Mariner Software Contour for Mac - Manual (Page 16)

In Act I, the Orphan is sometimes a real orphan; sometimes a figurative one. At times, the cause of his or-
phanhood is outside of his control, yet at other times, itʼs by choice by distancing himself from family and love
because of duty, iconoclasm, selfishness, or emotional reserve. In some way, shape, or form, the Orphan is
unique from the rest of the world around him. Think Clark Kent in SUPERMAN or Cole, the boy who sees
dead people in THE SIXTH SENSE.
In the first half of Act II, the protagonist becomes a Wanderer in order to answer the Central Question. He
looks for clues, meets helpers, runs into opponents, and overcomes obstacles, along with acquiring the skills
and tools he thinks he needs to answer the Central Question.
By the mid-point of the film, around page 55, the geographic center of Act II, the protagonist has acquired most of
the helpers, as well as the skills and items necessary in order to resolve the Central Question to his satisfaction --
or he has just flat out run out of time. One way or another, itʼs time to act. . .it is time to become a Warrior. In JAWS,
Brody goes out on the boat to fight and kill the shark, while in TITANIC Jack and Rose fight to get away from Cal
and off the boat before it sinks.
The Warrior gets bloodied and beaten, but he always has a reserve to tap into, until near the end of Act II, when he
dies, either literally or figuratively. He goes to the place of his darkest nightmare; very often, itʼs a cave or enclosed
space. Here, after his “death”, he is reborn and understands how to resolve the Central Question once and for all.
E.T. is taken into a tented, cave-like room within the house, dies, and then is reborn as the spaceship gets close. In
JURASSIC PARK, Joseph Mazzeloʼs character Tim is electrocuted on the fence, but Dr. Grant resuscitates him.
The Protagonist must be willing to die and not be reborn in order to answer the Central Question. He must be
willing to be a Martyr. Only by a willingness to lose it all can he win it all.
The secret of the martyr beat is that the protagonist is no longer motivated by the possibility of success. He is
motivated solely by the desire to do what is right or what is necessary, regardless of the consequences. Once
he gives up the thought of winning, once he embraces the transition from warrior to martyr, fate or nature or
God rewards him by giving him what he no longer dared hoped to get: success. Maybe, if heʼs lucky, itʼs what
he needed all along.
An interesting variation on the martyr beat is that sometimes it can belong to a character other than the pro-
tagonist with the protagonist learning and being motivated from this example of another.
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