Film Courage: Why have you made storytelling the focus of your life? Writer/Director Jason Satterlund: Well you know Plato said "He
who tells the stories rules society," and you know there's power in
storytelling. Think about storytelling and how much of
it is in our lives you know we when we get together we want to hear about what
you been up to like you know you ask him tell me the story about your life you
know my wife that I like people how did you guys meet when you hear the story
right we tell stories to our kids to put them to sleep at night it's comforting
and I've heard it said that in this day and age we have access to more stories
than ever before in human history we that's what we do for fun we go see a
movie a story we've watched television it's it's it is so permeated in our
society it there's it's amazing it's great and it's such a powerful tool like
a lot of the I mean for Christianity for example like Jesus not to get religious
on you but Jesus talked in parables he used storytelling as a way to teach it's
a powerful method and the things that he talked about then are still debated
today right so I love that power of storytelling not in a power-hungry drunk
kind of way but just it's just a great beautiful way to like work and it's it's
this is what I find interesting when people say in a job interview you look
for a job what do we do like we want to tell me we want to talk to people and
give them our story about our background and whatever we do but then what do we
do we hand in a resume that is a list of bullet points about facts the most
unmemorable thing you can imagine I don't care how powerful your bullet
points are if it's not wrapped in a story you won't remember it so I love
that I and I try to bring it with me no matter what kind of film I'm working on
and there is nothing that beats the feeling of moving
one or getting there than to think about things in a different way that's that's
what art does right paint whether it's a painting or a piece of music it can move
you and change you and oftentimes challenge you and I've never thought
about you know person that way or whatever it is wrapped in a story oh man
it's just incredible what it can do and a really negative example of this is you
know the remember the movie Birth of a Nation back in whatever the 30s or
whatever that came out the birth of an Birth of a Nation movie was about
african-american senators like they showed them as evil people right doing
evil things and the Ku Klux Klan being the heroes of the story this is where
the burning cross came from that imagery came from that movie so the Ku Klux Klan
got them out and took down the terrible villains and they were the heroes well
at the time that movie came out the Ku Klux Klan were almost non-existent
once that movie came out it exploded to several million that was all based on
the power of a story in a negative way you know you look at I mean my top gun
when that movie came out the application rate for the Air Force skyrocketed those
Castaway huge all the sudden FedEx boo all because of a story a powerful story
I that is so fascinating to me and here's the funny thing about story is
that we all know when we hear a good one you know we we see a movie we instantly
know if we like it or not but it's very hard for us to know how to tell one and
those the skills to learn how to tell a story take a lifetime to learn like
understanding what does a protagonist do you know what should he do or not do you
know in a story like it those are hard much harder to learn because the
audience everyone's a cynic which you probably see in the comments
you you said that that what one thing to make an effective hero is make them
really good at their job yes and and hadn't really thought about
before yeah and so even if it's an antihero they're really good at their
job and that's very true yeah and see how much fun you know like
look at Breaking Bad he's an antihero sure but man we love it when he's making
mad and he's outsmarting people yeah you know even even the scene where he
confronts the bullies in the store and the thrift shop or whatever he is like
what is T there are moments in that that series when he's teaching science to the
students and I remember there's one scene where he's got three bottles and
as you squirted a flame the flame changed color I'll be based on the
solution it was inside it was really cool to see him so skilled he's a super
flawed human sure there's a character on that show Mike who's really good at his
job too if you've ever watched the sailboat I mean James Bond like guys
great it he's got flaws but he's man it's fun Jason Bourne really good at
fighting people man it's so cool to watch he just you know he just really
get into it when they start doing that so yeah then you can and you want to you
know tease your audience with that you want to let them enjoy that a little bit
I mean that's a superhero movies looking at like you can make them as flawed as
you want but you have to show them being you know you want to see Batman be
Batman and be some people up and fly and do what he does that's important that's
part of the allure and even in neeti although Elliot didn't have a job he was
great at sort of being this he you know he had this sort of symbiotic
relationship with this creature and and he led you know his group of friends on
their bike and stuff so he was good as sort of rounding the troops and and
trying to get him back right yeah I mean yeah doesn't a job be good at job or
whatever they do you want them to be good like try to take it like stranger
things there's in the latest season of stranger things there's a girl that
works in the ice cream shop who's just really good at solving mysteries which
makes it fun to watch you see her solve because I think they saw them they
figure out a Russian I'll broadcast they kind of put it the
pieces together and you watching her like do it it's just they make it just
you just love to watch somebody smart doing something that they're good at
like it's enjoyable draws you in or Good Will Hunting yeah although maybe okay he
wasn't the best janitor maybe he was but he was solving he was sobbing his mouth
I saw that Matt promise that's awesome yeah that's that really it's one thing
to makes you care about them yeah it's important
you