I am a Whatever
Time to stir up a little shit.
All of a sudden everybody and their brother wants to write screenplays… LOL. Remember the post about those “questions” I get? Well, now they’re coming even faster than ever.
But I ain’t answering them.
Why?
Because most are a complete waste of everybody’s time except for those I have actually answered. So, if you got an answer from me recently — good for you. You had a question WORTH answering.
Instead, let me talk about two recent posts I’ve read from the following fellow screenwriter sites:
Screenwriting Manifesto and more specifically this post:
Six things…and another six things
Mystery Man on Film and this post:
The “Retards” of Tropic Thunder
Now of course I can’t speak for David Anaxagoras and I don’t intend to try… But I found the post extremely interesting because I read David’s site all the time and even though I’ve read other things about him, this particular post hit me right upside the head.
Why?
Because even though it’s in reference to a meme, I found it extremely truthful. I have no idea how difficult this was for David to reveal but that’s PRECISELY the point. Being able to reveal these things about yourself is an outstanding first step to creating amazing characters in your story and screenplay — not that David needs improvement in that area… Of course I’m talking in generalities.
Now let me skip to Mystery Man’s post…
Let me just say that I haven’t seen TROPIC THUNDER but I don’t really give a shit about that… What I got from this post is that a lot of us aren’t digging deep enough. And no, I’m not talking about tossing out some word just to piss people off. That’s another thing I don’t give a shit about.
What I AM talking about is a fast and loose combination of these two posts… I don’t want to make this a meme… Rather, I want to URGE YOU to simply go through the exercise yourself. If you’d LIKE to post it for all to see — OUTSTANDING. If you simply want to write it for yourself — OUTSTANDING.
What am I talking about?
I’m talking about digging DEEP with your characters. Sure, I’ve been talking about structure but you can’t OR shouldn’t let screenwriting structure bog you down and keep you from writing your screenplay. Nor should you let anything else get in your way.
Except your characters.
Chances are that you’ve already got some kind of concept that you’re at least considering turning into a screenplay.
Good. No, GREAT.
So what about your characters? Are you REALLY TRULY exposing your characters to us like you really need to be? If so — SeeYa.
If not, why not start off by writing about YOURSELF? That’s right. Dig deep. Write down all those big dark secrets and skeletons you’ve got hiding in your closet. Don’t just glaze over it — get SPECIFIC.
These are either FEARS that you continuously fail to face — just like your Protagonist(s) — or fears of others finding these things out about you. Either way, these are the same kinds of deep dark fears that your characters also hide and live with.
Like almost any problem that exists with us, we don’t know that it exists until we can admit to ourselves that it does in fact exist. It’s this admission of the following that’s gonna help knock down those character walls and blockage:
- That you’re an asshole.
- That you’re easily manipulated.
- That you’re a manipulator.
- That you’re a know-it-all.
- That you’re a perverted motherfucker.
- That you’re so vain you think this song is about you.
- That you’re a racist.
- That you’re a womanizer.
- That you’re a gold digger.
- That you’re a bitch.
- That you’re a bastard.
- That you’re a slacker.
- That you’re lazy.
- That you’re a liar.
- That you’re a workaholic.
- That you’re an obsessive-compulsive.
- That you’re a nymphomaniac.
- That you’re an alcoholic.
- That you’re paranoid.
- That you’re extremely hostile.
- That you’re a cross-dresser.
- That you’re gay (assuming you’re hiding it)
- That you’re too angry.
- That you’re too emotional.
- That you’re the most important person in the room.
- That you’re consumed with getting as much attention as possible.
- That you’re a criminal.
- That you’re violent.
- That you’re a control freak.
- That you’re perfect.
- That you’re emotionally disconnected.
- That you’re a sociopath.
I could go on but this list works fine for starters… By starters, I mean you start your paper by writing it out:
I AM A WHATEVER.
Go ahead… Admit it.
If you want to admit it to US so we can read it and give you an additional sense of catharsis, so be it. If you’ve got your own site, go ahead and jam it up there so we can read it. Leave a comment here with a link if you feel so inclined or if you don’t have a site that you’d like to bring into the fold but you still desire that additional sense of catharsis, tell it to us in the comments.
Once you write that down and truly admit it to yourself, feel free to tell yourself and or us — WHY you are that person. How did you get to be that way? Was it because of your parents? Your grandparents? Your siblings?
See where we’re going here?
The point of the exercise is to fuckin’ let LOOSE. Get it all out. Purge that shit right onto the page. It’s okay if you don’t want to share it with us or anyone. That’s not the point. The point is to get this shit out of your system to you can free yourself up to write and say things in your screenplay like “RETARD.”
Get it?
Fuck being politically correct unless you truly desire to be politically correct. I gotta tell ya — I’m sick of the shit myself and in this business, it seems to float right to the surface and it’s rather difficult to scrape off without offending someone.
But we’re talking about stories. We’re talking about screenplays. We’re talking about movies.
We’ve somehow got to shed all the muck and mire holding us back. How many times have you thought of something too sexy, pornographic, politically offensive, etc. to write in your screenplay only to hold back because you didn’t think it was gonna “fly?”
Fuck that.
You could easily fuckin’ toss everything I’ve written on this site right out the window as long as you glean ONE THING.
Character.
It’s your characters that make your story come alive. Don’t let ANY of the other shit hold you up from writing it down. And, if you’re having problems with characters and getting them right — getting them to do the things we want — NO NEED — to see them do and say — then start with yourself.
Allow yourself the FREEDOM to write it the way you really want and need to write it. Your characters will be better for it. Your story will be better for it. Your screenplay will be better for it.
By peeling back those exact same layers all these new visitors keep sending me emails about — on YOURSELF — you’re bringing yourself another step closer to peeling back those layers on your characters.
But it can be difficult to peel those layers back on your characters if you can’t do it on yourself hence, the exercise.
There is no right or wrong way to do this except to start it out with:
I AM A WHATEVER.
Then go back to your childhood — as far back as you can remember and write that shit down. Who did you hate? Who did you want to murder? Who did you want to fuck? Who did you want to rob? Whose house did you want to burn down? Who were you in love with? Who do you still think about?
Sure, we might have wanted all that shit but if you’re like most of us, you didn’t realize many of these wants, needs, and desires. Why? Because of yourself. Not because of me. Not because of your Mommy and Daddy. Not because of your brother or sister, aunt or uncle, friends or associates.
You made decisions that thwarted your very own wants, needs, and desires just like your characters thwart their own wants, needs, and desires.
Admit it.
I’ll start…
I AM AN ANARCHIST
Being an anarchist in a world of rules is no easy feat. I circumvent the rules whenever I can. The difference between myself and others who don’t like the rules is that I am willing to reap what I sow. If that means spending some time in jail — I don’t give a shit. I’ll do it standing on my head and if they’re stupid enough to put me in jail, I’ll end up running the place.
Which is why I was the always the GO-TO guy in the Navy. Go-to guys in the Navy are those people that really know their job. Management knows they know their job better than anyone else and use this fact to keep them from getting promoted in favor of reaping the benefits of this person’s knowledge and hence, many in management get promoted and leave the go-to guy back for everyone else to keep taking advantage of.
I bend the rules as far as I can and I don’t give a shit what rule that is. If I break it without getting caught — so much the better.
I enjoy freedom of speech so when I engage in a conversation at my local coffee shop, I exercise that freedom and in return, I get the usual frowns from the politically correct coffee drinkers breathing my air.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend being an anarchist to anyone… It doesn’t seem to work very well in this day and age and takes a lot of committment on my part and of course the willingness to back it up. At times, I have found that it’s usually way fucking easier to simply go with the flow but the only problem is that I can’t fucking sleep at night when I go with the flow if I don’t agree with the flow.
I most likely earned the badge of being an anarchist from good old Mom and Pop. Don’t get me wrong. I love ‘em because they are my Mom and Dad but in reality, they should never have had any children. They were both in prison and my brother and I lived with Grandma and Grandpa until they got out. Dad got out first. He just showed up at Grandma and Grandpa’s one day, looked at my brother and I — 5 and 4 respectively — and said, “Let’s go.”
I’d seen him before… In prison. My Grandma would take me on a Greyhound bus and we’d make the milk run to the prison up in the north end of the state. We’d hang out with him for a half-hour before making the milk run back home. He was a scary motherfucker but wow — he was handsome. He had the kind of good looks that movie stars had. He grew up rich and spoiled yet when he got out and took my brother and I with him, he ceased to be rich. He continued to be spoiled because his mother — my OTHER Grandmother — kept enabling him with things like businesses and money. Unfortunately, he was the kind of businessman that stuck all the money made that day into his pocket.
After a couple of businesses down the drain, Mommy got out of prison… Two ex-cons bringing up two little boys. LOL. Let’s just say that we learned how to break the rules early.
Everything in my life has been such a fucking chore. That’s not whining mind you… Just an observation.
Growing up, I migrated toward friends that had LEAVE IT TO BEAVER families… LOL. I loved being part of their little circle. It felt good albeit for a short time. Unfortunately, Dad could see that I was liking it way too much and would forbid me from being part of that circle any longer. Which means I read a lot of books. My Dad is also an avid reader so we do have that in common.
As an adult, I’ve either realized there are no real life LEAVE IT TO BEAVER families or that everyone is just fucked up but fucked up in a way that they’re okay with. Yeah, I’m judgmental about it. Why the hell not? I don’t tell them how fucked up their little circle is… I just observe. I watch. I see how everyone manipulates each other and I laugh to myself because it seems that nobody else can tell.
It’s my secret.
I’m always wondering how I can scam the system. I can’t help it. Scamming the system is fun. Unfortunately, it takes just as much work as not scamming the system but it’s definitely more fun even if you get caught. In fact, the idea of getting caught is a lot of the fun. It’s risky but I thrive on risk. Without risk, I might as well stick an ice pick in my brain.
I have a temper.
My Dad used to tell me to never hit a woman. Unfortunately, that was one of those things your father says to you that falls into the DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO category… LOL. But you know what? My Mom pushed all the right buttons. She wanted him to beat the shit out of her. Don’t worry… She managed to get in her licks when the old man came home drunk as a skunk. Many a time I came home to see one of them killing the other and pulling the one doing the killing — off.
Have I ever hit a woman? Nope. Have I thought of hitting a woman?
Hell yeah.
They’re divorced now but I can tell my Mom misses my Dad. She talks about him way too much and what’s absolutely fucking funny are her own tales of our very own LEAVE IT TO BEAVER family.
Mom, YOU FUCKING KILL ME.
On the other hand, Dad is one of those sociopaths next door. He’s worse than me. He doesn’t give a shit about anybody.
I do. I really like people. It’s hard for me to like individuals but I do like people overall. I like to watch them. I especially like to watch them interact with others while the entire time I’m mentally stalking the shit out of them. I even think about them later… I wonder what it would be like to drop myself into their lives with all my knowledge of them. I’ve actually done that a few times… You know… Watch someone for days, weeks, months… And then manipulate circumstances so that I end up meeting them and then STUN them with my knowledge.
Of them.
Not outright of course. That would be too fucking easy.
No… I use my near-photographic memory to manipulate our meetings. I talk about the things I know they want to talk about. I listen because nobody listens to them. Unfortunately, I get bored easily and reach for the characters in my screenplay(s) because they are much more fascinating to me than these “real” people.
Don’t get me wrong… I’ve met a few real people. I know they exist but how often do we really get to meet one? How often do we have relationships with them? Most people seem to be acting until we get to know them.
That’s when I get bored. Sure. I take all the blame for that.
I’m a loner. I prefer to be alone. Unfortunately, I get too many people wanting to visit me. I get too many people that want my advice. I get too many people that won’t do what they need to do to obtain the knowledge they want from me for free. By free, I mean without any work or research. I’d rather give my knowledge away to strangers than to someone I know because they just won’t do the fucking work.
They rely on me.
And I let them.
Quit lurking.
Unk
Comments
114 Responses to “I am a Whatever”
i’m dizzy. i did a search for screenwriting blog and yours was at the top. i clicked the link and just finished reading this.
i’m not going to share hwere and i don’t have a site but i will say:
I AM A CUNT.
i have butterflies just from typing that out. i know it and i know others think it.
now to write the rest.
thanx!
marta
Well, I must say I learned a lot about you from this post. Even though I’ll probably never see what you look like in person, I do like the fact that you’re more than just a computer screen to me now.
I also understand where you’re coming from with the observation comment. Me, I’m an only child so I’m totally fascinated about sibling relationships since I will never have one. I like my alone time, but I also like company. And sometimes really crave it too.
Just thought I’d share since I haven’t posted in a while. :)
[...] bookmarks tagged other I am a Whatever saved by 4 others whittneyD bookmarked on 08/19/08 | [...]
Long time lurker about to de-lurk:
I AM A PERVERT
At least I think I am. I have actually thought about writing this down or getting a shrink to listen to me. I see a man and I immediately wonder what it would be like to do him. I see him with a friend or two and I wonder what it would be like to do all of them. Okay, you got me. I have done them. It was powerful and addicting. I loved every second of it because it was on my terms and they were very accommodating. I liked it so why am I a pervert? If I like it should I be a pervert? Are men perverts when they do the same thing? I often wonder if it’s because of my uncle that I like what I do. My uncle and I did each other when I turned 21 after taking me out to a bar on my birthday. I was away from home going to college but he was nearby. I came on to him and I didn’t really think he’d go with it. I finally stopped it because of the guilt I felt about it. He agreed. We still see each other on family occasions and we flirt. I can’t help it. Sometimes I think of him when I do others.
I can’t believe I just wrote that.
How is that digging deep marta when there was no explanation?
I agree with the intent of Unk’s post but I will sit back and see who uses it for the sake of bettering their writing and who uses it for as a leather couch or a ‘happening’. And yes I KNOW I will draw flack but, oh yes, I am fairly true to myself.;-] I will also be unpopular and say that knowing Unk more surely isn’t the point? If i knew what he wrote and could look at that against what he had said about himself then maybe that would be more useful given the topic (for me). I am ultra aware of 2 facets of my life experience that influence my writing and the themes I choose.
OMG. I came back here to read some old posts. I’m scared just considering doing this. No, I am scared to death.
I am invisible.
Nobody sees me. Nobody at work cares what I do. I don’t know whether I like that or not. In one way it gives me the freedom to move about as I see fit. In another way, it’s a little lonely there. I am so invisible that people wonder if I’m new when they see me.
I’ve been there for 6 years. I get a paycheck like clockwork. I get 2 weeks vacation but I found a flaw in their system so I took 4 weeks just to see what would happen. I was hoping to talk my way out of it if anyone said anything. Nobody said a word because nobody knew I was gone.
I don’t exist.
I guess I was one of the lucky ones that got an answer to my question.
Now my heart is thumping like a stress pain. I just read this post and you have me wondering about my characters thank you very much. I thoight I knew them but after reading this and thinking about myself and then comparing that to my characters, I realize they are superficial.
And that leads me to say I AM SUPERFICIAL.
I don’t want to be but I can’t seem to help it. I worrry about my clothes. I worry about what I drive. I worry about how others see me. I am constantly seeking approval. SOmetimes from total strangers. I don’t want to know anything about anyone. Not really. I used to think I did but after my last girlfriend I realized it stresses me out too much. I always shift conversations to who I am and what I do. I want to impress anyone. I used to think it was just women but the more I do it the more I find out I want to impress anyone that will listen or look in my direction. I have a decent job that I 100% admit I got because of the way I dress and what I drive. I am in hock up to my balls because of what I drive and what I wear but I can’t stop. I see a counsler for this but all I do is try to impress her and I think it’s working.
This is crazy shit.
Connor
Connor, you could write about that sort of character really well though. :) If you did have that story in a script I would like to know your characters reaction if your counselor said one day..Connor, you have sat here conning me and talk festing for weeks. When are you going to get real?!
I had a male friend years ago who talk fested his way through half a dozen female counselors and slept with two of them. He needed to feel pathetic so he could justify his behaviour of working people to save him financially.
I think this is a great character set for a script.
Susan,
As a matter of fact, after I wrote the above comment, it occurred to me that I could change my main character into a guy like me.
It’s funny because the main character is more like me than I would care to admit but I’ve not been peeling back any layers yet I just peeled off a few of my own that I can use.
Like I said, this is crazy shit. Glad I came out of my closet. Another piece of the missing puzzle to be sure.
Connor
Much of this is about that emotional maturity we need to bring to the script table. We must also realise of course that how we describe ourselves may change as we age because we may put emphasis on slightly different things. Anyway..
I am an underachiever
I am a phobic
These are about analysis and critique. The particular phobia I have experienced (I am in remission so to speak) was borne from sustained
anxiety and fear which commenced in my childhood.
This means that despite some battles with learning screen writing I can write a darn fine interrogation scene without many changes required. The ‘darn fine’ was a comment offered by a consultant; not my own descriptor.
I have also experienced sustained violence but as a woman I am very mindful of male experience at the hands of abusers.
So, two issues that lean me towards being able to write sequences of mind games material and response of victim or even submissive to violence very well. So far, oddly perhaps, I’ve not used them.
The underachiever or in wrong niche tends to be more a theme but reflects back on fear. True to self referred to in last post is about
learning curve and about honesty BUT reflective honesty as opposed to the way some people consider this as simply spitting out
perceptions of others (though I offered a perception to Unk today!)
I am also a woman of the rural zone and the comedy I am writing largely reflects the way I know country people to be and the fondness I have for their spirit.
I presume those who co-write well probably combine talents born from trait strength.
Long-time lurker. I love the honesty on this site!
I’m a bitch to cover my loneliness.
I’m blunt and tell people exactly how I feel. I pretend I’m not at all worried about their reactions and have perfected the “I don’t give a fuck” attitude. If someone pisses me off, I tell them. If someone looks like shit, I tell them. Brutal honesty. I can handle getting it back in public. But, in the lonely hours of the night, that’s when I start to think of things. Have I set myself up to be single and alone? Should I lay off the sarcasm a little? Is it a self-fulfilling prophecy? I really can’t stand big crowds and I don’t like people as a general rule - unless they’re interesting, but like UNK I get bored. So, I push people’s buttons. I push people away because they’re more interesting when they’re self-righteous and indignant. But, in reality I want to find love - the kind that makes you feel like anything’s possible. Does it exist? I’m beginning to think not. So the bitchiness continues and it seems to have gotten worse. And I am a completely cliche person! Good grief…
No wonder I like my characters, they are at least interesting!
marta,
Thanks for sharing. Was it difficult?
The point here is to write it from the GUT. Get it all out on paper which you say you are going to do.
I actually learned this exercise when I was forced to attend ANGER MANAGEMENT. Notice I said I learned about it because I sure as hell didn’t actually do it like everyone else.
Why?
Because I shouldn’t have been there in the first place and that was my simple act of rebellion.
Having said that… What I find most revealing about writing this stuff down is to go with the segue into a different direction INSTEAD of telling a complete chronological story.
Why?
Because you never have to complete this exercise. It can be ongoing for LIFE.
Kellene,
I’m really not as bad as I make myself out to be…
Or am I?
jaz,
Interesting piece of information but WORTHLESS unless you capitalize on it somehow.
Ouch! Did I just type that?
Yeah I did.
Susan,
I did mean to make this a COUCH SESSION of sorts. It’s gotta start SOMEWHERE. Here or the couch — makes no difference to me as long as it helps to dig deeper than you’ve BEEN digging with your characters.
I’m not here to analyze. I’m not telling anyone to analyze what they share or write. The first step is to simply get it out — gut it out.
If you can be truthful about yourself — you just MIGHT be a little more truthful about your characters instead of keeping them flat and one dimensional.
Scarecrow,
Wow. Is this comment the completion of your character arc?
Naaah.
Connor,
You’re already beneath the top layer. The fact that you can discuss this means that you know you are aware of it — whether that means it’s a problem or not.
Just use it.
Susan,
You said:
So, two issues that lean me towards being able to write sequences of mind games material and response of victim or even submissive to violence very well. So far, oddly perhaps, I’ve not used them.
You should.
Kristy,
My ex-wife was just like that… Brutally honest. Let’s just say it’s failed to work for her. She’s lonely. How do I know?
She tells me so. LOL.
This has the making for a great character though.
Thanks for sharing.
Good stuff people… Great stuff.
Unk
Oh, I will, but all things in their own time. As to the couch? Hmm..I’m not entirely sold on this current treatment of the issue which I say partly from a teaching background and partly from cultural. You folk are much more likely to wear a heart on sleeve than we are.
I can see Kristy trapped in a cell with an interrogator absolutely battering her with skin stretching comments and turning her behaviour back on herself.
Nicely noire.
So far I think Connor has addressed the topic in the neatest characterisation way. I felt a natural empathy with him even though some of the traits may not be traditionally ‘likable’. I wanted to know more and that gets two thumbs up!
Susan,
You folk? LOLOLOLOLOL.
You’re probably right about the heart on the sleeve comment for a lot of us but from where I come from, you don’t say something about someone to their face or behind their back unless you’re willing to reap the whirlwind of that person.
That we’ve evolved into this touchy-feely society is one of the reasons for this post.
We might not be getting touchy-feely ENOUGH with our characters.
Just a thought.
Unk
Yes, well, you’re astute enough to know I was vaguely fluffing re the ‘you folk’. I fluffed because I wanted to avoid a cultural generalisation even though I think it largely correct. Now I’ve said it anyway really. Heh :)
I’m afraid I take issue with elements of the remainder of your post but I’m not sure discussing it helps illumination of characterisation issues and so on.
BUT, ok, I really find it vaguely offensive to justify telling someone what ya think just because you (and I am applying a generic ‘you’ here) are prepared to take their whirlwind back. I don’t see that as a cut across touchy-feely nor progressive. I find it potentially self-centred as if the party considers their view so vital and so ‘right’ that they need to share it.
Is keeping one’s own counsel simply touchy-feely? It may be but I can think of a load of situations where it’s not; its simply being adult and not assuming your right to be in the world needs to be always overtly expressed.
This topic surely wasn’t all about traits that are in other people’s faces or that potentially diminish others? My traits were about how I can potentially diminish me. Connors were balanced between the two polar points and that came across because of his choice of wording.
But I don’t find it enlightening or progressive or ‘new’ to think that one balances ones hurtful expressions to others merely because one is prepared for a lash back OR because one does a minor amount of navel gazing and is aware of it.
The earlier discussion about traits that may lead to loneliness was just first layer. Saying, I express X and Y mean and hurtful comments that lead me to feel lonely, is surely only one step into reflexivity?
All this was about building characters that have dimension. Is it always going to be adequate to have a character that goes and gorges on food each time they rip the heart out of someone else? It might, for a time. But I am guessing that sooner or later THAT will be trite and inadequate if that’s as far as a writer is repeatedly prepared to go. It does, I admit, incur empathy but once again, Connor induced an empathy in me other posts did not. There is a reason for that.
The potted version of my post is that APART from character discussion, I don’t embrace rationalisation for people being mean to others. If you read back my “I am” post the reason for that is pretty easy to see.
I knew I liked you.
I’ll do this on the blog tomorrow, once I figure out what the hell my answer is.
Do not really know how to go about this, except just to go for it.
I am A Pervert
Reading what Jaz had to say, all I could think about was wanting to hear more about her experiences, more about her sexual exploits. Not just that, but when I was living by myself I would literally spend days trawling the net, looking for similar people, wanting to hear their stories. The more perverted, the better. I think this may be because my parents were not exactly liberal. But that does not explain much.
I am also Lazy
I mean incredibly lazy. Several times, I have deleted this post because I have gotten half way through, and simply could not be bothered writing the rest. I do that often, at work, at home, just about in every single facet of my life. I would not watch any movie with me as a lead character, as I am really passive, always wanting things to happen.
Unk,
You are a brave, honest, and deeply intriguing guy. And I thank you for making me realize just how deep or shallow I am going with my characters at this point. So…
I am a SELFISH, ADULTEROUS SON OF A BITCH
When I was 22, I went to Vegas and married my girlfriend of 4 years. First “real” girlfriend. Small town girl. We got married, and the reason I did it was because I had such a horrible view of myself I literally thought, “Well, who else am I gonna get to marry me?” Not the best reason.
So we got married. Wrong idea. She really thought about it, thought hard, decided yes, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me. Myself? I guess I saw us more as a good friend. I didn’t enjoy kissing her, making love never really got me, I would rather masturbate to porn or sex chat. I just went through the motions. But did I ever speak about that? Nope. Never. Why? I couldn’t get anyone better, remember?
I guess it should have made some sirens go off when the second morning ater our wedding, in our “honeymoon” phase, she was pissed off and wouldn’t talk to me. I asked why, and she told me she woke up to me masturbating in the corner, when I wouldn’t sleep with her that night because I wasn’t in the mood. I don’t remember, wasn’t drinking as I don’t do that, kind of was sleep-walking I guess. Anyways… when we got back home she was in the Navy and went off on a trip for a couple months.
That’s when it happened. A girl at work, an amazingly beautiful, one of the most drop dead gorgeous women I had yet to meet, started to flirt with me. I was now married and that made it exciting for her I guess. She heard I was a romantic and wanted to see. And yes, I was, I wrote her poems, sung her songs, delivered her gifts, all secretly of course. And we got together and had sex. And I was excited, I loved it, I thrived on it.
I cheated.
I didn’t feel bad.
I felt good.
I felt alive, I felt this thing happening in my gut that I never felt for my current “wife”. So I called my wife away on her boat and told her I met someone, two weeks into our marriage, and I wanted to see what these feelings were. And I ended it. I bought a divorce kit and processed it all and didn’t even feel bad.
I felt bad for her, for what I did, for how I screwed up her life and ripped out her heart and was completely selfish about it.
My family turned on me, I had nobody, the girl I cheated with no longer found me exciting.
I was suddenly alone. And I was thrilled. I moved to the west coast and got a little place and explored my life. I starved, got a job, met some girls, fell in love, fell out of love, wore my wedding ring to get one night stands, fell in lust, accidentally ended up in a gay bar where a guy got me into a peep show booth and I had to really shake my head and wonder what the hell I was doing. I got out and realized how life can be as crazy and as shitty and as wonderful as you make it. But you have to be selfish. Think about yourself forst and what’s best for you.
As I look back I don’t regret ending it. I regret getting married in the first place. But I don’t regret a single step I took. I will always feel bad for doing that to her, for the role I played, but I don’t regret it.
It made me who I am. It gave me life experience. It breathed life into my broken soul. I would never have met my current wife, who is my best friend, a woman I can’t get enough sex with, and turns me on with the blink of an eye or a second of her kiss.
And I never would have written the scripts I have written after that stage in my life.
Have I put a guy like this into a script of mine? No. Should I? Not sure. But should I be as brutally honest with, and when creating, my characters? You bet your ass.
Thanks Unk.
Susan,
Yes, I caught the “you folk” backed up with the “wearing your heart on your sleeve.”
So just that I understand you correctly… LOL.
Are you saying someone SHOULDN’T tell someone else what they think about them?
Or
Are your saying that someone SHOULDN’T tell someone else what they think about them if it’s something mean?
Because what I meant is simply this…
If one IS IN FACT going to talk — and by talk, I mean TALK SHIT about someone — whether to that someone or anyone else — then one should be willing to take responsibility for it i.e., own up to it i.e., back it up i.e., reap the whirlwind FROM the someone they were talking shit about.
I’m not here to get into any kind of psychiatric discourse about any of this… Which is why I really don’t care what anyone says here.
I don’t care that Kristy thinks she’s mean to people for being brutally honest. I don’t care that Connor thinks he’s superficial.
I don’t care because there’s nothing I can do about it. If anyone here perceives that what they share here is in fact a problem they possess, the best that I can hope for them is to first admit that there’s a problem and from my limited perspective here — it seems that they do in fact consider it some kind of problem since based on the post, they went ahead and shared.
I’m not here to justify anything… I don’t have to because I’m not debating anything with anyone. I’m happy ENOUGH with myself to feel justified to write what I write here.
Please make note…
I’m not telling anyone to do anything. If that is someone’s perception, for that I apologize. LOL.
Kind of.
Okay, not really.
I’m here to share stuff about screenwriting. Nothing more. I’m not here to make friends and be popular although if I can make a few friends along the way — what’s the harm in that?
Apparently, I do tend to write things that get under some readers’ skins from time to time but even so, I still think the discussion is worthwhile. Just as “people” were offended by hearing the word RETARD, some people will occasionally get offended here.
It’s to be expected since we cannot be all things to all people.
Mine is simply one opinion from a perspective that doesn’t seem to be universal.
For that I am happy.
But back on topic…
I’m talking about characters.
I can easily see, understand, and agree that there CERTAINLY people in the world that tell others what they think of them. I see it all the time. Is it right or wrong?
I don’t give a shit.
Just like I don’t care if someone is a liberal or a conservative. Just like I don’t care if someone is anything.
Why?
Because this site is about screenwriting.
Being able to tell someone what they think of them IS, in my humble opinion, an interesting personality trait. It would be especially interesting to write a story about that kind of character whether you make him or her arc or not.
I choose to keep an OPEN MIND to most things.
While I choose not to be a racist or bigot, I still find those subjects worth writing about and rather than writing about them with a confirmed agenda in mind, I would rather explore both sides of any subject matter in order to get a reader to THINK rather than to persuade.
But that’s just me… And, no matter what, I think our TRUTHS always find a way to break through the material however subtle but I would rather get a reader to THINK about the subject matter than to try and sell them on what I consider to be the right way to think about it.
By keeping one’s counsel, I am assuming you mean to KEEP QUIET.
I think keeping quiet is JUST AS VIABLE a position to take as NOT BEING QUIET.
When it comes to screenwriting and being a writer of sorts, I tend to think of myself being comparable to those filmmakers that make wild animal documentaries. They mostly take the neutral route i.e., they do not interfere with nature. They could easily keep the little baby elephant from wandering near a mud hole and drowning but they stay out of nature’s way and if it happens — it happens.
In fact, I never really understood their position UNTIL I decided to take almost the exact same position when it comes to people and writing stories.
Do I have likes and dislikes? Of course. Don’t we all? I just do not subscribe to telling others what I think they should do with their lives. Do I have an opinion on how they might be as people? Sure I do — just as have an opinion on the movies I see, the food I eat, and the businesses I give my business to.
I never try to persuade others to be the same as I because I’m no better or worse than anyone else I know.
I do what I think is right for me… As I think others should do what they think is right for them.
Does that mean I think a person should beat up on another person? LOL. Certainly not. Verbally or physically — but if I don’t know those people, what can I do about it? If someone is a bully or worse, a person prone to physical abuse of others, I would hope that those around him or her realize what this person is and walk away from them.
Just like I vote with my wallet. Just like I stay away from cheese. Although for some reason, I can still eat pizza. LOL.
Unk
You asked, albeit you don’t give a shit:
Are you saying someone SHOULDN’T tell someone else what they think about them?
Or
Are your saying that someone SHOULDN’T tell someone else what they think about them if it’s something mean?
I’m not saying either. However, the original prompt was phrased in a way that, I believe, led to murky waters and made it a semi-psychological piece and not about characterisation per se. It started that way but ended with a lengthy psych piece. Of course, philosophically all this IS about the way we potentially deal with characters if we are so moved to see it that way. In the right kind of script you and I debating these matters - which speak to values and interpretation - would be vital and interesting. There aren’t right and wrongs here but neither one of your options is what I was getting at.
What I am asking is this:
Why are we motivated to say what we say to people - is it about them or about us (in my opinion most of the time its about us if we are casting a judgment)
To me this fires into characterisation.
I was also offering a personal values stance about judgment expressions; that I do NOT accept that someone justifies being mean spirited to someone on the basis that they are prepared to get flack back. That is, to my way of thinking, potentially lazy, immature and irresponsible. But let’s work through an example and attend to the preceding points.
What would motivate me to tell someone I meet that they look like shit in their dress. Unless they asked for my honest opinion, what on earth would motivate me to tell them that? There is nothing noble in the expression, nothing grand. And to claim that “I am honest but I have to expect the potential of a slam dunk back” simply doesn’t cut it for me on that kind of example either.
I have read a lot of weak dialogue scripts and have of them have these equally weak and vacuous portrayals of humanity. That of course can be countered by the fact that there are, clearly, people out there acting like that. In a story that has that kind of interaction, I expect some sort of challenge to that. And THAT’s what I’ve been talking about when it comes to critical reflexivity.
Give me MORE challenge so that you keep me and avoid being a C grade movie.
Of course, one could offer an entirely different example from what I offered an arrive at a different outcome. That makes for a different dialogue dynamic.
And yes, I know there have been many school girl scenes of bitchiness where hair and dress and way of being are picked on and people are bullies. Horses for courses.
By the way, I will stand up for myself since you commented on physical abuse and avoiding people who wear that. (Although I think it was a passing comment and you didn’t mean to wound). In the general sense (since I clearly said I have experienced that) I agree with you. But it should not be assumed that people don’t move beyond who they have been in their lives. Many people spend their life dealing with what they were taught to be as children. I know people in their 60’s who are working through such things. Some have to deal with having being told they are the centre of the universe; others that they are worth nothing. And its these wounds that tend to make for character flaws I believe.
Susan,
No offense but who’s wearing their heart on their sleeve now?
Of course I didn’t mean to wound. You’d KNOW it if I meant to. I wasn’t even thinking of YOU when I wrote that as I come from a fairly abusive family myself.
I think the problem here is that we’re STRAYING from the subject matter — SCREENWRITING and more specifically — CHARACTERS.
I’m pretty sure I could take the last part of your last comment and argue about it with you for days because of course I have my own opinions about it but that’s not what this is about by a long shot.
Having said that, I do believe that the discussion is worthy of being here especially when we bring it right back to the subject matter at hand.
None of this should be taken personally and I am here and now REFUSING to take part in any further discussion that in any way shape or form gets us off the subject of screenwriting. LOL.
The exercise is nothing more than an attempt to get someone — anyone who MIGHT be having a difficult time creating multidimensional characters.
Nothing more.
We are all multidimensional characters. I truly believe that no matter how boring or one-dimensional a person MAY APPEAR TO BE on the outside.
Some people just do not know where to start or worse — HOW TO START.
It is for these screenwriters this exercise is meant for. No more judgements of what they say here because once again — that simply is not the point.
The point is to run through the exercise — writing about yourself in an attempt to get at those problems, flaws, secrets, fears, and skeletons that you need to give to your characters.
Be truthful with yourself about the above and chances are that you just might be able to clear a path to do the same with your characters.
No harm — no foul.
Unk
Your comment about on sleeve is accepted however I was not upset.
What DOES surprise me is that I have repeatedly moved to discuss characterisation in terms of screen writing in my posts. In fact I’m one of the few respondents to this thread who has.
I am as equally surprised that pure portrayals of self are considered closer to your intention.
Susan,
Accepted?
Surprise you?
People are simply doing more or less what I urged them to do.
If you would like to discuss characterization within these comments, I am more than happy to do that.
The PURE PORTRAYALS of self are exactly what I wrote about in the post… What I suggested screenwriters having any kind of a problem with their characters attempt to do as a simple exercise to get them to SEE WHAT IT’S LIKE TO PULL THE SHIT OUT OF THE CLOSET AND GET IT OUT IN THE OPEN.
I guess I am clearly missing the points you are attempting to make here except that of motivation and wounds as character flaws.
What would motivate someone to say someone else looks like shit?
Kristy touches on that beautifully in my opinion but again, I don’t want this to turn into a discussion of what Kristy said about herself.
You also make a good point about wounds being character flaws and since you made that point and to me it was obvious, I didn’t see any reason to expand on it.
You are correct. People are taught a lot of things by a lot of people. Are those people to blame for those wounds — those character flaws?
Sure they are.
And of course that makes for very good fodder for a story and screenplay.
So what else did I miss?
Unk
WTF, Unk? I get to work at 5:30am after a 70 minute drive, read your latest post and imagine my surprise to get to the end and see you already had 25 freakin’ responses!
You hit a major nerve, my man ;-)
I could start out by saying ‘I am a victim of abuse’ which happened when I was 4 years old – by a neighborhood teen – but then I would have to fill in the blanks (which I really don’t remember). Let’s say it has left me with trust issues. I could start out?? Guess I DID start out. Anyway…
Onward.
I think most readers – where did all these new folks come from?? – missed the point. Yeah, it’s great to know what/who you are – where you came from – your life’s philosophy. I think the the point you are trying to make is this: ask this same question of each and everyone of your characters. Period. I’ve come to realize my story characters are weak, and I’m working on that. And this exercise will help me become a better writer. Because the bottom line is every writer should know their characters as well as, or better than, themselves. Character + Emotion = Story.
By the way… Are you licensed to practice psychiatry in your state?
Keep Writing,
Mike
I would not be interested in exploring Kristy’s character. I would be interested in exploring Connor’s.
I’ll leave the discussion at this point. This should not be construed as petulant by any means but rather where this thread took ME is not where the majority are situated. I don’t accept, not unless the posters discuss it, that telling a portrayal of themselves is going to offer individuals a deep connectivity with script writing characters. I respect your aim but I am yet to see someone who told a story really run with connecting it to a better understanding of script writing. I tried to draw the discussion to that and was told I wasn’t discussing script. I have heard the mission bell a’ringin!
Enjoy! I will turn up at next topic! :)
Susan,
I WOULD let you have the last comment about this but for some reason, I feel compelled to NOT let you have it.
I think you DEFINITELY missed the point of the post as Mike deftly pointed out.
At best — at least to me — your attempt at drawing the discussion towards screenwriting was convoluted.
Remember… I said TO ME.
I don’t consider you petulant at all. These comments just don’t DO IT FOR YOU.
No harm no foul.
If one simply reads my post and then reads the comments, those who shared their story did exactly that.
I didn’t expect anyone to expound on their story as to HOW it might help them with their characters — certainly if someone does want to expound on that — it would be welcome.
This is just about the process of learning how to be honest about the shit in your life or what you may consider to be the shit.
Trust me when I tell you that a lot can be said for repetition. Do something enough fucking times and you can get good at it.
The funny thing is…
It always starts with the number ONE.
Maybe this ONE was it.
Unk
I AM A CHEAT.
I am totally stealing your life story for my screenplay.
Sorry.
Oh, one more thing…
I AM NOT SORRY.
Seriously though. Great post. Jolted me upright faster than a double expresso.
I just finished reading all these comments. First time here and all. I don’t know anything about this site except that I know I will be coming back.
Fascinating stuff for sure. Not boring like a lot of the other screenwriting sites and I have to admit, this post has really got me thinking about my characters.
I understand what you are saying Susan P. but Unknown is correct. I even went back and re-read everything because I wanted to make sure. Mike is also correct. To me, it is almost as if these comments really bother you and if they do, that might be worth exploring rahter than an exploration of Connor’s comments or character. You really did try to circumvent the comments to your own agenda or at least that is what it looks like to me but I am a newcomer.
Funny thing is that I have never felt the desire to enter into a discussion on any site before this morning. For some reason, this one really hits home for me and I am not really sure if I can get deep enough with it because I am already feeling the anxiety of considering digging it up.
I am a liar. I guess just writing that might make you wonder if I am lying right now but I am trying not to.
I lie about everything to everyone. I lie to my parents. They think I have a great job making lots of money. They think I have a great girlfriend who I am marrying next spring. I am a waiter and trying to be an actor as well as a screenwriter because the acting is not panning out for me.
I’ve lied about being in movies and I keep telling everyone that my part ended up on the cutting room floor. I’ve even gone so far as to have a friend tape made up scenes for me and intercut them with some movies so I would have something to show the folks and friends back home.
I did not lie when I lived at home. I was what you would call an all American boy. I played sports in high school. My girlfriend was a cheerleader. Typical, cliche stuff. Now that I think about it, I had it all. I had a car. I had money whenever I needed it. I had popularity. I had friends.
Out here in Los Angeles, I share a one bedroom apartment with another actor who I do not even like but I need a place to sleep so I put up with him. I don’t have to lie to him but he knows I lie to everyone else. In fact, he helps me remember my lies and he helps me make up some good ones. He says that eventually I will get enough work to not lie anymore but I wonder if that will actually happen or will the lies just become bigger and more profound.
I am trying to figure out why I lie and all that I can come with here and now is that I suppose that when I was back home, I never let anyone down. I really never made any mistakes. I also think that because of that “life” I thought it would be easier here. I keep wanting to give up and go back home but I am afraid of everyone knowing I am a failure. I have recently thought about dropping out of my life completely. Not kill myself but just go somewhere else and start all over as somebody else if that makes sense.
A friend of my father’s did that a few years ago. He just up and left his family, job, friends, everything.
His wife had a private detective find him in Florida using a different name and running a strip club just a year after he left everyone.
She pleaded for him to come back home but he supposedly acted like he no longer even knew her.
That entire scenario scares the hell out of me. One one hand, I would like to drp out but I know that is just me runnig away. On the other hand, I want to keep working at the acting thing because I “feel” like success is just around the corner but to be honest, I have been feeling that for quite a while now.
Now that I think about this a little more, I am just now realizing that most of my actor friends that are not from around here do the same thing as I do. I had not thought of that before and now that I do, I am really wondering about my real motivation for lying about my success or lack thereof.
I do know that my parents didn’t want me to come here. They wanted me to go to college and were prepared to pay for everything and even out here, they have paid for a lot of things. I feel pretty guilty for that too.
Unfortunately, the screenplay I have in mind has nothing to do with an actor but I suppose I could still make the lead character a liar since he really wasn’t much of anything before. If I take it a little further and just from reading a few other posts here before I started this long comment (sorry!), I suppose I could start my character out as the same all American boy and then turn him into a liar and then maybe, get him to come full circle.
While it’s not a perfect plan, it does seem reasonable to me right now. If not full circle, then cure his lying by having it hurt someone so they no longer trust in him and it was that trust that he really wanted and desired.
Wow. Now a lot of things are springing to mind.
I guess that is what the exercise is about. Now there’s not enough room to keep going so I think I will sleep on this, wake up in a few hours and really write it all down.
Very exciting!
I am a foot fetishist — and proud of it — except when mall security detains me for loitering around the Jimmy Choo store. I do not know where it began but I think it has something to do with staring at the bottom of Playboy centerfolds because I was too shy to scan upwards. Is it the sexy curve of a feminine heel, the tiny perfect toes all painted rainbow colors, the hint of nakedness hiding elsewhere? Fuck if I know, I didn’t say I had all the answers yet –
I’M ATTRACTED TO FUCKED UP WOMEN.
This has resulted in deep emotional and physical scars. And chronic depression. And cynicism. And bitterness. And loneliness.
Here I am, reading the comments on this post from women professing to all sorts of screwed up ideas and feelings and deeds, and all I’m thinking is: I wanna meet these people!
Yeah, that’s me. I’ll never be happy with a homemaker-type woman, but I’d love an emo bitch who throws empty bottles at my head and cuts herself till she bleeds. Life just isn’t fun without an ongoing disaster.
Dude.
1) Why are you doing this on a day when I have to help my buddy MOVE his shit from an apartment, and I have literally five minutes this whole week.
2) We have much more in common than I originally suspected.
3) I am A BALL-BUSTER - I try to hide it, I try to get along with the civilians who don’t realize my tendencies, but whenever I’m given the chance, I bust balls and I’ve gotten into so many fights and confrontations over it that I’ve worked to curb it, but it’s like alcoholism . . . you never stop being an alcoholic, you just stop drinking. I let it rip in the writing and nurse my ball-busting hangovers on the page.
4) I HAVE ANGER ISSUES, especially regarding bullies, like most people do, but I have a bad habit, if I see a little guy getting beat up by a big guy, of just stepping in and kicking ass. I got beat up on a daily basis as a scrawny kid and now I have issues, even though I’m too old for that tussling in the street shit, I get drawn toward it.
I should have been a cop, because I always want to act like one.
5) I’m fucking scared to death of failure, especially now that I got a family. I keep that shit to myself, but it’s there. I grew up on bologna sandwiches, and I don’t want that for him.
6) I don’t make friends easily, but once I do, it’s some deep loyal shit.
I can go on and on, but I need to get across down and pick up a couch and carry it for a friend.
Okay I did mine - kind of. I kept changing my mind about what I was and then realized that I’m just too many things. And I like them all.
As for me, Unk hit the nail on the head, opened up a door that filled me with realization. this exercise showed me exactly what I think Unk meqnt to do. Open our minds to see that our characters need to be as deep, scarred, emotional, have history and skeletons and be as real as ourselves and everyone else in this screwed up life.
I plan to look at my current characters and see just how they are, who they are, how real they seem to be, or one-dimensional (I hope not).
Just another way Unk has put himself out there to help us become better writers.
Thanks Master Yodunk.
The problem with these kinds of confessions is they are essentially meaningless because as individuals we aren’t coherent. So any statement made is automatically a lie… unless it’s a statement about an action “I did this”… but “I did this and it means…” is pretty much always useless.
There isn’t a Clive who is petty or selfish, any more than there is a Clive who is kind to strangers and generous to friends. The human personality consists of multiple, contradictory facets negative and positive… on some level we are all Ghandi; we are all Hitler…
actually I even have problems with the “negative” and “positive” descriptions of personality traits… because whilst some people see anger as a negative trait, it has positive uses and is essential to basic self preservation.
Now, the kind of emotional intelligence a writer needs is almost identical to the emotional intelligence an actor needs… and that is the ability to see all people in yourself.
What I mean by this is, in order to create a realistic racist I need to understand the racism within myself and see how, under other circumstances, that could have transformed me into a skin head or a neo-nazi.
The higher degree of emotional flexibility, empathy and self knowledge I have, the greater my ability to create a wide spectrum of characters and for each of those characters to have some degree of integrity.
For all of us some characters are closer to the surface than other… they more closely match our social selves (so I, for instance, could pretty much write all of the dialogue for Hugh Laurie’s House character just by writing what I’d say in the same situation in real life) which is as close to a damning confession as anyone is going to get today.
So, I find myself in a dilemma… I’d sure like to play along and confess some stuff… but I also know anything I confessed would be as much a lie as any kind of truth.
First, I hope peopel realize what happens in the blog stays in the blog. (I’d hate to have to hunt someone down - LOL)
That’s two things:
1. I’m very private. Most people are stupid and can’t dress so I don’t hang out with a lot of people.
2. I have extreme violence issues. I cut off at least three heads already today.
3. I’ve only come across one person whose head I wouldn’t cut off at the drop of a hat.
4. I’m really conceited. I think I’m God’s gift to being God’s gift. I have successfully made money in nearly every industry except sports (how boring would that be?)
5. I’m the freakiest dancer you’ll ever see. I have whipped tits out on the club and very nearly had sex on the dance floor. (still working on that one)
6. My mother HATED me. That sounds harsh right, but she hated me. She thought I should be gay. Why I don’t know (so I have a nice ass).
7. I’d rather give head than anything else. Even screenwriting. Oh and remember I’m not gay.
8. I’m even more conceited than I was earlier.
9. I have a Jery Springer curse. I have lost so many GFs because their friends fought over me, I just look for casual sex now. Just at my last assignment it happened with three women. So if you find a guy who brags about getting women he’s lying if he doesn’t talk about their friends back stabbing them.
10. I used to think snot was a food group. (top that one)
11. I came back to screenwriting (Eric Red was my hero - but not being invited to YOUR movie.?.?) because of an actress.
12. I am a workaholic perfectionist. I hate inefficient people. I hate people who don’t go above and beyond even as the fry guy at McDs.
13. I have the record for days missed in my junior year of high school. I even revolutionized hookying school (perfectionist bastard) so that the school had to enact new policies to stop me.
14. I could read at a very early age. My mother put me in the most mediocre schools though. I think she hated me.
15. I couldn’t defecate for 3 years. You don’t want to know how effective a toothbrush is (wow, I never thought I’d tell anyone that).
16. I could tell you something about me and national security that you wouldn’t believe.
Well, that’s it for now. I could go on all day because I’m so conceited and couldn’t care less what any of you think.
No wait. One more.
17. I’d rather spend my last dollar making a movie the way I want to see it rather than getting 6 figures and not recognizing my work.
Crap. I just made a long post and the Internet gobbled it up. Damnit.
Belzcue,
Steal it.
Budgerman,
You’re diggin’.
Keep diggin’.
MovieQuill,
So what you’re really saying is that the feeling of apprehension or lack of confidence you experienced in regard to social association with centerfolds, e.g. being in close proximity to anything above the feet kept your head pointed down?
Just wondering.
I don’t have all the answers either.
Elver,
Interesting. I think if you stop calculating the actual miles per hour of the bottles, you just might find a few women like this. I mean, why not two?
But just in case…
1 mph is equal to 0.44704 m/s, the SI derived unit.
Josh,
You kept dragging me in till you said you should’ve been a cop.
I think I’d like you better as a writer. No offense.
I’m just sayin…
emily,
Take that zombie script — show us that girl over at:
I am a something or other
Make her decide TO BECOME a zombie because of all that shit.
I’ll watch that movie in a heartbeat.
You’re my new Steve McQueen.
Scott,
Stay cool.
Clive,
You said:
The problem with these kinds of confessions is they are essentially meaningless because as individuals we aren’t coherent. So any statement made is automatically a lie…
OkieSmoke. I respectfully disagree. If someone explains themselves as best they can, they aren’t necessarily lying.
Are they coherent enough to drag every last bit of SHIT out of the closet?
Absolutely not. Nobody ever will be but that’s not the point. The point is to be able to reach for it… Pull some of it out. See what it looks like so we can go find some more.
Christian,
What happens in the blog stays in the blog.
I love it.
I better trademark that. LOL.
Great stuff.
Unk
I’ve been tinkering with the idea of writing a screenplay. I’ve really never been a storyteller but because of something I am addicted to, I thought it might be good for me to actually write about it and they say screenplays are the new novels.
I’m a stalker.
That took me almost 5 mins to finish typing. Ever since I’ve been a little kid I’ve watched people from a distance. I remember watching Mr. Fornski mow the lawn across the street. I would watch him in secret I mean I would hide under the house and watch him mow the lawn. There was nothing to it but it was fascinating to watch. His kids would come home and ignore him as they ran into the house. His wife would come and go as he kept mowing that yard.
Another neighbor down the street a Mrs. Dowby would never get her newspaper until the next morning. I would watch her from my room. It was always the same thing day in and day out. One night I snuck out with a note. I said I would be mowing my lawn this weekend and if she wanted to have a cup of coffee, just walk up to me and let me know. I signed it as her secret admirer.
I was devastated because she didn’t walk up to Mr. Fornski that following weekend and so I forgot about it.
The next weekend I walked out of the house and there she was Mrs. Dowby talking to Mr. Fornski. I was mesmerized. I sat down on the porch and watched them like I was watching a movie.
That happened just about every weekend until one day there was no more Mrs. Dowby or Mr. Fornski.
Yes, I do take credit for that thank you.
But the problem is escalation. I now find myself following people home from the grocery store, the movies, the dentist. Sometimes I make it obvious that I’m following them. Sometimes not. Sometimes I follow them right into their driveway.
But it’s getting boring as it always seems to do.
So I am hoping that writing about it will help me keep it stabilized because there’s no way I can talk about it with anyone around here. Small town and people talk like crazy.
I’m either going to do something stupid or get caught or probably both.
So I’m googling screenwriting and I end up here today.
I like signs.
Thanks.
I’ve come back to this particular page several times now to see what other people have written and I thought I would share. To make myself feel better.
I AM NOT PRETTY
God, I hope this doesn’t sound like a whinefest; I’m just telling the truth and how I feel.
Anyway, I realized this week that given the choice between being dealt the ‘pretty’ card or the ‘smart’ card, I’d now choose the pretty card.
Think it would have made my life a little easier to digest. No I have an ok life, but I think being pretty would get me in the door with lots of things.
I’ve always known I can’t compete with pretty girls.
I was dealt the smart card at birth. I’m happy I’m self sufficient, but sometimes male company is nice too.
I didn’t have boys knocking down my door when I was a kid. I was always jealous of my girlfriends who did. After a certain point I had to give up and focus on things I liked.
Over that time I got to travel to Europe (as part of a high school trip), met Axl Rose and Michael Hutchence and other things, but what I wanted most was a boyfriend. I didn’t get my first one until I was about 27. I’m now 33. I feel behind in the love department. Things I should know now I’m embarrassed I don’t.
On the other hand, I’m thankful someone has to get to know me first, realize I do have a brain.
I’ve grown to do things myself. I expand my brain by taking classes. I’ve traveled to the Caribbean and Los Angeles (many times) by myself. I don’t rely on others for things I want to do.
This is the only major self-esteem issue I have. I hide it pretty well, but sometimes it leaks out and I temporarily dwell on it and then realize I need to focus on work and push the pain away for another day.
Maybe I can finally move on now that’s it on ‘paper.’
I can be an asshole. Sometimes I can’t hold back:
Susan,
Are you really Elizabeth from The View?
Boyer
echoman,
Glad to be of service. I can see that movie.
In fact, I would fuckin’ call it:
ECHOMAN
Kellene,
I’d rather know ONE smart person than a hundred fluff-balls.
Welcome to the club.
Unk
Wow, that felt pretty good.
Christian,
I missed the Eric Red part of the comment… He’s still one of my favorites.
THE HITCHER to me is a classic screenplay… I just wish they would have used the voicebox.
Unk
That’s not being an arsehole boyer. I actually had to look it up. If you think my comments - and Unk and I had quite a lengthy discussion off the blog - are conservative and that people telling their single or imagined truths are enlightened, good for you.
I hadn’t thought about the issue as Clive did but I am closer in thought to him than others here. I am sure you respect the right to disagree given your liberal views and all.
This is very interesting. Not only is this getting me to think of myself therefore gets me to think about my characters BUT also helps me to combined some of these things that others have shared with my characters.
Way to go Unk and everyone else for sharing. I’m very impressed. I know I’m not the only one who has some of these same CHARACTERISTICS.
It’s amazing Unk. Whether Susan or who ever disagrees or doesn’t see the whole picture on the the subject, I totally understand what you are saying and getting at.
I’m a SMART-ASS
If someone is being a dip shit. I’ll joke about it in a way that gets the point across that they’re a DIP SHIT.
If someone make themselves look like an idiot or looking like a dumb ass. I’ll make sure they know it. With that being said. I expect the same with me. I want to know when I’m looking/acting like an idiot. That’s why I’ve been able to take many many punches and not get offended in life. Then I laugh with them and joke about it… Even if it’s making myself look like a dumb ass. It goes both ways with me.
“There’s truth in every joke” and I take that to heart. All my jokes seem to have truths to it AND my words/jokes seem to upset people. So when someone jokes with me I don’t look at the joke but look at what they are saying. Even if I laugh with them.
I’m far from perfection and that’s what kills others cause I’m a smart ass to others that aren’t a perfect.
I’ll do anything to get a rise out of someone. I like it when someone gets upset. I think it’s very humorous when someone is pissed off or worked up. It cracks me up CAUSE people do/say the weirdest things when they are pissed. So I go out of my way to do this.
I’m patient and easy going. If someone’s being serious about things. I’ll joke about it. If someone dies… You guessed it. I’ll joke about it.
I’m self employed and therefore I take matters into my own hands. I’ll take the bull by the horns. I know how to talk to customers. I always find was to relate to them. Even if I have nothing in common with them… I’ll lie to them so they feel like they aee the best there ever was. If I have an annoying customer brags about how great he/she is, I’ll make them feel even better cause when they are happy about themselves, it makes my business grow cause a happy customer is a money maker.
If I’m clueless in a field of choice, hobby, trade, or anything that I’m trying to learn. Hint SCREENWRITING hint. I become a push over. I do things to succeed and I’ll do whatever it takes. Therefore I become WEAK. I ask many questions. Questions that don’t pertain to the level that I am at. I just gotta know. This is what bothers people. I know Unk probably has felt like telling me to fuck off and I’m hopeless. LOL
I become a soft hearted person, break down when I see a mother and her three children walking down the street. I feel terrible when they’re waiting at the bus stop, during the summer heat or in the middle of a blizzard just so they can go to the the grocery store. I feel bad they don’t have a vehicle to drive. I feel bad when there are children who don’t have any parents who care for them. I know how it feels. I’ve been there. I had to take care of my younger sister when I was four years old. I’d make dinner for us, help her with everything while my parents were passed out, drunk, high on crack, smoking pot, anything that you can think of. Watching them get fired job after job. Therefore I also hate my parents to a certain degree for putting my sister and I in that situation. Cause of that… I’ve got a very soft heart for children who look like they’re in that situation.
I’ve got TONS more but I gotta stop. It’s been a long work week and I gotta get some sleep.
Thanks Unk for opening my eyes into things that I never thought I’d see. This is a whole new level for me that I HAVEN’T SEEN ANY PROFESSIONALS TALK ABOUT OR EVEN MENTION STUFF LIKE THIS. Kudos to you Unk!
Ryan
Susan,
For the record, you and I are two very different people. What motivates me may not motivate you. Your experiences have shaped you just as mine have shaped me. Your personal experiences have made you sympathetic, mine have made me something else. I haven’t shared everything about my life in one post, so please don’t presume to understand what exactly makes me do the things I do.
You talk about me judging people because I’m honest, but I think that’s what you’re doing in your comments here. No one else has said anything about anyone else’s comments except you. You judge what we have willing shared as a means to talking about screenwriting. Sorry if you don’t like that I’m honest and I tell people what I think, but that’s the way it is. I am who I am. I have my reasons. However, I’ll also add that I never said anything about any of my characters behaving in the same manner as me. In fact, I said that I was rather cliche and that was why I liked my characters better.
And something I probably should have clarified in the original post, I don’t walk up to complete strangers and tell them they look like shit - though I’m not above thinking it. And before you think me judging - I always think I look like shit, so there’s nothing to worry about there. I merely used that as an example.
If I’ve misread your posts in anyway, then my apologies - I’m not above admitting when I’m wrong, despite being a bitch. I’m at least fair. So, you’re entitled to your opinion and I really don’t care what you think about me, but if you’re going to say that I’m judgmental towards people and that makes me a horrible person, consider some of your comments here.
Damn it UNK, you need an edit feature…I misspelled a word…grrr.
Hahaha! Thanks for sharing your story about your ex-wife, UNK. So I’m doomed to a life of bitchiness by my own making and I can’t even have the pleasure of making someone else miserable with me? Damn it all to hell! LOL.
Susan - that was a joke!
Oh, and one more thing, feel free to turn this into a discussion about me. I’m pretty self-centered that way…should of mentioned that in the first post, LOL.
Kristy, I believe we are in judgment mode all the time. That’s part of survival. It’s what we do with the judgments that is critical in my opinion.
If you created a character that matched the behaviours that you described, how would other people deal with that person? Part of my challenge about motivation et al was a function of that consideration. In character arc our protagonist evolves. They are not just a talking head. How do they evolve? Is it merely action events or is part of it the dialogue that others bring to the table? I was raising issues that I felt dealt with the latter. Your name kept arising because others presumed I was always talking about you - but not mentioning your name! I actually wasn’t here and there - I was offering a broader brush comment for the reasons I describe but in the end I did admit that I took to one description more than another. And that means there were two different evocations for me and to my mind, evocation is a key element in the script ‘game’.
I was actually jumping ahead and thinking about that. About avoiding trite expressions (dialogue) of character and about how we generate really GREAT dialogues that are not just everyone taking turns around a table (so to speak).
I was coming from that perspective. Connor’s second post showed he was considering his character portrayals based upon the exercise so it was easier for me to relate to him. No matter what characters we create, we want the audience to be evoked by them.
People have judged me and seen me negatively because I have questioned. That is their right. There are no rights and wrongs here but I WAS motivated to try and forward considerations of evolving character in a script. Once again, I concede that went beyond Unk’s intent. As I explained to him today, because he has done several pieces on ‘character’ previously, I saw this as a more advanced exercise than it was. Mea culpa.
In the end, all our discussions are actually about elements of what we need to consider when we develop stories. What meaning are we wanting to generate, how might the audience interpret beyond our intent OR what additional layers may an audience discover (because that does happen), how do we have our characters deal with difference, how do we have them deal with criticism or aggression or being misunderstood and so on. Do they laugh it off, do they come out fighting, do they…..?
Grist for the proverbial.
UNK - you said
“OkieSmoke. I respectfully disagree. If someone explains themselves as best they can, they aren’t necessarily lying.
Are they coherent enough to drag every last bit of SHIT out of the closet?
Absolutely not. Nobody ever will be but that’s not the point. The point is to be able to reach for it… Pull some of it out. See what it looks like so we can go find some more.”
Huzzah… at last, something we disagree about (LMAO) fuck… it’s only taken five years! LOL
Actually… I did all of the confessional stuff for 18 years in AA and two years in professional therapy.
Trust me, there isn’t any part of my weasel like personality that hasn’t been written down, said out loud, both one to one and in groups of anything up to 500 people… if you think it’s cathartic confessing your minor foibles in the relative anonymity of a blog, try doing whilst making eye contact with 500 hundred chain smoking ex-drunks and junkies.
My perspective on the uselessness of the whole process is based on twenty years personal experience of doing nothing but that day in day out… and in the end seeing that I was no better or worse than any of the other assholes in the world. What I see in action everyday are people who become the labels they attached to themselves… the these labels become self fulfilling prophecies… therefore someone who says “I am shallow” chooses to see all the evidence that they are shallow and ignore all the evidence of the fact that they have great depths.
Of course when I use the word “lying” I am being contentious for the sake of it… but I stand by my model of human psychology, because it on a purely pragmatic level it works for me both as a person and as a writer.
Hey Unk… this is fun… we should find more stuff to disagree about!
I believe Unk said this was NOT about psychology Clive! :-)
UNK,
Yeah that was the movie that made me want to be a screenwriter. If only I had the fortitude back then.
I started out with a screenplay hand-written on loose-leaf paper.
I think I have really been able to direct my creative energies better now because I was a real psycho back then.
But getting back to characters, what I like to do is have all of my characters do the opposite of what I would do. That gives you a wide range of repercussions to consider. You can’t take your experiences but have to diverge into the character’s “raison d’etre” and you will make more full characters.
Even doinglists like that gives you the opportunity to “piece together” dramatic situations determined by your protag being a whatever. Another key is to MAKE SURE THE CHARACTER IS THE QUINTESSENTIAL WHATEVER.
I read so many bland, seemingly blown by the wind characters I hate it.
I don’t want to see people regret their actions or be unsure. I want to see them take the chance and deal with the consequences later.
That means not putting in the famous “No, I won’t do it” scene that ends up with them doing the thing they adamantly refused to do. It’s a copout in my mind and a simple trick that we should be avoiding.
When I am writing stories I get a general idea (genre) then determine what I want to say. Then I logline, then I start constructing the character based on what the quintessential “value structure” would be in order to create the maximum “conflict.” But by conflict I mean juxtaposed value structures colliding.
That is the essence of conflict and should always be a focus. It’s similar to why people advocate your characters even sounding different as this will lead to the colliding of value structures.
Even two people who lived next door to each other for years will be different in some fundamental ways, JUST MAKE SOMETHING UP. It’s all fake anyway.
Susan… of course it’s about psychology… all screenwriting is.
Clive-
I totally disagree with you. How is it when someone explains how they are is lying? I’m a white dude and people view me as white, caucasion, not black, brown, red, or blue. So when I say I’m a white dude is that lying? Even though I do like hip hop and some things that other cultures like??? Since I have some similar interests as other cultures does that not make me white?
I decribe myself in that short amount of time truthfully. I wasn’t lying one bit and you are saying I(not specifically me BUT everyone here) was lying???
That’s fine if you think this process is useless. Correct me if I’m wrong but you and Susan both think so, and I’m totally fine with it. I understand what Unk is getting at and it’s working for me. It helps me understand who I am and therefore it will help me figure out who my characters are.
You said, “The human personality consists of multiple, contradictory facets negative and positive… on some level we are all Ghandi; we are all Hitler…”
I totally disagree with that. Each individual knows who they are and what they believe deep down inside. I for one can tell you I don’t have any level of Hitler in me AT ALL! He was murderous/terrorist. He was hooked on drugs and dwelt on the ABSOLUTELY wrong things. I don’t have any desire to murder, do drugs, hate Jews, etc… Who are you to KNOW anyone and everyone has a level of Hitler in them? Did Ghandi have any level of Hilter in him? Since you claim this, you should be able to explain how and/or why Ghandi had any Hitler in him.
I’m intrigued.
Clive,
You said:
Trust me, there isn’t any part of my weasel like personality that hasn’t been written down, said out loud, both one to one and in groups of anything up to 500 people… if you think it’s cathartic confessing your minor foibles in the relative anonymity of a blog, try doing whilst making eye contact with 500 hundred chain smoking ex-drunks and junkies.
No offense but again, I think you’re missing the point of the exercise… LOL. Whether it’s all lies or not, the exercise works… Plain and simple. The simple act of self-analyzation is just another TOOL in the screenwriter’s bag of tricks to help them create interesting characters.
The point is NOT to get anyone here to confess any part of their personality to get them to heal or resolve their issues.
Fuck that.
I like people that are fucked up on all kinds of different levels because hey — that makes them who they are.
If we were all to subscribe to the same pile of psycho-babble bullshit that everyone keeps slinging around and we were all able to perfectly grasp it and implement it into our lives then wouldn’t we really just be shedding those exact things that make me who I am and you who you are?
I like you but I don’t want to be like you. I hope I can say the same for you. I don’t want to wake up every day to a bunch of clones or beings as close to psychological clones as possible.
I think Freud said that dreams are the disguised fulfillment of unconscious wishes and desires — something along those lines anyway so in some ways, these analyses could in fact be self-fulfilling.
Again — NOT THE POINT. LOL.
I don’t care if everyone here simply wrote down a bunch of bogus bullshit. Was not most if not all of it interesting reading?
Of course it is…
And if that is true — which I believe it to be — that also means that if one performs the exercise enough, one just might be able to repeat the exercise when it comes to creating the backstory of a character.
It doesn’t matter whether or not any of this is true. It doesn’t matter if Kristy is a bitch… LOL.
If Kristy can say that about herself, then she could certainly say that about one or more of her characters and if she does that, then she could very well come up with even MORE bitch-like qualities for those characters. What she does with them is fodder for another post.
Meaning that a lot of screenwriters simply do not take the additional time to sit down and create a realistic character. All the character traits listed here TO ME are easily worth working into different characters and to me, that would be a hell of a lot better than reading a screenplay with a Protagonist who’s fucking perfect — which just happens to be what I read a lot of. LOL.
Something is cathartic because you feel that it is cathartic. Plain and simple. But once more — not the point here. I mentioned catharsis as a way to get people to step up and share. It just happens to be one of those psychological triggers that people can respond to.
Bottom line?
If any of these screenwriters can write what they wrote HERE, on their site, computer, or even a napkin — about themselves — whether it be true or made up bullshit, then they have just a taste of what it’s like to build a real character. What they see of themselves may or may not be true. Doesn’t matter. Who cares? It’s WHAT they wrote that matters. It feels true to me and if one were to slide all the psychoanalysis bullshit off the table, I would surmise that much of what everyone wrote feels true to other people reading it.
In fact, I just checked my email and had a slew of it from newbie screenwriters who’ve already done this in private after reading the post and comments and they are already seeing massive improvement in the traits they are giving to their characters. They can plainly see what they were doing wrong i.e., simply creating flat characters who just react to shit in predictable ways.
This is about creating stories and more specifically — screenwriting. What one can (or as you point out — cannot see) see about him or herself is irrelevant to me. What they write down is irrelevant. It’s the process… Always the process.
I fully expect someone who considers themselves boring to write all that down and maybe — just maybe see through the boring and say, “Jesus fucking Christ… I’m a boring motherfucker.” LOL.
Once they see that, it could (it might not) send them straight into the other direction… Pulling things from dark places they’ve never been to before and making boring INTERESTING.
Unk
Amen Unk.
I’m another rookie tellin’ ya this is an awesome way to look at my characters! What I’ve said about me is my very own character. Now this is great, cause I can do this with my script characters and REALLY get to know them, kinda like how I got to know me a little better by doing this.
I thought I’d know or get to know my characters by just writing my script… And learn about my characters that way. This excercise is an awesome way for me to learn about my characters right off the bat and not through out my script. It’s amazing how well I can fly through my script when I know them from the beginning and not just through the middle and/or the end of it.
Clive and Susan probably AND most likely have their own way of getting to know their characters and that’s GREAT. Everyone has their way.
This is an excercise that I would have never thought of… WAY TO GO BROTHA!!! If you got anymore tricks up your sleeves. I would like to hear’em.
Ryan
Ryan,
Again the point is the process… Nothing more.
You may NEVER even use anything that you write down about your characters but it’s always USEFUL when you go back to the script because when you know those characters as well as possible, it is then that they come alive and make those ORGANIC and UNPREDICTABLE decisions that keep us glued to the story.
I’ve had some screenwriters share their character bios with me before… Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you have to do this but I do think it’s extremely useful for beginners. So I’ve read these things and they almost always end up reading like a rap sheet.
Which is fine but it’s STILL ONLY SCRAPING THE SURFACE.
Cool. Your character robbed a liquor store when he was 15. Great. Now tell me WHY he fuckin’ robbed that liquor store?
Was it because he’s the man of the house and his little brother and sisters were starving?
Was it because of a gang initiation? And why a gang? Because his father’s gone? Maybe his father’s at home and just an asshole who goes to work and gets drunk every night and ignores his family.
Maybe robbing the liquor store was a random event… Another leg of an ever-escalating series of events leading to who knows what.
Maybe he just needed some beer for a party coming up over the weekend. LOL.
It’s the WHY, Baby… It’s always the WHY. That’s the question.
Unk
The classic profiler’s formula: WHAT plus WHY equals WHO.
Heh-heh.
Unk, I don’t think I’ve said this in awhile, but -
You ‘da MAN!
Why I love this site. One of only two s/writing sites I bother to read. Look forward to reading. You can probably, easily, guess the other.
I used to deal coke. I fucked a friend’s woman. She was a cokehead and she oozed sex. She gave me head in the men’s room of the bar I worked in at the time. Her boyfriend, my friend, was at one of the tables. He himself was high on coke. Earlier, I had worked for a couple who ran an escort service out of the Chelsea Hotel in NYC. I fucked the prettier ones.
I was pushing it, my personal envelope. I was attracted to low-level crime. I wanted to flirt with oblivion. My uncle did prison time for manslaughter. I don’t know if there’s a connection there. The thing is, I never could give myself completely over to the criminal life. I couldn’t surrender. There was no ecstasy for me. I’m a Libra. No, I don’t believe in any of that bullshit. Yet, there are the scales. There is the compulsion to weigh my own actions and the actions of others. So, who knows, maybe there’s something real there after all.
I am sorry for the time I wasted. I am completely free of drugs and that former life and the acquaintances I made there. I am scared I haven’t accomplished as much as I should have. I label myself a failure in that regard. But I am alive and I have not given up. I am with a woman I love more than my own life. That helps enormously.
It’s the why baby, always the why.
You brought into specific relief something that a lot of screenwriters consistently do wrong(from the scripts I read). Why is NEVER EXPOSITORY.
As to your example of robbing a liquor store, you could use wardrobe to speak to why. If he’s tattered and torn, it’s a different person than one who is “hands shaking, sweat on his white collar,” which is also different than sagging jeans and a bandanna.
Not saying that such is always possible but there are a lot of ways to express a character’s why. Please don’t use the “when I was a child method.”
How about in business suit Christian? If you admonish avoidance of childhood rationalisations, then don’t you find it problematic to be predictable about character portrayals? Middle class poor exist and do desperate things.
Unk,
Although it might seem like we’re disagreeing here… actually it won’t be a surprise for you to discover that our positions are a lot closer than they might appear.
You’re right that self awareness is the path to increased emotional intelligence… and that is what creates great characters… the ability to write human frailty and vulnerability through understanding our own.
In many respects Crash won the Oscar simply because it was a well observed script based on what happens when people’s frailties collide.
OK… now let’s look at where we differ
Actually, there isn’t any difference… except you’re talking about the start of that process and I’m talking about where it leads… and how that process links in with how many actors approach roles… which as our job is to create roles for actors to play, is possibly a useful perspective.
So, when I say “all confessions are a lie” I mean that any label attached is only a label… and the opposite is equally true
Where this applies in screenwriting is basically the “scrooge effect”… Scrooge labels himself as a miser, a loner, a man who needs no-one… and yet when the smallest amount of pressure is applied to him we see that he’s the product of a family who abandoned him to a boarding school and after seeing the path his life is leading he discovers a new personality… he’s actually happy, generous, kind and loves human company.
This radical transformation from one kind of person to another is the key to understanding a large portions of the hero’s journey.
The journey is one of transformation.
So, when Scrooge says “I hate people, I’m a miser, bah humbug” he’s lying about who he is… and yet from his perspective it’s true.
That’s what I meant by the comment… and nothing more.
So, if the first step in emotional intelligence is being able to confess our frailties (been there, done that)… where that eventually leads is to an understanding that the labels themselves are meaningless….
Because
Anyone who labels themselves as lazy is also capable of working their butt off on a project that motivates them… or a person who labels them self as selfish probably has moments that contradict that.
This kind of understanding is what transforms “Hallmark” characters to “Oscar winning” characters… generally in MOW scripts you see characters who are defined by one characteristic… The DRUNKEN husband, who always behaves like an abusive drunken husband… the SLUT NEXT DOOR… who always is trying to steal someone’s husband.
These characters are two dimensional simply because they have one label attached… to transform these from that into more rounded characters you have to add additional facets… this involves having some compassion for the subjects rather than being judgmental.
So, the DRUNKEN HUSBAND does hit his wife when he is drunk… but finds he can show great compassion to the homeless. A move that opens up a whole raft of opportunities for him to see himself in the street people… so his compassion for them is in a sense compassion for himself.
This is also what I meant when I said… we are all Hitler… we are all Ghandi
(By the way… isn’t it funny that no one ever complains about being compared to Ghandi! LOL…
yep, we’re all active political reformists who have overthrown empires whilst advocating non-violence… in fact, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve gone on hunger strike to prevent a war! LOL)
Basically, a good actor playing the role of Hitler will look for levels of identification… they ask themselves in what way are they like the character they are playing…
So, Hitler was a struggling artist who drifted into politics largely because his representative style of painting was very unfashionable in German at the time, which was in the middle of the Bauhaus period… now for me that would be a starting point… because I’ve experienced both the poverty and the financial hardships of being a struggling artist as well.
The next stage is a question… could I imagine turning all of the rejection and anger into blame of someone else. And actually I can… any screenwriter who has ever had a rejection or negative notes knows that white flame of anger that lashes out at the idiot who hasn’t recognised your genius… I sure know how that feels.
So if I can imagine that blame and white hot anger turned into a political movement… then yes on that level I am capable of all the feelings and motivations of Hitler… at least enough to create an believable portrayal on screen.
Now, the truth is, the acting process and the writing process are incredibly similar.
In order to write a great Hitler we have to be able to get above our judgments of him as a person and get some empathy.
It is possible. The movie “Max” is a wonderful example of this kind of approach to a difficult subject.
The trick is to look for the similarities and not the differences… so, Ryan, you may not act like Hitler… but on some level as a human person with dreams, hopes, fears and frailties you are probably more like him that you know. It’s a natural human reaction to attempt to distance ourselves from people we consider “evil”… and yet that’s just another form of creative labeling.
Bottom line is all I’m trying to get over is that self-confession or self awareness is one small step towards a larger understanding of human behavior and therefore a higher quality of screenwriting.
A very eloquent post Clive and you have stated, in a more comprehensive and illustrative manner than I [did a few posts back], about character arc. I believe you’re also right about the problematic nature of somewhat uni-dimensional portrayals of being - or portrayals that sit, unto an island.
oh! And I largely think there is no disagreement between my pov and Unk’s..we are/were just in a different spot on the topic continuum.
How about in business suit Christian? If you admonish avoidance of childhood rationalisations, then don’t you find it problematic to be predictable about character portrayals? Middle class poor exist and do desperate things.
Sometimes the stereotypical is necessary to make a point. Take a look at MMs “Retards” post. You will see that content creators can only write what they see. Memory is what equates a white collar with a business suit, or tattered clothes to a desperate poor person.
You can’t take anything personally when you write. It’s all made up. Political correctness is anathema to the cinematic pursuit.
I don’t quite understand your last para Christian. I see a contradiction between one of those points and another you have argued prior to that para.
On another point, I disagree with the centre para in the sense that you are presuming a certain context. IF a guy in a business suit style workplace (for example), was seen to slowly degrade and finally lost his job etc etc him holding up the liquor store IN h