The Beekeeper reinterprets Krishn’s tale from Hindu mythology

The Beekeeper directed by David Ayer is a story of an operative who single-handedly brings down a powerful phishing operation. The movie portrays a conflict between basic human desires of idealism & vengeance. Mythosis uses 2 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.

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

1A. 87% of the events are borrowed from 2 mythological tales

Clay's quest is driven by the desire for justice and mirrors the tale of Krishn from Hindu mythology. Both Krishn & Clay fight to protect the common man from greedy and powerful individuals.

Derek’s quest is driven by the desire to punish offenders and mirrors the tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology. Both Duryodhan & Derek resent their kingdoms being taken away and decide to avenge.

Verona has an underdeveloped quest. Her quest mirrors the tale of Prometheus. Verona, like Prometheus, switches sides on discovering that Clay is fighting a corrupt establishment.

Wallace’s doesn’t have a unique quest since his quest is subsumed in Duryodhan’s/Derek’s quest. Duryodhan dismisses Bhishm’s advise and forces him to fight the Pandavas.

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. Take it a step further, by combining six tales the possibilities explode to an astounding 600 million!

The unique plot structure of The Beekeeper is # 745. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Duryodhan and Krishn.

2. Plot structure potential of The Beekeeper: $41-63MM

2A. Plot structure evaluation of The Beekeeper

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 Beekeeper uses 2 universal quests of Idealism and Vengeance.
In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Clay mirrors the quest of Idealism whereas Derek mirrors the universal quest of Vengeance.
Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Clay borrows 20% of events from the quest for Idealism. Derek borrows 24% from the universal quest of Vengeance.
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 quest interweaving score of The Beekeeper is 0.33 and is below par. An example of interweaving the quests of Clay & Derek:

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 Beekeeper

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 Beekeeper has a script potential score is 0.04 and the movie will appeal to 1.14 – 1.40% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $41 – 63MM in the domestic market.

3. The ideal plot structure of The Beekeeper

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.

Quest 1: Clay mirrors the universal quest for Idealism

Clay’s desire for Idealism stems from the need for fairness & justice. The tale of Krishn from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Idealism.

Quest 2: Derek mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance

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

3B. Gaps in the current plot structure

Mythosis has identified 2 gaps that inhibit the script’s potential. A. Both the quests don’t have sufficient depth B. The plot structure is disjointed since Verona has an under-developed quest.

Enhancing the depth of the two quests enhances the potential of the script. However, the true potential of the script is unlocked by building Verona’s quest.

3C. Unlocking the hidden potential

The ideal plot structure for The Beekeeper is # 23,355. It is a blockbuster plot structure that interweaves the tales of Duryodhan, Krishn & Prometheus. This plot structure enhances the current revenues by ~10x!

Prometheus' quest has been used for the quest of Jake in Avatar & Eve in Wall-E.

Tags: 2024, Amazon MGM Studios, Box office, Character development, David Ayer, Duryodhan, Idealism, Krishn, Kurt Wimmer, Miramax, Mythology, Plot Structure, Prometheus, storytelling, Vengeance