It's funny to me that I wrote about dystopia etc and then hit Catching Fire last night. I loved that movie, simple as that. But the funny part wasn't the connection between the two of those things really. It was more how much of a hubbub I feel I make over fiction, and how much it digs into me. I cried at a certain part with a certain tribute (Mags), felt real anger and witnessed examples of real, human cruelty. I suppose what I'm getting at is my admiration for moments. While I loved the movie, I wouldn't call it a "fun" time when you see some of the horrors they subject people to. The fact that an art form of any kind can create moments that affect people astounds me! Simple as that.
Don't get me wrong, there were a couple of predictable moments in the story, but they didn't take anything away from the experience. And there it is! You can have certain things that your audience is already clued into (even if they are freakishly obvious), if your other moments capture those watching/reading/gaming etc.
EXAMPLE AND SPOILER
Cinna, played by Lenny Kravitz, creates a gown for Jennifer Lawrence's character, Katniss, to at first look like her fictional wedding dress as chosen by the villainous president. She spins, releasing an eye-catching flame that burns away the dress (and symbolic lie), to reveal a darker, bird themed dress w/ actual wings. The dress is fashioned after a mocking jay, the symbol of the rebellion and a clear bitch slap to President Snow. To add a second back-hand, Cinna blows a kiss to the camera that he clearly knows the president is watching from. If you have half a brain, you can kinda infer that Cinna 'bout to die, but the moment is worth it. As is his death scene in front of Katniss not seconds before she enters the 75th games.
Did I see it coming? Yes. Was it any less impactful? No! In fact, it generally adds a little something to include the audience before taking away something important. There are plenty of stories that simply give you a "by the way" or take someone/thing away off screen. That device pisses me off; offscreen deaths. It's rarely done well and, to me at least, feels like a real lazy writing tool. "How do I explain what my other characters are doing while all of this is happening? Meh, fuck em! They died!" Now, that's a gross generalization as well as just my opinion, but still, I'm rarely a fan of "by the way, we killed your favorite wizards." Damn you Rowling and your wonderful prose and the fact that I actually forgive you for taking a few folks out behind the curtain.
A franchise that has become notorious for back-alley killings is Glee. Fuckin' Glee. Sonofabitching Glee. This show has long sense stopped knowing what it is/wants/what the hell it's doing. The writing makes me hurt, inside and out. Even in the memorial episode (where, yes, I did cry most of the episode) there were unnecessary piles in an otherwise good thing. The show used to be good because the writers allowed the characters awkward/off-kilter personas drive the narrative and create moments that you remember. Arty gets to walk for a few seconds, Sue's sisters funeral, Mr. Shu when he finds out his wife isn't pregnant, those were great moments! Well done and calmly, I might add. They allowed the past of the characters to be important, not relying on random-ass awkward humor (that's been gettin' pretty darn racist, sexist, etc in a really boring and kinda bad way for some time now), or new and strange character traits that make no damned sense in their arch! Tina as a cocky bitch with a Blaine fetish and a sorta molestation scene don't make sense...well, the Blaine fetish kinda does, but it's so creepy that it remains just that, creepy, failing to take the step into awkward-interesting (ala the office). The show, at this point, should just be about the main kids in New York (Kurt and Rachel...even as much as I hate Rachel), and Mr. Shu back at the glee club. Making a huge deal about Shu and Emma's breakup and their reconciliation and declaration that it will take time is good. Having him come in 1-2 episodes later with a side commented "Oh, and Emma and I are back together and the wedding is back on. It's going to be on..." is bad. It's really friggin' bad.
You get memorable moments the easiest by keeping your story simple, making sure the audience knows who is important. A shotgun blast of anything will remove the significance from everything, leaving only a mishmash and a great deal of blending, where you may remember the product existed, but can't find out why you ever participated in it.
No comments:
Post a Comment