Situations 11&12
DISASTER AND MIRACLE

“Everything that happens and everything that befalls us has a meaning. But it is often difficult to recognize it.”

–NIZAMI

Disaster

Disaster is an occurrence that causes widespread destruction. It is a catastrophe or a grave misfortune.

This situation requires a Vanquished Power and a Victorious Enemy, a Messenger, or a Victim.

Disaster plays on a basic human fear of the unknown for dramatic effect. At any moment in time, a catastrophe could occur. We never know exactly what will happen each day when we leave the house. The news is full of stories about people who are victims of one kind of disaster or another, and all the victims are completely shocked by what occurred.

There are four stages toward healing that a Victim of Disaster will go through: Disbelief/Shock, Fear, Anger, and Acceptance.

• DISBELIEF/SHOCK: If the Victim has some time before the Disaster occurs, such as being forewarned of a tornado, he may be in Disbelief for a period. Otherwise he moves straight into Shock as the Disaster occurs.

• FEAR: The Victim may wonder if another Disaster is coming or if this Disaster has really ended. He may become over-sensitive and emotionally paralyzed. Or he may try to disguise his fear with fake laughter or by taking risks—he’s not acting rationally.

• ANGER: The Victim feels a little more secure that the Disaster is over and he now looks at the mess it created. He’s angry at being so helpless in the face of Disaster: Is life really that fragile? If he acted in a way that was embarrassing for him, he may feel some shame, which would exacerbate his Anger.

• ACCEPTANCE: Usually with the help of friends or other victims, the Victim realizes that he shouldn’t expect himself to be able to take care of everything that happens in life. He’s still alive and that’s all that matters. Maybe someone else didn’t fare as well as he did and he should look on the bright side of things and be thankful. If he has lost someone, it will take a while for him to reach this stage. His support system is a big factor in how long it takes him to reach Acceptance. The more friends and resources one has, the stronger one seems to be in the face of disaster.

The stories that bother us the most are those where the Victim was going about her normal everyday routine and something unexpected just happens. There is a very strong identification with the Victim here, which is rare in storytelling because people usually want to identify with a hero. It’s interesting to note that very few classical works (and modern for that matter) have been written about societal defeat, as in the losing of a war, for example. The Greeks were some of the only ones to do this, with the fall of Troy as an example.

THE VANQUISHED POWER

The Vanquished Power is the cause of a Disaster. A tornado, or a ruling king for that matter, is not a disaster in and of itself but causes a catastrophe by its very presence or nature.

The Vanquished Power can be a natural force, a ruling king, a parental figure, or an entire group of people. Whatever is seen to be powerful in the story by other characters can take this role. Perhaps an object that is said to be cursed—like a mummy’s tomb—can be considered very powerful by characters on an archeological dig site.

The Vanquished Power should be introduced right away because it is the source of Conflict for the story and will keep the momentum going. In the film Independence Day, we see the Vanquished Power right away when dark shadows fill the sky as the alien spaceships approach. We then see reactions to such an event from the point of view of everyday people as they go about their lives. This personalizes the Disaster for the audience.

A VICTORIOUS ENEMY, A MESSENGER, OR A VICTIM

This character can be one of three types: a Victorious Enemy, a Messenger, or a Victim, depending upon the type of Disaster you are writing. As a rule, Victorious Enemies require offensive situations and Messengers require defensive situations. Victims are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

If you are writing about war or any manner of personal type of disaster, a Victorious Enemy should be used. War does not require a Messenger heralding doom before the Disaster strikes, and personal catastrophes usually don’t involve enough people to warrant a Messenger. In these situations, the characters know who their enemies are and are aware of impending disaster. A Victorious Enemy charges ahead and attacks, leaving Disaster in his wake. All the other characters must deal with this Disaster.

Think of the invasion of Troy and how all the people who lived there had to deal with the fall of the city. This type of story would start with the fall of Troy and go from there.

If you are writing about natural or supernatural disasters, the Messenger is usually used. Something that is outside of the realm of normal experience (sadly, war is somewhat normal in civilization), such as aliens attacking Earth, requires someone who can prove what is going to happen or at least explain it, as Jeff Goldblum’s character does in Independence Day.

Likewise, there will always be a Messenger to announce the coming of a tornado. There is always a scientist or some kind of warning device heralding these Disasters. Aliens and tornados do not have Victorious Enemies. They may be defeated in the end, but the characters defeating them are in a defensive position, not an offensive one, as the Victorious Enemy is.

If there is a Victim, he is usually a normal, everyday person who is thrust into an event or situation that requires him to reach deep down inside to overcome it and survive. He usually does not think of himself as a hero or a great person.

Whether Disaster is used as plot, subplot, or incident, the elements of the beginning, middle, and end are the same:

BEGINNING: A Disaster is about to happen.

• How soon will the characters realize this?

• What type of Disaster will this be?

• Will they try to save themselves or help others?

• Do some of the people want the Vanquished Power to win?

• When will the Messenger or Victorious Enemy be introduced?

• Can you change the setting to make it more interesting?

• Will you explore one character more deeply to build audience identification?

• Will you add animals and children in jeopardy to add tension?

MIDDLE: The Disaster happens.

• How tragic will the Disaster be?

• Will the event take up the entire second act? Or more?

• Will you show the effect of the Disaster on several different people? Or just one?

• If you use a Victim, how will he deal with the Disaster? Will his true colors shine?

• Will the Disaster be one event or several events—one after the other?

• Will new characters with new tools show up to help?

END: The Vanquished Power is vanquished or endured (in the case of a natural power).

• How will the Vanquished Power be defeated?

• Are there any last-minute battles?

• Will everyone survive the ordeal?

• Will you check back in with everyone you introduced in the beginning to show what happened to them as a result of the story?

• Do the characters have new skills to help vanquish powers like this in the future? (Think of the film Tornado! and the new information they received about tornados in the end.)

• Have you made sure the Vanquished Power loses with a strong fight. (Let his downfall be due to something it took the characters a long time to figure out. It shouldn’t be too easy for him to fall.)

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

–ALBERT EINSTEIN

Miracle

A Miracle is an event that appears unexplainable. Miracles, like disasters, are spontaneous and come of themselves.

In this situation, the Vanquished Power becomes the reason for the Miracle. For example:

• Cancer can be a Vanquished Power that a Miracle drug cures.

• A hero miraculously finds the shelter needed to save a group of people from an earthquake.

• A woman finds her long-lost child just in the nick of time.

In this situation, the Miracle is the center of the story around which everything else revolves. The characters are very much focused on it—waiting for it in the beginning, witnessing it in the middle, and questioning it in the end.

Whether Miracle is used as plot, subplot, or incident, the elements of the beginning, middle, and end are the same:

BEGINNING: A tragedy happens.

• How harsh is the tragedy?

• Is there any hope of reversing the tragedy? (There must be room for a Miracle to happen.)

• Do all characters believe in and request a Miracle, or only one? (Or perhaps no one does.)

• What type of tragedy will you use? Why? Is there a theme you want to explore?

MIDDLE: A Miracle cures or conquers the tragedy.

• How does the Miracle come about? Does a new character come to facilitate it?

• Does anyone try to stop the Miracle?

• What is at stake if the Miracle doesn’t happen? What is at stake if it does? Are they afraid of persecution? (Some may brand the Miracle as the work of the devil.)

• How does the Miracle change the characters’ lives?

END: The characters examine the Miracle and question what happened.

• Do they try to keep the Miracle a secret?

• How are the belief systems of the characters tested, if at all?

• Do the characters try to rationalize the Miracle away?

• Do they feel unworthy of the Miracle?

• Does the Miracle scare them on some level? (It can be a very powerful experience.)

EXAMPLES

Titanic, JAMES CAMERON

DISASTER AS PLOT— On the ill-fated voyage of the “unsinkable” ship, a rich girl and poor boy find love.

Twister, JAN DE BONT

DISASTER AS SUBPLOT— A research couple on the point of divorce keeps bumping into each other as they both chase tornadoes.

The Third Miracle, AGNIESZKA HOLLAND

MIRACLE AS PLOT— A skeptical Bishop sends a broken priest to investigate the possible beatification of a simple, devout woman whose death caused a statue of the Virgin Mary to bleed upon and cure a girl with lupus.

The Wizard of Oz. L. FRANK BAUM

MIRACLE AS SUBPLOT— Dorothy Gale is swept away to a magical land in a tornado and embarks on a quest to see the Wizard, who can tell her how to find her way home. Many miracles happen along her journey, keeping her safe.