Next up in the list is Rivalry. Reading the cliff notes on this one I realized half or more of the Rocky movies are about rivalry. The other half are about tomorrow’s master plot, Underdog. Or so I’d guess.
I think since it’s Monday I’ll just work from a boxing story.
Theme –
Setup – Mark wins a boxing scholarship, but struggles to maintain the requisite grades to keep it while enjoying the fun on Freshman year at university.
Hook – Mark defends his Physics TA, Yuntao, against the bullying of some upperclassmen at a night club.
Plot Point 1 – Mark discovers that he and Yuntao both have eyes the same girl, and she seems to be hard pressed to make a definitive choice.
Pinch 1 – Yuntao sabotages a test Mark is studying for, but not in a directly ‘academically dishonest’ way. He regrets it too late to back out and Mark fails (or something serious) and is put on probation.
Mid-point Twist – Yuntao confesses to Mark and they argue about the betrayal. Mark decides to go it alone without his friend. He can fight and study; he’ll just knuckle down.
Pinch 2 – Despite semi-real effort on Mark’s part he flunks Physics. Because of this effort he’s been unable to spend time with Gabriella and thus Yuntao does spend time with her..
Lull – Christmas break back at home in…Nebraska. Mark spars with his farmer Dad. The old man tells him he should only try to change the things he can control and women ain’t one of them. He also iterates that Mark will have to pay for his own schooling if he loses the scholarship.
Plot Point 2 – During a friend-friend talk with Gabriella, she admits to preferring Mark over Yuntao, but having ‘chosen’ Yuntao due to his accessibility. She never really was that impressed with boxing.
Conclusion – After struggling between love and boxing, Mark chooses boxing and competes in the final match of the year. He wins; the referee, Susan, is impressed.
350 words on day 646