AI Summary
The video defends The Last Jedi by analyzing its narrative structure using Film Crit Hulk's 'Seven Basic Questions of Narrative Drama.' It argues that despite controversy, the film's character arcs and conflicts are well-constructed, making it a competent and even great movie.
Chapters
The video aims to defend The Last Jedi by focusing on its dramatic structure rather than its themes, acknowledging that viewers may disagree.
Film Crit Hulk's seven questions: what does the character want, what do they need, how do wants and needs conflict, how do they conflict with the outside world, how do they conflict with other characters, how does the character change, and what impact does that change have?
Wants are primal desires (power, money, status); needs are what the hero must fulfill internally for a better life.
Poe wants to win the war at any cost; he needs to become a responsible leader and learn when to retreat.
Rey wants external validation (her parents being important); she needs emotional independence and her own identity.
Finn wants to save Rey; he needs to become concerned with the galaxy and become a rebel.
Each protagonist is opposed by two characters: one enables their wants, the other forces them to realize their needs.
Poe is caught between Leia (enabling) and Holdo (forcing change); Finn between Rose (moral responsibility) and DJ (selfishness); Rey between Luke (warning) and Kylo (manipulation).
All characters undergo change: Poe becomes a wiser leader, Rey becomes emotionally stable, Finn joins the Resistance. Their changes affect each other's arcs.
The Last Jedi has more dynamic characters than any other Star Wars film, and it resists fan service, telling a story that questions the franchise's themes.
Mentioned in this Video
💡 Key Takeaways
Seven Basic Questions Framework
Provides a diagnostic tool for evaluating narrative drama, useful for writers and critics.
01:08Finn's Radicalization
Rian Johnson's insight into Finn's arc—showing his gradual commitment to the Resistance—is a fresh take on character development.
05:41Tug-of-War Conflict Design
Placing characters between opposing forces that enable wants and force needs is a powerful storytelling technique.
06:59Most Dynamic Characters in Star Wars
The claim that The Last Jedi has more dynamic characters than any other Star Wars film is a bold, testable assertion.
10:17The Movie the Franchise Needed
The closing line encapsulates the video's thesis: the film challenges the franchise rather than pandering.
11:15Full Transcript
[00:00] Star Wars The Last Jedi is good and occasionally triumphant. And I know half of you already disagree with me vehemently, but all I'm asking before we start is that you consider the possibility that a movie you loathe still has some strengths we can learn from.
[00:19] Okay? Maybe? Well, let's try this anyway. The focus of the controversy around this film has to do with how it challenges the legacy of its own franchise.
[00:40] But today I want to look at the dramatic bedrock on which all of these themes are built on, rather than the themes themselves. You can still hate what the film chooses to say, but at least we can agree that it says what it wants to say in an effective manner.
[00:55] There's a critic I deeply admire who goes by the pseudonym Film Crit Hulk, who, in a practically novel-length essay on Man of Steel, proposed what he called the seven basic questions of narrative drama.
[01:08] These are questions that, he argues, Man of Steel failed to answer clearly, and I encourage you to check that essay out for why. Link in the description. The seven questions are a good way to diagnose whether or not you have a story,
[01:22] And they force you to be very clear with what the conflict is and why it matters. I think it's useful to talk about this in regards to The Last Jedi specifically, because this film has three distinct plot lines, and each of them answer all seven questions.
[01:36] So let's begin with part one, wants versus needs. So questions one to three are, what does this character want? What does this character need? And how do those wants and needs conflict with each other within the character?
[01:49] Wants and needs are pretty well-established ideas in storytelling. Both of these books lean heavily on these ideas, though it should be called wants to desire, but it's the same thing. Basically, a character is an explosive mixture of conflicting wants and needs.
[02:05] You just can't be too obvious with them, or you'll end up like the bad screenwriter in Rick and Morty.
[02:19] So what's the difference between a want and a need? Wants are primal. They are animal instincts. Things everyone relates to like power, money, status.
[02:31] A character will usually start a story relentlessly pursuing their desire. But this will lead them into trouble because their want is in some way immoral or misguided. It's not the thing they actually need to solve their problem.
[02:45] Needs are, according to Truby, what the hero must fulfill within himself in order to have a better life. When a character does what they need to do, we can see what the moral of the story is. We start with Poe since his arc is the most overt Poe wants to win the war no matter the cost He reckless and he doesn consider the consequences of his actions It all dramatized very clearly in the opening
[03:09] action scene. What he needs is to become a more responsible leader and to learn when to retreat.
[03:28] He has less internal conflict than the other protagonists, but all that's required here is a few moments where he second-guesses his instincts before acting.
[03:40] It'll stay the police, and it'll stay great. If I must be the sole voice of reason, Admiral Soto will never agree to this plan. Yeah, you're right, 3PO.
[03:53] It's a need-to-know plan, and she doesn't. It's subtle and unspoken, but the sense that he is conflicted about doing something he knows Leo disapprove of is palpable. Now, Rey is much more complex.
[04:05] She's got a lot of plot-oriented goals, things like getting Luke to help her or getting Kylo to switch sides, but what she actually wants on a character level is external validation. She wants to hear that her parents are important and that therefore, so is she.
[04:21] Great parents reveal is stupid. Hey, hey, hey, we're not getting into that. Stay focused. But actually, since we're here, I think the reveal that her parents are nobodies is pretty brilliant. But anyway, moving on. On screen, the characters are constantly saying that she can't stop herself from meeting her parents,
[04:37] But for our purposes, this is her want, because wants are things you have trouble resisting. That paper's got to show me something. There's also something you needed. And you didn't even try to stop yourself.
[04:49] Your time threw you away like garbage. It didn't. It did. But you can't stop me, do you? What she needs is to become emotionally independent and to carve out her own identity.
[05:01] But Finn seems to be the character whose arc is least appreciated, and I think it's because we sort of expected him to start the movie as the person he only transforms into at the end of the movie. That sounds a little confusing, but consider this.
[05:15] Finn and Han feel like completely different characters personality-wise, but in each of their first films, they have similar arcs. Neither of them care about the politics of the galaxy at all, and just want to look after themselves. Only later do they do something selfless.
[05:28] Han saves Luke, Finn tries to save Rey. At the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back, Han is now not just a good friend, but a loyal soldier in the fight against the Empire. So I think we sort of expected that Finn would be one too.
[05:41] But Rian Johnson's insight into the character is in acknowledging that Finn hadn't yet made that step, and that he could tell a whole story about Finn's radicalization into the ideological battle of the Resistance.
[05:54] At the end of The Force Awakens, Finn acted to save a friend. So at the beginning of this movie, that is now his want. To save Rey Sorry But this tree is doomed If my friend comes back to it she doomed too I got to get this speaking far away from here and she find me and be safe
[06:13] His need is to become concerned not just with the safety of his friends, but of the galaxy as a whole. He needs to become a rebel. That's what Rose calls him out for not being at the beginning of the movie. We hate Rose. I know, I know you do, but she's an integral part
[06:29] the story because of part two, conflict. The next two questions are, how do the characters' wants and needs conflict with the outside world? How do they conflict with other characters? The outside
[06:41] world one is pretty easy, right? They all conflict with the First Order, and Finn conflicts with the upper classes of Canterbite. But as to the second question, each of the main characters is opposed by two others, one who represents or enables their wants, and one which forces them to realize
[06:59] what they need. The protagonist is sort of caught in a tug-of-war between these two opponents. Poe is in conflict with Leia because of his recklessness, but she doesn't force him to change his ways. She scolds him, but enables him as well. On the other hand, Holdo freezes
[07:17] him out of a leadership position entirely, and shows zero tolerance for his attitude. Stupid Holdo. Why doesn't she just tell him the plan? I mean, she's pretty clear about why she doesn't trust Poe. She doesn't trust how reckless he is. As for Finn, Rose keeps
[07:45] impressing on him that he has a moral responsibility to help those in need. You're a selfish traitor. There's only one business in the galaxy that'll get you this rich. War.
[07:57] Selling weapons to the First Order. While DJ argues that there is no objective morality, and that Finn would be wise to be more selfish. So he's just stealing from the bad guys.
[08:10] And helping the good. Good guys. Bad guys. Make up words. Finn, let me learn you something big. It's a little machine, partner.
[08:23] Live free. Don't join. The detour through Canto Bight, which, hey, hey, I know, it admittedly has some pacing issues, is perfect on a thematic level. It's the splash of water in the face that wakes Finn up to what he needs to do.
[08:39] And finally, there is Rey, who, though she is briefly in conflict with Snoke, and I'm not going down that rabbit hole, spends most of the film in opposition to Luke and Kylo Ren. one of whom warns her about the dangers of following her selfish desires and seeking for her parents,
[08:53] and the other who tries to use that to manipulate her into joining him. There's no place in this story. You come from nothing. You're nothing.
[09:06] You not to me So by the way if you wondering why Phasma or Chewbacca or Ackbar or whoever wasn in this movie more this is why These ten characters encompass the entirety of the moral framework of the story.
[09:20] Everyone else is a prop, a plot device, or a meme. Part 3. Change. Our final questions are essentially how does this character change and what impact does that change have on everyone else?
[09:32] Well, they all do what they need to do. Poe becomes a wiser leader, Rey becomes an emotionally stable Jedi, and Finn joins a team. In his fight against Phasma, Finn affirms that he
[09:44] has joined a side after seeing the damage a man like DJ, a man he was once like, can do. You always come... ...revels. Poe grows through his conflict with Holdo, and his actions provide an opportunity for
[10:00] Finn to prove that he really is self-sacrificing. Kylo's descent into villainy pushes Rey into heroism, allowing her to save the remaining rebels. So each character isn't isolated. Each plotline affects the others, especially when the characters fail. In answering all seven questions
[10:17] for each character, The Last Jedi tells complete stories. And not just for these three characters, but for Luke and Kylo as well. That's more dynamic characters, as in characters who undergo a change, than any other Star Wars film.
[10:31] But, nothing I've said so far is an argument for this film being great, even though I personally think it is. Or at least one of its three plotlines is great. There are arguments for it being competent,
[10:44] for it having a rock-solid dramatic foundation that I think you have to acknowledge even if the movie made you angry. The Last Jedi should be applauded for resisting the temptation to indulge its audience with fan service callbacks and references,
[10:59] for telling a real story that questions the themes and ideas of the previous films instead of just pandering to us. The Last Jedi may not be the film you wanted, but it is the movie this franchise and its audience needed.
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