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Lesson 14
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5 Replies
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Napier Delivers Irony
***FYI, content I am posting has been registered (as a Treatment) with the Screenwriters Guild and copyrighted through the Library of Congress. When I am done with the script, it too will be registered and copyrighted. I understand what we post here is to be treated as such in the same manner.***
“What I learned doing this assignment is…?” (place at top of your work). This exercise was indeed harder to achieve, but it basically adds to the subplots and depth. I believe it offered more thought-provoking ways to stimulate the audience.
ASSIGNMENT
1. With your list of the New Ways / Insights you want audiences to experience, go through these steps:
Step 1. What is the New Way / Insight you want to deliver?
Step 2. How could you deliver that insight through opposite experiences?
OR.
Step 1. Where could you build opposite experiences into your screenplay?
Step 2. What is the New Way / Insight you want to deliver through them?
2. Come up with at least five (5) different ways you can create IRONY in your screenplay and deliver an insight.A. IRONY; WIN/LOSS (A win that is really a loss. Or a loss that is really a win.): Following the 9/11 Islamic terrorist attacks, the Protagonist does more than his part to support the war effort. However, the risks and significant contributions to the Agency mission is suddenly sabotaged and rendered irrelevant.
INSIGHT; WIN/LOSS: Like warfare, take charge of shaping your destiny and carefully consider the short term gains that may not be worth it. [ACT 2B]
B. IRONY; IDENTITY (Reaching your potential, but alienating those you love. Or pleasing those you love but losing your own purpose in life.): The Protagonist seeks to improve his financial status as a ‘soldier of fortune’ in the short term by deploying overseas at the expense of being separated from his dogs he loves. After four years, he loses them to death and ultimately is left in financial ruins from the Blacklisting.
INSIGHT; IDENTITY: Don’t take loved ones for granted that they’ll be around forever; instead cherish them while you can and let them know you love them. [ACT 2A]
C. IRONY; CREDIT (Do something amazing, but the credit goes to another. Or getting credit for something amazing that you didn't do.): After the Protagonist places the CIA in an embarrassing position with members of Congress, oversight committees and press releases targeting the Washington, DC metro area, the CIA silently changes its policy on prosecuting predators of child pornography and sex trafficking going so far as to publicly make an example of one predator. The Protagonist receives not apologies, nor recognition from the Agency.
INSIGHT; CREDIT: It takes only ONE to be a Force Multiplier to force change. [ACT 3]
D. IRONY; MOTIVATION (Getting your "want," but losing your "need." Or getting your "need," but losing your "want."): The Protagonist sacrifices his humanity for honor when lowering himself to the Antagonist’s level when pursuing street justice.
INSIGHT; MOTIVATION: Be the person your enemy expects you to be – destroy them to the core. [ACT 3]
E. IRONY; REASONS (Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. Or doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.): Forced into an abandonment of self to survive on the streets, the Protagonist sinks to an all-time low in depression; finding only one job — a strip dancer — to buy time until he can pull himself off the streets.
INSIGHT; REASONS: Desperate times call for desperate measures and when you are a beggar you cannot be too choosy, if you want to eat and feed your little girl. [ACT 2A]
3. Answer the question “What I learned doing this assignment is…?” (place at top of your work). This exercise was indeed harder to achieve, but it basically adds to the subplots and depth. I believe it offered more thought-provoking ways to stimulate the audience.
4. Post to the forums at https://www.screenwritingclasses.com/forums/
Subject line: (Your name) Delivers Irony! (place in first line)
***FYI, content I am posting has been registered (as a Treatment) with the Screenwriters Guild and copyrighted through the Library of Congress. When I am done with the script, it too will be registered and copyrighted. I understand what we post here is to be treated as such in the same manner.***-
This reply was modified 8 months, 3 weeks ago by mark.napier2022@gmail.com napier.
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This reply was modified 8 months, 3 weeks ago by
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Beverley Wood Delivers Irony
What I learned doing this assignment is that there are many ways to deliver irony.
Five Ways to deliver irony:
When Matt finds out Lauren’s dead and he’s shattered, an envelope comes through the letter slot, informing him that this is his lucky day! (ala publisher’s clearing house sweepstakes)
All he wants is to have her back, but when she appears, he won’t believe she’s there and he wastes a great deal of time he could be spending with her.
He tries to show her how they can have a normal life going out in public – but it backfires on him and shows the opposite.
He wants to go with her because he wants to keep her close and she can’t live with that guilt, so she goes inside her urn and ghosts him again.
When he finally lets her go (spills her ashes), it both breaks his heart and mends it.
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Subject line: Diane Delivers Irony!
What I learned doing this assignment is that a scene can be more powerful when the opposing elements are close together. In one scene on one draft, not included below, I have Claire and Stewart finally standing close together with Claire leaning into Stewart that he does not move away from (up until here, he keeps from touching her). Just then, a car arrives with news about Matt’s death. It’s not an irony bit, but it’s a moment of contrast. I can use more of this.
Five ways I can create irony in my screenplay and deliver an insight:
1. Insight: Combat-trauma is not fixed by a welcome home.
Delivery: Matt goes to the July 4 fireworks show with his wife and son. They are together at a celebratory event after this welcome home party. The crowds are close and excited. Matt lights a cigarette to calm down, his wife reminds him to take that away from the kids, so Matt walks a short distance away. A friend sees him and approaches, “Well, well, well, look who we have here.” The friend takes Matt’s hand into a handshake, “welcome home my friend. We wondered if you were going to make it out of Green Zone this time.” This draws the attention of others who also pour on the “welcome” with slaps on the back, handshakes, and toasts. Matt is being pummeled with attention he doesn’t want. He’s being touched and patted on the back. It’s too much. He looks for a way out to get away. The welcome home drives him away.
2. Insight: Killing is not game.
Delivery: Jake and Cole play computer war games and have a great time competing to see who can get more kills/points to win the game. When Jake kills the rabbit, referred to as “game,” he’s horrified that this mother suffered greatly by his actions and her babies will also die. Jake is introduced to hunting as a sport that requires certain skills and strategies, much like his gaming. However, real-life dawns on him when he himself inflicts real suffering that he can see in the eyes of the dying rabbit and how that horror ripples out to others. (This is also a metaphor: families are destroyed by honorable service in war.)3. Build opposite experiences into my screenplay: Matt has a hard time believing what Stewart shares with him about post-war life.
Delivery: Matt argues with Stewart and instead tries to convince Stewart that his perspective (New Way) is corrupted by time and seclusion.4. Insight: The celebration of freedom (this story takes place in the run-up to the 4th of July) comes a greater cost than a year or two of military service.
Delivery: The story includes scenes of buying fireworks and the kids’ excitement to use them, the pop-up firework sales tent in the parking lot of a furniture store offering “4th of July Super Sales” with big signs the inflatable attention-grabbers in red, white, and blue colors, a big welcome home party that was not wanted, Stewart’s isolation, Gavin, Sr. on display in a 4th of July parade float with other veterans from a care facility, flags everywhere from street lights posts to stickers, and more. The celebration is fun, yet veteran suicide is currently at 22 per day.5. Build opposite experiences into my screenplay: Gavin, Jr.’s suicide is considered an accident.
Delivery: Gavin, Jr. had just left the bar where Stewart had been drowning his own post-war trauma. Gavin was not drunk or even buzzed when he leaves the bar and says good-bye to Stewart, with a “That’s it for me… I’m outta here.” After Stewart finds the wreck, these words hit him with their actual meaning. When asked by police if he though Gavin was under the influence, he could say something like, “He was. We all are.” But Stewart means the influence of combat-trauma not alcohol and refers to all combat-affected veterans and not only Gavin, Jr. -
Mitch Delivers Irony!
What I learned doing this assignment is that brainstorming about irony opens a door to a new storyline that I have never thought about. Also, creating irony is a great way to “show” the story, as opposed to explaining it by words (dialogues).
Assignment: Come up with at least five (5) different ways you can create IRONY in your screenplay and deliver an insight.
1) INSGHT: Food of your native land is one of essential elements that constitute your identity. You should not underestimate the power of food.
IRONY: You usually find a thing you have searched for when you give up searching.
The Asian man refuses eating food offered by Dr. Foreman. Russell enters to the patient room.
Russell: Again?
Foreman: (shakes her head) The day before yesterday, it was pizza. Yesterday, hamburger. Today, we offered Chinese food. Nothing worked.
Russell: Maybe, he is not hungry.
Foreman: Without having food for 3 days?
Russell: Well….
Foreman: He may suffer from anorexia, but I’m not sure if that’s the case…..
The Asian man goes to sleep again. Russell leaves the patient room. Dr. Foreman steps out and comes back to the room with her lunch, a sushi box. As Dr. Foreman starts eating sushi, the Asian man awakens and stares at her eating.
Foreman: Hi. (picks up a piece of sushi) Do you want to have this?
The Asian man tries to reach out the sushi held by Dr. Foreman.2) INSIGHT: For Russell, a religious and conservative father, his status quo begins to end.
IRONY: Russell teaches his daughter Katie the importance of faith in religion, while bragging about his Mass attendance that he has never failed for the past 30 years. Katie is by no means religious. Russell tells her to go to church together next Sunday. Katie refuses but finally gives in. However, on Sunday, Russell does not show up in the church.
Katie: Where is Daddy?
Jenny (her mother): Well… You know what happened the other day?
Katie: Yeah.
Jenny: Daddy has to take care of him.
Katie: 30 years of no absence, huh?3) INSIGHT: Identify the ethnic background of the Asian man requires some knowledge about the ethnic group.
IRONY: This investigation is performed by a person (Russell) who has the least knowledge of Asian ethnicity.
4) INSIGHT: When a boy meets a girl, anything could happen.
IRONY: By having her help his job, Russell tries to educate Katie who tends to escape from reality by watching anime or reading manga. Katie reluctantly helps her daddy’s investigation but falls in love with the Asian man at first sight.
5) INSGHT: Sometimes reality is too harsh to face.
IRONY: Katie likes the Asian man and enjoys being with him. One day the Asian man runs away from the hospital as if a person with dementia does. After a desperate search, Katie happens to find him, which makes her believe that it was meant to be. Katie almost decides to spend the rest of her life with him.
However, when his memory is back, the Asian man doesn’t remember Katie. Rather, he gives her a hard time, which breaks Katie’s heart. -
Angela Booth – Sorry this is late!
What I learned doing this assignment is that irony in a situation is much more powerful than I thought.
1. With your list of the New Ways / Insights you want audiences to experience, go through these steps:
Step 1. What is the New Way / Insight you want to deliver?
Step 2. How could you deliver that insight through opposite experiences?Georgia:
1. She doesn’t have to be the one to control and decide everything for the family – other people have skills and can be trusted to use them too.
2. Georgia assumes that she will make dinner but the boys ask for Dad to make it, as they love his special sauce. When she asks what he adds that makes his sauce taste so special, the kids answer “Being silly when he’s cooking”.Jodie:
1. She realises she can run the business and still be an amazing mum and daughter.
2. Expects the kids will be angry with her for not making it to their parent-teacher interviews because she’s stuck in traffic driving back from Bendigo after seeing her mum, and thinks the employees at their business will resent her for dialling in to the AGM on another occasion. In reality, the kids are proud of her for running the business and looking after Bibi, and her employees give her a standing ovation round of applause for turning around the business so that they keep their jobs.Tiff:
1. She realises she can be her own boss and take charge of her future
2. Argues with manager at work and is asked to attend a disciplinary meeting. Goes to meeting and comes out with her own perspective validated. Knows she can do a better job than the manager and believes in herself to run a similar project from scratch.Anne:
1. Believes in herself and refuses to be treated as second best.
2. Sends letter to her father expecting very little in return, and prepares for a breakdown in the relationship. She receives a reply that puts her front and centre, reinforcing the idea that she needs to stand up for herself more often.
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