The worst stories focus too much on events and not enough on meaning.

[Devsman]

The best friend betrayed the hero.

Who cares? What am I supposed to do with this information? If this is your big plot twist, you screwed up, lol.

Now, if the best friend has a point, we might be in business. Maybe he betrays the hero because he has a particular belief. Now, who wins or loses is an illustration of ideas that may matter in our world. Now I care.

[chipsu]

i agree

[Mythical Ostrich]

The best stories make you like and care about the character and their friend before the betrayal.

[Nomad]

The worst stories force you to care about characters you don't care about. Like FO4.

[Devsman]

Originally posted by Mythical Ostrich:

The best stories make you like and care about the character and their friend before the betrayal.

That can help, of course.

But it's even better to give the audience some food for thought. Of course you're also potentially walking a fine line.

[Christian]

Agreed.

I enjoyed this more than any "marvel movie"

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p6BgITZQWck

[MinionJoe]

Been watching this courtroom drama series and this government drone footage was submitted as evidence. Everyone was talking about how it turned the case around, but no one asked, 'Why was there a drone flying around?"

[Devsman]

Originally posted by MinionJoe:

Been watching this courtroom drama series and this government drone footage was submitted as evidence. Everyone was talking about how it turned the case around, but no one asked, 'Why was there a drone flying around?"

That's one of those things where they probably wrote an explanation and then cut it because it was too mundane.

"Wait why was there a drone flying around?"
"A little kid who got one for is birthday was trying it out."
"Oh ok."

Execs: WTF is this crap

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by Devsman:

The worst stories focus too much on events and not enough on meaning. The best friend betrayed the hero.

Who cares? What am I supposed to do with this information? If this is your big plot twist, you screwed up, lol.

Now, if the best friend has a point, we might be in business. Maybe he betrays the hero because he has a particular belief. Now, who wins or loses is an illustration of ideas that may matter in our world. Now I care.

(Trying to sum up some complex stuffs, here. TLDR in bold, towards the bottom.)

Basics:

Plot-Driven Story - Something happens and the protagonist et al react to it or act within it in terms of their goals, hurdles, etc. They overcome hurdles presented to them from outside forces/events. (Usually.) Natural Disaster movies are like this.

Character Driven Story - The protagonist is the main mover of the action, usually in pursuit of the character's self-determined goal, and navigates through the story primarily focused on such things. "The Big Heist" movies, etc, are like this.

(These are generalizations for overall story elements. They can be mixed in subplots, but there's usually one overall plot that draws from one of the two. If there isn't, whatever you're watching/reading is badly written.)

Basic Character Archetypes: Flat vs Round (Yes, I know it's an old and argued meme, but it has value.)

Flat Characters - These characters don't undergo much of a character arc. They don't "change" as the events, goals, hurdles, etc, interact with them. They have a fairly "flat" character arc. (That doesn't mean they're not interesting.) Evil Reprehensible villains are like this. Though, great heroes can be as well.

Round Characters - These are the classic "character arc change" characters. From front to back cover, the character's values, attitudes, outlook, methods, etc. will evolve as the story progresses. Many elements in a story can come to bear on this or even just one major event/change can carry that arc forward throughout the story. A classic "coming of age" story focuses on this sort of character, though it could also be a bad-guy-learns-to-be-good-guy kind of thing, too.



From your description:

Betrayal is a big dramatic point in a story. It doesn't have to have a great deal of impact or meaning at first, but it's usually used to preface a point at which the protagonist, who is betrayed, begins a shift in their character arc. It can also signal the beginning of a character-driven story element. (Or, the entire story.) If the betrayer has motivations that are strong enough or a big enough impact on the overall presentation, it could signal the beginning of a plot-driven story or element with the betrayer as an antagonist for extra dramatic effect. (The protagonist may now have to react to the antagonist-betrayer and resist them, culminating with a show-down and revenge finish.)

TLDR: It has a mechanical use that should become evident. How it evolves will be based on the above basic story and character elements.

Betrayal without significance is fluff... It's a missed opportunity. If, as you suggest, the betrayal wasn't seen as significant enough or as meaningful as it should have been to you, then either that significance will be revealed later or whatever you're watching/reading is badly written. Such distractions reduce the value of what could be otherwise carefully crafted story elements.

Badly written junk gets screen-time/published every day. So, let's hope there's at least some enjoyable cool 'splosions and CGI battles, or their literary equivalent, in store for you.


In any case - Watch for how this story element is being used. It may not be readily apparent and may only appear to be significance once there's a big "plot reveal." There should be clues along the way if that's the case, though. And, those little clues are for the audience's own gratification if they "figure it out" before the big, blatant, reveal. It's their "Aha! Moment" and that always has a big entertainment value for the audience/reader. You may be seeing the development of a "hook" to pull you into the story using your own natural inquisitiveness as the motivation.

[Castyles]

Originally posted by TRASH:

The worst stories force you to care about characters you don't care about.

This. So. Much. This.