What brands and marketers can learn from film theory
Film theory states that stories can be fit into two broad categories: a stranger comes to town, or a hero goes on a journey. Here, Mike Chmielewski argues brands should be doing less of one and way more of the other.
I vividly remember sitting in one of my first film theory classes at university when my mind was blown. “There are only two types of stories: a stranger comes to town, or a hero goes on a journey.”
Every film you’ve ever watched, every story you have ever seen, can be distilled down to one of those two story structures. A stranger comes to town. A hero goes on a journey. This is a fundamental literary truth that applies to books, films, television and in fact any form of storytelling – including marketing and strategy.
Film theory mainstay Jean-Luc Godard
