A Reel Axiom: Concept and Story

AXIOM

–noun
1. a self-evident truth that requires no proof.
2. a universally accepted principle or rule.

There is an old, if not ancient axiom in movies that can be traced back to the very beginnings of storytelling; the higher the concept, the simpler the story must be. If the concept of your movie is very high, featuring things and places never before seen, then the story must be simple to draw the audience back in; to bring them back down to earth and give them something to relate to.

Perhaps the most perfect example of this axiom is THE WIZARD OF OZ adaptation. OZ took place in a fantastic world, inhabited by fantastic creatures capable of doing fantastic things. It was a world that audiences had never seen before, and therefore unable to connect with. To bring things back to reality, the story is made simple; get Dorothy home. High concept, simple story. This axiom is inescapable, and has survived into films today. At its core base, THE WIZARD OF OZ is no different than current films such as AVATAR and INCEPTION.

No other group of filmmakers has embraced this as much as Pixar has over the years. Pixar films take place in worlds nearly off the grid, featuring things that should not be talking. To balance this, the stories are as simple as can be. CARS and FINDING NEMO stand out here. While audiences may groan that they’ve seen the storylines before, if said storylines were made to be complicated in a complicated setting, the results would have been a disastrous mess.

This axiom can also be reversed; a low concept coupled with a complicated story. THE DARK KNIGHT, THE GODFATHER PARTS 1 and 2, and GONE WITH THE WIND stand out as perfect examples.

Literature, which came before film, has always kept this close. Variations of it can be found in Tolkien, Shakespeare, and even the ancient Greek myths.

High concept, simple story. It is an absolute that has gone on for thousands of years, and will continue for a few more thousand.

What say you?