The Power of Film

Americas most memorable popular films those works that were not only very successful when they were released, but have continued to be watched and remembered for years after demonstrate the power of motion pictures and the stories they tell. This book examines the patterns and principles that make films popular and memorable, and will be useful both for those who want to create films and for those who just want to understand them better.

Foreword	xviii
Acknowledgments	xxii
Introduction	xxiii
The Films This Book Is About	xxiv
Accidents	2	(2)
Acting	4	(3)
Action	7	(3)
Acts	10	(1)
Acts, First	11	(2)
Acts, Second	13	(2)
Acts, Third	15	(1)
Adaptations	16	(1)
Age	17	(2)
Allies	19	(1)
Animation	20	(1)
Anipals	21	(1)
Antagonists	22	(2)
Antiheroes	24	(2)
Aristolatry	26	(2)
Armor	28	(2)
Art vs. Craft	30	(1)
Attitude	31	(2)
Attributes and Aptitudes	33	(1)
Audiences	34	(2)
Backstories	36	(2)
Beginnings and Endings	38	(1)
Betrayal	39	(2)
Biographies	41	(2)
Bisociation	43	(2)
Blessings	45	(1)
Blocking	46	(1)
Boring	47	(1)
But	48	(2)
Call to Adventure	50	(2)
Catharsis	52	(2)
Causes	54	(1)
Change	55	(2)
Chaos	57	(1)
Character, Power	58	(7)
Character Relationships	65	(2)
Character Studies	67	(1)
Characterization	68	(2)
Characters, Stock	70	(1)
Characters: What Are They? Who Are They?	71	(1)
Chases	72	(1)
Children's Stories	73	(1)
Chimeras	74	(2)
Choice	76	(1)
Coincidences	77	(1)
Collaboration	78	(3)
Comedy	81	(3)
Coming-of-Age Films	84	(1)
Commitment	85	(1)
Communities	86	(2)
Compassion	88	(1)
Compensation	89	(1)
Completion and Return	90	(1)
Complexity	91	(1)
Concepts	92	(1)
Conflict	93	(2)
Conflict, Single	95	(1)
Conservative	96	(1)
Conspiracies	97	(2)
Corruption	99	(1)
Courage	100	(1)
Crisis Point, One-Hour	101	(1)
Cruelty	102	(1)
Curses	103	(1)
Cute	104	(1)
Cute Meet	105	(3)
Deadlines	108	(1)
Death	109	(1)
Deception	110	(1)
Decisions	111	(1)
Defiance	112	(1)
Denouement	113	(1)
Desertion	114	(1)
Desire	115	(1)
Despair	116	(1)
Destiny	117	(2)
Details	119	(1)
Detective Films	120	(2)
Deus ex Machina	122	(1)
Dialogue	123	(2)
Disaster Films	125	(2)
Discovery	127	(1)
Documentaries	128	(1)
Duality	129	(2)
Duty	131	(3)
Elegance	134	(1)
Endings, Happy	135	(3)
Epics	138	(1)
Epilogues	139	(1)
Ethics	140	(2)
Evil	142	(2)
Exile	144	(1)
Exotic	145	(2)
Exposition	147	(2)
Expressionism	149	(3)
Failure	152	(2)
Family	154	(2)
Fanatics	156	(1)
Fantasy	157	(1)
Fear	158	(1)
Feelings	159	(4)
Fiction	163	(2)
Film Noir	165	(1)
Fish Out of Water	166	(1)
Flashbacks	167	(1)
Flow	168	(1)
Foil Characters	169	(1)
Foreshadowing	170	(1)
Fourth Wall	171	(1)
Frontiers	172	(2)
Gangster Films	174	(2)
Genres	176	(4)
Gifts	180	(1)
Giving Them What They Want	181	(1)
God	182	(1)
Goofy	183	(1)
Gross	184	(2)
Habituation	186	(1)
Happiness	187	(1)
Heroes	188	(3)
Heroes, Single	191	(1)
Heroines	192	(2)
Historical Films	194	(2)
Hollywood	196	(1)
Hooks	197	(1)
Horror Films	198	(2)
Hubris	200	(1)
Humility	201	(3)
Identification	204	(1)
Impotence	205	(1)
Incongruity	206	(1)
Individualism	207	(2)
Individuation	209	(1)
Ingenuity	210	(1)
Inner Conflicts	211	(2)
Innocence	213	(2)
Intelligence	215	(1)
Intentionality	216	(2)
Interface	218	(1)
Intermediaries	219	(2)
Intimacy	221	(2)
Intuition and Insight	223	(1)
Irony	224	(2)
Jokes	226	(2)
Journeys	228	(1)
Justice	228	(4)
Knowledge	232	(4)
Laughter	236	(1)
Length	237	(2)
Leaders	239	(1)
Loss	240	(3)
Love	243	(3)
Love, Unrequited	246	(2)
Loyalty	248	(2)
Manipulation	250	(1)
McGuffin	251	(1)
Mechanical Behavior	252	(2)
Mentors	254	(2)
Misdirection	256	(1)
Missions	257	(1)
Modulation	258	(1)
Monsters	259	(2)
Montage	261	(1)
Mood	262	(1)
Motivation	263	(2)
Musicals	265	(2)
Mystery	267	(3)
Naming	270	(2)
Narcissus	272	(2)
Narratives and Narrations	274	(2)
New	276	(2)
Obligatory Scenes	278	(2)
Opposites	280	(2)
Originality	282	(2)
P.O.V.	284	(2)
Pain	286	(1)
Paradox	287	(2)
Past, The	289	(1)
Persona	290	(1)
Pity	291	(1)
Playing It Straight	292	(1)
Plot	293	(2)
Pornography	295	(1)
Power	296	(3)
Prediction	299	(2)
Principles	301	(1)
Process	302	(1)
Propaganda	303	(1)
Psychopaths and Sociopaths	304	(1)
Pygmalion	305	(2)
Pyrrhic Victories	307	(3)
Realism	310	(1)
Reality Fallacy	311	(2)
Redemption	313	(1)
Rejection	314	(1)
Relevance	315	(1)
Reluctance	316	(1)
Repetition	317	(3)
Rescue	320	(1)
Respect	321	(1)
Restraint	322	(2)
Revelation	324	(1)
Revenge	325	(2)
Romance	327	(3)
Sacrifice	330	(2)
Scenes	332	(2)
Science Fiction	334	(3)
Seamless Web	337	(2)
Seduction	339	(1)
Self-Denial	340	(2)
Selfishness	342	(1)
Sentimentality	343	(1)
Sex	344	(1)
Simultaneity	345	(2)
Situations	347	(1)
Social Issues	348	(1)
Society	349	(1)
Spectacle	350	(2)
Structure	352	(2)
Structure, Dramatic	354	(1)
Structure, Episodic	355	(1)
Structure, Journalistic	356	(1)
Subplots	357	(1)
Success	358	(1)
Suicide	359	(2)
Suspense	361	(2)
Suspension of Disbelief	363	(3)
Talking Heads	366	(1)
Teams and Couples	367	(2)
Technology	369	(1)
Television vs. Film	370	(1)
Temptation	371	(1)
Tests	372	(1)
Theme	373	(1)
Time	374	(2)
Tools	376	(1)
Topicality	377	(1)
Tragedy	378	(4)
Transcendence	382	(1)
Transformation	383	(1)
Traps	384	(1)
Trials	385	(1)
True Stories	386	(1)
Truthtellers	387	(3)
Unmasking	390	(2)
Values	392	(1)
Victims	393	(1)
Villains	394	(4)
Violation	398	(1)
Violence	399	(2)
Vulnerability	401	(3)
War Films	404	(1)
Weapons	405	(2)
Westerns	407	(2)
Will Power	409	(1)
Wisdom	410	(1)
Work and Love	411	(1)
Wounds	412	(1)
Writing What You Know	413	(2)
About the Author	415	(2)
Index	417

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Summary

Table of Contents

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