Summary
The film The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott, employs an exciting plot that helps the audience understand the movie’s main ideas. Although science-fiction and drama are highly exhibited in the story, the director uses a plot to illustrate several themes to connect with the audience in a fascinating way (Mars Exploration, 2021). The movie depicts the story of an astronaut, Mark Watney, who becomes stranded on Mars after he is presumed dead by his team members. Therefore, the astronaut is forced to devise ways to signal his counterparts on earth that he is alive and should be rescued. As a result, the movie The Martian has diligently used the plot to produce an exciting story.
First, it is essential to define the term plot to understand the subject better. According to Barsam and Monahan (2019), the plot is a series of events that occur in a movie, and each action is affected by the next through the cause-and-effect principle. In other words, it can be described as the storyline on which the film is based. Further, the plot is mainly built on two aspects; the story arc and story plausibility (Bandirali & Terrone, 2017). In the story arc, three sections are highly recognized; the set-up section, also known as the introduction, the confrontation, which is commonly referred to as the climax, and the resolution stage.
Story Arc
In the film The Martian, the plot is demonstrated by the substantial use of the story arc. The film follows a specific sequence where the audience is introduced to the subject before reaching the climax and eventually arriving at a resolution stage (Barsam & Monahan, 2019). For instance, the movie begins where a mission to explore Mars that goes wrong, and the crew is forced to abandon their station. Unfortunately, Mark is left behind on Mars when he is assumed dead (Mars Exploration, 2021). However, the climax is achieved when the film uses all the elements to immerse the audience into the story by suspending their disbelief. This is obtained when Mark is stuck on Mars by himself, and he devises scientific ways to reach his counterparts on the surface and develops survival mechanisms on a foreign planet. Finally, regarding the resolution, NASA detects that Mark is alive and begins to implement ways of sending him supply products. Even though the supplies explode in the space, this storyline depicts a substantial plot that originates from abandonment to survival tactics, to rescue, and an illustration of an array of themes.
Story Plausibility
The use of story plausibility in The Martian also illustrates the movie’s plot. A plot in science fiction movies should conform with the world being demonstrated in the story. For instance, most parts of the film are illustrated on Mars, and all the challenges Mark faces are the potential challenges he would have faced on a realistic Mars. For example, he experiences a shortage of water and oxygen (Mars Exploration, 2021). Additionally, there are numerous explosions, the fear of the constant fall of asteroids, and Mars dust storm, which hinders his drive to the space vehicle. The plot employed in the film makes it so real that the audience never questions the consistency of the story.
The Martian has meticulously used the plot to produce an exciting movie. The plot is mainly demonstrated when the story arc and plausibility are evident in a film. The story arc is typically the film’s flow where a storyline is introduced before it reaches a climax and finally resolution. However, plausibility is the capability to make the movie realistic without making the audience raise questions.
References
Bandirali, L., & Terrone, E. (2017). Super-Size Stories. Narrative Strategies in Contemporary TV Series. Cinergie–Il Cinema e le altre Arti, (11), 98-110.
Barsam, R., & Monahan, D. (2019). Looking at movies: An introduction to the film. (6th ed.). W.W. Norton &Company.
Mars Exploration. (2021). The Martian [Video file]. Web.