Or, heck, there are plenty of narratives one can tell about a place that are not 'Brave Maverick Scientists versus Government' or 'Humans are Selfish and Can't Have Nice Things (except the Protagonist)'. My go to example is the movie Apollo 13. The conflict in that lacks an antagonist: it's a bunch of very smart people working to save three lives, with the emotional drama being mostly family worry and the astronauts' feelings about missing the Moon (something they'd been training for)/possibly dying the farthest from home that any human has been.
Basically, it was a Characters versus Nature conflict, rather than Characters versus Characters/Organization.
The other example I have is most of Miyazaki's films: even the ones with Characters versus Characters make sure that it's not a solution that can be solved by 'Well, Protagonist is obviously right'; actual drama, rather than 'Antagonist is a Jerk'*. Because how do you settle a dispute between the forest gods and spirits and animals and a community of human outcasts that were saved from poverty by iron mining? You find a way for the humans and forest to work together, which mostly means getting them to actually treat one another like people and use their words, not their bullets/tusks & teeth.
* Or, in reality TV, 'Everyone is a jerk'. I recall listening to a podcast where someone was talking about reality TV and sie noted that sie liked one program (Syfy's Face Off) partially because it showed the contestants mostly being friendly and helpful to one another even as they competed, rather than trying to focus on backstabbing and interpersonal drama.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2013-05-31 08:19 pm (UTC)Basically, it was a Characters versus Nature conflict, rather than Characters versus Characters/Organization.
The other example I have is most of Miyazaki's films: even the ones with Characters versus Characters make sure that it's not a solution that can be solved by 'Well, Protagonist is obviously right'; actual drama, rather than 'Antagonist is a Jerk'*. Because how do you settle a dispute between the forest gods and spirits and animals and a community of human outcasts that were saved from poverty by iron mining? You find a way for the humans and forest to work together, which mostly means getting them to actually treat one another like people and use their words, not their bullets/tusks & teeth.
* Or, in reality TV, 'Everyone is a jerk'. I recall listening to a podcast where someone was talking about reality TV and sie noted that sie liked one program (Syfy's Face Off) partially because it showed the contestants mostly being friendly and helpful to one another even as they competed, rather than trying to focus on backstabbing and interpersonal drama.