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Always trying to pit working-class white men and black men against each other…

They would unionize.

billiam-shakespeare reblogged

jessalynlearns

The Successful Villain Reveal: Syndrome (The Incredibles, 2004) My last analysis of the Incredibles proved quite popular, so here’s another one. Today we’re talking about villain reveals, and I’m going to examine Syndrome’s reveal (one of my favorites!) to discuss why we, as an audience, find it so successful and satisfying.

So, let’s talk storytelling! Why does it work so well? It has to do with a writing principle called the Rule of Three.

The Rule of Three (sometimes called trebling) is a pattern used in stories and jokes, where part of the story is told three times, with minor variations. The first two instances build tension, and the third releases it by incorporating a twist. More generally, it suggests that a trio of events (or characters) is more humorous, satisfying, or effective than other numbers in execution of the story and engaging the reader. The reader or audience of this form of text is also thereby more likely to remember the information conveyed.

So how does that apply? In regards to Syndrome, there are two different elements in The Incredibles that benefit from the Rule of Three.

1) The Buddy Pine Arc: this is the most obvious and explicit example. Buddy shows up twice in the beginning of the movie, first in the Incredibile and then in the bank.

His two appearances subconsciously set us up for one more appearance, which we will get on Nomanisan Island, where the twist that shocks and satisfies us is that he’s the villain who has set Bob Parr up for the main plot of the movie.

This instance completes the Rule of Three, so why don’t we as an audience consciously expect to see Buddy the third time? The answer is because his early character arc is hidden beneath another Rule of Three. 2) The “I Work Alone” Arc: The reason that we as an audience don’t expect Buddy to make another appearance is because our brains tell us that the important information coming from Buddy’s early character arc is not who he is, but what he represents to Mr. Incredible. Shortly after bantering with Elastigirl where he tells her that “I work alone,” (Utterance #1), Mr. Incredible repeats the phrase to Buddy in the bank (Utterance #2).

Because the phrase is fresh in our ears, it sticks out, and we believe that this is the information that’s being hammered home for us. The character of Buddy fades into the background until halfway through the movie, when the audience is just as shocked by his reappearance as Bob is.

His reveal is so immensely satisfying because we didn’t realize the intention behind Buddy’s character, but we also subconsciously recognize that his reappearance is justified because of our natural gravitation toward the Rule of Three!

So what about the “I Work Alone” Arc? It served to obscure the character of Buddy in the beginning, and – and Brad Bird is a genius here – that phrase that our brain told us was going to be so important serves as the driving force behind the second half of the movie. Through the events on Nomanisan Island (itself a reference to John Donne’s poem that says “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main”), Bob recognizes his worth isn’t wrapped up in being a solo Superhero, but in his relationships and commitments, in being a father and husband. And the moment that that message is hammered home to both Bob Parr and the audience? Syndrome’s line in the aftermath of the plane explosion that Bob believes killed Helen and the kids: “I seem to recall you prefer to work alone.” This is Utterance #3 of the “I Work Alone” Arc, complete with the twist because it comes from Syndrome’s mouth during such a tragic moment, and it’s the reason why we feel its significance to Bob Parr so keenly.

I could go on forever about the reasons why The Incredibles is a microcosm of near perfect storytelling (and I will if people enjoy it!). Nearly everything in this movie – every plot twist, every character beat – is justified within Brad Bird’s own universe earlier in the movie, and this is only one example of how Bird uses storytelling principles to structure the plot in a way that results in a very satisfying and effective film.