I keep reading online and in books that when writing a screenplay you should put a message in it but not preach it to the audience. So when i'm writing i try to put the deeper meaning into what's going on but i end up either making the stuff so deep that i think only really good film critics, cinephiles, and film scholars will get it and not a mainstream audience. But other times i just make the message so obvious i feel i will be preaching to people and everyone will ahve their intelligence insulted. I dont know what to do. How do i make a movie meaningful and not bury the message too deep or keep it too shallow. Because i understood what Fight Club was about. Its about consumerism and masculinity mainly. But alot of my friends think its only about guys beating the fuck out of each other for fun (which yes it is about that... but not really... well yes really... you know wat i mean.) I dont mean im the kinda person who when he sees Fight Club he sees the inner meaning only, i see everything about it. Anyway... what do i do???
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Depth/ Message
- Thread starter MadMan
- Start date
A movie ALWAYS has a message. I'd argue a movie IS its message.
Even if it's a pretty straightforward action movie, the message is still....the good guys win because they are better/stronger/smarter.
If your story explores especially deep themes, the trick is to objectively tell the story with sincerity and TRUTH.
An example from classical literature:
A 19th century critic once said he hated Uncle Tom's Cabin, not because it decried slavery, but because the author was dogmatic in her approach.
Can't say I agree or disagee with him until he added the following insight which I find especially true:
"It's slavery. You don't have to speak out against it. You simply have to show it, and the reader will see the evil for themselves."
Obviously, the same would be true in film.
There is no need to stage anything.
Don't have your characters give speeches to relate the meaning of the film.
Show, don't tell.
Show it, in truth, and the audience will see what you want them to see.
Even if it's a pretty straightforward action movie, the message is still....the good guys win because they are better/stronger/smarter.
If your story explores especially deep themes, the trick is to objectively tell the story with sincerity and TRUTH.
An example from classical literature:
A 19th century critic once said he hated Uncle Tom's Cabin, not because it decried slavery, but because the author was dogmatic in her approach.
Can't say I agree or disagee with him until he added the following insight which I find especially true:
"It's slavery. You don't have to speak out against it. You simply have to show it, and the reader will see the evil for themselves."
Obviously, the same would be true in film.
There is no need to stage anything.
Don't have your characters give speeches to relate the meaning of the film.
Show, don't tell.
Show it, in truth, and the audience will see what you want them to see.
The thing I hate the most, in my opinion, is films trying to shove their messages down my throat, as you said with the obvious remark. In everything I've ever written, I've always thought of the general message first, and then keep that in the back of my head as I'm writing, rather than write around the specific idea. It hardly ends well with me. If the audience is going to get it, then they're going to get it. Not everybody watches the movies for their deeper meaning, e.g., your friends and Fight Club. Just as long as the writing means something to you, then it'll mean something to somebody else.
Just my two cents worth.
Just my two cents worth.
Have to agree with rik here...
Trust that you already have a message in your soul that will come out in the writing...
Because YOU DO.
Don't worry about it being too preachy at this point...
Why?
That's what rewrites are for.
The trick is often to let the script SIMMER for however long it takes after you complete a first draft and then go back and read it again as if for the first time.
For some, this is only going to take a week or two... For others, LONGER.
Figure out how long it will take YOU to read it again with a fresh set of eyes and mind.
Those preachy parts SHOULD smack you right in the face if they are in fact preachy... It's at that point that you can sit back and create a strategy on how to make it LESS so.
First things first...
GET THAT STORY OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM.
filmy
Trust that you already have a message in your soul that will come out in the writing...
Because YOU DO.
Don't worry about it being too preachy at this point...
Why?
That's what rewrites are for.
The trick is often to let the script SIMMER for however long it takes after you complete a first draft and then go back and read it again as if for the first time.
For some, this is only going to take a week or two... For others, LONGER.
Figure out how long it will take YOU to read it again with a fresh set of eyes and mind.
Those preachy parts SHOULD smack you right in the face if they are in fact preachy... It's at that point that you can sit back and create a strategy on how to make it LESS so.
First things first...
GET THAT STORY OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM.
filmy
Let the audience draw their own conclusions. Show, don't tell. For me when movies, or any artistic medium, gets too preachy or in your face it really turns me away.