[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Film Courage: For any genre what is mystery in a story and why is it necessary?
John Bucher, Writer and Narrative Consultant: There’s a certain amount of mystery that is necessary in every story I believe and that is because we have to get the audience asking questions. There has to be something they don’t know. There’s a classical saying in Hollywood Give me what I want and expect, but give it to me in a different way that I’ve never seen before. This is of course very common in what we see. We see one film or one story or one television show that has a great deal of success and then we see lots of people trying to replicate the way that that film or television show executed that mystery, the way that they got people asking questions within themselves. We see others try and replicate that.
But I believe that mystery in one sense speaks to what it means to be human. Since the beginning of the human experience we have long, long ask ourselves Is there something beyond us? Is there something bigger than us? When there’s even the smallest element of mystery in a story, it speaks to that craving we have to know if there’s something bigger, if there’s something beyond, if this is it or if there’s perhaps a world just beyond us that’s even more real than what we’re experiencing right here.
Film Courage: What are ways you like to build mystery in a story?
John: I believe that mystery is built in a story through raising the stakes in a story. Oftentimes storytellers will attempt to build mystery in a story by pulling the blocks of the audience’s understanding out from under them as the story progresses. That certainly is one approach however audiences can…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
About:
John Bucher is a mythologist, storyteller, and writer based out of Hollywood, California. He serves as Executive Director for the Joseph Campbell Foundation and is an author, podcaster, and speaker. He has worked with government and cultural leaders around the world as well as organizations such as HBO, DC Comics, The History Channel, A24 Films, Atlas Obscura, and The John Maxwell Leadership Foundation. He has served as a producer, consultant, and writer for numerous film, television, and Virtual Reality projects. He is the author of six books including the best-selling Storytelling for Virtual Reality, named by BookAuthority as one of the best storytelling books of all time. John has worked with New York Times Best Selling authors, YouTube influencers with followings of more than 2 million, Eisner winners, Emmy winners, Academy Award nominees, and cast members from Saturday Night Live. He holds a PhD in Mythology & Depth Psychology and has spoken on 6 continents about using the power of story and myth to reframe how individuals, organizations, cultures, and nations believe and behave.
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