Saturday, May 07, 2005
Storytelling 101
As the excitement (or dread, depending on your attitude) builds for Star Wars Episode III, I've been reading some articles on the topic. Most of the advance stories from people in the know indicate not that it will be a good movie or a bad movie, but that it is certainly a violent movie. The first Star Wars movie to be rated PG-13 instead of PG, and deservedly so. They say Anakin's Jedi-killing rampage and the mutilation that causes him to put on the Vader suit are graphic and chilling.
(My first comment is that I've always been under the impression that Return of the Jedi (along with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins) was one of the main reasons the MPAA decided to create the PG-13 rating. They've always been pushing the boundaries of PG.)
But I'd like to focus on a comment I read from George Lucas in an article:
Oh, I see. You're a storyteller, and you have to tell the story like it is. I understand that Anakin's final fall to the Dark Side is necessarily a dark, even violent and gruesome story. But the first and foremost fundamental foundation of storytelling is this: Know your audience.
No matter what story I'm telling, I won't tell it the same way to a group of 7-year-olds, a group of teenagers, or a group of middle-aged people. I wouldn't tell it the same way to a law student forum as I would to a Sunday School class. Stories have to be adapted and told in a way that is appropriate for the people who are listening.
George Lucas has been telling the Star Wars story to little kids since 1977. I mean, how old were you when you saw your first Star Wars movie? You probably don't even remember. You were certainly less than 13 (unless you were born in 1964 or earlier). I recall quotes from Lucas before Episode I came out saying that he's glad little kids are listening, and he's trying to make it interesting for them (you might say that the biggest problem with Episode I (that is, Jar Jar Binks) was a product of Lucas trying too hard to please the 6-year-olds in his audience).
If all of the stories had been told in the same violent manner Episode III apparently is, I wouldn't have a problem. But Lucas has created an audience and he's now betraying them. You can't just sit a group of little kids around and start telling them a story, get them excited for how it ends, and then say, "Sorry, kids. The end is a little too much for you. You'll have to leave the room now. I have a story to tell, you know."
(My first comment is that I've always been under the impression that Return of the Jedi (along with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins) was one of the main reasons the MPAA decided to create the PG-13 rating. They've always been pushing the boundaries of PG.)
But I'd like to focus on a comment I read from George Lucas in an article:
"We're getting a lot of flak from parents, a lot of people saying how can you do this? My children love these movies. Why can you not let them go see it?" Lucas told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "But I have to tell a story. I'm not making these, oddly enough, to be giant, successful blockbusters. I'm making them because I'm telling a story, and I have to tell the story I intended."
Oh, I see. You're a storyteller, and you have to tell the story like it is. I understand that Anakin's final fall to the Dark Side is necessarily a dark, even violent and gruesome story. But the first and foremost fundamental foundation of storytelling is this: Know your audience.
No matter what story I'm telling, I won't tell it the same way to a group of 7-year-olds, a group of teenagers, or a group of middle-aged people. I wouldn't tell it the same way to a law student forum as I would to a Sunday School class. Stories have to be adapted and told in a way that is appropriate for the people who are listening.
George Lucas has been telling the Star Wars story to little kids since 1977. I mean, how old were you when you saw your first Star Wars movie? You probably don't even remember. You were certainly less than 13 (unless you were born in 1964 or earlier). I recall quotes from Lucas before Episode I came out saying that he's glad little kids are listening, and he's trying to make it interesting for them (you might say that the biggest problem with Episode I (that is, Jar Jar Binks) was a product of Lucas trying too hard to please the 6-year-olds in his audience).
If all of the stories had been told in the same violent manner Episode III apparently is, I wouldn't have a problem. But Lucas has created an audience and he's now betraying them. You can't just sit a group of little kids around and start telling them a story, get them excited for how it ends, and then say, "Sorry, kids. The end is a little too much for you. You'll have to leave the room now. I have a story to tell, you know."
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