Reliable Narrators (I Can Not Think of a Single One)

Today, we talk about narrators, in particular, the reliable ones.
...
Yeah, I have none.
The reason?
The only time I believe in conspiracy theory is when it comes to story.
For example:

Roswell?

Big Foot?

Loch Ness Monster?

Fairies?
All hokum.
But, just ask me about almost any story and I will explain why Barney Stinson is right.

(No, no, here's to you, sir)

This guy!
Why?
For this moment:

(Sorry for potato quality)

Because as warped and twisted as it is, it is possible to watch all of the movies Barney mentions from the perspective of the other side.

• The Karate Kid is actually a tragedy of a titan falling to the backhanded technique of an upstart
• Terminator is a tragedy of a war machine doing its job and being thwarted in its duties by humans
• Die Hard is about a charming, international bandit ruthlessly killed by American nationalism and bravado

(Charmed)

So, why don't mass audiences watch movies under these circumstances?

Because we are led to believe something, something almost innately true about story:

The Protagonist is always Right

Why do we believe this?
Because we sort of have to.
We have to trust that the perspective we are seeing the universe through (the Protagonist) is truthful, and is therefore, right.
But, why?
Well, think about it.
If you cannot trust your Protagonist, what do you have that grounds the story?
Nothing.
Not a single damn thing.
I won't spoil the new Arkham game in this post, but Batman is a phenomenal Protagonist.
Why?
Because he has enemies like this:

 Who do things like this:

For anyone unfamiliar with the game or series:
That is Scarecrow and a dead Commissioner Gordon.
The reason it is important: Gordon isn't really dead.
Scarecrow uses fear toxin that causes Batman to hallucinate.
In a later installment (hashtag Arkham Knight) this trick is used to further the plot.

Why is this relevant?
Because even though we love and respect Batman as a great hero, you cannot trust what he is seeing.
At any point in the game.
Any or all of it might be a dream, a fabrication, a hallucination.
But, we  have to trust that he is on the side of right and good and that we will get through this together.
But, do we though?

Some of my favorite theories come from this assumption:

You cannot trust the Protagonist

The moment that you give up on trust in a story, it becomes much more interesting.
And that is how you get all kinds of crazy, fan theories like this:

Jar Jar is a supreme Sith Lord, even more powerful than Palpatine 

This has definitely become one of my new favorite theories.
It is wildly complex, really in depth, uses evidence from the prequels to support its conclusions.
And the best part is, it makes the character of Jar Jar infinitely more interesting.

Another of my favorite Star Wars theories: the Jedi are the bad guys.
Luke kind of stumbles into the whole galactic crisis a little late.
He has to trust whoever he meets right away and believe what they are telling him and what they are doing.
So to start with:

• Stormtroopers kill the only people he associates with family
• Obi Wan Kenobi tells him that he can train him and avenge his father

So Luke goes with the old man on a suicide mission.

However, there is one thing that we kind of gleam over.

Obi Wan lied; yes, he says later on that he told the truth from a certain point of view, but no, no; he lied.

Vader is Luke's father in a rubber suit.

The "Dark" Side is just as powerful, easier to learn, satisfies your cravings.

The Sith have never lied to Luke about their feelings or their intentions.

There is even one fan theory that Obi Wan manipulates Luke in the scene where he tells him to come to Alderaan.

Luke gets a glazed, far off look in his eyes.

Now, some would say it is Mark Hamill's acting that causes that discrepancy.

But, it is more fun, for me, to believe that everything happens for a reason.

And if everything has a reason, if everything is a choice, then, the Jedi are manipulative bastards.

So that is what I am left with, that is my training, my upbringing, my thesis when it comes to story:

• Assume everything happens for a reason
• Assume everything is a choice
• Assume the narrator is unreliable

And if it is a horror/mystery movie:

• Assume there is more than one killer
• Assume that if there is no body, the person is still alive
• Assume that even if there is a body, the person faked their own death

It is a really fun exercise and one that I don't know many people know about.

It is not something I learned from script analysis, I can tell you that right now.

It is something learned from countless hours of going through the same stories over and over, reading fan theories late into the night, and realizing that everything you know to be true about a story is a lie.