What's the seventh basic movie idea?

What about the Straight Ahead Us-Against-Them War Movie? (We Were Soldiers Once (and Young) was just on, and now it’s Saving Private Ryan)

I think this covers most movies out there.

The best and the brightest join a Q&A site that becomes a social networking site and their productivity goes to hell in a handbasket?

How about the boy/girl grows up through an encounter with an unusual teacher/friend/lover?

Don’t forget about..
The Explosions.

Aimed at the 18–35 male demographic. See: Michael Bay.

Hmm, @janbb, a coming-of-age plot could well be what’s missing.

I was hoping someone would recognize this actual list (which I tried to search for) and know where to find the rest of it.

This is quite disrespectful of the art, don’t you think? Breaking things down to categories like that? I guess it depends on the context, but I suspect that it’s unwise to accept this stuff as fact. There’s always exceptions.

Trying to think of stories that fall into the six categories you give, they overlap. If you “boil down” stories, you break them. The whole idea of writing stories is to make them seem more complex than they are so that they can mean more in the mind of the audience.

But then, I can’t think of a scenario that couldn’t be arbitrarily linked to one or more of the six basic ideas there. Kind of depressing, actually. Sorry, can’t help you with any seventh category.

Disrespectful? Not at all. I think there are many different ways to think about anything, and I think I gain perspective when I employ more than one of them.

“Accept this stuff as fact”? Now, that’s disrespectful, if you ask me.

Dang you and your wild goose chases, @Jeruba! I just tried Google, IMDB, wikipedia, and my library’s general databases – no results (except the same garbage you probably got on Google.) Once again, will try next week in the library if we get no results prior to that.

You love ‘em, @janbb. Think of all the wild geese you would never have caught up with if it weren’t for me.

Ah, but the dishes, the laundry…

They’ll just get dirty again anyway.

@Jeruba

Depends on the context it’s used. “Today, I’ll write a ‘The Rag-Tag Bunch of Misfits Prove Everyone Wrong’ piece for potentially millions of people to enjoy and learn about how even ‘Rag-Tag Bunches of Misfits’ can ‘Prove Everyone Wrong’.

It’s a little disrespectful if you’re approaching the art as an artist. As an scientist, sure. Have fun making your measurements.

With all due respect, @zophu, you are mischaracterizing the nature of my interest. I don’t believe you have enough information in this question (which asks only for an item missing from a list) to judge my relationship to literature and art, much less to treat me to your sarcastic gibes.

I’m was a little disturbed by the subject of your question, so forgive me if I misjudged you for asking it. You seem to be accepting something that makes me uncomfortable, which made me want to discredit your interest in it. I can’t say I feel any differently. But since I haven’t thought much about these categories and since I don’t know why you’re interested in them, you’re right, I shouldn’t be snide.

Well, maybe a little snide. Because it still feels wrong. I’ve got to go with my feelings.

Apology accepted, @zophu. I’ll grant you that the list itself might be taken as reductive and dismissive, but you attacked me and not the list. In so doing you jumped to a wild conclusion that happened to be entirely false. When you’ve been around here a little longer, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to know my attitude toward canned answers of any kind and also my view of art and literature.

The “Coming of Age” story.

Also the revenge story.
How can there only be seven of these? That doesn’t sound right.

This site lists 12:
Let’s Be Friends
Road Movie
Slice of Life
Coming of Age
Escape
Heist
Kill the Monster
Who Dies Next
The Con
Buddy
Do The Right Thing
Poor Boy

ADD Perhaps the 7 plots comes from this book
ADD AGAIN: Save the Cat! lists 10:
Monster in the House
Out of the Bottle
Whydunit
Golden Fleece
Rites of Passage
Institutionalized
Buddy Love
Superhero
Dude With a Problem
The Fool Triumphant

Oh, I’m sure there are many lists, just as there are so many lists of the basic novel plots. Seven is probably pretty arbitrary. I asked the question because I was curious about what was missing from this one particular list that I happened to stumble upon, but I’m also always fascinated by the patterns that people see.

What’s missing from your list either Coming of Age or Do the Right Thing.

Yes, @Captain_Fantasy, @PandoraBoxx, I think the most obvious omission, given the style of the list, is something like Young Person Has Big Coming-of-Age Experience. Thanks for your ideas. Actually, @janbb, it ties in with your more specific suggestion (coming of age through a romance) too.

I don’t know much about war movies, @CyanoticWasp, but several I’ve seen were either Rag-Tag Bunch or Unconventional Hero. David and Goliath covers a lot of territory too, and that one’s not here.

@Sarcasm, I feel confident that we can combine Explosions with any of them.

@lawlipop, I loved it. Can’t wait to see it again. I’m going to tell all my friends, too!

@lawlipop that was a keeper. Thanks.

…cherry-picked… words used… to describe parts… of film…
.... Obscure Film Critic’s Name Here

@CyanoticWasp @Jeruba You’re welcome. I love it as well.

@lawlipop ‘s link was priceless.

What about the stock romantic comedy plot? Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl.

@Jeruba I wasn’t limiting my coming-of-age to romance only; but it is usually through an encounter with an older person – mentor or lover.

You’re right, @janbb, your remark was more comprehensive. True to the Jungian archetype, coming-of-age stories often do involve a mentor.

Update: I passed your question on to our astute film librarian after turning up nothing myself here and will await his research results.