STORY TYPES

derived from the ideas of Robert McKee

ROBERT MCKEEE
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MATURATION PLOT
REDEMPTION PLOT
PUNITIVE PLOT
TESTING PLOT
EDUCATION PLOT
DISILLUSIONMENT PLOT

MATURATION PLOT
the coming of age story

THE WAY, WAY BACK

An awkward teen, Duncan, must spend the summer at a beach house with his mother , her
boyfriend, Trent, and Trent's obnoxious daughter. Trent can't resist badgering Duncan, so
the teenager goes away to a water park and gets a job that will help him stay off Trent's
radar.
As Duncan tends to the slides and pools of the aging park, he finds a father figure in
wisecracking park manager Owen at a time when he desperately needs one.

BOYHOOD
The joys and pitfalls of growing up are seen through the eyes of a child named Mason, his
parents and his sister. Vignettes, filmed with the same cast over the course of 12 years,
capture family meals, road trips, birthday parties, graduations and other important
milestones.

REDEMPTION PLOT

moral change in protagonist from bad to good

WILDCHILD
Sixteen-year-old Poppy has everything her unlimited credit cards can buy, and a
spoiled attitude to match. After a final thoughtless prank, her exasperated father ships
her off to boarding school in England. There, Poppy meets her match in a stern
headmistress and a class full of girls who will not tolerate her selfishness.
She is accused of arson, however by working with girls she originally despised, she is
able to present the good in herself

A GIRL LIKE HER

A teenager, Jessica, tries to commit suicide after she is being bullied. Her friend Brian
has footage of their school's most beautiful and popular students Avery secretly been
bullying her for the past year.
At first Avery is unaware of the impact she has created, however when she looks back
at the footage she understands that her actions were malicious.

PUNITIVE PLOT

protagonist changes from good to bad and is punished

STAR WARS - DARTH VADER

Anakin Skywalker, manipulated by a leader which then made him turn to the dark
side, killing Jedis. Due to this, he gets burnt and turns into Darth Vader

TESTING PLOT

willpower versus the temptation to surrender

COOL HAND LUKE

When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida
prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the
yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's
unbreakable will.
Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded
solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow
convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.

EDUCATION PLOT

protagonists view of life/self/people changes from negative

to positive

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

Hardworking and ambitious, Tiana dreams of one day opening the finest restaurant in New
Orleans. Her dream takes a slight detour when she meets Prince Naveen, who has been
turned into a frog by evil Dr. Facilier. Mistaking her for a princess and hoping to break the
spell, Naveen plants a kiss on poor Tiana -- thereby turning her into a frog as well. The pair
venture through the bayous to seek the help of a powerful voodoo priestess.
During the journey, Naveen discovers a world away from his luxury life as a prince, which
makes him question about his initial desire to marry a princess in order to regain his money.

DISILLUSIONMENT PLOT

protagonists worldview changes from positive to negative

THE RIOT CLUB

Alistair and Miles, start their first year at Oxford University where they both
become members of the Riot Club - a long established elite drinking club priding
itself on hedonism and the belief that money can buy anything.
At their annual dinner at the function room in a country pub, they start to wreck
the room, and when Chris comes to confront them, Alistair punches him followed
by the others who viciously attack him, sending him to hospital.
The boys are all arrested but believing that the club is more important than the
individual, they agree not to give statements and go on to suggest that Miles, as
the newest club member, should take the blame for the attack on Chris.