Episode 597 - Revelations!
Aug 21, 2022
Today we're talking about a technique in storytelling that we're calling the “revelation”. Inspired by Banes doing an article on the weird trope in movies of having a character discover newspaper stories about the villain that suddenly reveal the true stakes of the story and kick things into high gear. There are other types of revelation in stories though and they're used in different ways.
Topics and Show Notes
The revelation technique can be used in the midpoint of a story as a way of showing the true scope of what the protagonist faces, which signals a corresponding urgency in the story, a rise in tension and an increase in pace - when done well! When done badly, as in the recent Marvel movie Eternals, it has the opposite effect- killing tension and diffusing the energy of the story. A revelation can be used towards the end of a story to show a twist which makes you reevaluate the entire story and look at it in a different way as in Unbreakable or The Usual Suspects. A late revelation can also be used to enrich the story by revealing extra details about a character and sweetening the story after the climax. And then there's the typical Marvel movie way of using super late revelations in the form of Easter eggs which give an audience a sense of anticipation and reward, uncovering secret things about where a story will go next!
A good revelation can add a lot of spice to a story and you're usually pretty safe in its use. The Eternals is a weird exception, where they really messed up this easy technique, TWICE, and cut the power to the story. Watch it and you'll see what I mean! Do you know any stories where a revelation ruined things?
This week Gunwallace has given us a theme to Hawk and Flo Ice Cream Truck of Doom part 1 - Flicker, flicker, hypervelocity turning and spinning, action and movement. Techno synth keyboard, strings snapping drums moving faster than thought.
Topics and shownotes
Links
Banes' newspaper revelation newspost - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2022/aug/16/the-horror-newspaper-revelation-scene/
Some of the stuff mentioned in the cast:
The Eternals - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9032400/
The usual suspects - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114814/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
The Guest - https://asianwiki.com/The_Guest_(Korean_Drama)
La Mante - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6467482/
Featured comic:
Them There Hills - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2022/aug/16/featured-comic-them-there-hills/
Featured music:
Hawk and Flo Ice - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Hawk_and_Flo_Ice_Cream_Truck_of_Doom_part_1/ - by HawkandFloAdventures, rated E.
Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - http://www.virtuallycomics.com
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
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Episode 596 - Leadership!
Aug 15, 2022
Leaders are not born, they're created… literally in the case of fiction, created by creators of comics, books, movies, and other media! For this Quackcast I was inspired by two things: a video on Leader Characters by the satirical YouTube channel Terrible Writing Advice, and the Disney movie Lightyear, in which the lone wolf classical hero figure learns how to lead.
Episode 590 - Fave Superhero Movies?
Jul 4, 2022
I wanted to do an easy and fun one this week and just chat about our fave superhero movies, starting with our firsts! For me and Banes it was Superman with Christopher Reeve. It's a real classic, full of positivity, hope, and optimism, all with bright colours and classic iconic imagery… In that way it's a bit like many of the Marvel films and the more popular DC offerings like Aquaman and WonderWoman, but without the overbuilt and over-defined muscles!
Episode 588 - Revisiting Old Ideas
Jun 20, 2022
Sometimes it's worth revisiting old ideas because you can do them better or explore them deeper. This could be in the form of a full reboot, or it could be as simple as reusing a pose in a panel or using the same theme again like Pixar does with 90% of their output i.e. “coming of age”. Like them you don't need to feel obligated to always do something totally original, revisiting old ideas is a great way to refine them, create better work, or explore different aspects of them you hadn't considered before and put new and interesting spins on things. Consider that Pixar's Turning Red, Encanto, Moana, Coco, The Incredibles 2, Ratatouille, Inside Out, Brave, Onward, and Luca all share the same “coming of age/childhood independence” theme and yet all do it in unique and original ways, exploring different aspects of the idea from all sorts of angles.
Episode 580 - Fantasy worlds crossing over
Apr 25, 2022
The full team is assembled yet again! Tantz came up with the idea of having a look at hidden fantasy worlds in fiction that have strong ties with the “real world” and how they function together. Her main example was the world of Harry Potter which has many strong connections to the real world and yet manages to stay very well hidden, which stretches plausibility a bit. The World of Casandra Clare's Mortal Instruments is similar in that regard, it's deeply tied to the mundane world and yet it stays hidden from it to a degree that isn't really possible.
Episode 578 - Punching toys in the boobs
Apr 11, 2022
BANES RETURNS! …to talk about boobs with the rest of us. The topic of the discussion this week was brought to us by Tantz's newspost on the 2nd of April about bosoms and how their shape and size doesn't matter. In the crusade against “sexualisation” in comics people tend to focus too much on big or “unnaturally shaped” boobs, but the truth is that any type of boobs can be fetishized and by reacting against one type you just cause a new form of exclusion.
Episode 576 - Retro Adventure heroes
Mar 28, 2022
Retro adventure heroes are an interesting and unique sort of hero. The trope was revived and crystallised by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg with Indiana Jones, but it had existed long before then and continues to persist now in many forms. They're not without their problems But I like these characters. I love their outfits, their competency, intelligence, self sufficiency, and their penchant for exploration and discovery.
Episode 575 - Fave fantasy creatures?
Mar 20, 2022
Fantasy creatures are cool and we're here to talk about our faves. One of mine is elves. I love them… Being quite elfy myself. Fantasy is pretty fun to play around with, you have the freedom to create anything but even so there are a few recognised and agreed on fantasy creatures that people stick with.
