Her
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$23 – 25MM V $26MM
Mythosis universal quests used
3
Audience appeal
0.87 – 0.97%
Script Score
0.03
Her released in 2013 is written, directed, and produced by Spike Jonze. The star-studded movie explores the intimate relationship of humans with artificial intelligence operating systems.
1. The invisible plot structure of Her
1A. The script of Her borrows 86% of its events from 3 mythological tales
Theo’s quest is driven by the desire for companionship. The quest borrows events from the tale of Psyche in Greek mythology. Both Psyche and Theo are deserted by their loved one due to trust issues.
OS Samantha’s quest is driven by the desire to gain approval of others. The quest borrows events from the tale of Karn in Hindu mythology. Both Karn and OS Samantha find acceptance after being rejected and swear loyalty.
Amy has an underdeveloped quest of accumulation, driven by the desire to collect & own.
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
# 778
Tales interweaved
Psyche & Karn
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 Her's plot structure: $23 – 25MM
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 Her
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Her has 2 universal quests of Acceptance & Social Contact.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Theo mirrors the quest of Social Contact. Samantha/OS mirrors the quest of Acceptance.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Theo borrows 32% events from the quest for Social Contact. Samantha/OS 26% events from the quest for Acceptance.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Her’s quest interweaving score is 0.33 and is below par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Theo & Samantha/OS:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Her
The plot structure of Her interweaves only 2 quests (Amy’s quest is in isolation) thereby limiting the audience appeal. Moreover, both Theo & Samantha don’t have sufficient depth since they borrow inadequately from their respective quests.
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
0.03
Audience appeal
0.87 – 0.97%
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 Her
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: Theo mirrors the universal quest for Social Contact
Theo’s desire for Social Contact stems from the need for companionship. The tale of Psyche from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Social Contact.
Quest 2: Samantha/OS mirrors the universal quest for Acceptance
Samantha/OS’s desire for Acceptance stems from the need for approval by others. The tale of Karn from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Acceptance.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The plot structure reveals 2 quests that aren’t robust and a third quest that isn’t interwoven.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of Her is a subset of Mythosis plot structure # 778. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Psyche & Karn
Contact us for Mythosis plot structure # 778.
Tags: Valmiki, Psyche, Karn, Accumulation, Social Contact, Acceptance, Spike Jonze, Annapurna Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2013