Story: Ultimately, Tracy must start being more forgiving and more accepting of human frailties.

Quills: Abbe de Coulmier needs to take the upper hand in his relationship with The Marquis to be successful in restraining the inmate’s prose. This does not happen.

Rear Window: The firmly entrenched bachelor, Jeff, needs to start admitting what he likes about marriage–he obviously enjoys being pampered by his nurse–and commit to his relationship with Lisa, before he turns into a “lonesome and bitter old man.” He also needs to begin a personal involvement with Thorwald if he’s to entrap him.

Rebel Without a Cause: Jim wants Frank to start to act like a man so that he can respect him as a father; Jim’s family moves constantly, ostensibly to give their son a fresh start each time:

Ray: That why you moved from the last town? ‘Cause you were in trouble? You can talk about it if you want to–I know about it anyway. Routine check.

Jim: And they think they are protecting me by moving.

Ray: You were getting a good start in the wrong direction back there. Why did you do it? (Stern 15)

Romeo and Juliet: Romeo has to start acting like the man that Juliet is certain he can be.

Rosemary’s Baby: Rosemary must take charge of her own life and that of the baby’s.

Searching for Bobby Fischer: Josh holds out for Bruce and Fred’s unconditional support.

Sula: Nel starts living her own life independent of hurt and anger.

Sunset Boulevard: Joe must start to act with more integrity if he’s going to truly be a success. He needs to start telling the truth to the finance men, to Norma about her script, to Artie and Betty about his relationship with Norma, if he hopes to set things straight in his life. He needs to stop lying to himself about getting by on trite stories and concentrate on writing meaningful material instead.

To Kill a Mockingbird: Scout lacks open-mindedness as she sees issues in black and white. Her tolerance of individual differences starts when she can understand another person’s point of view.

Tootsie: Michael must start to think about other people’s needs and feelings, instead of pushing his values and opinions on everyone.

Unforgiven: Although Munny tells the Kid that he’s “not like that no more,” he must unfortunately disregard the wishes of his late wife and start using his meanness and killing skills if he’s to succeed and survive in this violent, lawless environment.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: Martha has strayed far too far into the land of perception. Even though Martha says, “Truth and illusion, George; you don’t know the difference,” it is actually Martha who cannot tell the difference anymore and George must hold out for Martha to start being able to recognize the difference.

Washington Square: Regarding Catherine, the audience is waiting for her to start standing up for herself.

When Harry Met Sally: Harry’s loneliness increases when he fails to make the obvious decision to become romantically involved with his best (girl) friend. It is once he comprehends his friendship with her does not have to be exclusive of an intimate relationship, he can start living a fulfilling life, “And I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible” (Ephron, Reiner, & Scheinman, 1988, p. 120).

Witness: Rachel needs to fill the gap left by the death of her husband, Jacob. She needs someone to love–who’ll appreciate her sexuality–and be a father for Samuel.

X-Files: Beyond the Sea: Scully has to start to believe in herself apart from what her father may have thought of her life choices. She must believe in her ability to solve this case without the guidance of her partner, and act effectively to save the kidnap victims.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Pro Story Development Software

STORIES that have Growth of Stop:

A Clockwork Orange: Alex is caught up in circumstances beyond his control as he becomes a pawn of political machinations–he tries to hold out until it stops. Alex’s nature is trapped in a society not of his own making–society attempts to make his behavior conform by forcing him to go to school, imprisoning him, and brainwashing him. Alex is trying to keep his nature intact while outlasting these threats. From society’s viewpoint, it is waiting for Alex to stop committing random acts of senseless violence.

All That Jazz: If Joe is to live, he must stop drinking, drugging, and screwing around.

Audrey, Katie, and Michelle entreat him to do this, singing: “You better stop, you better change, you better stop and change your ways today” (Aurthur and Fosse 143).

Amadeus: Salieri must Stop Mozart, his music, his fame. He must stop God in His choice of Mozart as His Voice. He must stop his own adherence to his part of the bargain he made with God.

Barefoot in the Park: In order to have a happy marriage, Paul realizes he must stop his controlling behavior.

Being There: Chance must hold on until he finds a permanent living arrangement.

Body Heat: EVERYONE tells Ned he should stop his destructive behavior–from the judge at the beginning, to Lowenstein (the D.A.), to Oscar (the Detective), to Edmond Walker (Mattie’s husband), to the arsonist, etc. And, indeed, Ned really does need to stop–a lesson he learns too late.

Boyz N The Hood: Tre must stop giving into the temptation to act before he thinks. He needs to look at the possible consequences of his actions.

Braveheart: Wallace, like the audience, is waiting for England to stop its oppression and domination of Scotland; waiting for the Scottish lords to stop their cross-purposes and unite against England.

Bull Durham: Annie needs to stop being quite so in control of her life (and everyone else’s). Only by giving up on her self-imposed rules and preconceptions does she find true fulfillment.

Charlotte’s Web: Wilbur stops acting like a helpless piglet and grows up.

Chinatown: Jake is trying to hold out for the inequities in life to end. This is difficult because he is in a business that focuses on people’s troubles.

The Client: Reggie needs to stop making decisions based on what may be likely. She often doesn’t have enough information and that gets her into trouble.

The Crucible: John is waiting for the madness of the witch trials to stop and his life to return to some semblance of normalcy.

El Mariachi: El Mariachi must stop living in a dream world and prepare to face the harsh realities of a drifter’ s existence:

“All I wanted was to be a mariachi like my ancestors. But the city I thought would bring me luck, brought only a curse. I lost my guitar, my hand, and her. With this injury I may never play the guitar again. Without her, I have no love. But with the dog, and the weapons, I’m prepared for the future.” (Rodriguez, 1993)

Four Weddings And A Funeral: Charles needs to stop sabotaging his relationships.

The Fugitive: Dr. Kimble must wait for this terrible situation–the ignorance of his innocence and efforts to remove him permanently from society–to end.

The Godfather: Michael resists association with his family at first, indicating that he plans to be with Kaye and not get involved in the family business. He stops this resistance, however, when all of his family’s power is threatened and he becomes the only one capable of preserving it.

The Great Gatsby: Nick stop’s reserving judgment, as illustrated in his moral indictment of Tom and Daisy Buchanan:

“I couldn’t forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy — they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made….”

Hamlet: Hamlet must stop mulling over the information given to him by his father’s ghost. Only then may he begin to accept the knowledge as truth and act accordingly.

Harold and Maude: Harold must lose his fear of change, and stop alienating those who try to get close to him by faking suicide.

Heavenly Creatures: Pauline needs to stop her obsession of being with Juliet, and stop living in a fantasy world of her own creation where problems are easily resolved by violent acts.

I Love Lucy: Lucy needs to stop waiting for the right moment and perfect way to tell her husband the good news.

Lawrence of Arabia: Lawrence needs to stop believing he’s infallible, the only one with the right answers. He needs to realize there are forces at work larger than him, and that he cannot make everything “written in here” (in his head) come true by sheer force of will.

Lolita: The reader wants Humbert to stop molesting Lolita.

The Piano Lesson: Berniece has to stop blaming her brother for her husband’s death. She must also quit using the piano as an excuse for her fear and bitterness, and take steps to bury the past and get on with her life.

Platoon: Chris must stop thinking that war will define him as a man.

Pride and Prejudice: Elizabeth must discard her prejudice of Mr. Darcy.

Rain Man: Charlie must stop his materialistic, selfish, non-committal attitude toward life. He cares only about the money he didn’t get from his father and considers Raymond only as a way to get it:

CHARLIE: I got him and they want him. I’m going to keep him until I get my half. I deserve that.

Reservoir Dogs: Mr. White must stop believing his own (faulty) instincts.

Revenge of the Nerds: Lewis holds fast against the onslaught of the Alpha-Betas and the Pi Deltas who persecute him for being a nerd. They are pressuring him, with the help of the Greek Council and the football coach, to give up trying to amount to anything at Adams, and Lewis remains steadfast until they stop.

The Silence of the Lambs: Steadfast in her resolve, Clarice must hold out until the process that is threatening the “lambs” (specifically the serial killer, generally all killers) comes to an end.

The Simpsons Christmas Special: Homer needs to stop fumbling with the truth and bumbling with his efforts to cover up his actions.

All Good Things (Star Trek: The Next Generation): Picard must stop looking at the universe and the time-space continuum in a linear fashion if he is to recognize the advantage of his time-shifting and solve the meaning of the paradox. At the scene of the “Trial,” Picard says to Q that seven years earlier Q had already tried him and his crew. Q responded flippantly that Picard always looks at time in such a “linear” fashion.

Star Wars: Luke must stop testing his readiness and listening to others’ advice so that he may trust in himself.

The Sun Also Rises: The audience is waiting for Jake to stop obsessing over Brett.

Taxi Driver: Travis needs to stop being God’s policeman–obsessing over the kind of people he dislikes doing their thing, on the streets of New York City or in the back seat of his cab–and get a life of his own.

Toy Story: Woody needs to stop feeling entitled to sole possession of the “spot” on Andy’s bed. He needs to stop being insecure, competitive, and jealous. He needs to stop measuring himself in terms of “playtime.” If he would stop all these things, he could relax and accept a new state of affairs which is out of his control anyway.

The Verdict: Frank must stop disbelieving that the Justice System is completely unjust.

The Wild Bunch: Pike Bishop is “tired of being hunted.” He hides out in Mexico, holding out for his pursuers–“Railroad men– Pinkertons — bounty hunters.”–especially Thornton, to give up or be killed by Mapache’s men.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Pro Story Development Software

A Clockwork Orange: Alex never willingly changes his roguish anti-social behavior, and when forced to do so, he prefers to die rather than give up that part of himself. Alex tries to hold out against the challenges to his self-authority: when his droogs begin to rebel, he teaches them a lesson; he skips school despite Mr. Deltoid’s efforts; he fights against the authorities during his interrogation; he tries to commit suicide rather than be forced to hate his individualism (represented by Beethoven’s 9th Symphony).

All That Jazz: In the opening scene, Joe asserts “To be on the wire is life: the rest is waiting” (Aurthur and Fosse 1). This statement sums up Joe’s credo, and because of it he remains steadfast in living the high life, despite the fact that it is literally killing him.

Amadeus: Once he declares his war, his intent to destroy Mozart, he remains steadfast to the end. He had offered to trade a recommendation to the Emperor on Mozart’s behalf if Constanze will have sex with him. After he declares his war, he isn’t interested. He tells us, “I wanted nothing petty…..My quarrel wasn’t with Mozart. It was through him! Through him to God, who loved him so.” As Salieri listens to the “Magic Flute,” he finds that a bit of pity might be entering his heart, but he resolves, “Never!” In the end, Salieri even attempts to take his own life to spite God’s punishment- that is, Salieri’s lack of recognition.

Being There: Chance remains steadfast in his desire to live in a home where he can work in a garden and watch television.

Braveheart: William steadfastly fights the English in spite of the odds. He neither yields to the persuasion of Robert the Bruce nor does he give in to Longshanks’ attempt to buy him off. And although eventually he has to change his attitude towards the Scottish nobles, his determination to get Scotland free of England remains as solid as a rock.

Candida: True to the Christian principles he preaches, Morell employs the virtue of patience and prepares for self sacrifice as he awaits the fate of his marriage.

Chinatown: Never one to leave things open-ended, Jake pursues the ‘answer’ to his questions relentlessly. Even after Evelyn is killed and Noah takes his granddaughter away, Jake’s inclination is to keep on going.

The Fugitive: Dr. Kimble maintains he is innocent, and does everything he can to prove it including consistently putting his life in jeopardy.

The Glass Menagerie: Laura exists in a fantasy world where her very own “gentleman caller” awaits her. Even after Jim informs her of his impending marriage and permanent departure, Laura maintains her fantasy more securely than before.

Klute: Klute’s not convinced that Tom’s disappearance is what it looks like to everyone else:

KLUTE: I don’t see it. Tom Grunemann. I’ve known him all my life. He wouldn’t just, you know, go.

AGENT: But he’s gone.

(Lewis & Lewis, p. 6)

Klute sticks with his belief in Tom, and sees “the girl” as the clue to solving the puzzle. He stays close to her, getting to know her more intimately–ultimately using her as bait to trap Tom’s suspected killer, Cable.

Rebel Without a Cause: Jim is steadfast in his desire to be part of a functional family.

Reservoir Dogs: Mr. White refuses to believe that Mr. Orange is the “rat,” even when all evidence points to him. When Mr. Orange confesses to him, he is anguished over the betrayal but remains true to his criminal nature and shoots him, at the cost of his own life.

Revenge of the Nerds: Lewis sticks to his original path of actively pursuing a great time in college. He faces the idea that he is a nerd, but he doesn’t let it dissuade him from any goals he has set for himself. Lewis emerges from the story with the same motivations with which he entered.

Romeo and Juliet: Romeo remains steadfast in his love for Juliet and desire to remain at her side–to the point of following his wife in death.

Searching for Bobby Fischer: Josh sticks to his own way of playing in tournaments. Although Bruce tries to convince Josh to adopt his personal views on winning (and whether or not he should play at all), ultimately Josh resolves his problems by own means, choosing at the end to offer his opponent a way out, before finally winning the game.

The Silence of the Lambs: Even after Lecter has killed more people in his escape from custody, Clarice still believes she was on the right track in getting his help. She heeds his advice and finds a vital clue in the case file, as Lecter suggested.

The Sun Also Rises: Jake remains steadfast in his desire for Brett.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: Rather than stopping the “game” by exposing the lie about their “son,” George continues to play within the rules and “kills” their son–GEORGE: “I have the right, Martha. We never spoke of it; that’s all. I could kill him any time I wanted to.”

The Wild Bunch: A person’s character is best defined by their deeds, not their words. Though Pike discusses changing his lawless, gunfighting ways, it’s the only lifestyle he knows and he hangs onto it, a dinosaur in changing times. He stands by his code of loyalty:

PIKE: We started together — we’ll end it together.

(Green and Peckinpah, p. 33)

–and finally refuses to leave Angel to die alone in Mapache’s hands, leading the Bunch in their final shootout.

X-Files: Beyond the Sea: In spite of Scully’s momentary belief in Boggs’ psychic abilities, she returns to her skeptical nature.

MULDER: Scully. . . after all you’ve told me. After all the evidence. . .

SCULLY: Because I’m afraid. . . I’m afraid to believe.

MULDER: You couldn’t face that fear? Even if it meant never knowing what your father was trying to tell you?

SCULLY: But I do know.

MULDER: How?

SCULLY: He was my father.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Pro Story Development Software

STORIES that have Resolve of Change:

A Doll’s House: Once it is clear that Torvald puts himself and his reputation before his wife, Nora realizes she is no longer in love with him, gives her wedding ring back, and prepares to leave him.

The Age of Innocence: Newland is a man who considers himself intellectually above his peers, a person open to new possibilities.

NARRATOR: On the whole Archer was amused by the smooth hypocrisy of his peers […] Archer enjoyed such challenges to convention. He questioned conformity in private, but in public he upheld family and tradition.

Slowly Newland becomes more dissatisfied with the narrow-minded pursuits of his world. Then Ellen comes along, a kindred spirit, who speaks her mind. She becomes a beacon of enlightenment and change. Newland follows her light and moves toward changing the way he acts, not just the way he thinks. Finally, when he realizes he’s about to lose Ellen for good, he tries to speak out, ready to give up everything he has represented in society to follow her to Europe.

All About Eve: Margo changes from a jealous, age-obsessed actress to a woman who has accepted herself at age forty, and is getting married to the younger man she’s refused until now. She wanted to play a woman of twenty in Lloyd’s new play, but changes her mind:

MARGO: But not for me any more — not a four-square, upright, downright, forthright married lady. . . It means I’ve finally got a life to live! I don’t have to play parts I’m too old for — Just because I’ve got nothing to do with my nights!

Apt Pupil: Todd has changed from hiding his true nature as a killer, behind his mask of a golden child, when he embarks on a shooting spree above the freeway.

Barefoot in the Park: When faced with the prospect of divorce, Paul loses control by becoming intoxicated. As an illustration of his resolve to change, he acts on Corie’s whimsy–regardless of its foolishness.

Blade Runner: When Deckard is told a replicant is bad and to retire it, that’s just what he does, no questions asked. But when he’s told to retire Rachael, his love for her overcomes his duty and he escapes with her.

Body Heat: Throughout the story, Ned pursues Mattie and her interests regardless of the danger or costs. At the end, however, he approaches the boat house and, sensing a booby trap, changes his mind and asks her to go into the boat house. This risks the very thing (Mattie) that he has so single-mindedly been pursuing.

Boyz N The Hood: It is in Tre’s nature to look for the easy way out; his decision not to seek revenge against the gang members that wasted Ricky is indicative of his resolve to change.

Bringing Up Baby: The change David ultimately makes doesn’t happen in a leap of faith, but gradually, over the course of the entire film. In the opening shot of the film, David is sitting in his “Thinker” pose, with his attention entirely on his work. At the end, after Alice has left and Susan shows up at the museum, David doesn’t seem to care that she has found the bone and is giving him the million dollars inherited from Aunt Elizabeth. In fact he says that he’s been giving it a lot of thought and the day he spent with her was the best day he’d ever had in his whole life. (nb: in a scene that was ultimately left on the cutting room floor, Alice tells David “…since your experience with that girl you’ve been a changed person. And I don’t appreciate the change.”) A more subtle, visual clue is that in the beginning, David is always wearing glasses (despite the fact that Susan tells him he’s so good looking without them), and at the end he is working on his dinosaur without glasses.

Bull Durham: When Crash makes Annie aware that she has been focusing more on her own needs than on Nuke’s pitching (as she claims), she breaks her hard-and-fast rule of “one player per season,” and admits that she wants Crash. At the very end of the film, Crash tells her that he doesn’t want to think about baseball or quantum physics or anything. “I just want to be,” he says. And Annie, who has been the consummate Do-er throughout the film, says, “I can do that too.”

Casablanca: Rick changes from self-centered and controlling to emotionally confident and selfless. Early on, he repeatedly emphasizes that:

RICK: I stick my neck out for nobody.

But at the moment of truth he risks everything to help Laszlo escape with Ilsa, and takes up his personal fight for what’s right.

Charlotte’s Web: Instead of acting frenzied (as usual) when faced with a crisis, as Charlotte’s health declines, Wilbur takes charge and carries out her last wishes:

Wilbur was in a panic. He raced round and round the pen. Suddenly he had an idea-he thought of the egg sac and the five hundred and fourteen little spiders that would hatch in the spring. If Charlotte herself was unable to go home to the barn, at least he must take her children along. (White, 1952, p. 166)

The Client: Reggie starts out as unable to let things go even after they have been taken away from her (e.g. her children). By the end of the story, Reggie is instrumental in enrolling Marcus and his family into the Witness Protection Program (which means she expects never to see him again).

The Crucible: He progresses . . . from shame to renewed assurance. For a time his humility as an adulterer disposes him to accept the greater humiliation of confessing to witchcraft; since he has already blackened his “good name” by succumbing to and then publicly admitting lechery, he is tempted to save at least his life. Indignation, however, compels him to salvage self-respect. “How may I live without my name?” . . . (Moss 42)

El Mariachi: El Mariachi changes from a soft-spoken musician in search of love and luck, to a cold blooded killer, gunning down Moco for revenge.

Four Weddings And A Funeral: Charles changes from disbelieving he will ever be able to make a lifelong commitment with anyone, to finally stepping out on faith and asking Carrie to spend the rest of her life with him.

The Godfather: Michael changes from believing what his family does is wrong to believing that his family’s crimes are a necessary evil. He begins by insisting that his family’s crimes belong to his family, not to him. In the end, he is organizing the execution of these crimes as the family’s new Don, having reasoned they are necessary.

The Graduate: Everyone thinks that Ben is absolutely on the right track and if he continues as such, he’ll be assured success. But Ben changes. His change is not a leap of faith, but one that is gradual and inexorable–resulting in him getting the girl, but also disappointing everyone he knows.

The Great Gatsby: Nick Carraway was raised to be tolerant of other’s moral shortcomings. The events that occurred in the summer of ’22, however, gave him an aversion to the ways of the corrupt and dissolute, and his essential nature changed:

“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in mind ever since. ‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.’ In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgmentsÉ Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of the fundamental decencies is parceled out unequally at birth. And, after boasting this way of my tolerance, I come to the admission that it has a limit. Conduct may be founded on the hard rock or the wet marshes, but after a certain point I don’t care what it’s founded on.”

Hamlet: Hamlet stops contemplating Claudius’ lies and treacheries and accepts the knowledge that Claudius is responsible for his father and mother’s (and his own) deaths.

Harold and Maude: Through Maude’s influence, Harold loses his obsession with death and destruction and embraces life–driving his hearse (without him inside of it) over a cliff.

Heavenly Creatures: Experiencing adolescence and the possibility of other worlds shown to her by Juliet, Pauline changes from a dull, obedient daughter with straight-A grades to an imaginative person with a purpose:

PAULINE (Diary V.O.): Anger against Mother boiled up inside me as it is she who is one of the main obstacles in my path. Suddenly a means of ridding myself of this occurred to me. If she were to die…

(Walsh & Jackson, p. 208)

I Love Lucy: Lucy changes from attempting to tell Ricky the news about the baby in a private moment, to allowing him to find out during his nightclub act.

Lawrence of Arabia: An expert on the region, Lawrence volunteers to be sent to Arabia, a country he comes to love even more as he adopts its customs and dress. But after experiencing the desert’s brutality firsthand, and realizing the futility of trying to change the Arabs’ squabbling nature, he abandons it:

LAWRENCE: I pray I may never see the desert again. Hear me God.

(Bolt and Wilson, p. II-112)

Lolita: In recounting his relations with Lolita, Humbert gradually moves from feeling only blind lust for the twelve-year-old “nymphet” girl, to genuine and everlasting love for a worn-out, old-before-her-time adult woman. During the two years they live together, “The sensualist in me (a great and insane monster . . .”) (Nabokov 115), and (my) “monstrous appetite” puts in motion the “the writhing of desire again” (Nabokov 129). ” . . . Ready to repent, all at once, ironically, horribly, lust would swell again” (Nabokov 260). In the ensuing three years that Lolita is missing, Humbert comes to see that although his “accursed nature could not change” (Nabokov 234), his love for her did. Although Humbert’s physiological lust for young preadolescent girls remains with him, when he finally meets Lolita again, he sees her “ruined looks and her adult, roped-veined narrow hands . . . unkempt armpits . . . hopelessly worn out at seventeen . . . [I] knew . . . that I loved her more than anything I had ever seen or imagined on earth, or hoped for anywhere else” (Nabokov 253). Earlier in the book, Humbert had had nothing but contempt and revulsion for the older high school and college girls as well as adult women. Now, he states: “She (Lolita) was only the faint violet whiff and dead leaf echo of the nymphet . . . but thank God it was not that echo alone that I worshipped” (Nabokov 253). Although Humbert has no remorse for killing Quilty, neither does the reader. The reader abhors Humbert’s lust, and using of Lolita, but can empathize with his constant guilt over his physiological addiction. In the end, the reader can feel comfortable with the idea of an emotionally changed Humbert, and believes him when he says that in spite of her ruined looks he loves her still. “I loved my Lolita this Lolita, pale and polluted, and big with another’s child . . . ” (Nabokov 253).

Othello: Othello changes from a noble and just groom who declares, “But that I love the gentle Desdemona,” (I,ii,27) to a foul-minded, irrational husband who vows, “I’ll tear her to pieces.” (III,iii,483) He changes from treating her gently to striking her in public, calling her a whore, and murdering her in an unfounded jealous rage.

The Philadelphia Story: Tracy is accused throughout the story (by Dexter, Seth, and George) of being “a goddess.” By the end of the story she has stepped off of her pedestal and has become more forgiving of human frailties.

The Piano Lesson: Berniece refuses to play the piano because she’s afraid to wake the spirits of her ancestors. However, when Boy Willie is attacked by Sutter’s evil ghost, she uses the piano to release those spirits to save her brother.

Platoon: When Chris Taylor first arrives in Vietnam, he is basically a naive, idealistic, young man who has dropped out of college to enlist in the military–he’s signed up for infantry and combat. He’s done so with the hope of finding himself and what he’s really about, and to discover something he can be proud of:

CHRIS (V.0.): …Course Mom and Dad didn’t want me to come, they wanted me to be just like them–respectable, hard-working, making $200 a week, a little house, a family. They drove me crazy with their goddamn world, Grandma, you know Mom, I don’t want to be a white boy on Wall Street, I don’t want my whole life to be predetermined by them.

…I guess having always been sheltered and special, I just want to be anonymous. Like everybody else. Do my share for my country. Live up to what Grandpa did in the First War and Dad the Second.

…Maybe I’ve finally found it, way down here in the mud. Maybe from down here I can start up again,… be something I can be proud of and not have to fake it–be a fake human being. Maybe I can see something I don’t yet see, or learn something I don’t yet know… (Stone, p.14)

However, by the end of the film, we sense that Chris doesn’t still hold to the same basic ideals as when he first arrived in Vietnam.

The war forced Chris to experience and do things that he’s not proud of at all, like his platoon’s involvement in the My-Lai-esque pillage and destruction of a Vietnamese village, and the climatic murder of Sgt. Barnes. Chris thought the war would mold him into the type of man he would be proud of, instead it has dehumanized him to the point where he is willing and able to commit the murder of his commanding officer in an act of revenge. He is no longer a naive, idealistic, young boy who was looking for a great adventure to make him a man, he has come to realize, and take part of, the atrocities and numbing reality of the Vietnam War.

Pride and Prejudice: Elizabeth firmly believes Mr. Darcy is the last man in the world she would ever marry. Her change of heart is illustrated when he proposes for the second time:

“If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject forever.” Elizabeth . . . gave him to understand that her sentiments had undergone so material a change, since the period to which he alluded, as to make her receive with gratitude and pleasure his present assurances. (Austen 305)

Quills: Abbe de Coulmier changes from an administrator in the asylum to an inmate:

Dr. Royer-Collard: Circumstances have turned you surly. Interred too long with the beast, you’ve now become one. (Wright 75)

Rain Man: Charlie is most concerned with making fast money and guarding his emotions. He works hard to close the car deal and make a profit with just “a few phone calls.” He argues with Susanna when she wants him to share his thoughts, however, because he does change he is able to reconcile with her. After the road trip with Raymond, Charlie turns down Dr. Bruner’s offer of $250,000 to release his brother:

CHARLIE: It’s funny, I just realized I’m not pissed off any more that my father cut me out of his will. […] It’s not about the money anymore. […] Why didn’t anyone ever tell me I had a brother. Because it would have been nice to know him for more than just the past six days.

Later, at the hearing with the doctors, Charlie says he connected with Raymond during the trip and values him as family:

CHARLIE: I had a father I hardly knew. A mother I didn’t know at all. I found out a few days ago that I have a brother and I want to be with him.

Rear Window: We first see Jeff’s fiancŽe, Lisa, in a negative light, literally, as a negative image on a slide viewer. This symbolizes the negative feelings Jeff has about the state of matrimony. But as he watches the marriage and courtship rituals of his neighbors, and those who suffer the perils of loneliness, Jeff’s distaste for married life dissipates and he grows more amenable toward the issue of marriage.

Rosemary’s Baby: Rosemary changes in her feelings toward Guy (evidenced by spitting on him), and in her refusal to accept that anything is wrong with her child. Her ambivalent feelings about Catholicism are resolved as well. At the climax of the story, Rosemary overcomes her revulsion to the baby and chooses to be a mother to him, despite the fact that Satan is the father.

The Simpsons Christmas Special: Homer believes the only way to make his family happy on Christmas is to provide packages under the tree. When he brings home “Santa’s Little Helper,” he discovers it’s the love his family shares that is important.

All Good Things (Star Trek: The Next Generation): Picard is thrown willy-nilly through time, trying to understand why. At first he is at the whim of the time-shifting. He then realizes that he can use the time-shifting to his advantage in solving the problem of the paradox. He is therefore able to turn the chaos into order.

Star Wars: After years of following other people’s advice, Luke finally decides to ignore his superior’s commands to use the targeting computer and does it the way he (and Obi Wan) thinks is best.

Sula: Nel lets go of her hatred for Sula; the oppression she has allowed herself to live with is lifted.

Sunset Boulevard: Joe wants to be a Hollywood screenwriter, so he accepts the expensive gifts and lavish lifestyle Norma offers him, hoping to continue his “career.” Later, through Betty’s influence, he quits stringing Norma along and living high on her money. He decides to give up his bid for Hollywood success. Acting upon the little decency he has left, he packs only his old belongings, and takes off the gold watch Norma’s given him:

GILLIS: The rest of the jewelry is in the top drawer.

NORMA: It’s yours, Joe. I gave it to you.

GILLIS: And I’d take it in a second, Norma–only it’s a little too dressy for sitting behind the copy desk in Dayton, Ohio.

Taxi Driver: Travis achieves some catharsis through the purging of criminals’ blood in the climactic slaughter scene. Though he remains a loner with psychopathic tendencies, he’s no longer obsessed with the details of the immoral activities on the street, and he’s able to interact with Betsy without stalking her. Whereas earlier he complains:

TRAVIS V.O.: Twelve hours of work and I still cannot sleep.

At story’s end, he tells Betsy:

TRAVIS: I just sleep more, that’s all.

His infamy has changed him from a misfit into a media darling and hero.

To Kill a Mockingbird: Scout changes when she realizes Boo Radley has saved Jem’s and her life, and he is a man who is a friend, not a man to fear.

Tootsie: At first Michael is an uncooperative, opinionated, self-involved actor who has alienated producers on both coasts. Through his experiences as Dorothy Michaels, he changes into an understanding person who can see the “other side” of issues.

Toy Story: Woody’s resolve to maintain his status as “Andy’s Favorite Toy” is unraveled throughout the course of the story, until by the end he concedes that status to Buzz. At the moment of greatest crisis (right before the rocket explodes), Woody lets someone else be in charge for once, allowing himself to be literally taken under Buzz’s wings. From the experience of his separation from Andy, Woody comes to believe his own words, “It doesn’t matter how much we’re played with–what matters is that we’re here for Andy when he needs us.” In the final scene we see Woody loosened up and dancing, satisfied to be part of the group rather than its leader; he’s more comfortable with himself, more chummy to Buzz, and more accessible to Bo Peep’s advances.

A NOTE ABOUT OBSTACLE CHARACTER: Even though Buzz Lightyear appears to make a change (when he comes to see himself as Andy’s Toy rather than a Space Ranger), in terms of his IMPACT upon Woody and the others, he is a Steadfast Obstacle Character. His presence forces Woody to confront his personal issues, and that impact remains constant until Woody’s own “change” resolves the inequity between them. [Please see the “Story Comments” field for more info.]

Unforgiven: For eleven years William Munny has been a family man, relinquishing his hard-drinking, man-killing ways. Financially desperate, he’s drawn back to killing for money and when his partner Ned’s killed, he hits the trigger and the bottle again.

The Verdict: In the courtroom, after all his evidence has been disallowed, Frank reaches deep into himself and banishes his Disbelief. He musters a new Faith in the judicial system as a whole, telling the jury that THEY are the law, and no matter what forces work against the truth, he has faith they will do the right thing.

Washington Square: Catherine begins as the victim of what is almost a system of inverted family relations . . . and not until Townsend crudely deserts her, and the egoism of her father and aunt is inescapable, does she exhibit any signs of independence, and even then it is partly the independence of a person intent on simple survival. Catherine is far from the transfigured victims, the Strethers and Milly Theales, in the later [James’] novels. Yet she has something in common with them. She is not, at the end, merely an old maid enveloped in the pathos of her unhappy memories. A small but real triumph has been hers: she has survived and become a person without recourse to the selfishness of her tormentors. Between victim and victimizer there is a human middle ground which Catherine makes her own. (Dupee 65)

When Harry Met Sally: Harry changes his outlook on men and women’s relationships when he realizes people of the opposite sex can be friends as well as lovers.

Witness: Rachel is curious about life outside of her Amish world, and is determined to explore it with the possibility of starting a new life among the English. She is attracted to John Book, but comes to realize the violent and volatile world he inhabits is not one to make a life for her son and for herself. Rachel eventually reconciles to the Amish ways, and stays to settle down with Daniel.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Pro Story Development Software

The following  excerpt is taken from

The Dramatica Class Transcripts

William S1 : How about applying all this [Dramatica Structure] to a film… say Gump or The Client or The Piano?

Dramatica : Well, let’s apply it to oh, say, Body Heat for example…

Dramatica : Are you all familiar with that film?

RDCvr : Yes.

Dan Steele : Okay.

Phyll10837 : Yes.

JennyCrusi : Yes. And this is terrific by the way.

Dramatica : All right…Now the Main character is going to be one of the four classes, and each of the other points of view will be attached to the rest. First of all, if you had the Dramatica structure chart, you would see that under the Physics class, one of the types is “obtaining”. And sometimes looking at the types help choose the class, by getting into a bit more detail. The Objective story in Body Heat is what? Anyone want to paraphrase?

William S1 : Murder and sweaty lust.

Dramatica : That’s more thematic, WIlliam, but Objectively, the story is about Ned and Mattie trying to get her husband’s money. That’s one fourth of the story. The objective part. The analytical part. The efforts and activities they go through (the bomb, the break in, etc.) are all pretty much “physics” in nature, and the TYPE of physics is geared toward “obtaining”.

So Dramatica sees the Objective throughline (they) as being attached to the Physics class. Now, since Objective and subjective are dynamic pairs, we would expect to find the subjective story in the square diagonal to physics. And that would be Psychology. The subjective story is about the relationship between the main and obstacle characters. And I would say that Psychology pretty well describes the relationship between Ned and Mattie. As you’ll recall, one of the definitions of Psychology is “manipulations”.

Now, we have Mind and Universe left over, and one is going to be Main Character and the other Obstacle. Any guesses on who’s which? Look at the yearbook from Mattie’s high school, that we see at the end, it gives us a big clue. She is quoted as saying, “I want to be rich and live in an exotic place.” Now, she has kept that dream all these years, everything she has done has been driven by that fixed mind set. She is a mind character to the hilt. Whereas, Ned Racine, is in this because of his “situation” (the definition of Universe). He bungled a will in the past, as a result, he is the only one who can help Mattie accomplish her plan, which requires a bungled will.

As further “proof”, Under the Universe class, are the four Types: Past, Present, Future, and Progress. Even in the opening scene, Ned voice overs…”That’s my history burning up out there”. Which is Kasdan’s way of illustrating both past and progress in one symbol. Its quite a succinct story!

Keep in mind, that there are three levels below the class level, so each of the throughlines gets more and more detailed, as Dramatica asks you to make more refined choices about the nature of your story’s problem. Ultimately arriving at the character level(elements) where the source of the Dramatica potential truly resides.

What is it about The X-Files that has attracted such a following? Is it the blend of New Age philosophy and hard science fiction? Could it be the taboo subjects or government conspiracies? How about the flashy production values and high-tech special effects?

Naturally, all of these contribute to the phenomenal success of the show, but they don’t fully explain the unusual “feel” of the program. Anyone who has seen the series knows what we mean. There is a strange emotional aura experienced by the viewing audience that is almost metaphysical itself. In fact, tracking down the source of this strange atmosphere could be a case right out of The X-Files themselves. Fortunately, as the opening credits assert: “The truth is out there.” In this case, Dramatica can help illuminate it.

To begin our investigation, let’s look to our intrepid agents, Mulder and Scully. Who are they? FBI agents, of course. But we asked who they were, notwhat. For our inquiry, we are more interested in their natures than their functions. It is not that they unravel the tangled, clarify the obscure, and defeat the random. Oh, they do all of that all right, but that’s just plot. We are more interested in how they accomplish these ultra-human feats, not their methodology but their mentality.

Who are theyinside? What makes them tick? What do Mulder and Scully have in common that makes them uncommon? The answer lies in the Dramatica concept called Mental Sex .

Mental Sex has two options: male or female. It has nothing to do with anatomical sex, gender identity, or sexual preference. Mental Sex refers to the mind of a character as being either spatially (space) or temporally (time) biased. Space is where our sense of logistics comes from. Time is where our intuition comes from. Male Mental Sex sees logistics clearly, but is a little fuzzy on the intuition. Female Mental Sex is intuitive, but not as clear on the logistics.

Of course, males can be intuitive and females logical, but it requires a little extra work. Also, intuition is not inexact. It seems so to men, because it is a fuzzy logic to them. But to women, intuition is perfectly clear: a form of holistic logic of its own that deals with problems by the “inter-influences” of the many parts, rather than trying to find a direct path from problem to solution.

For the most part, authors create characters who have the same Mental Sex as their anatomical sex. Occasionally, through intent or feel, these two get mixed up. For example, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) in the original Alien was a male mental sex character. The part was actually written for a man; all they changed were the gender references. Her manner of approaching a problem was male right down the line. In contrast, Tom Wingo (Nick Nolte) in The Prince of Tides is a female mental sex character who tries to bring his life into balance: a holistic technique.

Just because a physically male character has a female mental sex does not mean they will be feminine. An example is Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) in The Hunt For Red October. Notice how his problem solving technique is quite different than that of all the generals and soldiers he is competing against, yet he is unquestionably masculine.

The difference in Jack Ryan’s manner is easily recognized in his meeting with the chiefs of staff near the beginning of the story. While they are concentrating on how to respond to the threat, Ryan is feeling the influence of many bits of information. Though this data seems unrelated, its overall impact on his mind allows him to surmise that the wayward Russian captain is not attacking but defecting. Only a female mental sex character would arrive at that kind of solution from that kind of data.

So…what is the strange attraction of Mulder and Scully in The X-Files? Mulder is a man with a female mental sex; Scully is a woman with a male mental sex. While Mulder is getting a feeling or being intuitive, Scully demands facts, measurements, and a linear theory without gaps. In most episodes, both methods are required to uncover the mystery. Though this is not uncommon in real life, switching mental sexes is atypical of most television fare.

The charm of the show is partly because the kinds of problems that occur could not be solved by either one of them alone, but truly needs both views to triangulate. Mulder gets a sense of what’s going on; Scully describes it. Scully projects where things are leading, Mulder determines what it means. Since we are talking about a series rather than one specific story, things do change.

In some episodes, Scully is also made female mental sex. In these programs, Scully becomes a simple skeptic instead of an alternate problem solving perspective. This weakens Scully and Mulder’s relationship. Mulder is still female mental sex, but he cannot explore that perspective since he has to spend all his time trying to overcome Scully’s skepticism. Scully keeps demanding proof instead of working out a theory. Under these conditions the show still has its conspiracies, new-age sci-fi, and special effects, but the heart stops beating. That special something is clearly missing, but in episodes where Scully returns to male mental sex, the charm is back.

It is unlikely that the creators of the series were aware of this phenomenon. Still, they engendered it by feel and were inspired to do so. Each of us, male and female, sees the world from a mental sex direction. This gives us a clear perspective on some things and a fuzzy perspective on others. By working together, we can solve problems neither of us could handle alone. That is the real attraction of The X-Files, made all the more apparent (yet obscured) by clothing each mental sex in the unexpected body.

I am the critic, LessTact. I feed upon the creative efforts of others. Unlike many of my kind, I never prey upon the naive or creatively challenged, but only on the mistakes made by great talents who should know better. A case in point is the tale of the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.

Be forewarned: if you have not yet read the Vampire Chronicles, what follows will almost certainly ruin the experience. But no matter. The fourth book in the series, The Tale of the Body Thief ruins the experience anyway. How can I say this? How can I be so callous? I am the critic, LessTact!

What is it that makes my blood boil about the Vampire Chronicles? Simply this: all four books in the series have the potential to work together as a single Grand Argument Story. Each volume develops another side of a larger vision dealing with the struggle of that self-serving blood sucker of a Main Character, Lestat, to find inner peace. And he finds it. BUT, we aren’t told how!

Can you imagine that??? Two thousand pages of reading, all leading up to a final conclusion that ties four perspectives together, all dramatic forces converging on the Main Character finding a way to resolve his angst that has hounded him since the first book, and he just resolves it!

I mean, I’m sitting here in real life. I’ve got as much angst as anybody. Suddenly, here’s this character who suffers even more than I do, but he won’t give up. I perk up. I read on. In fact, this undead tragic figure is on a quest to find a way to put his angst behind him. Along the way he gets into the most amazing scrapes and I tag right along with the fellow, sticking right by his side so no matter when it happens, I’ll be there to see just how he does it. Why? So I can do it too.

I was waiting to see how he did it even more than if he did it. That’s what I wanted to know. And then, at the end of the fourth book in the series, suddenly all his angst is gone and I wasn’t told how! Doesn’t that just burn you? Well it burns me.

Of course, most of my fellow critics are bleeding-neck cry-babies who whine and complain when they read something they don’t like. But I am the critic, LessTact, and believe one should never complain unless they have a better idea. Naturally, I have one. Follow me and learn, if you dare.

To make my point, I must invoke Dramatica, that weird science whose presence can be felt at work in all solid stories. Dramatica sees every complete story as providing four points of view to an audience: Me, You, We, and They. Let us examine each of these in a theoretical sense and then apply them to the volumes of the Vampire Chronicles.

The “Me” perspective is the view through the eyes of the Main Character. This is where an audience feels as if the story is happening to them. It is the most personal of perspectives on the issues of the story.

The “You” perspective is the view afforded of the Obstacle Character. If the Main Character is seen as a soldier in a battle, the Obstacle Character is the soldier coming toward them through the smoke of the battle. The Main Character cannot tell if this figure is friend or foe, only that the Obstacle Character is blocking his path. From this perspective, the audience, looking through the eyes of the Main Character, sees the Obstacle Character as “you.”

Some Obstacles, such as Girard in The Fugitive are foes, and must be overcome. Others, such as Obi Wan Kenobi (Luke’s Obstacle in Star Wars) or Hannibal Lecter (Clarise Starling’s Obstacle in The Silence of the Lambs) are trying to tell the Main Character that he or she is on the wrong path and will not find satisfaction until he or she changes course.

The argument over this “change” issue takes place in the third perspective of “We,” the realm of the Subjective Story. Here the Main and Obstacle Characters have it out, each arguing their point of view on the issue, impacting the other with a force that just might make them change. In fact, you can often identify the Main and Obstacle Characters in a story by phrases such as, “We are really both alike, you and I,” and, “We’re just two sides of the same coin,” or, “We are nothing alike!”

Finally, the audience is afforded a fourth point of view: a view of the story more like that of a general on a hilltop watching a battle unfold below. This is the “They” perspective. It is the most objective of the four throughlines and is called the Objective Story. From this point of view, the characters are not identified by their feelings but by their function.

In most stories, these four throughlines are woven together so that they develop concurrently and simultaneously reach a conclusion. In some cases the throughlines are played one after another such as in Kurosawa’s Roshomon. This does not mean the throughlines have to cover the same period of history. All that is important is that each follows the quest for a solution from the beginning of the same kind of problem to the outcome of that quest.

What does all this have to do with the Vampire Chronicles? I’ll tell you, because I am the critic, LessTact! Each of the four books in the series explores one of these four perspectives. So, like Roshomon, they are taken one at a time.

The first book, Interview with the Vampire, documents the Obstacle Character’s throughline. Louis is the Obstacle Character to Lestat’s Main Character. To be fair, this does not seem to be the case when one has read only this initial volume. As a stand-alone story, all indications are that Louis is Main Character, Claudia is Obstacle Character, and Lestat is simply an Objective character, perhaps the Contagonist. Once one has devoured the sequels, however, the meaning of Interview with the Vampire is tempered by what follows. Taken in context of the series as a whole, the story of Louis and Claudia becomes a major sub-story and Lestat emerges as Main Character.

For all his suffering, poor Louis is the one having an impact on Lestat, rather than the other way around. Louis is stuck in his deplorable condition – a condition he did not truly want, but he deals with it. In contrast, Lestat, for all his bravado and flash is constantly forced to reconsider his outlook as a result of Louis’ constancy.

What an inspired and unusual technique – to begin with the Obstacle Character’s tale rather than that of the Main Character. It is all the more inspired that the decision to focus on Lestat was almost certainly made after the first story had been written. Recasting the dramatic relationship of a work by placing it in a larger structure is no mean feat.

Lestat clearly emerges as Main Character of the series in book two, The Vampire, Lestat. This is Lestat’s history, documenting how he came to be living his problem, and how far he could get without changing his outlook. Of note, Lestat often refers to Louis’ “Interview” as containing gross exaggerations and downright lies. Clearly, we are now to look AT Louis, rather than through his eyes.

In Queen of the Damned, we are shown the big picture, the objective story of the series. This is the tale that describes the nature and history of all vampires – how they came to be, how they ultimately fare, and where they are headed once the smoke has cleared. It is here we can determine success or failure as the outcome of the quest for the objective goal.

This leaves the fourth installment, The Tale of the Body Thief, as the Subjective story between the Main and Obstacle Characters. And, boy, is it ever! This whole volume concentrates on the personal relationship between Lestat and his mortal friend, David Talbot. Clearly, David Talbot has taken over the role of Obstacle from Louis. Just like Louis, he does not wish to be a vampire. In his heart of hearts, Talbot does wish to be a vampire, which makes him the dramatic opposite of Louis. This is part of what lays the groundwork for failure of this fourth volume. For a “hand-off” of dramatic function from one character to another to work, it must be the exact same function. This, alas, was not the case.

It is no accident that Talbot and Louis do not appear in a scene together until the end. Each would be trying to provide the impact to try and change Lestat, but it would be a different kind of impact from each. The message of the story would clearly be out of sync. Keeping their characters apart simply puts off the inevitable, since Louis’ impact started things off and now we aren’t allowed to see whether his influence had any effect or not at the day of reckoning. Instead, we come to that moment of truth propelled by the exact opposite force, which obscures the meaning of the whole series beyond redemption.

In dealing with a story so large that it takes four books in which to tell it, we might allow our memory of Louis’ discontent to fade, and pay more attention to Talbot who is much fresher in our considerations. That is what makes it feel doubly odd to have Louis in the story at all. What dramatic function does he serve?

Sure, there is some poetic justice in his denial of Lestat’s request for the “dark blood,” clearly a reverse parallel of Lestat’s making of Louis. But that’s just an interesting irony. It simply closes a door to Lestat, but does nothing to impact him to change. In fact, Lestat simply gets mad and then sloughs it off. Louis is not acting as an Obstacle Character in this story, but because he had done so for the whole first book, he should not have been included here in a different role.

But that is not the worst of it. By the end of the book, we see how Talbot resolves his problem, but not how Lestat resolves his. Talbot is shown to have a moral view that he will be held guiltless if he wants something evil and is forced into it. This plays well against Lestat’s view that one is accountable for one’s nature, even if one cannot change it.

Talbot clearly explains that once he was transformed into a vampire against his will, it was his moral obligation to live that life according to its own nature. This is exactly what Lestat has never been able to do. Lestat would be left with a simple choice: leave Talbot and remain mired in his angst or take the same leap of faith and rid himself of his inner pain once and for all as he follows in Talbot’s spiritual footsteps. In the first case, the whole series of four books ends as a tragedy: there is no hope for Lestat. In the second case, it is a triumph. Having remained steadfast in his view for hundreds of years, Lestat is finally convinced to change and adopt a new world view. Either way, it is this moment of truth where all four volumes converge: the moment for which we were all waiting.

That is what should have happened. What did happen is a tragedy all right, but not in the dramatic sense. Near the end of The Tale of the Body Thief, Lestat is confronted by Talbot’s happiness and personal fulfillment and becomes happy himself. What?! Three hundred years of angst and he just shrugs his shoulders and says, “Oh, well, when in Rome…” (Not hardly!)

Still, by that time, there was not much else Lestat could do. You see, Lestat spends most of the book as a mortal himself. His vampire body is stolen by the body thief. The real question that Lestat should have been wrestling with is whether or not he wanted his vampire body back. There could have been a time limit after which the switch became permanent. Or, there could have been limited options where he required the assistance of at least one other ancient vampire to return to his body. One by one, he drops from their favor as he is tempted ever more strongly into the mortal ways. Finally there is only one who can help him, and Lestat must now choose a life or the choice will be made for him.

Wouldn’t that have been nice? Alas, it was not to be. Within moments of becoming a mortal, even before he knows the thief has stolen his body, Lestat is sick and tired, in a very literal sense. He hates being mortal and wants his old body back without question. What a story it might have been if he started out hating it and learned to love it again. After all, mortality is an acquired taste.

Then, he might have had a decision to make. By the time he got the opportunity to recover his body, he would no longer be sure he wanted it. His resolve would waver. He would be forced to address the seat of his angst and either accept a mortal life of normality, or a vampire’s immortal life of spectacular evil.We, the readers, make this decision every time we choose to do what we can or what we feel is right. To make such a choice and be satisfied with it is a consummation devoutly to be wished! Ah, what a moment that would be! And which way would he go? Any way Anne Rice wanted him to. Her message might have been that we can receive absolution for our sins and blend into to normal life, even after we have seen Gay Paree. Or, her message might equally have been that one must accept the fullness of one’s being – that is it better to shine as a beacon of evil than be lost in a sea of good. Clearly, the later is more consistent with the thematic lean of the series.

But the intensity comes from the fact that it could go either way. As readers, we just don’t know until we are shown. That is what we were waiting for, but it is not what we got. No moment of truth, no balanced pros and cons, no pressure to choose. Nope. Lestat makes Talbot. Talbot is happy. Lestat is happy. Big deal.

This type of story problem is not without precedent. I felt the same disappointment after reading Orlando by Virginia Woolf. Orlando (the Main Character) struggles throughout the book to find the path to a peaceful heart, and in the end she (he) does. Again, we are not shown how; she just ends up happy. I suspect that was not an oversight, but simply that Virginia didn’t have an answer. In writing about Orlando, she described her own quest for an end to angst. In supplying one to Orlando, she vicariously provided one for herself.

Alas, because the method for achieving a quiet heart was lacking, Ms. Woolf could not duplicate her Main Character’s accomplishment and sadly killed herself. Ms. Rice has also given us a happy ending without the means to achieve it. In contrast, I, the critic LessTact, give you the means but will let you draw your own conclusions.

I propose that an author without a solution should not offer one. A story that ends in angst can be a masterwork, as well as a story that ends in angst resolved. A story that ends with angst resolved without resolving angst is nothing more than a merry chase that ends up at a wonderful destination from which its audience is unceremoniously barred.

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