Global InformationIdiot plot information
In literary criticism, an idiot plot is one which is "kept in motion solely by virtue of the fact that everybody involved is an idiot",[1]: 26 and where the story would quickly end, or possibly not even happen, if this were not the case.[2] It is a narrative where its conflict comes from characters not recognizing, or not being told, key information that would resolve the conflict, often because of plot contrivance. The only thing that prevents the conflict's resolution is the character's constant avoidance or obliviousness of it throughout the plot, even if it was already obvious to the viewer, so the characters are all "idiots" in that they are too obtuse to simply resolve the conflict immediately.
Science fiction writer and critic Damon Knight, in his 1956 collection In Search of Wonder, says that the term may have originated with author James Blish.[1]: 26 Knight went on to coin the term second-order idiot plot as a narrative "in which not merely the principals, but everybody in the whole society has to be a grade-A idiot, or the story couldn't happen".[1]: 195
Critic Roger Ebert wrote in 2005: "I can forgive and even embrace an Idiot Plot in its proper place (consider Astaire and Rogers in Top Hat). But when the characters have depth and their decisions have consequences, I grow restless when their misunderstandings could be ended by words that the screenplay refuses to allow them to utter."[3] Alternate formulations describe only the protagonist as being an idiot.
Writing in 2013, author David Brin explored one variation of the idiot plot. In most adventure films and novels, the writers and directors have an imperative to keep their protagonists in jeopardy. This becomes difficult if they are surrounded by skilled professionals, paid to intervene and help if called. Hence, storytellers feel compelled to separate their characters from meaningful help, so that any assistance they receive is either late or else below the level of danger offered by the antagonists. The more powerful the villains, the more competent that help is allowed to be. "But for the most part, institutions and your neighbors are portrayed as sheep, so that only the hero's actions truly matter."[4]
- ^ a b c Knight, Damon (1967). In Search of Wonder. Chicago, Illinois: Advent. ISBN 978-0-911682-31-1.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (June 23, 1985). "Movie glossary: Idiot plot". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 10, 2011 – via RogerEbert.com.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. "Prime". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2011 – via RogerEbert.com.
- ^ Brin, David (20 January 2013). "Our Favorite Cliché — A World Filled With Idiots…, or, Why Films and Novels Routinely Depict Society and its Citizens as Fools". Locusmag.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2020.