User blog:Zathronas/Analysis by an Author: Over-analyzing

Hello and welcome to a bonus blog I'll be doing today. The Black trailer blog will come a little later so don't worry. I've had a lot of posted comments with analysis by fans of the show and while all of them are interesting and I even took some and integrated them in my own analysis. Some of them though takes a great first analysis then warps it by over-analyzing. Let me explain how we over-analyzes a situation and believe me, we all do it.

Let's start with an example. Let's say your analysis is that Ozpin is Ruby's true father (Note: This is not a real analysis, please do not add an angry comment saying I have it all wrong :) You find the clues that support your analysis then find the one that disproves it. You find a counter argument to the ones that disproves it and see that it hold up in the overall story. Congratulation you've analyzed and come up with a possibility.

Here is where you over-analyze. You learn that Yang and Ruby are truly sisters and none are adopted and this was said by the grand Poopa himself, Monty Oum. Humm well that puts dust in a well-oiled machine! So now you need to include this detail in your analysis. You come up with an elaborate scheme, with visual aids and a family tree to show how Ozpin could still be Ruby's father even if Yang isn't his daughter.

This is the problem we have to be careful to avoid. Some of our analysis was great with the information we had at the time but crumbles when we get new info. We have to be able to discern when our analysis is wrong and to throw it all away. If we do not, it becomes so convoluted that it simply makes no sense to do it in a story even if it holds up. Because there is a simpler explanation that holds up too and would cause the writer of the story one less headache to consider.

I've even seen shows on TV that begins great but becomes convoluted by over-analyzing... anybody remembers lost? or for the older generation maybe you remember Twin Peaks? Both shows started out great but because hey had to write for more season then they expected the story became convoluted with ghost, black smoke and whatever, even if it makes no sense in the overall story. It's the same thing, because they needed to expand their story they took a convoluted road and over analyzed their own story. It happens to everybody, even pro's.

My advice is don't get too attached to your theory and make sure you take someone else view seriously because his theory might be better then yours. In my case some theories posted in the comment were so good I discarded my own and took them instead. And if I used them in my blog, I will give the credit to the person who thought of it.

See you later with my "Black" trailer analysis!