1) A hero goes on a journey.
2) A stranger comes to town.
I heard that many years ago, I can’t remember where. It stuck with me, but, to this day, I can’t decide if it’s a useless classification or if there’s something profound to it.
You can find many examples of 1 (Lord of the rings, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, …).
You can find many examples of 2 (One flew over a cuckoo’s nest, ET, Spirited away, Trading places, Pleasantville, …).
Many stories seem to mix the two. I recently watched “Rango”. It’s undoubtedly a “stranger comes to town” story. Rango is accidentally dumped in a little town in the middle of the desert. At the same time, it’s also about Rango’s quest. There’s a case to be made that the 2 types are really just one. If you happen to live in a town that the hero passes in his journey, from your point of view it’s a “stranger comes to town” story. If the stranger is not the hero but some evil disrupting force, then the townsfolk are forced into a quest (spiritual journey) to restore the former harmony. I put “Lord of the rings” in category 1 but you could argue that Sauron is the stranger come to town.
There are probably scores of movies that can fit neither pattern without some violence.
I was reflecting upon “se7en”. Why did the screenwriters turn Mills into a new transplant into the police force? It seems to me that it could’ve worked fine with Mills and Somerset being and old team. Who’s the stranger come to town? Mills or Doe?
Harrison’s “Deathworld” that Nate North plans to adapt is a classic “stranger comes to town” plot.
2) A stranger comes to town.
I heard that many years ago, I can’t remember where. It stuck with me, but, to this day, I can’t decide if it’s a useless classification or if there’s something profound to it.
You can find many examples of 1 (Lord of the rings, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, …).
You can find many examples of 2 (One flew over a cuckoo’s nest, ET, Spirited away, Trading places, Pleasantville, …).
Many stories seem to mix the two. I recently watched “Rango”. It’s undoubtedly a “stranger comes to town” story. Rango is accidentally dumped in a little town in the middle of the desert. At the same time, it’s also about Rango’s quest. There’s a case to be made that the 2 types are really just one. If you happen to live in a town that the hero passes in his journey, from your point of view it’s a “stranger comes to town” story. If the stranger is not the hero but some evil disrupting force, then the townsfolk are forced into a quest (spiritual journey) to restore the former harmony. I put “Lord of the rings” in category 1 but you could argue that Sauron is the stranger come to town.
There are probably scores of movies that can fit neither pattern without some violence.
I was reflecting upon “se7en”. Why did the screenwriters turn Mills into a new transplant into the police force? It seems to me that it could’ve worked fine with Mills and Somerset being and old team. Who’s the stranger come to town? Mills or Doe?
Harrison’s “Deathworld” that Nate North plans to adapt is a classic “stranger comes to town” plot.
