{"id":95613,"date":"2023-03-13T21:33:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T01:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=95613"},"modified":"2023-03-16T10:48:32","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T14:48:32","slug":"what-is-a-controlling-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-a-controlling-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Controlling Idea? Robert McKee’s Focus on Theme"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is a controlling idea? What role does it play in a story? How many should one story have?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A controlling idea, Robert McKee argues, is the glue that holds a story together. In his book Story<\/em>, he explains why it’s important and how it works. He also shows writers how to connect all of the scenes of a story to the controlling idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to learn what McKee teaches about this important aspect of a story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Controlling Idea<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is a controlling idea? Robert McKee says that, for a story to have the most meaningful impact possible on an audience, it must feel like every part of the story is conveying the same meaning. This meaning is your story\u2019s theme, which McKee calls a \u201ccontrolling idea.\u201d Although some may assume that constraining your story with a single theme limits its meaning, McKee insists that focusing on one central theme gives the audience a multitude of implications to consider. In contrast, trying to include multiple main ideas will muddle your story and hinder the audience in finding meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: McKee advocates constructing your story around a controlling idea to maximize the chance that the audience will find your story meaningful. However, your audience may interpret the theme differently than you intended. Many believe that a text\u2019s inherent meaning overrides any intention on the author\u2019s part, a theoretical framework known as anti-intentionalism<\/a>. When you release a story into the world, you must accept the fact that it no longer fully belongs to you\u2014audiences may use it to convey their own messages. That said, tightly structuring your story around a single idea as McKee suggests will arguably make it more difficult for audiences to misinterpret your intended theme.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to McKee, a controlling idea is always a specific, truthful statement about the world that expresses cause and effect.<\/strong> This cause and effect will typically be the final value change of your story and the reason for that change. For example, the controlling idea of Finding Nemo<\/em> could be expressed as \u201cChildren live fulfilling lives when parents allow them to take risks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: McKee\u2019s definition of controlling idea is arguably more useful to writers than more common, broader definitions of theme. Vague, one-word<\/a> themes like \u201cfamily\u201d may cause you to write a story that you think is thematically cohesive, but, in reality, isn\u2019t saying anything concrete. For example, if you\u2019re trying to write a story about \u201cfamily,\u201d you might write a scene<\/a> about a family reunion and another about the birth of a child, but they don\u2019t have anything to do with each other on a deeper level. In contrast, if your theme is \u201cYou achieve personal fulfillment when you make sacrifices for family,\u201d you can immediately spot whether these two scenes are conveying the same cohesive meaning.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All Value Changes Reflect Theme<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How do you connect every scene in your story to a cohesive controlling idea, or theme? Recall that, to create meaning<\/a>, every scene in your story ends with a value change of some kind. McKee explains that, to create thematic coherence, every scene\u2019s climactic value change should either prove the truth of your theme, or the opposite<\/em> of your theme, <\/strong>which we\u2019ll call the anti-theme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, McKee claims that your story should alternate between the two, so it seems to prove one idea, then its opposite, over and over until the climax, in which the theme definitively triumphs over the anti-theme. This uncertain tension between two contradictory ideas reflects the complexity of life in a far more believable, meaningful way than if you were to make every scene in your story prove the same point. This allows your story to convey a specific message without ever explicitly telling it to the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if the theme of Finding Nemo<\/em> is \u201cChildren live fulfilling lives when parents allow them to take risks,\u201d its anti-theme is equally present throughout the film: \u201cChildren irreversibly hurt themselves when parents are careless enough to put them in danger.\u201d This is most obvious in the Act One climax, when Nemo is abducted, but it\u2019s equally present every time obstacles arise between Marlin and Nemo. Scenes that make it seem like Marlin won\u2019t be able to find Nemo serve as proof that Marlin should have been more<\/em> protective of his son in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKee\u2019s Thematic Structure Is Dialectic<\/strong>

McKee\u2019s concept of thematic storytelling is a form of dialectic<\/em>\u2014a pattern of reasoning with roots in ancient Greek philosophy<\/a>. Persuasive writing, a group discussion, or a constructive debate are all expressible in dialectic form.

To present an idea as dialectic, you first establish a thesis<\/em>\u2014this is the popular opinion or basic assumption that most people have. Then, you challenge the thesis with an antithesis\u2014<\/em>one or more facts that contradict the thesis. Finally, you conclude with a synthesis<\/em>\u2014a new declaration of truth that takes the facts of both thesis and antithesis into account and resolves any contradictions. (In longer or more complex dialectic, you then challenge the synthesis with an additional antithesis and resolve that logic into a new synthesis until you\u2019ve said everything you need to say.)

Because it\u2019s a balanced, fair-minded dialogue, dialectic is a persuasive way to present any idea\u2014which explains why McKee uses it as a powerful tool to express your story\u2019s controlling idea. However, this understanding of dialectic arguably contradicts one of McKee\u2019s conclusions. If stories are dialectic, the theme revealed at your story\u2019s climax will be a synthesis\u2014rather than a theme triumphing over anti-theme, you\u2019re left with a complex view of life arguing that both theme and anti-theme are true to a certain extent.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is a controlling idea? What role does it play in a story? How many should one story have? A controlling idea, Robert McKee argues, is the glue that holds a story together. In his book Story, he explains why it’s important and how it works. He also shows writers how to connect all of the scenes of a story to the controlling idea. Continue reading to learn what McKee teaches about this important aspect of a story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":74015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,15],"tags":[938],"class_list":["post-95613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","category-education","tag-story","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is a Controlling Idea? 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