In my previous article, we reviewed the four elements of God’s story: Creation, Fall, Redemption and Restoration.
Now we’ll look at Cinderella and Knocked Up to see how filmmakers inject their own views of the world into these same four acts.
Understanding Man’s Story
Most stories told on screen or in print include the same four elements as God’s story: Creation, Fall, Redemption and Restoration.
Of course, each storyteller fills those plot points with different details. Those details reflect the storyteller’s worldview.
Some may agree fully with God’s story. Others may agree in part, while some will entirely contradict it.
Still, nearly all stories involve the four elements of Creation, Fall, Redemption and Restoration. Here are some tips to help identify those elements and what the storyteller wants us to believe about them.
Creation
Most movies begin by showing us what is called “the status quo,” a picture of how life is.
In many stories, the status quo is not just a picture of how life is. It is also a picture of how life should be.
Other stories begin under the Fall. In those cases, the storyteller usually gives us enough hints to discern how life once was.
For example, Disney’s Cinderella begins under the Fall. However, the story points back to Creation by revealing that Cinderella once had a wonderful father and mother who loved her dearly.
According to Disney, this is life as it is supposed to be.
- Does the movie begin with the status quo under Creation or under the Fall?
- If it begins under Creation, how do people relate to God, each other and creation? What does this reveal about where the storyteller believes we come from and how life should be?
- If it begins under the Fall, what hints do we get about how life once was? What does this reveal about where the storyteller believes we come from and how life should be?
Fall
After establishing life as it should be, the story introduces a fall that disrupts the status quo.
The fall may come through a challenge outside the main character or through a flaw within that character.
As a result, the details of the Fall reveal what the storyteller thinks is wrong with humanity and the world.
In Cinderella, her servitude to a wicked stepmother represents the Fall.
What is wrong with the world? A sweet young girl loses her family, falls into a low social status and, because of her singleness, must serve a selfish, arrogant and downright mean stepmother.
- What is the protagonist’s character flaw? What does this teach us about the storyteller’s view of the Fall?
- What makes the villain a villain? What does the villain believe or do? What does this reveal about the storyteller’s view of the Fall?
- Who or what causes what is wrong with the world? What does this tell us about the storyteller’s view of the Fall?
- What are the main differences between the protagonist and antagonist in belief, behavior, status, role or affiliation? What can this teach us about what the storyteller believes is wrong with the world?
- What are the characters trying to obtain throughout the story? Does this tell us anything about the storyteller’s view of the Fall?
Redemption
The entire plot of a movie drives toward the climax of redemption.
Redemption occurs when the main character somehow overcomes the challenge of the Fall.
Therefore, the way that redemption happens reveals the storyteller’s view of how the problems of this world can be solved.
For instance, the handsome prince redeems Cinderella. He rescues her from slavery to her stepmother, low social status and singleness.
- How does the protagonist overcome the inner or outer challenges in the story? What does this tell us about the storyteller’s view of redemption?
- What attempts at solving the challenge fail during the story? Usually, one or two potential solutions fail before the true solution appears. What do those failed solutions tell us about the storyteller’s view of redemption?
Restoration
After the main character experiences redemption, we often see how life changes as a result.
This is the storyteller’s view of restoration. In other words, life returns to an even better version of how it should be.
For example, Cinderella describes restoration with the simple sentence, “And they lived happily ever after.”
- What happens after the climactic redemption? How are the characters different than before? What does this tell us about the storyteller’s view of restoration?
- How do the characters relate to God, each other and creation after the climactic redemption? What does this tell us about the storyteller’s view of restoration?
Applying the Framework to ‘Knocked Up’
To illustrate all of this, let’s take a brief look at Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up.
Spoiler alert.
Creation
The film begins with a look at the status quo.
Ben, played by Seth Rogen, is an immature, unemployed and irresponsible man in his 20s. Meanwhile, Alison, played by Katherine Heigl, is a successful on-air personality for E! Network.
However, she lives alone in the pool house owned by her sister and brother-in-law.
So, is this a view of the way things should be? Or is it just the way things are?
The answer becomes clear as the film continues.
Fall
Under the influence of alcohol, Alison has a one-night stand with Ben.
When she sobers up the next morning, she quickly realizes her mistake.
However, it is too late.
Soon she discovers she is pregnant by a man she has nothing in common with and no desire to be with. This is the Fall that the storyteller wants to redeem.
Redemption
As the story continues, several attempts at redemption appear.
First, Alison’s mom proposes abortion as the solution. However, this proposal fails as a legitimate means of redeeming the fall.
Second, Alison and Ben attempt to give their relationship a chance. Ben even proposes with an empty ring box he promises to fill one day.
Yet Ben has not really changed. He continues in his laziness and immaturity. Therefore, this proposal also fails as a legitimate means of redeeming the fall.
Third, Ben and Alison’s brother-in-law try to escape the problem by going to Las Vegas and taking psychedelic drugs. At the same time, Alison tries to escape by going clubbing with her sister.
Again, both solutions fail.
Finally, Ben’s father convinces him to man up.
As a result, Ben changes his ways. He moves into his own place, studies pregnancy and parenthood and eventually plays a significant role in Alison’s labor.
He vows never to leave Alison’s side again, and Alison clearly accepts his pledge.
This fourth solution succeeds as a means of redeeming the fall.
Restoration
Ben and Alison move into their own apartment with their new baby girl.
Presumably, they live “happily ever after.”
What Does Judd Apatow Believe?
What does all of this tell us about the storyteller’s view of the world?
At the very least, we learn that Apatow’s view of the way things should be cannot come through living only for fun, as Ben was, or living only for career, as Alison was.
For Apatow, that describes life under the Fall.
Instead, life the way it should be, life under Creation, finds meaning in committed family relationships.
Yet giving ourselves to those relationships requires redemption from our tendency to protect our independence at any cost.
In the film, abortion, immaturity and fleeing responsibility all fail as answers.
Instead, redemption comes through taking personal responsibility for our choices and doing whatever is necessary to give ourselves to committed family relationships.
When we do this, according to the film’s worldview, we experience the Restoration of Creation and live in peaceful, joyful harmony with our family.
Not coincidentally, Apatow communicates a similar view of the world in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Funny People.
This is also consistent with what we know about Apatow as a person. He has been married to the same woman for 17 years and casts his wife and two daughters in many of his films.
Ultimately, this is a great example of how the stories people put on screen are not mere entertainment. The storyteller’s stories reveal what they believe about the world.
In my next article, I will examine how to respond to the worldview presented by a filmmaker in any given story.