Speaker 1: Question. There are nine movies behind me. Could you tell me what they all have in common? And I'll give you a hint. It's something that makes all of these films memorable. And no, it's not an actor, a theme, or even the fact they've all grossed an insane amount of money. It's something far more important. We'll get to that in a second. But first, when I was 12 years old, I watched Rocky for the first time. And if I'm going to be brutally honest with you, I hated it. I had just watched this two hour movie only to find that, spoiler alert, he loses in the end. I felt betrayed, cheated, that I was promised one movie but got another. What 12 year old me didn't understand was that the movie wasn't about whether he wins or loses. It was about something much greater. It would only be 15 years later that I realized one of the fundamentals of great storytelling buried within the core of this film, one that makes Rocky a classic and not to mention, best picture winner. And the winner is Rocky. So in this episode, I want to examine the importance of want versus need. Those movies I mentioned at the top, well, they all incorporate it. It's a device that allows for a fast moving plot while also pushing a theme with emotional stakes. So let's take a look at some of these differences and apply them using The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, and Toy Story. The first difference is that want is external, need is internal. The external want of a character is what drives the plot forward. This is Frodo wanting to destroy the ring, Woody wanting to become Andy's favorite toy again, or Neo wanting to save humanity from the grips of our mechanical overlords. Need, on the other hand, is internal. It is what our characters need to learn about themselves for them to grow and ultimately fulfill their want. This is Frodo realizing he needs Sam to complete his journey, Woody realizing the importance of sharing, and Neo realizing that he must believe in himself, that he truly is the one. You'll notice I use the word realizing here a lot, and we'll come back to that later. The obstacles of wants and needs are also external and internal. Wanting to destroy the ring? Huge army in your way. Wanting to be Andy's number one toy? New, cooler toy in the way. Wanting to save humanity from killer machines? A bunch of Agent Smiths. The obstacles for needs are more internal. They usually come from the characters themselves, holding them back in some way from being their best self, which we'll talk about in our next difference. A want is known to your character. Frodo, Neo, and Woody all know what they want. But the need is more complicated. It usually isn't known to them, or if it is, it's often rejected. Frodo rejects Sam, leaving him to go on the journey alone. Neo doesn't believe he's the one. Woody's quest to win back Andy only results in him being ostracized by the

Speaker 2: other toys and pushed further from his goal. Woody hasn't yet

Speaker 1: learned that he needs to share if he's truly going to live a fulfilling life. He's, in essence, a sheriff who doesn't share. These are the internal obstacles I referred to in my first point. Third, wants drive plot. Needs drive theme. Going to Mordor, traveling into the Matrix, winning back Andy all push the narrative plot of the films, whereas need is the emotional drive. It is the theme, what the film is trying to say, that ultimately gives us that satisfying ending, whether it be the power of friendship, believing in yourself, or the importance of sharing. That isn't to say a film can't have more than one theme, but I digress. Fourth, wants are the fun, needs are the heart. Battles, explosions, hijinks, these are all the result of the characters journeying, motivated by their external want. Needs, on the other hand, are the emotional pull, those moments where characters and the audience connect. Fifth, wants are unique to the character. Needs are universal. Let's compare Lord of the Rings to Rocky. These two worlds couldn't be more different from one another. Rocky's want revolves around a boxing match, while Frodo's is saving all of Middle-Earth. Both of those are unique to their character, but their needs, on the other hand, are similar. They both need the love, support, and friendship of someone else if they are truly going to win the day, and there are countless other films which share this theme. It's this universal connection, or these universal themes, that endear us to film. Now that we've identified five basic differences between want and need, what happens when a movie doesn't have one of them? Transformers, including most of the films in the franchise, is an example of a film with a strong, clear want, but no real need. As far as Transformers is concerned, I'm guessing you didn't come out of any of those films emotionally moved. That's because of the absence of a strong need. On the other hand, you have a film like Manchester by the Sea. It's filled with emotional scenes, a dysfunctional character with a tremendous need, but the plot is lacking a clear want. We follow Casey Affleck's character around for two hours and nothing much happens. His character is reactive and not proactive in achieving a goal which a want would have given him. And when a movie doesn't have either a want or a need, well... So great films are able to marry these two concepts into one, creating both an emotionally and captivating film. But let's dive a little deeper, specifically with the need. A need is of particular importance because it's complex. It's part of our psychology. As John Truby writes in The Anatomy of Story, the need is what the hero must fulfill within himself in order to have a better life. It usually involves overcoming his weakness and changing or growing in some way. In Tootsie, Michael must overcome his weakness of being an arrogant, selfish liar towards women in order to become a better person. And how does he do this? It's only by becoming a woman can he realize the error of his ways and change. I was a better man with you as a woman than I ever was with a woman as a man. In Silence of the Lambs, Clarice's weakness is that she is inexperienced. Did you check the corner? No sir. That's the reason you're dead. Suffering from haunting childhood memories, she's a woman in a man's world. Her want is to stop Buffalo Bill, but her need is to overcome the ghosts of her past and gain respect as a professional in a man's world. Want and need, even though they have a lot of differences, shouldn't be distinct from one another. They are one interconnected web of desires and conflict bouncing off one another, in the end coming together as a unified whole creating a satisfying story. But the importance of want versus need goes beyond film. It says something about ourselves, about humanity. It can teach us about our own wants and desires. So back to Rocky. When I was a kid, I wanted nothing more than to see him win. But as I grew older, I learned that's not what I really needed. Stories are more than the good guy winning all the time. They speak universal truths. It's about learning something greater than the story itself. That what we really need might be in front of us, but we just haven't

Speaker 2: realized it. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.

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