Friday, March 7, 2014

The Transformational Character Arc Explained in Five Easy Spiderman Clips

Five masterful scenes from Sam Raimi, the same guy who brought you Evil Dead, Xena, Warrior Princess, Hercules, Spiderman, The Grudge, Spartacus Blood and Sand, and American Gothic

The inciting incident or what gets this particular story going


Peter's conflict:
Peter is changing and he’s angry that his Uncle Ben is giving him a lecture on responsibility. They’re not talking about the same thing, because Uncle Ben doesn’t know about the bite. But Peter does—and he’s fighting his subconscious motivation (the result of his upbringing) to listen, grow up and take responsibility for his actions.



Later, when Peter is ripped off by a shady wrestling promoter, he stands aside while the man is robbed, and during the getaway his uncle is killed

>>this is the climax that pushes Peter to the breaking point





It's all his fault. He had great power and great responsibility...and he dropped the ball. His actions lead to the death of the man he loved like a father. And it tears him to shreds.




Peter finally changes and takes action, telling Mary Jane he doesn’t love her (in order to protect her), and walks away. Into his destiny as Spiderman.

7 comments:

Jennifer Leeland said...

COOL!! Using Spiderman is SO NINJA! I love this explanation.

Maddy Barone said...

Great post. Love the way you used spiderman to explain it!

Tina Green said...

Such a great teacher. Thank you for putting this together.

Unknown said...

lol, Sam Raimi is the Man. You can't beat the guy who did Xena and The Grudge. :)

Anonymous said...

See???? Ninja - just like Jennifer said!

Anonymous said...

Great Lesson. I get it. You are the greatest.

Jodi Henley said...

lol, thanks Anon :)