November 26, 2004 Matter and Manner

A common type of folding concerns the way the story is told compared to what the story says or is about.

Matter and Manner Correspondence

The simplest cases are when the manner of the storytelling and the matter (or subject) of the story correspond. For instance the subject of "Dogtown and Z-Boys" is radical skateboarding. The film is made by one of the skateboarders with the filmmaking style emulating the skateboarding style.

Matter Referencing the Film's Context

A more complicated example is when the story references some element of how the film is made. For instance, "Shrek" was made by Dreamworks who is locked in a battle with Pixar/Disney. So the film makes fun of Disney cartoons, the Disney style and even Michael Eisner, a Disney executive.

"The Incredibles" returns the favor in a way. It eschews "insurance" (audience testing and design-by-committee) and focuses on industry superstars. Then gets out of their way. That's the story, including pings at insurance.