Story x Story #191: It’s Subtraction By Subtraction (Borderlands)

This week, Nigel and Tazziii conduct what can only be described as a narrative autopsy as we dive deep into the shallow waters of the Borderlands film (starting at 22:55), with our guest and Content Creator Mark Ōu Chéng. We do our best to pick out the storytelling lessons from a story with a barely serviceable plot, characters that lack motivation, and worldbuilding that all seems to do its best to move away from the source material of the video game series… but it's not all bad, as we at least enjoyed the conversation! This is certainly a cautionary tale for storytellers, and we examine the key elements that bring this story down and debate which moments could have worked if given more (or any) attention and care to the video game material. This week's storytelling tip is about how failing to use foreshadowing and misdirection effectively leaves an audience emotionally disengaged. Other stories we're enjoying include: The Dispossessed, The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash, A Journey Through Another World: Raising Kids While Adventuring, Quality Assurance in Another World, The Way of Kings, and Shōgun.