It's a storytelling formula meant to simplify your writing and keep it on track. In other terms, "A is doing B because of C" is the same as, "someone is doing something because of something." Alison Redford quit because people don't like her. I went to the store because I needed cereal.
I've been working a job these past few weeks where part of my day involves combing the internet for viral videos. Many of the videos are extreme sport athletes doing their cliff jump, whirley flip bad assery.
It's a good job, but not for the viral video sleuthing. Watching people do crazy stunts for hours on end is like eating ice cream for hours on end - good at first but harmful after a few bowls.
It's been an education too, I've been exposed to the feeble storytelling ability of a lot of people making and starring in extreme sports videos. Companies like like RedBull and Oakley, for all the money they put into these sports and their videos, have never heard of the "ABC rule."
So, where are these energy drinking, Awol Nation listening athletes and filmmakers messing up the ABC rule? It's in the "C" - the part asking why they do what they do.
In many videos they try to create a compelling reason for being out there on top of mountains and under huge waves. They talk of the need for progression or the freedom of expression. They sell themselves as something profound, the western version of eastern spirituality. They are not profound, far from it.
The truth is, they're rich, they have free time and they're driven. That's the "C" pillar in the story and isn't relatable or resonant.
Thankfully, not all extreme sport types are like this. Some videos take the "C" at face value and don't pretend to be anything besides people out having fun.
There are many examples from each side of the spectrum, from director Captain Serious and the too cool for school team, here is the trailer for the film "Imagine: Life Spent on the Edge"
AND NOW, on to the good times, here are some worthy goofs traveling New Zealand with mountain bikes.
As for the movie itself, after a minute of fast cutaways and slow mo shots of choice mountain biking, this trailer diverts right into the heart of what these sports are about - fun times.
They've stuck to the rules: mountain bikers go to New Zealand because it's fun, it's right there in the title, Not Bad: 30 Days of Bicycle Tomfoolery In New Zealand.
And the guys in Not Bad are doing some wild stuff too, stuff that doesn't need talking about, the pictures tell the story. Show Don't Tell, but that's a rule for another time.