When considering new music, however, people like stimulation, so difference is better. Atypical movies are also more successful, and the same may be true for other cultural products, like musicals. One reason Hamilton was such a big hit was that its style diverged from what theatergoers were used to.
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Indeed, when we analyzed the movies, we found that those which interspersed highly positive moments with strongly negative ones were more successful. Movies that repeatedly traversed from the lowest of emotional lows to the highest of emotional highs, and back again, were liked more.
It turned out that atypical songs were more successful. A country song about girls and cars, for example, tended to do pretty well, but one that was about more atypical themes like dance moves or street cred was even more likely to be a hit. The more differentiated a song’s lyrics were from its genre, the more popular it tended to be.
Using similar language seems to pay off at the office, but using different language makes songs more successful. So when is similarity good and when is difference better?
Overall, we found that speed was good. Books, movies, and TV shows with faster plot progression were liked more than their slower-moving counterparts.
Just as atypical lyrics make songs more interesting to listen to, a faster plot progression makes a story more stimulating. Rather than just plodding along, moving faster between more differentiated topics and ideas is more exciting, which leads audiences to react more favorably.
In addition, we found that within stories, there were times when plots should move faster and times when they should move more slowly. At the beginning of a book or movie, the canvas is blank. An audience doesn’t know who the characters are, what the setting is, or how everything relates. So the beginning of a story sets the stage, building a base or jumping-off point for the rest of the narrative.
Starting slowly is key. It takes time for the audience members to digest the characters, their relationships, and everything else, so a plot that moves too quickly at the outset may confuse them.
Sameness,” Morrison chided, was “not quite the same thing as a distinctive style.” Achieving subtlety and discovery in traditional or semi-traditional modes was harder to do. “But when it works,” she added, “it does magnificent.