Nothing new in this world...

[deathpixie]

There are only seven basic story plots.

[wo]man vs. nature
[wo]man vs. man
[wo]man vs. the environment
[wo]man vs. machines/technology
[wo]man vs. the supernatural
[wo]man vs. self
[wo]man vs. god/religion


Discuss.

Comments

[nute.livejournal.com]

You mean five. The last three are all the same thing.

[trishalynn.livejournal.com]

I disagree. I think supernatural forces can exist outside of religion, or at least the author can denude them of their formerly religious trappings.

[nute.livejournal.com]

Except that Supernatural always fits the same concepts as Nature or Man.

[diamond-dust06.livejournal.com]

I don't know. In a fantasy novel where the supernatural actually exists, I'd consider the conflict of man vs. supernatural different from man vs. man. The latter involves issues of morality and ethics because they are inherently human. A supernatural force/being isn't constrained by ethics or morals, though, so it's a different conflict.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_bounce_/]

However, as the existence of both must be taken on faith, they should fall into the same category regardless of genre.

[resplendissante.livejournal.com]

I'm currently writing on postmodern knowledge theory, so how about: How we construct these binaries is more interesting than the binaries themselves. What is nature? How do we define man AGAINST nature, and why is that telling about certain aspects of literature? What power structure is inherent, and what power structure is being challenged, when man and nature clash? and etc.

Then everyone hits me, probably until I die or at least stop talking. No, I actually think that's fairly correct, but it misses a lot of the complexities of those ENORMOUS concepts.

[resplendissante.livejournal.com]

Oh, oh, and also! Given that these are (for the most part) societal constructions of reality, it would stand to reason that every time they were re-interpreted as the constructions changed (think... oh, I don't know, "God" two hundred years ago, versus "God" now), the plots changed too. Making them infinite, rather than limited. :)

[nute.livejournal.com]

Further clarification:

Man versus Nature - in the strictest term, this is a 'survival' plot against inevitability provided by a natural force.

Man versus Man - a conflict of any sort against a thinking opponent who reacts to the protagonist.

Man vs. Environment - Usually expressed as Man vs. Society. Protagonist comes into conflict with the social order of things as opposed to natural order (man vs. nature). This also encompasses Man vs. Technology, as technology is part of our social environment.

Man vs. Self - Introspection, often expressed as Man vs. Ideals/Morals.

Man vs. Supernatural - this inevitably boils down to a combination of Man vs. Man/Man vs. Society.


Examples:

Schindler's List is obviously a Man vs. Society tale, but you have elements of Man v. Self in Oskar's internal turmoil, and Man v. Man in his direct confrontations with the individuals in the Nazi hierarchy.

Dracula, on the other hand, for as much as it is a supernatural story is straight up Man vs. Man - protagonist (and friends) versus a thinking antagonist who acts and reacts. The Man vs. Self conflicts that Harker goes through are ancillary to the main conflict.

Star Wars covers most of the standard plots over the course of six movies. You start with an overarcing story of Man vs. Self (Anakin's internal struggle between his own desires and the Jedi ideals) which is set against a backdrop of Man vs. Man (the war with the Trade Federation and the machinations of Darth Sidious), and the lesser concept of Man vs. Society (the conflicts between the Jedi tradition and the current sociopolitical climate).

The second trilogy concentrates more on Man vs. Man (Luke v. Vader) with the background of Man v Society (Rebels vs. Empire) and a minor plot of Man vs. Self (Han's conversion from self-serving scoundrel to hero, Luke's coming to terms with his destiny, etc).

[erindubitably.livejournal.com]

I have nothing to contribute except to say that this list would be much better if it went like this:

[wolf]man vs. nature
[wolf]man vs. man
[wolf]man vs. the environment
[wolf]man vs. machines/technology
[wolf]man vs. the supernatural
[wolf]man vs. self
[wolf]man vs. god/religion

[myniamh.livejournal.com]

What about:

[spider]man vs. natureman
[spider]man vs. manman
[spider]man vs. the environmentman
[spider]man vs. machinesman/technologyman
[spider]man vs. the supernaturalman
[spider]man vs. selfman
[spider]man vs. godman/religionman

[diamond-dust06.livejournal.com]

Well, if you put man after everything then it ought to be:

[mega]man vs. natureman
[mega]man vs. manman
[mega]man vs. the environmentman
[mega]man vs. machinesman/technologyman
[mega]man vs. the supernaturalman
[mega]man vs. selfman
[mega]man vs. godman/religionman

[thatpalebluedot.livejournal.com]

I think the most interesting thing is that we almost always define a plot by conflict.

Now I have this desire to write a short story with a plot that has no conflict...:)

[iamgerg.livejournal.com]

I don't know that it is conflict so much as imbalance. It is I think a case of one thing being larger or more overwhelming than oneself. Thus a sailor does not fight to overcome the sea, but rather the sailor faces the overwhelming strength of the sea.

[thatpalebluedot.livejournal.com]

Then can we have a story that is all about balance? :)

Of course, it occurs to me my very questioning is an example of reasons why we can't--I'm creating conflict. My first reaction in seeing this list was to thik--I wonder if that's true. What are stories where it WOULD NOT be true...

And then I have to wonder about stories without man as the focus--what about god vs. god, or nature vs. god? Genesis, before the creation of man?

Ah well, fascinating things to think about. :)

[iamgerg.livejournal.com]

No you can't have a story about balance, life is driven by imbalance. Why do people do anything? Either it's to get more of something they don't have enough of or to get rid of things they have too much of. A story in balance is one with no plot and I would be willing to bet that it would be impossible to write one that is in any way compelling.

[trishalynn.livejournal.com]

A story of god vs. god would actually still be man vs. man because the two gods would be thinking protagonist struggling against a thinking antagonist.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_bounce_/]

I think it's interesting but that they're also unnecessarily narrow categories. What it all comes down to is "conflict of some description between a protagonist (or several of them) and an (or several) other(s). There's really only one story.

[greenbriar.livejournal.com]

What about nature stories?

Penguin (or bear, or whatever) vs. the environment?

I'd consider it a different storyline, as in truly good stories of this genre little anthropomorphic thought leak through.

But then again, some people won't call this a story, they'd call it a documentary.

Whatever you call it, it's made some people alot of money.

[trishalynn.livejournal.com]

Still man vs. environment because even though we're not sure what it's thinking, a penguin or a bear still thinks. Penguin vs. polar bear would be man vs. man. Dinosaur vs. Ice Age = man vs. environment

[qodarkness.livejournal.com]

As Desire says in the Endless - there's only one story. Someone wants something.

A