The notion of intrigue refers to an act executed with cunning and caution , in such a way that its development or true intentions are hidden. The concept can also be used in reference to a mystery or an unsolved dilemma .
For example: "In the previews of the series the intrigue that will develop throughout the chapters is outlined" , "The appearance of hundreds of dead penguins on the southern beaches is a source of intrigue among scientists" , "The statements of the boxer generated intrigue about his future .
In the field of literature and cinema , the idea of intrigue refers to the set of events that constitute the crux of a work . It is about what arouses interest in the public, causing tension while awaiting its resolution.
Take the case of a movie that begins with the discovery of a dead man in his own home . The police arrived at the scene after a neighbor reported a foul smell. Since the door was locked, the agents must break it to enter. Inside the house they did not find anything disturbed or traces of violence. It is soon learned that the victim did not have a partner or family, so it is unknown who could have the keys to the property. Who killed the guy? That is the intrigue of the film , which on the level of fiction the main character (a detective) must solve and which, for the viewer, is a mystery that will keep him in suspense until the end of the story.
Intrigue is attractive to us by nature, because it touches us in the depths of our being, in a region where our curiosity is found, our sense of adventure, a series of very primitive sensations that no matter how much we try to cover with the customs of the Modern life has been with us since the origin of our species and can come to light spontaneously, without asking our permission.
Living is a verb that can be defined in many ways, but all of them are threaded by a need that is impossible to ignore: solving problems . A problem is not necessarily something negative, it is not that a very expensive belonging has been stolen or that we have contracted a serious illness; Any issue that requires an effort on our part to overcome successfully is a problem, from breathing (which we do naturally unless we have a disorder) to our relationship with environmental temperature.
That said, we understand that the need to solve problems is intrinsic to our species. For this reason, when we come across an intrigue by chance (or not), it is very difficult to ignore it and move on as if nothing had happened, because something in us surely pushes us to try to clarify it. If we take a look at the series and movies that garner the highest ratings per year on television and film respectively, we will notice that police stories are always in the top positions.
Although human beings can be very resistant to change, intrigue carries with it that promise of clarification in the end, both in fiction and in reality. Having to move by force and leaving our friends behind is not the same as starting to hear strange noises in the neighbor's house: the first situation can be very difficult to go through, because we do not know if we will ever adapt; The second, on the other hand, activates in us the need to discover the origin of the noises, trusting that we will succeed, even if we do not.