Metaphorically Speaking Some of a writer’s biggest notes and challenges are theme, subtext and character introduction. When you think about each of these are best tackled by use of metaphor. With theme and subtext this may seem obvious, but depending on your genre it could prove to be even more on the nose than coming right out with something. BUT if we introduce our character doing and/or talking about one thing when it really seems they mean another, we take care of flat and forgetful introductions that tell us way more about a character AND we enhance the theme of the movie while making the dialogue engaging – even if there is exposition buried inside. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE does this brilliantly throughout – not just introduction. Of course the source material lends itself to zippy banter and farcical scenarios but there is no reason any genre or premise can’t follow suit. Mind you it doesn’t have to be all dialogue driven; a metaphor is simply something that stands for something else, so it can be a physical object or lifelong desire or dream. Take your most bland character intro or dialogue exchange, determine how it reflects the theme of your movie and what the scene’s purpose is. Now brainstorm at least six possible metaphors for the purpose/theme and go. A word of caution, everything in moderation. Don’t overload your film with riddles of metaphor, timing is as they say, of the utmost importance. I worked with a director/writer once who thought everything in his film had to be a metaphor – it was a running joke on set, (and not always in a jovial sense) but sadly it made the film a mess. Happy birthday Mr. President(s) and happy un-birthday to the rest of us.
Screenwriting : Today's Wish and Creative Tip by Laurie Ashbourne
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Ah but Mel Brooks and Woody Allen are the masters of metaphor (it's easy to do with comedy)
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The Balcony scene in Woody Allen's Annie Hall is probably the most hysterical use of subtext that I've even seen - it even has subtitles. The Coin Toss scene in No Country for Old Men has some thrilling subtext going on throughout. Maybe one of the greatest examples of subtext in a character's dialogues belongs to Blanche in Streetcar Named Desire. Now I'm starting to feel like watching a Bergman film. Or maybe Macbeth Subtext is the hardest part of dramatic writing for me to successfully accomplish. Maybe because when I'm first writing a scene, I have to follow my literal outline...well...."literally." After that...it's like I have to put on a different hat...more like a poetry hat/riddle hat...and transform into a different type of creative writer. It just takes a lot of time...and a lot of creativity....to sit there and to convey hidden meanings in more metaphorical and less literal ways. It's certainly a more complex type of poetry, and is a more sophisticated and abstract way of talking. Nice post, Laurie. And welcome back. There's a pretty little bluebird out the window here..on my pomegranate tree...and it's just so full of life every time I spy on it...though it does come and go quite a bit. The tree sure stands taller when that there birdie stays around for a spell, I reckon. Heh-heh.
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Cholent Boy-- How can that balcony scene in "Anne Hall" be considered subtext when he puts the subtext in subtitles. Isn't that a disqualification of the great film makers act from the Flatbush convention of 1973 that clearly states in Article #2 sub paragraph #3--" If you are going to use subtext you can't use sub titles." Hysterical Yes. Legal No.
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Ha ha Bill, thanks for the support (and noticing I was gone) it's been a crazy busy time.
Steven - even the ink in the details of the Devil's document spies spiritedly on that mountaintop and longs to taste the wine that runs out of those fresh billowing brooks.
Cholent Boy-- I don't drink wine any more. I am a friend of Bill W. But Touche. Those brooks wouldn't belong to Mel? would they?