TIL: Checkov's Gun
A powerful technique used in storytelling.
Chekhov's gun is a storytelling rule that says:
If you show something important early in a story, it should matter later.
I've used this technique for years but didn't know it had a name until today. It's similar to foreshadowing, and objectively just a synonym of that word. My personal interpretation is that it has to do with specific concrete objects or behaviors rather.
One of my favorite uses of Checkov's Gun is in early cinema as well as some Hong Kong action films where the camera will show a background object early in a dramatic scene. That background object will then be used in some way later in the action. Buster Keaton, Jackie Chan, and Sammo Hung are the grandmasters of this technique.
