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beccaelizabethStarted reading 'Screenplay The Foundations of Screenwriting' by Syd Field, 3rd edition from 1994.
It has a rule for plot structure, 3 acts, beginning middle end, 1-2-1 length. At the change points there needs to be something happens to change things. It (re)defines a lot of words and says a lot of things I don't agree with about how everything has a beginning middle end. Birth is a beginning? Sure, if you leave the mom out of the story! And apparently every story needs one and only one major character, which is a surprise to this team-comic fan. So, anyway, not promising. Then it gets on to how screenplay tells the story visually and we get this little gem:
"Pictures, or images, reveal aspects of character. In Robert Rossen's classic film The Hustler, a physical defect symbolizes an aspect of character. The girl played by Piper Laurie is a cripple; she walks with a limp. She is also an emotional cripple; she drinks too much, has no sense of aim or purpose in life. The physical limp underscores her emotional qualities - visually."
I gave up right there and threw the book.
(I picked it up again to get the quote right. I don't want to swear about something inaccurately.)
It goes on to talk about physical handicap as an aspect of characterization and how it has been used that way since ages and ages.
At no point does it talk about how deeply fucking stupid this is.
Having no legs has no bearing on your character. Seriously. Physical disability has no moral reflection, never has, and never will.
And yet here's a little how-to book recommending this ablist drek.
Well it cuts down on my need to read pile swiftly.
It has a rule for plot structure, 3 acts, beginning middle end, 1-2-1 length. At the change points there needs to be something happens to change things. It (re)defines a lot of words and says a lot of things I don't agree with about how everything has a beginning middle end. Birth is a beginning? Sure, if you leave the mom out of the story! And apparently every story needs one and only one major character, which is a surprise to this team-comic fan. So, anyway, not promising. Then it gets on to how screenplay tells the story visually and we get this little gem:
"Pictures, or images, reveal aspects of character. In Robert Rossen's classic film The Hustler, a physical defect symbolizes an aspect of character. The girl played by Piper Laurie is a cripple; she walks with a limp. She is also an emotional cripple; she drinks too much, has no sense of aim or purpose in life. The physical limp underscores her emotional qualities - visually."
I gave up right there and threw the book.
(I picked it up again to get the quote right. I don't want to swear about something inaccurately.)
It goes on to talk about physical handicap as an aspect of characterization and how it has been used that way since ages and ages.
At no point does it talk about how deeply fucking stupid this is.
Having no legs has no bearing on your character. Seriously. Physical disability has no moral reflection, never has, and never will.
And yet here's a little how-to book recommending this ablist drek.
Well it cuts down on my need to read pile swiftly.