The Four Throughlines
Visual explanations of basic story structure principles
Pretty Woman
The balance of conflict found in a complete and lasting story is not a matter of luck—it's the result of an intuitive sense of narrative as an analogy to the mind's problem-solving process.
James R. Hull
Firefly: Season 1, Episode 8
A complete argument—or complete story—is an analogy to a single human trying to solve a problem. Character, Plot, Theme, and Genre simply stand in for this psychological process we all know. Reducing the problem-solving process down to its larger pieces, one finds Four Throughlines in every complete story
James R. Hull
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women
Complete narratives establish four distinct points of perspective on the story’s central conflict. Correlating with the four different ways our minds perceive inequity, these Throughlines set the areas of exploration for the Author to write and the Audience to experience.
James R. Hull
Thor: Ragnarök
Fun, playful, and supported by a solid story structure that advocates running away over charging in to fight the bad guys.
James R. Hull
Aliens
A complete narrative represents a single approach towards resolving an inequity. To encapsulate all the different ways one can solve an inequity, the construct of 'a story' presents four different perspectives on this same imbalance. Conflict plays out differently depending on the point-of-view you take and therefore, it's essential that we see everything.
James R. Hull
Blade Runner: 2049
A functioning narrative is an artifice—a construct for understanding the means by which we resolve an inequity within a set of contexts. The purpose of these Throughlines, therefore, is to offer different ways to see the same inequity.
James R. Hull
se7en
The immediacy of physical violence sets the tone and personality of this thriller.
James R. Hull
The Prestige
An objective account of a narrative’s thematic structure requires one to distance themselves away from the concerns of individual characters.
James R. Hull
Paterson
A rare and unique account of growth through a holistic lens.
James R. Hull
Get Out
The kind of conflict encountered in the Four Throughlines of a narrative determines the Genre of that story. Align the Objective Story Throughline in Psychology and the Main Character Throughline in either Universe or Mind and establish the foundation for a Psychological Thriller. Or rather, establish the umbrella for a Psychological Thriller.
James R. Hull
Dunkirk
A complete narrative examines conflict from all points-of-view. We can’t simultaneously be both within ourselves and without; in a story we can. With both objectivity and subjectivity present, greater meaning rises from the text.
James R. Hull
Moonlight
Complete stories require the presence of all Four Throughlines. In order to make a convincing or coherent argument, the Author needs to include all the different points-of-view one can take in regards to a particular problem
James R. Hull
Sing!
Reliable & familiar, like a decent American Standard.
James R. Hull
Doubt
To tell a complete story one must consider all points-of-view. To leave one out risks writing a one-sided argument that many discount as imbalanced or unfair. With a balanced and fair look, the narrative simply functions as an argument against the inappropriateness of the methods use to address this problem.
James R. Hull
The Social Network
Intentional or not, great stories emplore four different perspectives to shed context on the conflict at hand.
James R. Hull
The King's Speech
In an attempt to communicate something we can't see, our minds developed the need for narrative.
James R. Hull
Captain Fantastic
Complete stories provide Audiences with an account of conflict from all different sides. Instead of focusing on one point-of-view to the exclusion of others, an effective narrative quad-rangulates subject matter leaving no stone unturned.
James R. Hull
Jane Eyre
The Four Throughlines of a complete story provide an opportunity for the Author to communicate his or her point-of-view on the best way to approach solving problems. Rather than thinking of them as "storylines" or individual characters, if you see them for what they really are--four separate perspectives--their purpose shines clear.
James R. Hull
The Americans
In the span of one hour, this Pilot episode accomplishes what many films twice its length fail to achieve.
James R. Hull
Field Of Dreams
If conflict is the stuff of narrative, then looking at conflict from every possible angle ensures a completeness of that narrative. With no stone left unturned, Audiences respond with gratefulness towards the respect and thoughtfulness of the Author (think Oscar).
James R. Hull
her
For a story to be functionally complete within the minds of the Audience, it must serve up four different contexts from which to examine the story's problems.
James R. Hull
Manchester By The Sea
Regardless of how tragic, a story connects to an Audience when it adequately covers the four major contexts of conflict. By crafting a complete story, *Manchester* tells more than a tragedy--it tells something lasting and meaningful.
James R. Hull
Arrival
When identifying the source of conflict in a complete story, only one arrangement works across all Four Throughlines. You can always find elements of each Domain in every Throughline, but there were only be one Domain for a Throughline that resonates with the other three Throughlines.
James R. Hull
Jungle Book
Visually stunning and cleverly cast, this Jon Favreau take on a classic beloved by animators tells an effective and complete story by addressing all Four Throughlines.
James R. Hull
Back to the Future
The arrangement of the Four Throughlines sets the personality of a story. Rambunctious time-travel is a conflict of physics, with everything else falling into complementary positions.
James R. Hull
Sideways
A sad sack author takes road trip through Central California wine country with his womanizing best friend.
James R. Hull
Macbeth
Complete stories last an eternity, through culture and generation, as timeless as the problems and solutions they explore. While our stories may trend towards triumph, there will always be a place to speak the horrors of unbridled ambition.
James R. Hull
The Dark Horse
Brothers square off over familial responsibility and the efforts to lift oneself up.
James R. Hull
Hunt For The Wilderpeople
A well-constructured narrative accounts for much of this film's critical acclaim. An atypical approach to a typical arrangement of Throughlines, the film acts as a wonderful example of how fantastic storytelling transforms effective structure into something truly unique.
James R. Hull
Kramer vs. Kramer
Though typical in its arrangement, the Throughlines of this Academy Award-winning narrative still work together to seamlessly deliver the Author's message.
James R. Hull
Nightcrawler
A sophisticated story that uses all Four Throughlines to examine the fallout from ambition.
James R. Hull
Zootopia
A bold and inventive take on the thematics experienced by all the characters in this story drives this film to stand out amongst its peers.
James R. Hull
Up in the Air
The critical acclaim for this film rests in the sound narrative structure of its four Throughlines.
James R. Hull
Whiplash
Want to be truly great? Take a look at how *Whiplash* accomplished their feat of monumental storytelling.
James R. Hull
Moulin Rouge!
Genre, as seen from a Dramatica point-of-view, clues us into the way a story feels. The various arrangements of Throughlines carry with them an undeniable je ne sais quois for the story in question. In short, the Domains the Throughlines fall into determine the narrative's unique personality.
James R. Hull