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Lecture 8:Lecture 8:The Controlling IdeaThe Controlling Idea

Professor Christopher Bradley

Harold and Maude (1971)

Screenplay by Colin Higgins

Previous LessonPrevious Lesson

• Avoiding Clichés

• Research

– Biographical and psychological

– Physical and Political

– Historical

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Hot Fuzz (2007)

Screenplay by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg

Previous Lesson (Continued)Previous Lesson (Continued)• Imagination

– The big “What if…?”

• 4 Dimensions of Setting

– Period

– Duration

– Location

– Level of Conflict

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Jurassic Park (1998)

Screenplay by Jonathan Hensleigh and J.J. Abrams

This LessonThis Lesson• Finding Meaning

– Aesthetic Emotion

• Finding (or creating) meaning out of life’s random events

– Premise

• And the “What if” question

• Other inspirations

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Donnie Darko (2001)

Screenplay by Richard Kelly

This Lesson (Continued)This Lesson (Continued)

• The “Controlling Idea”

– What is it?

– What will you prove?

– Avoiding didacticism!

– How do you find it?

– The Counter-Idea

– Progressions

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Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Screenplay by Hubert Selby

This Lesson (Cont.)This Lesson (Cont.)

• Identifying Your Story Type

– What kind of story is your story?

– Idealistic

– Pessimistic

– Ironic

• Assignments6

The Bicycle Thief (1948)

Screenplay by Cesare Zavattini & Suso Cecci D’Amico & Vittorio De Sica & Oreste Biancoli & Adolfo Franci & Gerardo

Guerrireri

Finding MeaningFinding Meaning

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Silkwood (1983)

Written by Nora Ephron & Alice Arlen

Lesson 8: Part I

Aesthetic EmotionAesthetic Emotion• Events have no inherent meaning. They just are. • While an interpreted meaning of an event may be

widespread in a given society, meaning is not true. A minority of people might glean a very different meaning from the same event than the majority.

• That isn’t to say creating meaning is useless! Created meaning is the most powerful tool a society has. The question is, “Into what tool are we going to fashion the meaning of this event?”

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PremisePremise• The Premise might be The Big “What If…” question,

but it can come from many sources of inspiration.• A Premise might well disappear once you’ve gotten

into actually writing the story.• What do you hope to prove with your story?

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Unforgiven (1998)

Screenplay by David Webb Peoples

Premise (2)Premise (2)• Storytelling is nonintellectual, but not

anti-intellectual.• Yes, you are asserting something— you’re making an

argument— but not in the dry form of an essay.

• You don’t have to explain, you demonstrate. The entire story is the ultimate “Show, Don’t Tell.”

• BE BOLD! You don’t have to baby your audience. Challenge them. Say something outrageous if that’s what the story calls for!

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The Controlling IdeaThe Controlling Idea

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What’s Up, Doc? (1972)

Screenplay by Buck Henry and David Newman & Robert Bendon, based on a story by Peter Bogdanovich

Lesson 8: Part II

The Controlling IdeaThe Controlling Idea

• All great films have a broader subject matter, a theme or, as McKee calls it, a Controlling Idea. It extends beyond the particular story a screenwriter tells.

• A Controlling Idea is the unifying idea of a story. It is concerned with a universal concept such as love, honor, identity, ambition, greed, etc. (but “Love” is not a theme. You’re saying something about it.)

• The universality of themes ensures that the audience will relate to a story on a deeper level.

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The Controlling Idea (2)The Controlling Idea (2)• Without a Controlling Idea, there is no

purpose or meaning to a work of creation. • Examples of Controlling Ideas:

– Good triumphs over evil (or vice/versa)– Love conquers all– Violence doesn’t pay– Every human being deserves freedom – The universe is a place of benign indifference

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The Controlling Idea (3)The Controlling Idea (3)

• “The most personal stories are, conversely, the most universal.” --Bob Rosen

• “If you’re moved, the audience will be moved.” --Aristotle

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Into the Wild (1998)

Screenplay by Sean Penn, based on the book by Jon Krakauer

Avoiding DidacticismAvoiding Didacticism

• Subtlety! Your Controlling Idea will lose impact if you hammer it home.

• Both sides should be presented fairly. Remember, it’s not good idea/bad idea. It’s good idea/better idea!

• Let the audience discover the theme for themselves through what you show them.

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Dead Poets SocietyDead Poets Society

• Please pause the lecture and watch the clip from Dead Poets Society

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Dead Poets Society (1989)

Screenplay by Tom Schulman

Dead Poets Society Dead Poets Society (2)(2)

• The theme is “Seize the Day”. • It’s a little heavy handed while it’s still a

good movie, but we could have gotten the theme without help, without the writer actually telling us…over and over!

• Think in terms of the rule about exposition. Conflict first, information second! Give us your theme through conflict. No one is in conflict here. There’s no opposition.

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Harold and MaudeHarold and Maude

• Now, please pause the lecture and watch the clip from Harold and Maude

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Harold and Maude (1971)

Screenplay by Colin Higgins

Harold and Maude Harold and Maude (2)(2)

• Why does this scene work so much better?

• Opposition. Conflict. She enjoys being alive, he enjoys being “dead”.

• Information about the theme is secondary.

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Harold and Maude (1971)

Screenplay by Colin Higgins

Discovering YourDiscovering YourControlling IdeaControlling Idea

• You may discover your theme as you write, and it may surprise you.

• Themes grow out of what you believe to be true. They grow out of your experiences and discoveries.

• You might change your mind as you research or explore your own thoughts.

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Discovering Your Discovering Your Controlling Idea (2)Controlling Idea (2)

• A few questions can help you define and clarify your theme.– Do I believe that what my Protagonist does in

the climactic moment is right or wrong?– What parts of my story do I consider to be

universal or archetypical?– Who loses in my story? Why?– Who survives or triumphs? Who changes and

grows? Why?

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Discovering Your Discovering Your Controlling Idea (3)Controlling Idea (3)

• Start from the end and move backwards.• Look at your climax and the resolution.• Ask, “How did we get here? What caused

this?”• Put it into a sentence: “This cause brings

about this result.”– “Hubris in the wild leads to violent death.”

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Discovering Your Discovering Your Controlling Idea (4)Controlling Idea (4)

• Once you have identified your Controlling Idea, you should be able to state it in one sentence.– “Animals have demonstrably human emotions

and they need to be protected in the same way.”– “American jobs are more important than the

extinction of endangered species.”– “Yes, money does buy happiness.”

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The Counter-IdeaThe Counter-Idea

• You should also hold the Counter-Idea in your mind and be sure to give it equal time.– “Animals do not have souls. Animals are food.”– “Unemployment is temporary. Species

extinction is permanent.”– “Happiness is an emotion created by what we

tell ourselves about our own lives. It is free. It is not a function of winning the lottery.”

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ProgressionsProgressions

• Switch the upper hand between the Controlling Idea and the Counter-Idea, with each argument’s “voice” getting louder, each argument growing in the certainty of its argument until the climax (when your idea wins).

• Remember— Didacticism is boring! Tell both sides convincingly.

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Identifying Your Story TypeIdentifying Your Story Type

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What’s Up, Doc? (1972)

Screenplay by Buck Henry and David Newman & Robert Bendon, based on a story by Peter Bogdanovich

Lesson 8: Part III

What Kind of Story is This?What Kind of Story is This?

• Idealist Controlling Ideas (“Up” ending)

– It’s a Wonderful Life– What’s Up, Doc?– Wall-E

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It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Screenplay by Phillip Van Doren Stern

and Frances Goodrich & Frank Capra

What Kind of Story is This?What Kind of Story is This?

• Ironic Controlling Ideas (Up/Down Ending)

– Harold and Maude– Gone with the Wind– Donnie Darko– Choose Me

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Choose Me (1984)

Screenplay by Alan Rudolph

What Kind of Story is This?What Kind of Story is This?

• Pessimistic Controlling Ideas (Down ending)

– Unforgiven– A Streetcar Named

Desire– Bonnie and Clyde– Into the Wild– Splendor in the

Grass– The Bicycle Thief

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Bonnie & Clyde (1967)

Screenplay by David Newman & Robert Benton

AssignmentsAssignments

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Lesson 8: Part IV

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Screenplay by Roman Polanski, based on the novel by Ira Levin

ReadingReading

• Read Chapter 6 in Story, “Structure and Meaning”.

• Do the Reading Review to be sure you’re clear on what you’ve read!

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E-Board PostE-Board Post• Post what you see as the theme of your

favorite film.• Describe whether it has an Optimistic,

Pessimistic or Ironic Controlling Idea.• Maybe you see the theme of another

student’s favorite film differently? Or you see it as ironic and they see it as pessimistic? If so, discuss!

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End of Lecture 8End of Lecture 8

Next Lecture: Building the Tension

Psycho (1971)

Screenplay by Joseph Stefano, based on the novel by Robert Bloch

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