based on the Story Grid series of blog posts, books, and podcasts by Shawn Coyne and Tim Grahl.
Welcome back to my continuation of applying the Story Grid method of story structure analysis to one of my favorite stories: the 1997 sci-fi/action film Men in Black.
Last week's post applied the Story Grid's 5 Commandments to the entire, or global, story of the film. This week, I'm zooming in to the micro level and applying these same principles to a single scene.
The 5 Commandments are a handy tool to guide storytelling and help ensure you're writing a scene/story that works. Here's my introductory post on Story Grid principles. Or, you can get the gist by reading this post and the accompanying infographic.
The scene I've chosen for the micro analysis is also one of the global 5 Commandments scenes from last week's post: the Crisis, wherein the hero is presented with various options and must make a choice that determines the path of the rest of the story. Note that a scene can serve as one of the 5 C's at multiple levels: global, sequence, scene, and even beat.
A video is worth a million words, so check out the scene here:
So great, amirite? Still a classic, after all these years.
Before I get into the analysis, a word about process: previously, I mentioned that when I'm stumped on how to start applying these guideposts to a story, I start with the Climax and work backwards from there. I suggest this because often the Climax is the Wow! moment and is therefore easier to identify. However, in this scene, I think the Turning Point is the Wow! moment. In my former life in the tennis biz, this is where we would say that I'm coachable.
Anyway - here's my breakdown (and I'm stickin' to it - maybe):
And can I just say, there's such a great set-up in this scene to reinforce Will Smith's character's worldview. Will Smith's character, along with a few other guys, has just undergone a series of tests to see if they have "the right stuff", to borrow from another space-themed story, to join the Men in Black. We get the very clear sense that Smith's character, Edwards, is definitely a long shot for passing this test. All the other recruits are in some kind of military uniform. All are taking this process very seriously. Edwards is dressed much more casually and has a few awkward moments before they complete their evaluation and are ushered out. It's clear Edwards has been underwhelmed by the experience so far.
Inciting Incident: In addition to his long shot status, Edwards himself is certain this has been a huge waste of time. He's ready to get back to catching criminals in his real job at the NYPD. But as he's leaving with the others, Agent K intercepts him. They converse briefly. Edwards makes it clear he thinks they're all nuts, and he's not interested.
Turning Point/Progressive Complication: Agent K takes the news with equanimity and asks Edwards if he'd like any coffee. Edwards refuses, but waits patiently as K stops into the break room. Edwards overhears a casual conversation between K and whoever else is in the break room. He's a few steps behind K, so as he catches up so that he now has a clear view into the break room, what he sees there completely rocks his world. The conversation is occurring not between humans, as any reasonable person would assume, but between Agent K and a handful of worm-like creatures helping themselves to the coffee. These creatures are the furthest from anything remotely human-looking. There is no question they are alien in every sense of the term. And just like that, Edwards realizes everything Agent K has told him is likely 100% true, and everything Edwards used to know about life as a human being on planet Earth has just been completely upended.
Crisis: I've seen this movie dozens of times, but I still get a kick out of the look on Will Smith's face when he's trying to process just exactly what he's seeing with his own eyes. His Crisis: do I believe what I'm seeing, therefore validating everything Agent K has said and up until five seconds ago I thought was complete horse manure, or try to rationalize this as some kind of hallucination or elaborate parlor trick or con, and retain some semblance of my sanity?
Climax: We don't see Edwards make his decision until a few moments later, in a different setting. Spoiler alert: he joints the MiB and becomes Agent J.
Resolution: Agent J has a steep learning curve during his first day as an Man in Black. But he makes that suit look goooood.
Remember, my opinion is only that. You may have a completely different viewpoint on some of these. For example, one might argue the Progressive Complication is from Agent K's perspective, when he realizes Edwards is leaning away from joining their merry band, and decides he needs to do something to convince a valuable prospect to join the MiB.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on where the 5C's of this scene are - especially if you disagree with me!
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