"We will journey to every corner of the globe."
In our last Planet Earth video,
we looked at three of the key tools the show uses to tell its stories:
empathy, universally relatable characters, and electrifying conflict.
So now we’re going to talk about three more things
the David Attenborough-narrated series teaches us about crafting a narrative.
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Another secret to its storytelling success is
the way Planet Earth draws on familiar story genres
to provoke its intended emotional response.
Dire straits call for straight drama.
"Again and again, the male sandgrouse risk their lives
in order to collect water for their chicks."
Other times, the story feels like a sweeping epic,
"They're setting off on the greatest overland trek
made by any animal."
a romantic comedy,
"But he'll have to do more than flutter his eyelids
if he wants to impress her."
or a coming-of-age story.
"And the calves must strengthen quickly.
They're testing the legs that will carry them thousands of miles."
Planet Earth understands that distinct genres affect the audience
in particular, reliable ways --
as soon as we perceive the recognizable hallmarks of a genre,
we start to follow the cues for what we’re supposed to feel.
The thriller genre will immediately get our adrenaline up
and make us experience the visceral fear
of a life-threatening environment.
The trappings of the rom com will build our affection for a quirky character
and encourage us to fondly root for their personal happiness.
The epic pushes us to think of the fate of a species or large group.
Drama or tragedy move us to meditate on deeper questions of existence.
In Planet Earth, the line between comedy and drama is
usually drawn by whether immediate survival is at stake.
"Here only the narrowest line separates life from death."
Where immediate survival is not in question -- like in life --
there is room for levity and personal concerns.
"This forest is so rich, that nourishing food can be gathered quickly.
That leaves the male six-plumed bird of paradise with time to concentrate on other matters,
like tidying up his display area."
Planet Earth never stays with one “protagonist” for long.
Attenborough’s narration switches perspectives frequently.
"Males must fight for the right to breed,
but on these sheer cliffs, any slip by either animal could be fatal."
"A snow leopard -- the rarest of Himalayan animals."
We’ve just been empathizing with the mountain goats;
how are we supposed to suddenly take on the POV of the snow leopard hunting them?
As we invest in each mini-story,
the shift to a new perspective has to instantly convince us to change our loyalties
--
Planet Earth often solves this problem by giving us a bigger reason
to root for the leopard -- the goats are trying to save themselves,
but the leopard is trying to save her cub.
"It was an act of desperation to try and catch such a large animal."
Great stories get us to feel for both characters on opposite sides of a fight,
so that we’re tortured by any outcome,
feeling the loss as deeply as the victory.
Even when dealing with animals that are entirely foreign to us,
Planet Earth finds a way to show that there is “truth” on every side.
This fungi attacks the brains of insects,
zombifying them and then bursting out of their heads, Alien-style.
But this horror-story villain supports jungle diversity.
"But these attacks do have a positive effect on the jungle's diversity,
since parasites like these stop any one group of animal
getting the upper hand."
Thus Planet Earth keeps motivating us to invest in each new character it introduces
by maintaining its focus, empathy --
meanwhile, it whisks us along to see the bigger picture
and the interrelation of all these creatures.
This is important,
because one of the deepest messages and morals of the series is
the way that all of nature exists together,
interconnected in a complex balance.
The never-ending subplots and supporting characters
turn this into an expansive, rich story world
tied together by its omniscient narrator.
"At any one time,
a staggering variety of species and countless individuals
are striving for space and food."
Finally, the last element of Planet Earth’s appeal we’ll discuss
is the one that lies on the surface -- the fact that it’s a documentary.
Screenwriters go out of their way to place heroes in extreme situations
as thrilling as the ones the animals face in every Planet Earth vignette --
escaping predators,
navigating the coldest and hottest parts of the planet,
traveling thousands of miles through air, land or water.
And these weird, wonderful characters prove time and time again
that truth is stranger than fiction,
or should we say, evolution is stranger than fiction?
Our planet supports gloriously bizarre life forms
thanks to the necessity to adapt and survive.
Deep in the ocean’s twilight zone -- the last layer of water
that still has light --
there are creatures far odder than anything from the fictional “Twilight
Zone,”
“This is barreleye, a fish with a transparent head filled with jelly
so that it can look up through its skull.”
As Hitchcock put it, “In feature films, the director is God;
in documentary films, God is the director.”
The storytelling talent here is having the insight and patience
to find and bring out those amazing true stories.
Planet Earth is a masterclass in the art
of finding the inherently dramatic and fascinating in the real.
It shows us that what’s happening, normally unseen to us,
around the world is mysterious and awe-inspiring --
giving us even more reason to appreciate and respect our home planet.
"Our planet is still full of wonders."
Like every good story, Planet Earth speaks to us
on many levels all at once.
It reminds us of our most basic selves and the principles of life
that make up the miracle of our existence.
It highlights the primal things that still drive our world --
the competition for light, water, territory and reproduction --
even if we don’t too often think in those terms.
On another level, the show uses animals and landscapes
to conduct thoughtful philosophical and existential conversations.
And on the highest level, Planet Earth uses biology as metaphor
to mirror our lives --
it reminds us that the governing principles of nature are reflected,
in every aspect of our everyday, much more than we know.
"Create the space and the animals will come."
I'm Debra.
I'm Susannah.
We're the creators of ScreenPrism.
If you like our videos, please subscribe.
Down there!