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THE ART OF SOUND PICTURES
For, beyond all doubt, there is a certain kind of legitimate faking in story construction. Aristotle was hot on its trail when he declared that the dramatist must not use, in his plots, events which are improbable, even though they are possible; and he should always select events which are probable, even though impossible.^ .In other words, what decides the whole business is the attitude of the audience and its actual response to what is presented to them.
The impression which a story makes upon a person is always relative to his knowledge, his range of experience, his emotional habits, and his social prejudices and customs. Few of us have a very wide or deep hold upon the truth, as the scientist understands truth. Hence, mere fact does not weigh heavily in our likes and dislikes of stories. If it did, historians and biologists would rank as high in literature as Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens.
A plot, then, is good enough if it arranges people and events in a manner which convinces and pleases the typical spectator. Let me illustrate this by citing highly successful picture stories which, strictly analyzed, do not present things as they are.
Here is an illustration of fraudulent plotting and suspense used with great dramatic effect. In Thru Different Eyes, a man has just been pronounced guilty of the murder of his best friend. Instantly we hear a scream, and see a young woman rush up to the judge, sobbing that the accused man is innocent and that she herself committed the murder. She then tells her story. After she has made a full confession, the judge announces that in view of this confession, he believes that the verdict of the jury should be set aside.