Media Studies

I think maps and recipes are often good comparative structures.

A good map highlights where you’d want to go. You’ve seen the image of the peak of a trail and along the way it might highlight things worth seeing. Thus, it invites the hiker towards the destination. Simultaneously, it’s not as they say the “territory” itself. While some of us do enjoy just browsing Google Maps for fun, it’s not a replacement for the journey. Surprise is still necessary for a good and enjoyable hike.

A bad map doesn’t drag you in to explore it. It can also be too dense.

A great recipe shows you the food which is the end of your planned narrative. The ingredients are partly visible in it and the journey takes you through the process. A poor recipe is unable to foreshadow what you might eat and leaves out gaps in preparation such that the logic or plot of the preparation leaves you frustrated or lost (resulting in an undercooked mess).

Sometimes, a recipe might show you something that’s unattainable for an average cook, in the same way that a map might deceptively lure you into a direction with information and visuals that don’t match reality.

So, great (direct or indirect) foreshadowing and non-linear storytelling relies on:

1. Setting a novel, realistic, and clear future event

2. which from the setup of ingredients available at the start

3. leaves a viewer surprised in how the start gets to the unique end.