The Great Wall
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$43 – 48MM V $45MM
Mythosis universal quests used
5
Audience appeal
1.55 – 1.72%
Script Score
0.05
The Great Wall is a 2016 movie directed by Zhang Yimou. The movie set during the Song Dynasty re-imagines a part of the epic Ramayan.
1. The invisible plot structure of The Great Wall
1A. The script of The Great Wall borrows 84% of its events from 4 mythological tales
Will’s quest is driven by the desire for honour & loyalty. The quest borrows events from the tale of Hanuman in Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Will demonstrate unquestioned loyalty, showing a willingness to sacrifice themselves.
Lin’s quest is driven by the desire for social stability and mirrors the tale of Ram from Hindu mythology. Both Ram & Lin decimate “demons” to ensure social harmony.
Tao tie’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others. The quest borrows events from the tale of Ravan in Hindu mythology. Both Ravan and Tao Tie take whatever they want without any concern for the consequences.
Pero’s underdeveloped quest is driven by selfishness. The quest borrows events from the tale of Valmiki in Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Pero are self-centered and don’t care about the interest of others.
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
# 19,123
Tales interweaved
Ravan, Ram & Hanuman
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 The Great Wall's plot structure: $43 – 48MM
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 The Great Wall
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. The Great Wall has 3 universal quests of Power, Order, Honour.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Will mirrors the universal quest of Honour. Lin mirrors the quest of Order whereas Taotie mirrors the universal quest of Power.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Lin borrows 15% events from the quest for Order. Will borrows 25% events from the quest for Honour. Taotie borrows 19% events from the quest for Power.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. The Great Wall’s quest interweaving score is 0.5 and at par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Lin & Taotie:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of The Great Wall
Though the plot structure of The Great Wall borrows from 4 universal quests, the plot is weak due to all 4 characters being severely under-developed.
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
0.05
Audience appeal
1.55 – 1.72%
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 The Great Wall
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: Will mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Will’s desire for Honour stems from the need to be loyal to a clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 2: Lin mirrors the universal quest for Order
Lin’s desire for Order stems from the need for organization to maintain stability. The tale of Ram from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Order.
Quest 3: Taotie mirrors the universal quest for Power
Taotie’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Power.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
Every character has shallow quests as a result there aren’t enough events in the script.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of The Great Wall is a subset of plot structure # 19,123. It emerges from interweaves the tales of Ravan, Ram & Hanuman.
Contact us for Mythosis plot structure # 19,123
Tags: Ravan, Valmiki, Hanuman, Ram, Power, Accumulation, Honour, Order, Chang Cheng, Legendary Pictures, Atlas Entertainment, China Film Group, Universal Pictures, 2016