The Confess ARC
The Confess ARC is where PROT knowingly (or unknowingly) does something wrong. The person who’s hurt is mad at them, or giving them the silent treatment, or punishing them, or excluding them. In the case of knowing what they did wrong, PROT will be angry, lash out, blame others, and take a long route around to finally admitting they were wrong and apologizing. The PROT who doesn’t know will follow the same emotional arc until something (either the hurt person or someone else or something else) reveals to them what they did wrong and they realize how much they fucked up. The audience may be in on it or not. In instances of not know, you do get a fun rush of… oh, they fucked up bad. In instances of knowing, it’s a little cringe watching a character who is so obviously in the wrong, and/or hating them, and not sure if you forgive them (even though the hurt character might or might not). The drama in the Confession ARC is how we make up in relationships when we wrong each other.
The DSR here is when PROT gets called out or caught. The ARC then becomes a journey of anger, denial, blaming, justification, lashing out, making excuses… or simply being IGNORANT of their crime/wrong and doing almost everything the KNOWLEDGABLE perpetrator does UNTIL they finally see what they did as wrong and apologize. Or not and it’s a sad story.
This is a NEGATIVE ARC like the Spiral Arc only because it’s mostly down down down with a slight uptick at the end if they come clean, apologize, and try to make amends. If it’s rushed, it feels like a Lifetime movie that tugs at your heartstrings in an artificial way. If it’s organic, it’s one of the most powerful feeling in storytelling. It’s a relief when it happens. People making up is a wonderful feeling.
The Emotional Arc
- STS: This is wrong, but I’m going to do it anyway. OR I think I can get away with it. OR Someone lacking self-awareness doing something wrong (usually backstory).
- DSR: [called out/caught] oh fuck. I didn’t expect that to happen. It’s not THAT bad right?
- BWO: OK OK! I didn’t mean it! Blame XYZ instead. You know what? I didn’t want it anyway. Excuses.
- PNR: You know what? Fuck you. I don’t deserve this treatment.
- AIL: Oh wait. I did that???!! I didn’t mean to hurt you this bad. I messed up. I’m sorry.
- CMX: Let me fix this. Please. I know I fucked up.
alt. CMX: PROT doesn’t apologize or somehow gets away with it.
The Stakes
- Admitting you’re wrong, losing your self-righteousness or ego
- Angry that you got caught on something you thought you could get away with
- Your “justification” for what you did and why you were in the right
The Triangle(s)
- PROT: The Guilty (or Entitled)
- Someone they’ve wronged
- The rescuer or “justification” – someone to hang blame/excuse on
- ANTG: Themselves
Media
Film & TV
- A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
- Philomena (2013)
- Coco (2017)
- Magnolia (1999)
Novels & Literature
Short Stories
- City Boy (1966) by Leonard Michaels
- The Paper Menagerie (2011) by Ken Liu