The central character usually faces a decision, whether to succumb to the conflict or to fight. In other words a conflict is not a conflict unless the character notices it and makes some type of judgment about it. Most often, this conflict/challenge cannot be overcome unless the character goes through a transformation or change. Sometimes that requirement may also compel him or her to go against his or her natural inclinations or morals.
According to Laycoff (1996) every language in the world has a way in its grammar to express direct causation –a local application of force that has a local effect in place and time. For example when one drinks glass of water, the direct causation of a thirst being gone is that you did it. Direct causation is also that element that provides the teachable moment. Once your students understand this concept, they will begin to learn the importance of critically reading/viewing/listening for causation. In class we often look for the word “because” to answer these questions. Cause and effect helps transcend story into any genre, whether fiction or non-fiction and makes it a useful element in multiple disciplines. We suggest that this conceptualization of story has a place in common core… even in informational reading.
So far, we have been talking about direct causation. Indirect causation is less discernible and implies a higher order thinking skill. Discovering causation on either level can be intimidating and makes comprehension more difficult if there are more than two or three being implied in a story line. In science experiments we usually deal with only one variable. We can do more than one, which leads us to quadratic equations.. but that is another idea entirely and something we leave for another time (and course).
In summary: Causation is a significant element that needs to be embedded in the story in conjunction with other constructs that provide a means to effectively measure the relative teaching efficacy of that story.
My personal ah-ha moment in all of this occurred when I realized that the parallels between a well constructed story and a well constructed experiment/research study are almost one to one! THAT is what, for me, turned story into such an important teaching tool. Add that to the context/emotional aspect surrounding character development and empathy building, I am not sure if a better tool exists.
JUST KNOW THIS: IT IS BUILDING EMPATHY WITH THE MAIN CHARACTER THAT SUPPORTS THE REQUIREMENT THAT WE SUSPEND OUR DISBELIEF AND BUY INTO THE STORY LINE, IN SUPPORT OF BRANIGAN’S FOURTH PRINCIPLE (TO TELL THE STORY IN A CREDIBLE WAY)
With that, we introduce the idea of character archetype.
We covered character archetypes in an earlier cycle. Now we correlate it back the story schema and perhaps recognize archetypes in relationship to its thru-line and adds to a story’s power as a teaching engine. Character analysis is a great teaching tool. The real value of archetypes in the story invention process is that they add to the a consistent schema… through the revelations about the main character’s make-up and his or her allowable actions (a term often used in video game design) another vehicle to add predictability.
There is a lot we can learn about character development in the story building process. Perhaps that the best way to teach you this is through an example. Many of you know Robert Redford as the actor. Most of you may not know that he is actually a better film maker than an actor. I learned this first hand when I went to work for his (ex)brother-in-law… my former Dean in an earlier appointment at another university. My Dean’s wife’s sister was once married to Redford. My Dean was an academy award winning filmmaker in his own right and he taught me about Redford’s film making career. He was the one who got me to watching Redford’s films. One in particular serves our purposes here.
Quiz Show is about the Twenty One quiz show scandals of the 1950s, in which it chronicle’s the rise and fall of popular contestant Charles Van Doren who became a national phenom when he started a protracted winning streak on that TV show after beating (it was a rigged beating) of Herb Stempel (who we also later learn was a ‘rigged’ champion). The movie stars John Turturro, Rob Morrow, and Ralph Fiennes, with Paul Scofield, David Paymer, Hank Azaria, and Christopher McDonald appearing in supporting roles.(sorry this steals one of my main questions that you will take after watching the the film… who is the starting role and who is the supporting actor? How can we tell?) Hopefully, by watching this one you will find out.
Robert Redford is the director. Redford, besides being a superb visual story teller, is a great film maker who understands character development. If it is true that events leading up to cause and effect require some type of judgment on the part of the main character, then it follows that the best ‘teachable moments’ in a story emanate from a well constructed character development thru-line. Quiz Show is one of my favorite character development movies of all time… This is because I have been able to use it in more than one occasion in several classes to demonstrate film making and visual storying both with K12 students and undergraduates. I now offer it to you as an exemplar for character development so you can get the idea that a strong correlation exists sound story constructs, character development, and teaching and learning.
Watch the movie and enjoy. When you are done, answer the self test to see for yourself whether you get my point. Then answer the survey question in Canvas to earn your points for this activity.
To watch Quiz Show go to the module in canvas noted for this cycle.
The movie is password protected… the password is posted on the Assignments Checklist. The self check comes at the end of the module