The Dark Knight is Christopher Nolan’s best plot structure

The Dark Knight is a super hero movie directed by Christopher Nolan. The plot revolves around Joker pushing Batman to his limits in order to save the city from chaos. The story explores basic human desires of vengeance, order, preservation and honour. Mythosis uses 4 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.

1. Mythological tales reveal the invisible plot structure of any story

1A. 98% of the events are borrowed from 4 mythological tales

Batman’s quest is driven by the desire to maintain stability mirrors the tale of Bhishm from Hindu mythology. Both Bhishm & Batman take a vow to protect their kingdom from falling into chaos.

Joker’s quest is driven by the desire to punish offenders and mirrors the tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology. Both Duryodhan & Joker acquire unscrupulously and punish their challengers.

Harvey's quest is also driven by the desire to serve a clan/order and mirrors the tale of Amba from Hindu mythology. Both Amba & Harvey pay a price for their righteousness.

Maroni’s quest is driven by the desire to survive a threat and mirrors the tale of Kans from Hindu mythology. Both Kans & Maroni fail to overpower their nemesis.

Detailed mirroring of each character to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”

1B. 32 mythological tales are the source of all stories, even the untold ones

Human beings are driven by 16 fundamental desires. Every desire, whether encountering fulfilment or unfulfillment, gives rise to two distinct quests. Thus, a spectrum of 32 unique quests mirrors every human desire.

We have discovered mythological tales from across civilizations that uniquely portray each one of these 32 human quests. While each mythological tale stands as a distinct quest, the true magic unfolds when these tales are combined. This synergy is evident in the epics of Odyssey and Ramayan, where various universal quests seamlessly intertwine.

Combining any five tales from the 32, generates a staggering 24 million unique story plots. The possibilities explode to an astounding 650 million by combining six tales!

The Dark Knight's unique plot structure is #880,552 that emerges from interweaving the tales of Duryodhan, Bhishm, Kans & Amba.

2. Potential of The Dark Knight's plot structure: $458-530MM

2A. Evaluation of The Dark Knight's plot structure

An analysis of Blockbuster, Hit & Flop plots has led to the discovery of Mythosis Code. The Code reveals the story principles shared by all Blockbusters. We use the Code to estimate a story’s potential.

All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. The Dark Knight uses 4 universal quests of Order, Honour, Preservation and Vengeance.
In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Batman mirrors the quest of Order. Joker mirrors the quest of Vengeance. Harvey mirrors the quest of Honour. Maroni mirrors the quest of Preservation.
Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Joker borrows 48% of the quest for Vengeance. Batman borrows 45% of the quest for Order. Harvey borrows 52% of the quest for Honour. Maroni borrows 8% of the quest for Preservation.
Blockbusters interweave different quests to create a tight plot structure. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. The Dark Knight’s quest interweaving score of 0.50 is at par. An example of interweaving the quests of Batman & Harvey:

The plot structure of The Dark Knight borrows from 4 universal quests which are interwoven & 3 quests borrow deeply from their respective mythological tales.

2B. Plot structure is the most important but least understood element of storytelling

Any plot structure that borrows events from at least 3 mythological tales has high resonance. In our own lives, each one of us identifies with at least one quest to fulfil a basic human desire. The more quests woven into a story, the wider its appeal.

The nature of mythological tales used, makes the plot structure fresh & unique. Besides, appealing to a larger audience size the interweaving of various human desires creates a unique and original story.

Interweaving mythological tales makes the plot structure cohesive. Stories become seamless when characters are woven with each other through their quests and not merely by relationships.

Characters are consistent when they mirror a single mythological tale. Characters pursuing more than one quest appear confusing due to their divergent desires.

Borrowing 35% or more events from each mythological tale strengthens both the plot structure & character. The plot structure becomes flat when characters borrow less than the threshold. Each mythological tale has multiple twists & turns hence no forced injection is required. Characters become layered & complex when their journey is deep.

2C. Measuring the revenue potential of The Dark Knight's plot structure

We have created an algorithm by assigning weights to the principles of The Mythosis Code. The algorithm calculates the potency of a story’s plot structure and estimates its corresponding audience appeal. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.

The Dark Knight’s script potential score is 0.69 and the movie will appeal to 19.86 – 24.27% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $458 – 530MM in the domestic market. The movie grossed $533MM.

3. The ideal plot structure of The Dark Knight

We have identified 32 universal quests that represent every human desire. These quests are the superset of thousands of stories across cultures that reflect our collective subconscious. Each quest has a structured sequence of events divided into 5 major arcs.

We map a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale (universal quest) which reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. The ideal Plot Structure is constructed by plugging these gaps with the missing events from the tale. These events strengthen both the journey of characters as well as the weaving of quests without altering the story.

3A. Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts

Quest 1: Batman mirrors the universal quest for Order

Batman’s desire for Order stems from the need to maintain stability. The tale of Bhishm from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Order.

Quest 2: Harvey mirrors the universal quest for Honour

Harvey’s desire for Honour stems from the need to serve a clan/order. The tale of Amba from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.

Quest 3: Joker mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance

Joker’s desire for Vengeance stems from the need to punish offenders. The tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Vengeance.

Quest 4: Maroni mirrors the universal quest for Preservation

Maroni’s desire for Preservation stems from the need to survive a threat. The tale of Kans from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Preservation.

Tags: 2008, Amba, Bhishm, Box office, Character development, Christopher Nolan, Duryodhan, Honour, Kans, Legendary Pictures, Movie Review, Mythology, Order, Preservation, Script, Story plot, Syncopy, Vengeance, Warner Bros. Pictures