Stories Mean Business - Nick Warren
Business:Marketing
In Toy Story 2, Jessie forces Woody to face a terrible truth – that he will be abandoned by the child he loves.
Speaking as a parent, it felt pretty brutal:
"You never forget kids like Emily or Andy. BUT THEY FORGET YOU. How long will it last, Woody? Do you really think Andy is going to take you to college... or on his honeymoon? Andy's growing up... and there's NOTHING you can do about it." ...Except, as Jessie says … there IS something that Woody can do about it.
In this series, we've seen how character is revealed by action, by choices people (or toys) make under pressure.
But where does the pressure come from?
Most choices in life are actually pretty easy. To oversimplify, we "choose" to move away from pain or towards pleasure.
That’s it.
So how do storytellers create the choices that build real audience attention?
...
They create dilemmas, forcing their characters to choose between equally weighted goods or equally awful evils.
Toy Story 2 is a perfect example. As Jessie says:
"IT’S YOUR CHOICE, WOODY. You can go back, or you can stay with us and last forever."And that’s Woody’s dilemma. He can live forever, preserved but unplayed with in a museum … or he can stay with Andy, in the sure knowledge of eventual abandonment and loss...
Both paths will lead to pain, and the choice he makes in this moment of genuine pressure will show us who he really is.
Nick
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This is one of 30 riffs on #*Business #Storytelling*. Follow me to get the series.
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The Stories Mean Business podcast with Nick Warren.
One Idea A Day, Every Day.
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