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Monday, March 7, 2011

The High Concept Gauntlet

According to Wikipedia, "High concept is a term used to refer to an artistic work that can be easily described by a succinctly stated premise."

It also says "An oxymoron ... is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms."

Ok, forgive the jibe. I'll admit that it IS possible to create a work that "can be easily described by a succinctly stated premise" and still qualifies as art, but I'd call it the exception rather than the rule, and I'd put money that it's being sold short. "A rock the size of Texas is going to strike the Earth" is a great premise, full of potential and drama and opportunities for people to behave in a million interesting ways, but it doesn't mention anything about the characters in this particular story. Ok, meteor-doom -- even if it hadn't been done to death, what makes the story any good at all is the people this story is about, not the rock.

High Concept is a lie. It's not a "High" concept. It's a simplified premise, that's all, and in general has already been done to death. Shogun could have been stated as High Concept, virtually anything could -- "An English pilot becomes involved in the plotting for the Tokugawa Shogunate" describes the story, but says nothing about the romance, the culture shock, the Jesuits...

Every story either has elements you can't mention in the basic premise, or is pitifully monodimensional. To say otherwise isn't High Concept -- it's just high.

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