The Chicago 7

tl;dr: A wonderful example of powerful storytelling.

The other day in “Story or Die,” I was reflecting on what makes a good story.

Last night, I watched the Netflix movie “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and it was riveting.

I am not surprised it has received the accolades it has because the “arc of story” in this one is one of the best I’ve encountered in a while.

The reason I say that is because, as I watched the movie, I could feel myself getting increasingly angry about what was happening. I was having an emotional, visceral reaction to the portrayal of a historical event which occurred before I was born.

Yet, the filmmaker, Aaron Sorkin whose work I have always appreciated, was able to successfully convey the notoriety of the event and get me to the point where, when I would take a break, I would mutter “this is ridiculous and offensive” to myself.

Now, I haven’t studied the trial or the events in such depth that I am able to ascertain how much of the truth was stretched in the telling of the story.

However, I am ascertain that Lisa Cron’s quote from “Story or Die”

“A story is about how an unavoidable external problems forces the protagonist to change internally in order to solve it.”

was on full display in this particular film.