• ✅ Technical and creative solutions for your film.
    ✅ Screenplay formatting help, plot and story guidance.
    ✅ A respectful community of professionals and newbies.
    ✅ Network with composers, editors, cast, crew, and more!
    🎬 IndieTalk - Filmmaking and Screenwriting help site and community.
    By filmmakers, for filmmakers since 2003
  • Wondering which camera, gear, computer, or software to buy? Ask in our Gear Guide.

story Any stories regarding love triangles?

A

Aspiring Mogul

I'm not sure if I should really be asking this, but here goes.

I am trying to insert a sub-plot into my series, and I'm not sure how to do it. Basically, the guy is infatuated with the beautiful but superficial glamor star, and, while he does everything for her, she is more concerned about her makeup than being with him. In the meantime, there is the other girl, who is also fairly good looking but not beautiful, and, you guessed it, she's the one who really cares for him. In the end, he goes to the second one.

I've learned that, when writing reports in non-fiction, the first thing is to do a literature review. I've done quite a bit of research in my other episodes and scenes, but I don't know how to make this subplot work, and I also don't know of any works that would give me inspiration. Perhaps the Archie-Betty-Veronica triangle from the Archie comics would work, but I'm looking for something more serious. I think a review of stories involving love triangles would be useful, but I'm not really sure. Remember that one of the girls MUST be artificial.

So can anyone point me to any stories with similar plots? Perhaps I should ask this in a literary forum.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
So this has to be two girls/one guy and one of the girls MUST be artificial?


Gone with the Wind immediately comes to mind. Maybe The Age of Innocence
although neither May nor Ellen are terribly superficial. Off the top of my head
most love triangles are two men/one woman.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Zensteve said:
You're not interested in movies with this? Just checkin', 'cos you're stressin' the literature angle.

.
Click to expand...

Of course I'm interested in movies. In this day and age, "literature review" obviously includes the silver screen. :)


directorik said:
So this has to be two girls/one guy and one of the girls MUST be artificial?


Gone with the Wind immediately comes to mind. Maybe The Age of Innocence
although neither May nor Ellen are terribly superficial. Off the top of my head
most love triangles are two men/one woman.
Click to expand...


Rik, I would be open - that's why we do literature reviews, to broaden our horizons. But, yes, one of the girls should be artificial. The sub-plot involves a guy who doesn't appreciate the girl next to him. Of course, as any divorce lawyer would think, if that girl was always around, getting him out of trouble, she would have an ulterior motive, namely, being his missus - but maybe I'm getting old. :lol:

Also, as you said to me, I have to walk the walk, and, now that I know what I want, I'm getting the urge - a business plan will be coming soon, but first things first.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
The critera for suggestions is two girls/one guy, one of the girls needs
to be superficial, uncaring, and crass – and the book or movie you want
to research needs to be short.

Nothing comes to mind.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
directorik said:
The critera for suggestions is two girls/one guy, one of the girls needs
to be superficial, uncaring, and crass – and the book or movie you want
to research needs to be short.

Nothing comes to mind.
Click to expand...

I can mix and match, and I have various parts of various scenes.

One good source is the classic Tom and Jerry short, "Blue Cat Blues", where feline Tom does everything to win the gold-digging feline, except he's outclassed by her wealthy boyfriend (boycat?). His buddy, Jerry, is also down on his luck so both go to the train track and wait for the oncoming locomotive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0b04vhz6Pg

I can modify this story where the other girl will drag him away and save him at critical times. I might be able to find other stories to provide the other elements of this sub-plot.

That said, this IS a sci-fi series, so there must be a change in the science or technology, such that the story would fail without it. A possible variation is that, instead of a triangle, the guy is facing two female clones who have different personalities, with all the implications that entails.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
directorik said:
I don't know why I didn't think of Tom and Jerry cartoons....
Click to expand...

No one has complete knowledge, which is why people need to network and get feedback. If you hadn't been patient with me for all these years, I would still be floundering. Anyway, I think that would be a good template for the first interaction. Any good stories about a nice girl who is forever getting the guy out of trouble, until he realizes she's the one?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen)
Persuasion (Jane Austen)
Tom Jones (Henry Fielding)
Parade's End (Ford Maddox Ford)
Brideshead Revisited (Evelyn Waugh)
Sons and Lovers (DH Lawrence)
Mrs Dalloway albeit slightly reversed roles (Virginia Woolf)
The Humbling (Philip Roth)
A Dry White Season (André Brink)

This is just an overview based on novels I love (or, in the case of The Humbling, am interested in). It's a very common trope in literature and I'm sure there are stacks of other landmark novels that use it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
FWIW, IMO you're being non productively stringent in the triangle dynamics for your analysis to insert a similar scenario into the story you're currently developing.

An analysis of the dynamics of several love triangles oughta provide sufficient perspectives on where the audience will be able to understand when and why Male finally settles for Female B, and better yet why Female B keeps pining away for Male despite all common sense that indicates she should move on.

Don't be so rigid.

Unattainable Female has half the male and a tenth of the female population trying to get into her genes, but she's terminally indifferent.

Stupid male has no rational explanation of what on earth he can provide her that she finds of any pants-droping value. He has no idea that there's no way for Unattainable Female to service every sperm donor sniffing up her gams.

Meanwhile Ugly Betty is in the exact same boat as Stupid Male: All concern is with self, zero mutual concern powers of obvious observation. Dummy, he ain't interested in what you got. Move on.

But then there's that magic confluence of events where Stupid Male and Ugly Betty finally start knocking boots.
Whatever.


Some of these are obvious triangles while others are about realizing what was overlooked or unappreciated:
- Starship Troopers
- When Harry Met Sally
- American Pie
- Project X
- Superbad
- Love Actually
- 50/50
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
I agree, Rayw, and I should mix and match the story lines.

This sub-plot, by the way, shouldn't really be a love triangle - which proves your point all the more. It's just he is infatuated with a lady's superficial looks, even as he should really focus on what's inside. I will develop it from that angle.

Thanks, Rayw and everyone else. :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top