02 April 2014

Missing the Arc

The Arc of Awesome -> Keith Calder original post.

The Arc of Awesome occurs when the main character is so awesome that his awesomeness causes the entire world of the movie to arc. He can’t arc because he started the movie amazingly awesome, so obviously there’s nowhere for him to go other than to continue being awesome. The best you’ll get in an Arc of Awesome is that you’ll keep peeling back layers of awesomeness to see even more awesomeness underneath. 
This extends beyond action films like 300. You can see it in a movie like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. That’s a movie with an Arc of Awesome. Ferris is so awesome that he helps everyone else arc as characters. But how can Ferris arc? He’s awesome at the beginning and he’s awesome at the end.

Traveling Angels -> Gideon's Way original post.

There is a category of characters called TRAVELING ANGELS which are divine in nature, but cause those around them to profoundly change their attitudes and beliefs. Such films include “Forrest Gump” and “Rain Man”. The main characters in these films have grown internally by experiencing being powerful catalysts for the change of others. The joy of these steadfast characters lies in the fact that sometimes they instigate dramatic change with minimal effort; they’re just being themselves.

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