Plot coupon

A plot coupon, and the somewhat less-well-known "plot voucher", are the names given by literary critic Nick Lowe to specimens of plot devices in his 1986 essay, "The Well-Tempered Plot Device" [http://www.ansible.co.uk/Ansible/plotdev.html] published in the British Science Fiction newsletter "Ansible". A plot coupon is an object whose possession or use is necessary in order to resolve the conflict upon which the plot hangs, when this necessity clearly springs from the arbitrary decision of the author to make it so necessary. (The name is derived from a joke: When the characters have collected enough plot coupons, they can trade them in for the denouement.) For example, if the main plot of a novel concerns an ancient artifact that was broken into several pieces, and which must now be collected, reassembled, and activated in order to defeat an alien threat, the separate pieces of the artifact are surely plot coupons.

Structurally, plot coupons can be viewed as the component parts of a divided and dispersed MacGuffin, the designated valuable object which motivates the characters and moves the story along. Plot coupons are fairly common in fantasy, mostly because they work well within an epic quest structure (fantasy plot coupons tend to be physical objects); but they occur in all the other varieties of fiction as well. Ilf and Petrov's "The Twelve Chairs", the successive rounds of murder and detection in Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians", and the multiple problems and solutions of the "Chushingura" story cycle all qualify for the label. As with every other workhorse plot device, a plot-coupon-based narrative can be dreary or compelling, depending on the skill of the author, although the term is seldom used to indicate writing that is approved of.

Also like every other workhorse plot device, plot coupons lend themselves to easy use by naive or unskilled writers. For example, one might imagine that defeating an alien threat would require one to organize a resistance, figure out the enemy's weaknesses, and draw up some kind of strategic plan. If instead the answer to this threat becomes "find these five components to construct the superweapon which will eliminate all the aliens in one fell swoop," the story can be more linear, the obstacles more arbitrary, the proportion of cause to effect less proportionate, the particular circumstances of the story less realistic, and the required research far less onerous.

Plot vouchers

"A Plot Voucher," says Lowe, "is one of those useful items that is presented to the hero at the start of his adventure with a purpose totally unspecified, that turns out at an arbitrary point later in the story to be exactly what's needed to get him out of a sticky and otherwise unresolvable situation." Clumsily used plot vouchers are a variety of deus ex machina, and have the potential to destroy the reader's suspension of disbelief by allowing the characters to overcome difficulties in an unlikely manner. One of the most common uses of a plot voucher is an item of some importance given to the protagonist by someone they respect, often with the instruction to keep the item near them at all times.

Examples of plot vouchers

Strikingly commonly, the protagonist is shot, but the bullet is deflected by the item they were given, even if the item itself could not feasibly stop a bullet (such as military dog tags, or an amulet). An example of this is found in the Disney version of "The Three Musketeers", when Aramis is saved from an apparently fatal bullet wound when the slug hits the metal cross he wears around his neck. In Stephen King's Bachman-novel "Rage," Charlie Decker survives a gunshot when the bullet strikes a padlock in his pocket.

In J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Fellowship of the Ring", Frodo Baggins receives a "mithril" chain-mail coat from his uncle Bilbo, with the admonition to keep it on at all times. He does, secretly, and it saves his life later in the story. Likewise, the Star-glass or Phial of Galadriel given to Frodo in Lothlórien later warded off the attacks of the huge spider Shelob and allowed passage through the Two Watchers at the Tower of Cirith Ungol.

In "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", Dumbledore leaves items to each of the three characters that eventually become vital to their mission. Ron receives the Deluminator, and Hermione is left a children's book, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard". Harry inherits Godric Gryffindor's Sword and the Snitch he caught in his first-ever Quidditch match.

In "The Twilight Zone" episode "What You Need" (adapted from the short story by Lewis Padgett), the idea is central to the plot, with a man who is somehow able to see the future handing out items that will serve people's needs just in time—but with a twist at the end. The same idea is used in the Philip K. Dick story "Paycheck", as well as the movie based upon it, where the protagonist is given a bag containing nineteen items, each of which will be used at some point to escape from pursuers or get past an obstacle. The justification for what would otherwise seem like an arbitrary setup is that the protagonist had access to a machine that let him see the future and consequently know what he would need.

In "The Game", several items given to Michael Douglas's character serve as plot vouchers not only in the movie's plot, but in the plot of the deception in which the character is immersed. Finding the proper use for these items is one objective of the character as he plays the titular game.

In the film "The Last Action Hero", the main character ends up with a handcuff key through a random sequence of unlikely events at the beginning of the film. At the end of the film, he is in handcuffs, and realizes he still has the key, using it to free himself at a critical moment in the action.

In "The Wizard of Oz", the shoes Dorothy acquires upon her arrival in Oz are an excellent example of a plot voucher, as she finds out at the end of the film that they can be used to send her back home to Kansas.

In "Galaxy Quest", an enigmaic device called the Omega 13 is introduced toward the beginning of the film, with nothing known about it except that it is possessed by the Thermians and that Sarris wants to obtain it. At the end of the film, Nesmith activates the device without knowing what it does, and it turns out to be a time manipulator that saves the crew of the "Protector" and leads to Sarris' demise.

Video games, especially adventure games, text adventures and computer role-playing games (which involve some amount of story) frequently use plot vouchers, as it makes for a convenient way to reconcile the linear nature of a story with the choice-based nature of a game. A plot voucher is one way to allow the author to dictate what must happen in order to proceed, while maintaining the illusion of choice. For example, early in the first "Final Fantasy" game the player is given a Lute; it shows no purpose throughout the entire game until the last dungeon, where when played it will open the last boss's chamber. Also, in "Silent Hill 3", Heather is given an amulet at the start of the game, which actually turns out to be a major plot item.

The plot voucher was parodied in an episode of the television program "Family Guy", in which a character is given a banana and told that when it comes time to use it, he'll know; later on, he needs help in fighting an attacker, and so throws the banana at him, but it has no effect whatsoever. It was also parodied in the film "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang", when the character Harry is shot in the chest. Harry claims that a copy of a book he'd picked up earlier in the movie blocked the bullet, then realizes that the bullet has actually passed all the way through the book after all. At this point, he collapses.

A similar parody occurs in the final episode of "Blackadder the Third", when Edmund Blackadder, masquerading as Prince George, is given a cigarillo case by Wellington. At the end of the episode, it saves his life by deflecting a canonball shot at him. Then, Prince George, masquerading as Blackadder, is shot by an enraged Wellington. At first he seems unharmed, then remembering that "his" cigarillo case was left in his other jacket, promptly expires.

Plot vouchers are a staple of James Bond movies, in which 007 usually receives a random collection of high-tech gadgets from Q near the beginning of the film — and inevitably, by the end of the movie, he'll have needed several of them, no matter how narrow their application and unlikely the situation. Similarly, whatever special features his car may have will certainly turn out to be not only useful, but completely vital, and destructive to the vehicle.

In both the comic and film versions of the "Sin City" story "The Big Fat Kill," Dwight discovers Jackie-Boy's badge revealing he's a cop, making it necessary to cover up the murder. Later in the story he is shot with a rifle, but the bullet is stopped by Jackie-Boy's shield.

In an episode of The Simpsons, Flanders is accidentally shot by a mobster aiming for Homer; he then gets up, takes out a Bible and says "Wow! Lucky I always keep a bible close to my heart", at which point he is shot again; he gets up again, takes out a piece of wood and says "Ho ho, lucky I was wearing an extra large piece of the True Cross today". He then covers his chest with his hands (still holding the Bible and Cross Fragment) and says "I think I'll go inside" before running off screen.

External links

* [http://www.ansible.co.uk/Ansible/plotdev.html "The Well-Tempered Plot Device" by Nick Lowe]