• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.75-89
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• 2020

As Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Phase 3 concluded in 2019, it is time to systematically analyze the phenomenal storytelling of the franchise. In order to identify the structure of the continuous stories focusing on 'Iron Man', the central character of MCU Phase 1-3, this study used the "Save the Cat (STC)" paradigm as the tool for narrative analysis. The eight films with 1,066 minute-run time in total was analyzed based on the 15-beat STC paradigm by adjusting the distance ratio between each beat of its prototype originally based on standard films of 110 minute-run time. The results reveal that all 15 beats of the combined texts were fairly properly discovered in the positions suggested by the adjusted STC paradigm. Moreover, through the investigation, the vast text was able to be analyzed in a more comprehensive manner in the process of reconfirming the meaning of the dramatic reversals corresponding to each beat against the entire narrative. As expected, the STC paradigm proved to be a meaningful signpost for plot drives even for such a vast text. Therefore, it is believed that application of this paradigm would help not only analyze but also design other serialized franchises as well. Prior to that, however, it would be necessary to further examine the combined texts for other major characters in MCU or other franchises designed in a similar form to MCU movies through the same paradigm to verify effectiveness of such application.