I'm looking for some suggestions on stories/books/films to borrow (i.e. steal) ideas from
June 6, 2010 6:27 AM Subscribe
I'm writing a war/horror story where two groups of sworn enemies band together to defeat a common foe. I'm looking for some suggestions on stories/books/films to borrow (i.e. steal) ideas from. Already thought of "Hell in the Pacific" and "Joyeux Noël" which deal with similar themes, but I was hoping you all could suggest some others....
Sorry, I should add they're science fiction, but contain the exact themes you're looking for.
posted by Bromius at 6:37 AM on June 6, 2010
posted by Bromius at 6:37 AM on June 6, 2010
I seem to remember GI Joe and Cobra calling temporary truces to defeat a common enemy. Here is the wiki page with synopsys...synopsies...synopii.....err...summaries of all the episodes.
Scanning the list here is what I come up with...
They team up as early as episode 3 in Worms of Death to defeat worms. Of death.
Episode 126 they work together to defeat the Gamemaster...who is a weirdo millionaire with a robot army.
The Greatest Evil was a 2 part episode where GI Joe and Cobra team up to stop a drug lord. Because if there is one thing even Cobra can't stand it's drugs, mmkay?
He Man and Skeletor teamed up occasionally too...
Episode 25...Evil Seed is a radish/green onion looking guy that Skeletor and HeMan join forces to defeat. Highlight: HeMan and Skeletor attempt to have a meeting of minds about the nature of good vs evil:
Skeletor: Don't you get awfully tired of being a hero all the time?...Don't you ever feel like doing something evil?! He-Man?
He-Man: Don't you ever feel like doing something good? (Source)
In season 2 they team up in the episode "To Save Skeletor"
posted by ian1977 at 7:23 AM on June 6, 2010
Scanning the list here is what I come up with...
They team up as early as episode 3 in Worms of Death to defeat worms. Of death.
Episode 126 they work together to defeat the Gamemaster...who is a weirdo millionaire with a robot army.
The Greatest Evil was a 2 part episode where GI Joe and Cobra team up to stop a drug lord. Because if there is one thing even Cobra can't stand it's drugs, mmkay?
He Man and Skeletor teamed up occasionally too...
Episode 25...Evil Seed is a radish/green onion looking guy that Skeletor and HeMan join forces to defeat. Highlight: HeMan and Skeletor attempt to have a meeting of minds about the nature of good vs evil:
Skeletor: Don't you get awfully tired of being a hero all the time?...Don't you ever feel like doing something evil?! He-Man?
He-Man: Don't you ever feel like doing something good? (Source)
In season 2 they team up in the episode "To Save Skeletor"
posted by ian1977 at 7:23 AM on June 6, 2010
No Mans Land
More a ticking time bomb scenario involving two enemies who have to work together...
posted by TheOtherGuy at 7:44 AM on June 6, 2010
More a ticking time bomb scenario involving two enemies who have to work together...
posted by TheOtherGuy at 7:44 AM on June 6, 2010
seconding checking TV Tropes
Trenches, on Crackle, is short and free to watch online. Human enemies are brought together by deadly aliens.
posted by sninctown at 9:18 AM on June 6, 2010
Trenches, on Crackle, is short and free to watch online. Human enemies are brought together by deadly aliens.
posted by sninctown at 9:18 AM on June 6, 2010
Blade II. Blade plus the Blood Pack (a vampire hit squad specifically trained to kill him) vs Another Bad Guy. Not bad, actually.
posted by SPrintF at 1:01 PM on June 6, 2010
posted by SPrintF at 1:01 PM on June 6, 2010
Harry Turtledove's Worldwar series is about an alien invasion in the middle of WWII that causes the Axis and the Allies to unite against the extraterrestrial threat.
posted by EarBucket at 1:13 PM on June 6, 2010
posted by EarBucket at 1:13 PM on June 6, 2010
If I recall correctly, Stalin and Hitler came together both to invade Poland from either side (and share the spoils) and also to present a common front to other countries that they didn't trust. And this after years of Hitler ranting on about Russia this Russia that, how communism is the scourge of humanity, how Slavic peoples are sub-human, on and on. They worked together until the day that Hitler sprung his "little" surprise attack on Russia in June 1941; Stalin was totally clueless, couldn't believe it was happening.
So this isn't a specific book or story but I'd bet you can find plenty of writing about it...
posted by dancestoblue at 1:15 PM on June 6, 2010
So this isn't a specific book or story but I'd bet you can find plenty of writing about it...
posted by dancestoblue at 1:15 PM on June 6, 2010
Arguably the allies making common cause with the Soviet Union was a case of this. Even more pretzal like was Finland during WWII - alone against Russia, allied with Germany against Russia, sort of alone against Germany. (Over simplification, but still- we are talking pretzals here.)
Resistance groups in France and Yugoslavia were broken down by ideologies, communist vs non-communist, and the US and UK were happy to help either one.
Similarly, the Taliban was happy to work with the US when the Russians were in Afghanistan - though it may have passed notice in US policy makers that the Taliban were hardly our friends. Which might actually be a fruitful avenue to explore for your story.
Good luck. Report back if it ever gets published!
posted by IndigoJones at 2:05 PM on June 6, 2010
Resistance groups in France and Yugoslavia were broken down by ideologies, communist vs non-communist, and the US and UK were happy to help either one.
Similarly, the Taliban was happy to work with the US when the Russians were in Afghanistan - though it may have passed notice in US policy makers that the Taliban were hardly our friends. Which might actually be a fruitful avenue to explore for your story.
Good luck. Report back if it ever gets published!
posted by IndigoJones at 2:05 PM on June 6, 2010
This is basically what happened with the ancient Greek city-states, when they joined together to defeat the Persians. The movie 300 was based on the alliance led by Sparta, but there are lots and lots of stories there. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote more about this than you could possibly want to know.
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:52 PM on June 6, 2010
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:52 PM on June 6, 2010
Response by poster: All great suggestions. Thanx everybody!!!
posted by ranchocalamari at 4:19 PM on June 7, 2010
posted by ranchocalamari at 4:19 PM on June 7, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Bromius at 6:37 AM on June 6, 2010