Mythosis

Fargo’s poster copyright belongs to Gramercy Pictures

Fargo

EST V ACT domestic box office revenue

$19 – 23 V $25MM

Mythosis universal quests used

4

Audience appeal

1.60 – 1.96%

Script Score

0.06

Fargo directed by Coen brothers is about a car salesman hiring criminals to kidnap his wife for ransom, a plan going wrong and a pregnant sheriff investigating the murders.

Beyond the violence and accents lies an innovative plot that pits basic desires of selfishness and power against family. No wonder, Fargo is considered to be a masterpiece.

Fargo’s poster copyright belongs to Gramercy Pictures

1. The invisible plot structure of Fargo

1A. The script of Fargo borrows 93% of its events from 4 mythological tales

Jerry’s quest is driven by selfishness. The quest borrows events from the tale of Valmiki in Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Jerry are self-centered and accumulate unscrupulously.

Carl’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others. The quest borrows events from the tale of Circe in Greek mythology. Both Circe and Carl create a façade to take control of gullible victims.

Gaear’s underdeveloped quest is also driven by the desire to dominate others. The quest borrows events from the tale of Ravan in Hindu mythology. Both Ravan and Gaear take whatever they want without any concern for the consequences. Every human desire has 2 universal quests – a fulfilled one and an unfulfilled one. 

Marge’s quest is driven by the desire to protect & nurture. The quest borrows events from the tale of Demeter in Greek mythology. Both Demeter and Marge embark on finding the abductor & recover the abducted.

Wade’s underdeveloped quest mirrors a few events from Demeter’s tale.

NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”

Mythosis plot structure

# 519,353

Tales interweaved

Circe, Valmiki, Ravan & Demeter

I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?

2. The potential of Fargo’s plot structure: $19 – 23MM

The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.

2A. Plot structure evaluation of Fargo

An example of interweaving the quests of Marge & Jerry:

Fargo’s script interweaves the tales of Demeter & Valmiki

2B. Box office revenue estimation of Fargo

The plot structure of Fargo doesn’t interweave the quests. As a result, it appears as 3 distinct stories.

The Script Score measures a plot structure’s  adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.

Script Score

0.06

Audience appeal

1.60 – 1.96%

I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?

3. The ideal plot structure of Fargo

We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.

Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.

3A.Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts​

Quest 1: Jerry mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation

Jerry’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to collect & own. The tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology has a robust expression in Dicken’s character of Scrooge which is the universal quest for Accumulation.

In Fargo, Jerry borrows from the Hindu mythological tale of Valmiki

Quest 2: Carl mirrors the universal quest for Power

Carl’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Circe from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Power.

Quest 3: Marge mirrors the universal quest for Family

Marge’s desire for Family stems from the need to nurture & protect. The tale of Demeter from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Family.

In Fargo, Marge borrows from the Greek mythological tale of Demeter

The plot structure of Fargo reveals three great stories that aren’t interwoven to create a single cohesive story.

The plot of Fargo is a sub set of Mythosis plot structure # 519,353. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Circe, Valmiki, Ravan & Demeter. 

Contact us for Mythosis plot structure # 519,353

Tags: Ravan, Power, Valmiki, Accumulation, Circe, Demeter, Family, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Gramercy Pictures, 1996

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