In the final installment of his Screen Perspectives podcast conversation, Steve Cuden distills decades of experience into a single guiding principle: stories work because they create catharsis.
Catharsis, Cuden explains, is an emotional purging that rewards the audience for staying engaged. It is the reason people rewatch films, reread books, and recommend stories to others. Without it, even technically polished work fails to linger.
Identification Comes Before Belief
Audiences do not connect with places, events, or ideas—they connect with people. Cuden emphasizes that successful stories establish identification early, often through anthropomorphism.
He points to characters like C-3PO, R2-D2, and Chewbacca as emotional entry points that allow audiences to suspend disbelief immediately. Once identification is achieved, the audience follows willingly—no matter how fantastical the world.
Animation as a Storytelling Laboratory
Cuden explains that animation amplifies the fundamentals of storytelling. Because animation relies entirely on constructed visuals and sound, writers must be exceptionally clear about intention, emotion, and movement.
Unlike live-action writing, animation scripts include direction, sound design, and visual action—making the writer the architect of the entire experience. This density forces discipline and sharpens storytelling instincts.
Craft, Career, and the Long View
Beyond theory, Cuden addresses the professional realities writers face. Early arrogance, fear of networking, and false assumptions about talent are common—and costly. Success, he notes, requires humility, persistence, and the willingness to advocate for oneself.
For storytellers at any stage, the episode reinforces a simple truth: structure creates momentum, identification creates empathy, and catharsis creates memory.
Listen on Apple Podcasts below or click here for more listening options for Screen Perspectives.
Listen to Steve’s Act 1 on Screen Perspectives
Listen to Steve’s Act 2 on Screen Perspectives
