After all this time? Always…
Recently, Alan Rickman died. It was tragic. The world lost one of its most beloved actors and with him one of the most sought after character: Professor Snape.
And with that, once again we were reminded of the fact that how deeply rooted in our minds is the series of Harry Potter. Till date more than 400 million Potter books have been sold worldwide. Let me repeat that. 400 million translated into 67 languages! If there was one person responsible for single-handedly increasing the spreading of literature in the world, undoubtedly it would be J K Rowling. In addition to this, the Potter series of 8 movies have grossed almost $8 billion! That is more than a dollar per human on planet earth!
But this pales in comparison with another mammoth series, Star Wars, where the first movie grossed over $2 billion alone in the year 1977 (adjusted for inflation). Marvel Universe movies go even higher on this list being the most successful movie franchise of all times, grossing over $9 billion, and that doesn’t even take into account the massive following of both DC and Marvel comics over the years!
Phew! Such big numbers! The list doesn’t end there. Lord of the Rings (books and movies), James Bond series, the Batman trilogy, Different version of Sherlock Holmes (book and movies): all have their own massive cult following and humongous success stories.
Whoa… OK! Umm… But, so what?
Numbers are just one part of it. The fan-following of these series transcends the petty boundary of money. Take this news for example:
Or maybe this:
These are not just the might of numbers talking. These are people’s attachment. These are their emotions. These are the sheer blind awe-inspiring following of people towards the media which in a way shaped their lives. To come think of it, the boy wizard from the first book to the last movie alone influenced directly two complete generations!
Answer me… Master!!! What makes these stories sheer Magic?
OK Son!
Listen carefully. Because I will tell this once and once only!
Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts.
First: The Pledge
The first part is called “The Pledge”. The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course… it probably isn’t.
Take the most ordinary guy.
A small 11 year boy living with his terrible uncle, aunt and cousin. Works! A Hobbit living peacefully in the lovely Shire. Definitely works! One land named Westeros with different kingdoms peacefully ruling different parts of the land! Ya! Da Di Da!
These people are indeed real, unaltered, normal. They live the mainstream life as if nothing is odd about them. But of course, there is…
The Turn
The second act is called “The Turn”. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you’re looking for the secret… but you won’t find it, because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled.
Oh! The kid is the “one who survived!” And now has to single handedly defeat the most powerful wizard of all times!
Shit! Frodo! A hobbit! How can he do the impossible? How can he reach the Mountain of Doom to destroy the mighty powerful ring fighting against the all seeing omnipresent Sauron and at the same time battling his self greed!
Can the Starks rise up against the Lannisters! When most of them are dead, anyways! Or can they both unite against the White Walkers which is a certain doom for the living? Can Arya kill all the Lannisters (leave Tyrion alone, please… He is my favorite!)
What separates the wheat from the chaff, what makes the stories Epic, great and immortal from the mere good ones is not the story itself. It is the anticipation, the anxiety, the tension it creates in the mind of the audience. We cannot help but cringe at the dreadful torture of this sweet little creature, while secretly hoping that somewhere somehow he will rise again to take REVENGE! To teach the bad guy a lesson! (Sometimes, when I was a kid, I even used to fantasize what I would do to help the fallen hero if I was the all powerful suddenly transported to the fantastical fictional world! Ah! finicky childish mind of mine! )
The Prestige
But you wouldn’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn’t enough; you have to bring it back. That’s why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call “The Prestige”.”
Wow! Snape was the good guy all along!!
What! Darth Vader is Luke’s father!
Whoa! “I see dead people!”
OMG! Dumbledore is Gay!
Oh… wait.. Not the last one! :P
There are great movies. Then there are masterpieces. And those are the ones where something hits you like a brick on the face at the end and you keep on drooling with your broken face wondering… just… WHY!
This is definitely the hardest part to pull off because the revelation should have just the right amount of build up. Any more signs/hints than required and the seasoned cinephiles or bookworms would sense it from miles away. Anything less than apt and the audience goes, meh!
It requires meticulous planning, deep understanding of your own characters (not as characters but as real persons you are talking to and living with) and above all, knowing the human mind itself and judging what exactly is right for it to get dazzled! Throw in a number of complications like political correctness, the diversity of the audience throughout the length and breadth of the world and huge competitive world (unless you are a Stephen King or Steven Spielberg), and the first time creators of the masterpieces are nothing short of Gods (JK Rowling was virtually broke when she wrote Harry Potter. People were shocked how Peter Jackson, the director of shitty grindhouse indie low budget horror movies could suddenly get such a mega-project to handle.)
So what did you learn, Son?
Well, to make a good story work, you need it to strike a chord with the audience and resonate with their heart. It plays on the fundamental instinct of wanting the meek good to win against the mighty evil or everything be good in the end. With a backdrop of something dire proportions (world domination, cancer, being a loser yada yada…) and some dynamic side characters, that makes a good story.
Then to take it to the next level, add something we notice only when its missing: Redemption. The world loves the classic “revenge”, the setting back the balance of the world, or the good guy getting his love and life back at the end. There is something about Redemption stories that makes at least me look past all the shortcomings of the book or movie, all the horrible reviews and 1 star ratings and just wish the good guy to beat all the adversities in the end and live happily ever after.
And finally, if you want to elevate the story to an experience, a tour de force, then add that little piece of magic. A revelation the makes our heads spin(The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects) or the little emotional humane touch that makes our hearts melt (Titanic, Lord of the Rings Trilogy) or simply some memorable characters by some awesome actors that makes our memories tingle (Scarface, The Shining, James Bond. Heck even Shawshank, because God himself narrated it! :D).
For coming generations, newer and newer audience will be introduced to the magic you have created and virtual immortality is guaranteed. How? I will let Alan Rickman answer that for me.
“I open at the Close”, after all ;) :
