Movie Review: Taken

Even though I was pretty sick on Friday, I needed to get out of the house, so I saw Taken with Marie.

It came with her sister's recommendation - and this is a sister whose favourite film is Legally Blonde. Not an action flick fan.

But there was action aplenty. It was kind of strange - like Kramer vs Kramer meets James Bond. That's strange in a really good way - it's good to see an action film with 3-dimensional characters and believable backstories - and in a bad way, too - once the action was over it reverted to a "family issues" film, and that kind of felt unsatisfactory.



I also found myself overthinking the whole thing - a bad habit of mine - and wondering what message the film was sending.

In many ways it was a typical hero story - that our protagonist is the only guy who knows how to save his daughter, that the whole system is against him, he can trust no one and must rely on his wits and his fists (used in equal amounts, and very proficiently) to get through.

It was extremely exciting, and yes, the hero wasn't completely invincible (only 99%). But it made me reflect on why I enjoyed Signs so much. Hero movies where the main guy is always in control are sheer escapism. Life can be much more like Signs - overwhelming and confusing, and a reason to turn to one another for help.

So my verdict on Taken - a terrific ride, but reflective of an individualistic mindset that is gradually fading away as we all seek to rediscover what it means to live in a society.

And the winner is...

Marie and I went to the Hitwise Online Performance Awards last night, and I gave a 5 minute speech (here's what I planned to say).

It was good to see the winners, find out some interesting statistics about online, and meet others in the industry.

But it could've been a lot better, without increasing the budget at all.

Admittedly, Hitwise hit their target, which was speed. They successfully announced 165 winners over an hour and a half.

But what about the suspense?

Each category was announced, and then the winners were shown on screen, while the Hitwise staff read out each name.

It was like watching paint dry.

And we got pretty sick of hearing ".co.nz" ... but I guess that's an occupational hazard when dealing with New Zealand websites.

Then there was - almost like an afterthought - the explanation of what it meant to win a Hitwise award. And even then, it wasn't in much detail.

What could they do better? Storytelling.

Instead of reams of (very useful) statistics about the industry, how about some information about what it takes to be a Hitwise Online Performance Award winner?

How about - at the very least - keeping back the winner's details until they're announced?

How about analysis of trends, seeing who are the long-term champions and who's new to the top of the table?

How about some storytelling, the way they do sport here in New Zealand? And in Australia, where all the Hitwise staff came from.

And how about some decent grub!

Complaints aside - the good points were, good venue, good sponsor (ahem), and good networking.

Storytelling and jobseeking

I recently posted to the WorkingStories group about the link between storytelling and recruitment.

After helping someone with their resume, I wondered if there wasn't a more powerful, even mythical way to sell talent.

Here are a few thoughts I've had since then. This is lifted from an email to someone else who asked me about storytelling and selling yourself:

it's
hard to tell your own story. Roy H Williams, the Wizard of Ads, says
it's because it's hard (if not impossible) to read the label on a
bottle... from inside the bottle!

So it always helps to get some help, whether from a professional
career counsellor or wordsmith, or just a close friend, family member
or your spouse. Someone who can give you honest, relatively objective
feedback.

It's also helpful to keep in mind the structures of the greatest
stories ever told - from ancient legends to blockbuster movies. They
generally follow what's called the Hero's Journey, and you can read
more about that in a book of the same name by Joseph Campbell. I haven't read the book myself, but have come across these principles in many workshops and seminars on storytelling.

They are:

1. The call to adventure - eg Luke Skywalker has an opportunity to get
off Tatooine and make a real difference, but...

2. Reluctance prevents him answering that call. The status quo is too
comfortable, the call is too risky. But then..

3. The inciting incident happens. Something happens that just propels
our hero into the action, almost inevitably.

4. Trials and troubles. Drama is all about conflict, and these trials
and troubles show what our hero is made of.

5. Returning with the elixir. Many mythologies have a solitary hero
returning to the status quo situation in the beginning, with something
that will make a lasting difference. For example, the holy grail,
excalibur, the fountain of youth, etc.

I've really cut these down to bare basics, but that's the kind of
formula top Hollywood screenwriters use to tell their whole story.

What on earth does this have to do with career and resumes? That's the
connection I'm trying to find. Obviously the hero's journey takes a
bit of a long time, but here's the formula I'm picking will work:

1. Problem meets passion. Who are you, where do you come from, and
what do you see about the world differently from everyone else? What
do you want to see changed in your world?

(For me, it's communication. I see so many people misunderstanding
each other, and I can see both points of view. So that's led to my
passion to communicate clearly and in a way that breaks through
stereotypes and assumptions)

2. What was your inciting incident? When did things kind of "click"
for you? Particularly in a career change time, what can you take from
your old career that will enhance your new career?

(For me, I began writing in the fields of advertising, marketing and
journalism. A few years ago I decided to focus on entertainment and
the arts instead, only to realise that the lessons learned in the arts
were incredibly powerful for marketing and communications. It's like
finding a familiar landmark through another path.)

3. What's your vision for the future? The Hero's journey shows the
hero bringing home the holy grail (etc) in the past tense, but you're
right in the middle of your journey/story. What are you going to do?
When you do it, what will be the result?