Narrative Paradigm Scenarios
This chapter examines the revenge scenario, arguing that, from an ethical perspective, screen storytellers should approach the scenario with caution and, when using it, complicate, nuance, and question it. The revenge scenario works because it is a reliable way to elicit the strong emotions that draw viewers. The pleasures of revenge scenarios depend upon Manichaean distinctions between good and evil—the good tribe and the bad tribe, the morally upright protagonist and the vile offender. If humans are tribal creatures, the typical revenge scenario exaggerates tribal feelings through narrative means and uses them to elicit strong and pleasurable emotional responses dependent on clear distinctions between us and them and simplified exaggerations of the Good and the Bad. The chapter examines the revenge scenario as it is employed in Django Unchained, Funny Games, and True Grit.