H O W # G R A V I T Y W O R K S
( I T ’ S N O T T H E P H Y S I C S )

T H E M O V I E
“ G R A V I T Y ”
I S A H U G E
S U C C E S S .

“No. 1 'Gravity' posts biggest
October
debut ever with
$55.6 million.”
LA Times
Oct. 6, 2013

“Gravity” has received
one of thehighest Rotten
Tomato scores ever…

Even experts love the movie…
Samantha Cristoforetti.
ESAastronaut.ItalianAirForceofficer.Lookingforwardtoridinga
SoyuzrockettoISSinDecember2014.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Astrophysicist,Am. MuseumofNaturalHistory.Author:Space Chronicles,
InexplicableUniverse,Host:StarTalkRadio

Butthey do seem a bit bothered…
“Iwasn’t toomuch sold on the storyline, but who cares? It’s a
great excuse totake a triptospace. Go the movie theater, put
your3D glasses andgo take a look. Then go out, look up at
the sky andthink that all those things exists forreal, right
now, in Earthorbit. Let that thought sink in.”

“Why are audiences paying more attention
tofiction
than to fact?”
Their real concern is this:

Let’s look at that.Side-by-side,
thefact and fictionare nearly identical:

But our response
is measurably
different:

W H Y ?

O N E W O R D …

S T O R Y .

A L L G R E A T S T O R I E S
S H A R E T W O T H I N G S :
1 ) C H A R A C T E R S W E C A N I D E N T I F Y W I T H …

G R A V I T Y H A S T W O
A R C H E T Y P A L C H A R A C T E R S :
T H E R E L U C T A N T H E R O . T H E W I S E M E N T O R .

2 ) A N D A R E C O G N I Z A B L E S T O R Y L I N E . . .

T H E S T O R Y L I N E O F “ G R A V I T Y ”
I S C L A S S I C D R A M A .
T H I S I S M Y I N T E R P R E T A T I O N O F C H R I S T O P H E R V O G L E R ’ S I N T E R P R E T A T I O N O F J O S E P H C A M P B E L L ’ S I N T E R P R E T A T I O N
O F “ T H E H E R O ’ S J O U R N E Y ” .

T H A T ’ S H O W G R A V I T Y W O R K S .
I T ’ S N O T R O C K E T S C I E N C E : A S
H U M A N S , W E M A K E M O R E S E N S E
O F O U R U N I V E R S E T H R O U G H
S T O R Y
T H A N T H R O U G H F A C T .

A N D W E A L W A Y S H A V E .

Dan Roam is a space geek and presentation nut.
Heis the authorof TheBack of the Napkin and
Blah Blah Blah. Dan’s newbook SHOW &TELL:
How EverybodyCan MakeExtraordinary
Presentations will bepublished by Penguin
Portfolio in March 2014.
Dan canbe found daily at:
www.napkinacademy.com
Abouttheimages:
All “Gravity”imagescopyright©2013WarnerBrothersPictures.
All imagesdownloadedfromhere:
http://gravitymovie.warnerbros.com/#/gallery.
All otherspaceimagescourtesyofNASA.
All drawingscopyright©2013DanRoam.