Spider-Man and the Importance of Long-Term Consequences

A post by P.T. Phronk,
of Forest City Pulp fame

I just watched Spider-Man: No Way Home, and it got me thinking about the importance of long-term consequences in storytelling—and also about the chupacabra, mythical goat sucker.

I'll avoid major spoilers for the latest Spider-Man movie aside from what's now plastered on every poster and description, but if you're sensitive to that sort of thing, then it'll be best to stop reading now.

 

What the movie does shockingly well is form a cohesive narrative out of an unwieldly number of characters and events from various related stories. I think its success highlights how much people love it when one story affects another story, which affects future stories, and so on. In other words, long-term consequences make for better storytelling. 

The longer the investment, the more satisfying it can be. Spider-Man slings in threads from the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is now 14 years old. Then it weaves in elements from other stories that are up to 20 years old. The little spark of recognition from the continuation of movies we saw in a theatre (remember them?) as literal children is a bit of cinematic magic, but there's also the sense that what we're seeing on screen now could affect other stories 20 years from now. That continuity gives weight to everything that happens, as long as what's happening stands on its own as a good story.

 

It's less satisfying if the bits of old stories are just passing references, with no consequences of their own. Take Ready Player One as an example. We get the same hit of recognition from all the childhood 80s references, but it's like empty calories—the things we recognize flow right through us. Seeing a Delorean doesn't mean there are wider consequences for the Back to the Future Cinematic Universe. Maybe recognition alone is still enough for some, but I had to use Google to recall any references in Ready Player One, and never bothered with the novel's sequel.

The chupacabra: myth or reality?

This applies to writing a book, too. Not every writer can have their own cinematic universe, Dark Tower multiverse, or even a sequel, but if something comes up in the first paragraph, you better make people happy by giving that thing consequences later on. The latest Spider-Man shows that it doesn't even have to be planned to be effective. I'm sure every writer can relate with the strange magic of finding the perfect place in the plot for some character or detail that they cannot recall the purpose of writing in earlier, sloppy as it may feel at the time. If soulless Sony executives can throw characters from 20 years ago into a modern movie for critical acclaim and 2 billion dollars, you can make it work too.

 

So what does this all have to do with the chupacabra? Absolutely nothing! I put that in the first paragraph with no idea where I was going with it, and now you can see how deeply unsatisfying it for something early in a story to have no consequences. Learn from my mistake. Do better.

Forty-one Candles

Today is my 41st birthday, so I thought it appropriate to somehow tie my blog post to a birthday related theme. I had initially thought about outlining various birthday celebrations depicted in the literary world, but my mind wouldn’t budge from the most epic birthday movie ever made.

Sixteen Candles.

If you are young enough to have missed out on this epic classic, then you must go to your preferred movie retailer of choice and watch immediately.

As I thought about Sixteen Candles, I got to thinking how a sequel would play out on Sam’s 41st birthday. Here’s how I envision some of the moments from her 16th birthday would link up with her at the age of 41.

 “Chronologically you’re sixteen today. Physically, you’re still fifteen.”

At 16, Sam looks in the mirror the morning of her birthday hoping for a dramatic change in appearance. She wants to look like the woman she is becoming, not the child she is leaving behind.

At 41, Sam steps in front of the mirror, eyes closed. She’s afraid to look. She’s no longer hoping to look a year older, but rather praying that the aging has stopped. She takes a deep breath, opens her eyes, and looks in the mirror—instantly she wonders what the hell happened. Her red hair is now infested with strands of gray. Her once pale, smooth complexion is now marked with wrinkles. Her years of eating carrots had eventually paid off, however now she wishes there were a vegetable that would make them stop sagging.

Suddenly, that 15 year old body doesn’t seem so bad after all.

“They forgot my birthday.”

In the original movie, Sam’s entire family forgets that it’s her birthday. Ouch. At 16 she’s disappointed and hurt—as she should be.

At 41, Sam is hoping that people have forgotten her birthday. She’s thinking that maybe if it goes uncelebrated then it won’t really happen. She’d still be 40. But no, her kids are on it. They remember for one simple fact:

Mom’s birthday means they get to eat cake.

“What’s happenin’, hot stuff?”

16 year old Sam is forced to take her grandparent’s exchange student, Long Duk Dong, with her to the school dance. She is not pleased by this and quickly attempts to ditch him.

For her 41st birthday, Sam would like to get a new car. She wants a sporty new BMW, but doesn't want the price tag that goes with it. Long Duk Dong owns the BMW dealership in town, and he's still not over the way she treated him. She's hoping that her lunch date later in the day with his wife, Lumberjack, will smooth things over.  

“Am I turning you on?”

The Geek, or Farmer Ted, has a major crush on 16 year old Sam. Although Sam is not interested in the younger geek, she tolerates him—and even lets him borrow her panties for a bet!

At 41, Sam no longer tolerates The Geek’s behavior. He still tries to get that pair of panties back, and he manages to maintain a one-car-distance behind her everywhere she goes. And, even though she changes her phone number every year, The Geek still finds a way to call her to sing, “You say it’s your birthday! Da-na-na-na-na! It’s my birthday too!”

Sam finally recognizes his behavior for what it really is: Stalking. Instead of handing over her panties, she slaps him with a restraining order.

“Make a wish.”

16 year old Sam has a huge crush on Jake Ryan, but he doesn’t know she exists—until he picks up the survey that Sam drops in class. Sam’s answers to the survey questions are enough to make him take notice, and he sets of on a quest to learn more about her. Then he shows up at her house, and her sister’s wedding...

[Swoon.]

At 41, Sam is happily married to Jake Ryan. He is still just as romantic as he was at 16, and every year they sit on the kitchen table with a cake full of candles between them. However, as each year passes and the number of those candles increases, it’s harder and harder for them to kiss over the cake without catching their clothes on fire.

Any other birthday favorites out there? If so, how would you envision the sequel?

~Carrie