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Day 5 Assignments
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Amy’s Character Arc
What I learned doing this assignment is…
I need to do a better job of showing my protagonist’s character arc through her actions. Maybe the struggle of choosing between her career and her family will come out more when I write the scenes. I know this is an area of weakness for me because I’ve gotten a note on scripts I’ve written that there’s not enough of a character arc.
1. The issue: Andrea fears her life will not have any significance without her career. Her career gives her validation.
2. Challenge 1: Josh hires Meagan to be a nanny for the kids and she spends more time with them and does everything better than Andrea.
Challenge 2: Once Andrea arrives in the future, she does not have a career, not even a job, because she’s been missing for a year. She has to start all over. Meagan is now engaged to Josh and has basically taken over her family.
Challenge 3: Andrea chooses work over making cookies for Chloe’s bake sale. She throws some cookies together at the last minute, but they are a flop.
Challenge 4: Andrea is being eyed by the network to be an anchor so she misses her kids’ events to cover big stories, making her kids turn against her.
3. Transformation: Andrea has to report on the fire breaking out at the science lab on the night of her daughter’s dance recital. At first, she goes to cover the fire, but she finds out from Josh that her daughter is being bullied. In realizing that her daughter needs her, she realizes that it’s her family that gives her life purpose.
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BOB SMITHS CHARACTER ARC
What I learned doing this assignment is…?
How important it is to review elements of a character’s arc and expand it with elements of the character’s fears, flaws, issues and challenges and transformation.
NOTE: This is so important, I did the notes below (which are underlined and in bold in the Day 7 Outline (below) but I am excited and aching to start writing those scenes.
PROTAGONIST: EMIL JANNINGS
ORIGINAL CHARACTER ARC FOR EMIL JANNINGS:
Parts to be changed: His jealousy of Dietrich.
Biggest Fear: For his future and his retention of stardom that won him an Oscar.
Completion of Arc: He chooses to put aside his feud with Dietrich and delivers a stellar performance, but choses to remain in Germany and becomes an instrument of Nazi propaganda if it is the only way he can protect his life and those of his Jewish mother and family.
REVISED ARC (AND ELEMENTS) ACCORDING TO THIS ASSIGNMENT FOCUSED ON Fears, flaws, or traits that could be changed. Plus, issues, obstacles and challenges and transformation.
FEARS: That Dietrich will upstage him as the star of “The Blue Angel.” Losing his star-status. Primary fear: Loss of a career in the future because he can’t go back to Hollywood and the Nazis are on the rise in Germany. He fears the Nazis may persecute him and family if his Jewish mother’s origin is discovered. He fear he might have to cooperate with the Nazis to misdirect them away from himself and the Jewish origin of his mother.
FLAWS: Jannings is prone to overacting and over-reacting. He is sullen and quicktempered.
ISSUES: Can he transcend his ego and work with Dietrich?
CHALLENGES: Resolve to assist the Nazis only to disguise himself from their persecution. But explains these matters to the Allied Command officer in such a way that that gets him off the accusation of being a Nazi collaborator who requires de-nazification.
TRANSFORMATION: Jannings learns from Gerron’s meeting with his Rabbi that it would be permissible to cooperate with the Nazis as long as no lives were taken in doing so. This eases Jannings conscience and emboldens him in subsequent actions..
The chief transformation for EMIL JANNINGS ARE PROVIDED BELOW IN THIS 9 BEAT OUTLINE FROM DAY 7:
PS80 DAY 7 BOB SMITH’S FIRST PASS
PRESENT YOUR STORY SHOWING EACH PART OF THE 9-BEAT STRUCTUE:
WORKING TITLE: “’Moths Around a Flame:’ The Making of ‘The Blue Angel.’”
LOGLINE: Amid the decadence of Weimar Berlin, a prominent film director (Josef von Sternberg) coaches his unknown discovery (Marlene Dietrich) and grooms her for stardom. This grows into an affair that parallels the erotic thriller they are filming, “The Blue Angel” in which a professor’s infatuation with a cabaret showgirl leads to his ruin but life further imitates art as a rivalry develops between the star of the film, Oscar winning actor Emil Jannings and Marlene Dietrich all within a dramatic triangle of von Sternberg, Dietrich, and Janning, all of which has far reaching impact.
STRUCTURE (I am including all the instances of rivalry and the dramatic triangle and character arc in bold.)
1. OPENING:
Titel Card: July 1945, Post-war Berlin. US Troop Headquarters.
Out of the rubble the figure of a man emerges brandishing an Oscar statuette, he shouts at the US Troop installation before him, “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! I have won an Oscar!” US troops take him into custody and discover that he is the German actor, Emil Jannings, first Best Actor Oscar winner for ‘The Last Command” (1929)’ and famous also for his performance in “The Blue Angel” (1930) although some of the soldiers say they don’t remember him, but they remember Marlene Dietrich as the star. Jannings grumbles, “I was the star! What you remember is Miss Dietrich’s legs!” They ask what happened to him since then, he indicates that he was “Artist of the State” under the Nazis. The US Commander tells him that he will have to undergo denazification which effectively ends his acting career and asks what led him to perform for the Nazis. So Jannings recounts his unfortunate choices which go back to what happened during the filming of the erotic thriller, “The Blue Angel” in 1930.
“’Moths Around a Flame..’” is about a rivalry between Dietrich and Jannings with a dramatic triangle of von Sternberg, Dietrich, and Jannings.
2. INCITING INCIDENT: Marlene Dietrich, an unknown, auditions for the part of the Cabaret show girl, Lola Lola. Josef von Sternberg, the Director, screens her audition for the studio executives and Emil Jannings, and says he will cast her in the role of the Cabaret showgirl Lola Lola, who is the love interest of Professor Rath (played by Jannings) whose infatuation with her leads to his ruination. Von Sternberg’s choice is met with opposition from everyone involved in the production who were hoping for an established actress in the part. But von Sternberg insists that he will work with no other actress but Dietrich, a chorus girl. He says she is a novice and he will coach her for the part and the stardom he believes can be hers. Jannings views Dietrich as a rival and reminds von Sternberg: “But remember, I am the star of this film.”
3. BY PAGE 10: Von Sternberg is spending an inordinate amount of time with Dietrich in coaching her for the role and grooming her for stardom. He tells Dietrich to lose weight. She invites him and Jannings on a night out to see “the Berlin of Lola Lola” starting wth the Sabri Mahir Boxing Studio, where she keeps in shape and will get into the better shape von Sternberg desires with intensive boxing exercises under Mahir, her trainer. She introduces von Sternberg and Jannings to Mahir and also her friend, actress Carola Neher, also a boxer, and now a cast member of Berthold Brecht’s “Three Penny Opera.” She invites Carola to a boxing match and knocks her out with her lethal right hook which impresses von Sternberg and Jannings. She invites Jannings to join Mahir’s studio as a way to augment his commendable loss of 100 lbs and staying in shape and then invites Carola to join her, Jannings, and von Sternberg for a visit to “the Berlin of Lola Lola” where they can meet the “Einstein of Sex” Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a sexologist. All this is Dietrich’s way to deepen her relationship with von Sternberg and mend her relationship with Janning, if not play one-up on him.
The next thing that happens added from a revised outline is that the Nazis attack the Club Silhouette which prompts Dr. Hirschfeld to speak and anti-Nazi tirade warning that the Nazis will inevitably take over Germany and God help us if they do. If you’re jewish or gay, leave now, if you stay you may have to cooperate with the Nazis to survive. This triggers Jannings chief fear, his mother is of Jewish origin, what can he do to protect her? Cooperate with the Nazis. However, fellow cast member, Kurt Gerron consulted his Rabbi who said it is permissible to cooperate with the enemy as long as no lives are taken. This eases jannings conscience. (Gerron, later while imprisoned in Terezienstadt, made a propaganda film for the Nazis under the threat of death).
4. FIRST TURNING POINT IN ACT ONE: At the Club Silhouette, Carola, Marlene von Sternberg, and Jannings meet Dr. Hirschfeld who advocates for gay rights and greater freedom in matters of sex. While Dietrich sits on von Sternberg’s lap, in a moment to be reenacted in The film “Morocco,” Marlene Dietrich reaches over and kisses Carola Neher on the lips which makes Dietrich the more attractive to von Sternberg and repulsive to Jannings (“Lola Lola would never do that” Dietrich: “Don’t be so sure.”). Marlene orders champagne for everybody in the club in celebration of her being cast as Lola Lola in “The Blue Angel.” However, the celebration is cut short. A group of Nazis marching in the street hurl rocks through the windows of the Club Silhouette. Hirshfeld remarks, “If those Nazis take over, it will be all over for homosexuals and for Jews. And I am both!” Von Sternberg says, “They will take over the movie business, too. Well, there is work in Hollywood, (to Marlene, he says) “After ‘Blue Angel,’ that’s where I am taking you.” Dr. Hirschfeld to speak and anti-Nazi tirade warning that the Nazis will inevitably take over Germany and God help us if they do. If you’re jewish or gay, leave now, if you stay you may have to cooperate with the Nazis to survive. This triggers Jannings chief fear, his mother is of Jewish origin, what can he do to protect her and the rest of his family as well as himself as part Jewish? Cooperate with the Nazis? However, fellow cast member, Kurt Gerron consulted his Rabbi who said it is permissible to cooperate with the enemy as long as no lives are taken. This eases jannings conscience. (Gerron, later while imprisoned in Terezienstadt, made a propaganda film for the Nazis under the threat of death).
5. MIDPOINT/ PLOT EVENT: Jannings castigates von Sternberg that he does not even lunch with him but has lunch in Dietrich’s dressing room.
6. MIDPOINT: Von Sternberg’s wife (Riva Royce) confronts him about his relationship with Marlene Dietrich. She says, “Why don’t you divorce me and marry her?” He replies, “I’d sooner share a telephone booth with a cobra.”
7. SECOND TURNING POINT AT END OF ACT TWO: Emil Jannings and novelist,
Heinrich Mann watch some dailies. Mann complains that the whole story of his novel
(Professor Unrat) on which “The Blue Angel is based, is subverted by Miss Dietrich’s
legs. Emil Jannings agrees and they go to complain directly to von Sternberg,
Jannings particularly harboring the grievance that he is upstaged by Dietrich
while he is the star. And that all his (von Sternberg’s direction is honed in on
Dietrich while he feels that their collaborative spirit that they had in earlier films
has eroded. Von Sternberg explains that he (Jannings) is the mature actor and
Dietrich needs the attention and she could use his support.
8. CRISIS: In one scene, Jannings’ character is supposed to strangle Dietrich’s character. Jannings over acts it and actually strangles Dietrich, bruising her. She says to von Sternberg, “I played along for the sake of the scene but I could have decked him with my right hook. Next time he tries it, that’s what I’ll do!” She spews her thoughts that she has kept to herself throughout the film, e.g., that Jannings is a sullen egotistical fool and an over-acting ham who in your (von Sternberg’s) absence has vetoed your direction and directed the cast to do the opposite of what you instructed them.
CHARACTER ARCS: Von Sternberg says to both Dietrich and Jannings, “’The Blue Angel is about to wrap. He need actors who see each other as partners to make a work of art and now put on the finishing touches.” They put aside their rivalry and finish excellent closing scenes in the climax.
9.
10. CLIMAX: The final scenes are filmed: Marlene singing her signature song, “Falling in Love Again,” which includes title line: “Men cluster to me like Moths around a flame. And if their wings are burned, I know I’m not to blame.”
Jannings then enacts the tragic end of the Professor, as he dies clinging to his desk in his old class room.
11. Uncertain of his future, Jannings pays a visit to Alfred Hugenberg, the studio chief, and states his anxiety about his future. Jannings is convinced that he has no future in Hollywood because, he has found out the hard way that his German accent is not working for “talkies.” Hugenberg is a supporter of the Nazis and says to Jannings that he has a future in Germany when the Nazis take over. He tells him that he knows Goebbels is an admirer.
12. JANNINGS CHARACTER ARC: Life imitates art as Jannings becomes a favorite of the Nazis, only to find himself, as in the opening scene, condemned to de-nazification, in effect, ending his acting career and ruined, much like the professor he played fifteen years earlier, in “The Blue Angel.” Jannings protests denazification because hee never was a Nazi. He challendges the Allied Officer: Had he survived, Would he condemn Kurt Gerron to de-nazification because he made a propagands filmfor the Nazis? The officer retorts, “Gerron made only one film under the guard towers of Theriesenstadt, you made six, plus you campaigned for the Nazi Party in the 1938 Reichstag elections when there were no guard towers with machine guns above you. Janning: “But if I had not, I could have been condemned to a place of guard towers, I, and my family and had they discovered my mother’s Jewish origin, we would have ended up like Kurt Gerron and his familyl”
13. Closing Title Cards:
Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich went to Hollywood and for the next decade created many acclaimed motion pictures. She opposed Hitler, became an American citizen and entertained the troops even as they fought the German army.
Emil Jannings after 1945 underwent denazification. He would never act again and died in 1950 at age 65.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by Robert Smith. Reason: Found a way to say things better
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This reply was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by
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Janeen’s Character Arc
What I learned doing this assignment is that for my heroine, Morgan, I had included her character arc for the most part although I noted places where the specific aspects of it I was highlighting could be brought out more. I need to do this same thing for the arcs of my antagonist and his wife (who ends up being a second protagonist).
Morgan’s info:
Basic Character Traits:
Insecure; Curious/Eager to learn; Perfectionist — can’t leave well enough alone; Bold under pressure <div>
Subtext Character Traits: Intimidated, Crafty
Logline: Morgan is a wealthy fashionista who wants to help other women to prove to herself that she is not just a trophy wife.
In this movie, I want to deal with Morgan’s Logline and help her prove to herself that she is more than just a trophy wife.
2. The Issue: Morgan feels deflated, as though being married to a successful author is her only value to the world, but she knows she’s more than that and wants to prove it.
Escalating Challenges:
1. Morgan feels the need to help other women and leaves the Waterman Method book for Amber and calls the cops on her husband, Daniel. It backfires when male cops respond and think she has butted in on a minor dispute, wasting their time.
2. Morgan thought she was helping, but now has a restraining order against her from Daniel. Amber has refused to press charges.
3. Morgan talks to her fiber guild about how she can help Amber. She learns that outside interference can make abuse worse. They agree to use Waterman techniques to help women in danger.
4. Waterman says his techniques cannot be used to hurt others as it will come back on the person who uses the technique, the guild devises ways to use the Waterman Method to fortify women in the shelter so they are ready to leave.
5. Three women have found the courage to leave their abusers. One struck her abuser with a brick, leaving him unconscious, as he tried to prevent her from leaving with the kids. Another fought with her abuser getting a broken jaw out of the deal when her abuser did a lot more than slap her this time. The third, changed the locks on the house, but left to go to her mother’s with the kids, leaving the man without access to the house she had had before they started living together.
6. Daniel puts Amber in the hospital in critical condition and they use all of their efforts to empower her to protect herself and her children. They are specific about their efforts. Amber kills Daniel
The Transformation: When Amber is acquitted and testimony said that she would have been killed had she not done something drastic, Morgan realizes that the help she gave Amber worked. She does have the power to do more with her life. She is more than a trophy wife and has power in her own right.
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Budinscak Character Arc
What I learned doing this assignment is:
o Nice way to review and prioritize your character’s traits and to ensure escalating challenges.
o My outline has evolved from the Day 7 Structure, but I’m using it for this exercise.
Character Arc for Jack – Protagonist
Protagonist Character Arc:
Part to be changed: Jack is completely self-centered, doing whatever he wants.
Biggest fear: being responsible for someone.
Completion of arc: acknowledges and stands up for the boys.
Jack goes from self-centered, me first a-hole to a caring and protective uncle.
Issues: Jack wants to do … whatever Jack wants to do, and kids don’t allow that to happen. Kids need attention, they need to be watched, they need to be supervised, they need, they need, they need. Jack doesn’t like kids and he loathes his nephews, Puck and Sal. And each knows why – the bank ride.
Escalating Challenges:
Challenge 1: Jack shows disdain for the boys in the opening scene and the audience finds out what caused it – the bank ride.
Challenge 2: the boys get out of hand at the funeral home across the parking lot and embarrass their uncle. Carmine’s customers watch Jack drag them across the parking lot back to Carmine’s, the family restaurant.
Challenge 3: Puck and Sal show up in the back seat of the Caddy that morning in Terre Haute – Jack is pissed.
Challenge 4: They just get on the road out of Terre Haute when the boys starting complaining and fighting. Jack reaches back to break it up, the car swerves and a State Trooper pulls in behind with his lights flashing. Jack lies through his teeth the trooper to stay out of trouble. Jack’s anger mounts.
Challenge 5: After 5 minutes of silence, the nephews once again start complaining and fighting. Jack ties them to their respective sides of the car.
Challenge 6: The boys whine about food, Jack pulls over in a truck stop, buys food, drugs his nephews, they sleep, he’s happy and drives on.
Challenge 7: The boys wake, they’re hungry. Jack thinks he’s got a tail and pulls into a truck stop in Oklahoma. He wanders outside to check on the suspected vehicle and Sal comes running up to him – Puck’s in trouble! Jack goes into the bathroom and beats a trucker who had Puck trapped in a bathroom stall. Jack blames the boys, but he’s glad he was there. And he got rid of some angst.
Challenge 8: Jack pulls over in a rest stop, the boys are asleep. Jack walks away and comes back, the boys are missing. They just stepped out to go the bathroom – Jack goes ballistic about what may have happened to them.
Challenge 9: In Albuquerque, Jack tells his sisters that Sal and Puck are with him. But he can’t be 100% truthful, he says they’re in Atlantic City.
Challenge 10: In Las Vegas, the boys win their games at Circus Circus, Jack loses everything he plays. The boys offer to help him out and it pisses him off.
Challenge 11: On the final leg to Burbank, Puck and Sal want to ride horses, Jack says no and a big argument ensues. Jack yells and everyone’s quiet. Then CO2 leaks into the interior from the trunk and everyone passes out.
Challenge 12: The nephews are still unconscious and Jack prays to God, he pledges to change his life completely if God saves Puck and Sal. Immediately, Sal moves, Jack starts to recant …. And stops.
Transformation:
Jack’s prayers were answered and he changes. When they arrive in Burbank, the boys are physically separated from Jack and he fights to protect them. Jack’s bopped on the head and knocked out. The boys ultimately come back to save their uncle.
On their way back to upstate NY from JFK airport, the mother’s of Sal and Puck notice a change in their sons and ask Jack what happened. He weaves a tale, and the boys jump in to substantiate what their uncle said …. And add their own spins.
Jack, Puck and Sal’s bond is secured from there on out.
Opening:
While an extended family chats over dinner inside their restaurant, Jack takes out the trash and watches a hearse pull up to the funeral home across the parking lot. Men struggle pulling a body bag from the hearse that jerks around wildly.
Challenges 1, 2
Inciting Incident:
Jack is presented with two options – personally deliver a package or have the family’s restaurant burn to the ground. Jack chooses to deliver a package.
By page 10, you know what the movie is about:
Jack agrees to travel to Burbank to deliver a package, unaware his two young nephews, Puck and Sal, will tag along for the trip.
First turning point as end of Act 1:
Jack wakes up in his car in Terra Haute (IN) and the two boys pop up in the back seat.
Challenge 3, 4, 5, 6
Mid-point:
Jack averts a crisis in an Oklahoma Truck Stop when he beats a trucker who had Puck trapped in a bathroom stall. The boys have never seen this side of their uncle – and never want to.
Challenge 7, 8, 9
Second turning point at the end of Act 2:
In Las Vegas, Jack loses all his money in the casino, then is shaken down by the FBI and forced to be their informant, including wearing a wire.
Challenge 10
Crisis:
Jack doesn’t want any emotional attachments – nephews or otherwise, but when their lives are at peril from carbon monoxide poisoning, he promises to change if God saves Puck and Sal.
Challenge 11, 12
Transformation:
Climax:
Jack and the boys deliver the package on time to a funeral home in Burbank. Once inside, Jack is separated from the boys. While Jack suffers, the two kids outwit their bad guy and save their uncle from his captors.
New relationship between Jack, Puck and Sal
Resolution:
Jack, Sal and Puck arrive on the east coast in time to meet their mom’s – and the mom’s can tell the difference in their kids. While Jack feigns ignorance, the two boys vouch for their uncle’s story and add a few nuggets of their own.
A picture is taken of the trip and posted on the wall in the restaurant. That picture catapults us to the present.
A family outing involving everyone in the movie wraps this up.
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Rob Bertrand’s Character Arc
What I learned: I learned the importance of giving your protagonist a strong character arc because it gives the audience a more rewarding experience.
Protagonist Character Arc:
Annie Andrews goes from a depressed teenager, ashamed of her sexuality to a fiercely confident, self-assured young adult.
Part to be changed: Annie’s shame and fear of coming out to her religious family.
Biggest fear: Annie’s biggest fear is that her mother’s death was her fault.
Completion of arc: Annie comes to terms with her mother’s death and finds the courage to come out to her father.
Issue:
Annie feels that the death of her mom was her fault and that everyone blames her for it. Annie is also struggling with feelings of shame due to her burgeoning homosexuality and fears coming out to her religious father.
Challenges:
Challenge 1: On the drive home from the wedding, Annie’s father makes a homophobic comment that makes her mad and makes her lose concentration on the road.
Challenge 2: No one will look or talk to Annie at the Funeral Reception. Annie overhears her father’s comments that Nora would still be alive if he hadn’t let Annie drive.
Challenge 3: Annie goes on a date with Danny, despite her feelings for Jocelyn, because she feels it’s what is expected of her.
Challenge 4: Danny makes an unwanted advance towards Annie.
Challenge 5: During the séance, the spirit of Annie’s mother blames Annie for her death.
Challenge 6: After Annie and Jocelyn share their first kiss, Jocelyn is thrown down the stairs by what appears to be the spirit of Annie’s mom.
Challenge 7: Jocelyn tells Annie she’s getting back together with her boyfriend and can’t see her anymore.
Challenge 8: The “spirit” leaves a bloody message, telling Annie, “Its Your Fault.”
Challenge 9: Annie’s father doesn’t believe her experiences and thinks she’s making it up for attention.
Challenge 10: Annie receives another bloody message on the wall that reads, “You don’t belong!”
Transformation:
Annie’s father reveals that he promised Nora that he wouldn’t drink at the wedding and that he would be her designated driver. But his alcoholism got the better of him. It’s not Annie’s fault, it’s his. After her experience with Danny in the climax, Annie swears off boys and makes a promise to herself to live her true life. She confronts Danny in the hospital and finds the courage to come out to her father.
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I was about to map out a new arc when I realized that irritating questions may be more useful for now.
Serial killers and hit men/women are known for their extraordinary actions, but what is his/her daily life like? Sleep, hygiene, food, grooming, sex on any level, aches and pains and gains. The homeless man I modeled the older character on is always plotting, fantasizing, organizing successful enterprises for the future that may seem practical but won’t work. Although there will be pertinent flashbacks, this screenplay charts BB/Betty from age 60 to age 85, a time when seniors usually look back on their lives. He may have occasional nightmares but is he still driven into the future and if so, what is his projectile?
Bobby/Leo/BB/Betty’s character arc was initially flat because psychopaths aren’t supposed to transform for the better in real life.
But then I turned BB into a Betty and she began to transform.
Now I must redo all the scenes with minor characters and kids so that he/she is there somewhere, making tiny changes throughout. He can’t just be an OCD cleaning cliiche or an obsequious cook, serving his bosses. I must go deeper inside his original need to kill and what end-of-life fantasies he has as a woman. Does he get religious? Does he look forward to his own death? A former funeral director, what are his final wishes? He likes the boat but he knows his corpse will be removed. What kind of afterlife would he believe in? Will he join Joe and Natalia?
BB teaches Ibrahim how to swim and I need more activities like this that can be metaphors for the shifts in knowledge and power.
He never liked Jake but he stalked his wife Litonya for years when she climbed rocks in the Gunks. What does he think of them now? He has a boat bond with their son Kisele, so what does Kisele do when he finds out BB/Betty was a serial killer?
He kills by infiltrating homes during COVID and then later by getting DNA as a part health aid at Jake’s house. He cleans and cooks but why does Jake trust him? Because Jake forgives everyone and looks on the bright side?
How does he feel when he is raped by the Wallkill river where he raped women as a serial killer, and by the East River by the same kind of gang that beat him up as a teenager, destroying his right eye? Does he develop any feelings for victims?
When he is transformed again by the Bright Space Brain Buffet after midpoint, he gets the memory of a college student with critical and creative thinking although his female body continues to fall down. How can he hide his cognitive improvement from Ibrahim? How does this enable him to understand his final dilemma with Jake and Litonya? Does his enhanced cognition complicate his second rape at PP2?
Ibrahim begins to get frontotemporal dementia, and greedily takes the Brain Buffet to clean out plaques but his unpredictable behavior causes him to be fired from STEMGARCHS. This means the drugs are even more precious to both of them.
The final scenes are fine for now but is there a parting epiphany that would relate to the theme of fate versus will and give a stance on climate catastrophes as well as the neurodegenerative cures?
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Armand’s Character Arc
What I learned doing this assignment is…
I really like the approach to character arc in this lesson (issue, escalating challenge(s) and transformation).
“DEFINITION of Character Arc: The character begins with one viewpoint/belief/habit and changes to another. It is their transformation.”
The Character Arc could come from one of three places.
– The protagonist facing his fear
– A change in ONE trait.
A change in the flaw
THE STRUCTURE OF CHARACTER ARC
In its simplest version, the Character Arc is just about a character going through a chance. But there is an easy structure that can deliver the transformational experience for your audience in a deep way.
Here’s how it works:
1. The Issue: Establish the character with a fear, flaw, or trait that needs to be changed.
2. Escalating Challenge: Throughout the story, the character is continually confronted with situations that challenge that fear, flaw, or trait. The character does everything they can to avoid dealing with it — straight out avoidance, uses coping strategies, fights against it, etc. But the challenges keep increasing in intensity until…
3. The Transformation: Finally, when all else fails, the character makes the change — faces the fear, has a major insight, or finally chooses the one path they have avoided for the entire movie.”
TYLER, THE GHOST
The issue: Tyler is a cowardly ghost who acts tough and arrogant, except when confronted with actual danger to himself or others.
Escalating challenges: He discovers his killer is back in the manor and hides from him. He vows not to intervene and let the killer murder the new batch of killers, when he finally intervenes he fails miserably and the killer ends up killing a victim anyway, he opens himself to Lex, only to see her dying.
The Transformation: He becomes brave after all these failures to save the day and defeats the killer, while maintaining some of his arrogance. Moves on to rest in peace.
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Elizabeth: Adding Character Arc
What I learned: Yet again, Hal keeps me focused.
Ed
The Issue: All his life, Ed’s focused on other people’s psychological work rather than dealing with his own pain, rage and guilt, because his “11 year-old self” remains afraid it will be overwhelming-AVOIDANT trait. Besides, he’s good at helping other people do their work, which is gratifying. But 2 years ago he finally stepped into his own life and reconnected with his long-lost high school sweetheart. She died after a year as they were planning their wedding—and now all he can think about is getting out of his (even more difficult) life. The only life activity he has is playing his music all by himself. (When he was with Susan he was playing in a band so he could play a song for her at their wedding).
Escalating Challenges:
1. NH friends put pressure on him to talk/ “play” with them, which he avoids/resists by hiding out, just like he did before he reconnected with Susan after 60 years. (He avoided marrying/having a family).
2. Meets Grace, Susan’s granddaughter – feels he owes it to Susan to get her box to her son.
3. Pressure from NH friends who think he should connect more with the family than just passing off the box. So he connects them to help – which entangles Ed even more in both NH friends’ and family’s lives (show with more texts/calls, looking for him, etc.)
4. Pressure from family who play on his responsible/caring traits (as above)
5. Pressure from his own growing love for family as he grows increasingly connected (helps Kristian talk and poop), relates a little to Linda, helps Grace and Christopher with their mother issues – and finally steps up and helps Michael.
6. When he sees how old Mark is, Ed realizes Grace might actually be HIS granddaughter, too! He orders a test to find out, but then Mark’s MI, and subsequent death trigger Ed’s deepest fear – until, as he helps Grace, he realize he’s survived his own feelings.
7. Grace is about to pull out of the wedding again, so Ed shares his own mirror-of Grace’s anger & guilt re: absent dads, to help her decide to go through with the wedding (her transformation).
The Transformation: when the woman who may be his granddaughter is willing to give up something really important to her (wedding music) to make her own transformation (face/name her feelings so she can get married) he knows he MUST finally do his feeling ‘work’, too. So he gathers the band he’d played with the year he was with Susan and they perform (play) at the wedding – then he otherwise gets back into life.
Grace
The Issue: raised by a narcissistic mom (absent dad) Grace feels irrevocably unlovable (trait that changes). Also, because her mother told her that her dad abandoned them after her parents married (and her best friend’s father cheated of his wife, and the best friend’s husband did the same): Grace believes that if she gets married, Mike will cheat or leave. Enveloped/mirrored by Ed, Grace learns to love/trust herself so she can fully love/trust Mike.
Escalating Challenges:
1. In her usual state of relationship conflict/attachment, Grace meets a grandfather figure who also gives miraculous relationship advice (inadvertently helps her slow down enough to think/feel/share) that makes her thirst for more. ESPECIALLY since she thinks he was married to her grandmother!
2. When she realizes Susan was her grandmother, Ed continues to help Grace & Mike’s relationship and the family, both himself and by bringing in others—which starts to give Grace new ways to think about things. But…
3. As she starts to feel okay about trying to get married, financial stresses make her work faster/more – and she regresses, culminating in…
4. Her job loss right before her dad’s MI which
5. Triggers Ed—so he leaves. And this triggers Grace’s abandonment issue—so she confronts Ed. Which makes him impulsively reveal his relationship with Susan was just a “hook-up”—so she boots the man who is finally helping her.
6. But b/c of Ed’s growing feelings for the family and Jewel’s help, Ed comes back. But then Grace’s dad dies, which fully overwhelms Ed (until he realizes that it doesn’t)—after which, Ed helps Grace with her father’s death (in part by highlighting that her father was never cut out to be a father and already lived his version of a good life), and encourages her to get married as planned.
7. Forced by her dad’s death to stop moving/WORKING so fast, Grace finally feels/think and: learns that things aren’t always as they seem/are sold, including: her mother reveals she was never married to Grace’s dad – was a teen groupie of his travel show; that Ed might actually be her grandfather (and so not every man cheats, even when they never married the girl!); that her mother’s been manipulating her and her brother to their psychological detriment— so Grace takes action that helps them both and makes her feel more empowered to…
The Transformation: Grace realizes that if Mike didn’t cheat before his impulsivity was treated, now that it is there’s an even better chance he’ll stay faithful given his core trait of loyalty. More importantly, she visualizes the “what if” – and realizes she can survive, even if Mike leaves her.
Christopher
The Issue: Christopher’s afraid of rejection, so he’s avoidant (like Ed). His mother makes things worse by cultivating his fear so he’ll stick around and take care of her.
Escalating Challenges:
1. Ed shows up, shaking things up – and he’s got Christopher figured out, puts pressure on him to not hide in the basement, helps him see Grace’s sad state.
2. Ed points out Christopher’s sad state to Grace and encourages they go out to dinner
3. Christopher confesses to Ed he’s passively suicidal
4. Christopher goes to a therapist where he also…
5. Meets Lauren and begins to envision another life
The Transformation: When his beloved sister is overwhelmingly distressed over her job loss and father’s death right before the wedding, Christopher steps up, take more work so they can all move into a duplex
Michael
The Issue: He needs treatment for his primary psych dx so his secondary one can be addressed, too.
Escalating Challenges:
1. Coping per usual, Michael is distracted at work, fighting with Grace and can’t get Grace to marry him. But when they meet Ed he begins to see hope
2. He looses his job. The wedding money has to go to paying the mortgage
3. His marijuana is laced and he gets psychotic which is fun – until it isn’t.
4. His dealer shows up and Ed sends him away—making him look at himself a little
5. When Grace calls off the wedding, Mike takes Ed up on the offer to get Rx
6. Gets meds, a little CBT. Goes to Marijuana Anonymous
The Transformation: Now better organized and effective, when his bride stops overworking and fully falls apart, he’s able step in and organize/inspire the help needed to make the wedding happen.
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PS 80 Michelle Damis Character Arc
What I learned doing this assignment is that because of the nature of my story some of the challenges would not be considered as such if it was a normal person. I think it is interesting to see that things we take for granted are seen as challenges. I’m hoping that because everything is backwards that people find it fresh and different. I’m hoping I can pull off a great bit of Swiftean Satire.
— Issue, Challenges, and Transformation.
1. The Issue: the character with a certain fear, flaw, or trait that needs to be changed.
Ted is a Vampire that is bored, lonely, hateful, misanthrope. He talks of trying to commit suicide and having nothing new or meaningful to experience in life.
2. Escalating Challenges: Throughout the story, the character is continually confronted with situations that challenge the fear, flaw, or trait. The character does everything they can to avoid dealing with it — straight out avoidance, uses coping strategies, fights against it, etc. But the challenges keep increasing in intensity until…
CHALLENGE 1: we see him challenged by his conscience when he gives to a begger
CHALLENGE 2: we see him challenged by his conscience when he tells his friend to not pick Nina
CHALLENGE 3: He no longer has a place to live
CHALLENGE 4: he meets the parents he will be living with and “feels” something new and different
CHALLENGE 5: he is experiencing a family and love
CHALLENGE 6: he loses his taste for killing human(although he was already making conscience driven choices prior)
CHALLENGE 7: he is confronted by Nina and give “brotherly” advice.
CHALLENGE 8: More feelings are taking him over
CHALLENGE 9: his humans are in danger from others
CHALLENGE 10: Nina has found out what he is and is going to tell
CHALLENGE 11: Elder vampires give Ted ultimatum:
CHALLENGE 12: Nina and Marin are taken and in danger
CHALLENGE 13: Ted has to confess to Jim-everything
CHALLENGE 14: Ted tries to save them
CHALLENGE 15: Final sacrifice
3. The Transformation: Finally, when all else fails, the character makes the change — faces the fear, has a major insight, or finally chooses the one path they have avoided for the entire movie.
Ted finds something new-a family and love. He now has a reason to live and not be bored anymore. He now has something to protect and ironically doesn’t want to die, but will have to sacrifice to save the humans he has come to love.
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Jodi’s Character Arc – Day 5
By changing only one character challenge about your protagonist; fear, flaw or trait, it will create a character arc that will make your characters stronger, more emotional, and create a more meaningful experience.
I liked Pam’s arc before, admittedly it wasn’t brazen but she did have things to get over.
For this exercise I wrote her arc with a much bigger fear.
Fear to be changed: She’s afraid of her conservative family disowning her for her beliefs.
New Issue: Pam has a fear of public speaking
The Challenges:
Challenge 1: When she was to be presented with her 20 year pin at the presentation luncheon, she broke out in sweat and said she wasn’t feeling well and had to leave.
Challenge 2: The Chief asks her to give the daily assignments to thirty fellow officers, she’s uncomfortable and feels as if a balloon is blown up in her stomach, making it hard to breathe, she slowly gets through it.
Challenge 3: She is quiet during the Governor’s meeting, but afterwards has many insightful things to say. The group wonders why she didn’t speak up when it was necessary.
Challenge 4: Pam must get up and speak to voters while campaigning. She gets dizzy and faints. Chloe takes over.
Challenge 5: She tries again at another campaign, she starts strong but when everyone quiets down to listen to her she draws a blank. She reads from her notes, the energy drains to an all time low and people walk away.
Transformation 1: Montage of Pam signing up for Toastmasters. She practices a few different times with them, gets through the speeches to people clapping. She has a face of accomplishment.
Challenge 6: Pam is nervous about the televised debate of the primary candidates. She is breathing hard and panicking backstage. Her husband helps her with their breathing exercises and prompts her through how she’s overcome this problem so far.
Transformation 2: She has to debate the Governor for the general elections. She is much calmer but has moments of panic and the balloon in her lungs, making it hard to breathe at first. She deeply breathes through it, eventually she gains speed and confidence, she’s finally in ‘the zone’.
STRUCTURE:
OPENING SCENE: A young teen finds out she is pregnant and is overwhelmed and scared.
Challenge 1: When she was to be presented with her 20 year pin at the presentation luncheon, she broke out in sweat and said she wasn’t feeling well and had to leave.
INCITING INCIDENT: Right to Life members follow her too close on the road and accidentally cause her to car to flip over continually, killing her.
Challenge 2: The Chief asks her to give the daily assignments to thirty fellow officers, she’s uncomfortable and feels as if a balloon is blown up in her stomach, making it hard to breathe, she slowly gets through it.
By page 10, you know what the movie is about: Pam decides the only way to fight this attack on women is from the top.
Challenge 3: She is quiet during the Governor’s meeting, but afterwards has many insightful things to say. The group wonders why she didn’t speak up when it was necessary.
First turning point at end of Act 1: Pam teams up with women from all over the state to organize a plan to take on the Governorship.
Challenge 4: Pam must get up and speak to voters while campaigning. She gets dizzy and faints. Chloe takes over.
Mid-Point: Pam’s family starts to shun her. She’s given an ultimatum to give up her endeavor or give up her family. She must choose.
Challenge 5: She tries again at another campaign, she starts strong but when everyone quiets down to listen to her she draws a blank. She reads from her notes, the energy drains to an all time low and people walk away
Second turning point at end of Act 2: Under-funded, slandered and falsely accused, Pam feels the odds are against her and her Pastor Father who will be exposed as a draft dodger if she doesn’t quit.
Transformation 1: Montage of Pam signing up for Toastmasters. She practices a few different times with them, gets through the speeches to people clapping. She has a face of accomplishment.
Crisis: Pam is torn between helping her Dad and choosing to fight for all women’s freedom of choice.
Challenge 6: Pam is nervous about the televised debate of the primary candidates. She is breathing hard and panicking backstage. Her husband helps her with their breathing exercises and prompts her through how she’s overcome this problem so far.
Climax: She finds out about the Governor’s wife having an abortion in her younger years and uses that information to shut him down from exposing her Father. Her Father tries to reach her.
Transformation 2: She has to debate the Governor for the general elections. She is much calmer but has moments of panic and the balloon in her lungs, making it hard to breathe at first. She deeply breathes through it, eventually she gains speed and confidence, she’s finally in ‘the zone’.
Resolution: Pam wins the election by a large margin. With great words of conviction Pam powerfully tells the voters that the first line of business will be to abolish the ‘heartbeat’ ban. Her family has accepted her point of view. The beaten Governor’s Daughter walks out of a reproductive clinic while the Right to Life stalkers are lying in wait.
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Richard’s Character Arc
What I learned doing this assignment is… a strong, and straightforward, character arc keeps potential readers interested. People want to see change in others.
Issue, Challenges, and Transformation
Issue/fear
That without culture and chain-of-command the people will become feral and societal breakdown will happen thus weakening his people.
Challenges
– Watching others make bad decisions, even through it hinders all their progress.
– Having his people want him to lead and doing what he believes is the right thing to do by promoting the leadership claims of the next-in-line.
– Having to speak out when situations call for it.
– Looking for diplomatic answers when none will do.
– When to take matters into his own hands.
– Watching his loved ones die needlessly.
– Having to kill his own countryman.
Transformation
He realizes that the old ways must change so they can better themselves and become a stronger country.
From following orders he disagreed with to actually killing the man, his own countryman, that is hindering progress.
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What I learned doing this assignment is like a pilot or season arc in TV, a character also has an arc, something I never considered. The basic idea is the character is introduced with a fear, flaw or trait that has changed by the end of the story.
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Pablo’s Character Arc
1. The Issue: Miguel is very much an introverted, homebody. Possibly a little agoraphobic. He spends all day taking care of his mother and competing in online gaming tournaments for income. He is terrified of losing his mother as caring for her is his only current purpose in life.
2. The Challenges: His mother is dying of Alzheimers and Miguel has no money to help her. So thinks up a way to use his gaming skills to cheat in an underground gambling ring. Building a drone for the operation, he never even has to leave his home.
Challenge: Having to take his mother to the hospital for a professional diagnosis of her mental deterioration. He is told by the doctors that she has Alzheimers.
Challenge: His mother has limited coverage due to the fact that they are undocumented immigrants. He has to come up with another way to make more money.
Challenge: He discovers a gameshow online where he can bet on immigrants crossing the border to win some prize money. He comes up with a scheme to cheat and decides to help a young mother of two boys.
Challenge: The ones running the game show discover his plan and find out where he lives which puts him and his mother in danger. This forces him to take his mother elsewhere and hide.
Challenge: The contestant that he was assisting is now in the lead. Realizing that simply helping her to win just so that he would win the prize money was wrong so he decides to help her even if it puts him and his mother at risk of getting caught.
3. The Transformation: He realizes the error in his ways taking part in a very twisted game and decides to help Irma make it across. Afterward, he turns himself in. And after all that, his mother eventually dies. To move on, he decides to help Irma’s sons by fostering them. The loss of their mothers is something they have in common and without a mother, they will need guidance and mentorship. Finding a new purpose in his life and personal growth is the overall arc I’d like for Miguel.
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Jennifer’s Character Arc
WHAT I LEARNED:
I may need to pare down a couple of the challenges my protag faces. This is definitely a very useful exercise, though I think I did most of the work during the earlier lesson on character arc that was actually necessary.
ISSUE:
Character Arc:
Part to be changed: Jessica wants to win, but is forever afraid to go for it, often hesitates at the last minute and comes in second
Biggest fear: Losing/not being outstanding and first, losing control
Completion of arc: Jessica goes for it and ends up doing literally everything it takes to win (and succeeds)
Jessica is desperate to win at life, grabbing at opportunities to show her prowess, and now she’s up for a hugely prestigious scholarship that would set her up for long-term success. She tends to tense up at the last minute when trying to go for it, though, which costs her significant wins. She thinks she isn’t someone if she doesn’t win and comes up against brick walls a lot among the characters who have more personality, more life in them because they aren’t only fixated on being number one.
CHALLENGES:
Initially she loses at the last minute in an academic competition.
Her parents try to push her to get ahead for college and beyond. She can’t defend herself and gives in.
She learns of a scholarship competition and realizes she and two peers, Amanda and Ethan, are the frontrunners, but her competitors have a leg up on her.
She takes over a service project designed to make her look better, but is no closer to winning.
She runs a race and places well, not helping others who need it along the way. Ethan does better than her, but stops to help an injured runner.
She attempts to make Amanda look worse by getting Amanda kicked out of the race on a technicality, but Amanda doesn’t care.
She has to teach herself how to manipulate people to win, but fails in a competition at the last minute.
When she fails at actual winning, she tries eliminating competitors via technicalities in the scholarship rules, but it backfires on her.
She has to read books to learn how to come across as a better person to manipulate others into helping her, but as hard as she tries, Ethan sees through her.
Jessica feels hopeless and suicidal, but gets coerced into pressing on.
Now she is desperate and forges a way of eliminating Ethan from the scholarship.
Ethan accuses her of cheating, so she kills him.
Amanda is Jessica’s last remaining competitor, and Jessica kills her too.
Jessica cryptically owns up to killing off her competitors, but everyone thinks it’s the grief talking.
Jessica wins the competition and rules the school, gaining a follower as she goes.
TRANSFORMATION:
Jessica started out feeling helpless and hopeless, but transitions to someone who takes action to reach her goals by the end. (This is satirical, so yes, we should be judging her for this.)
I’m not including my outline here because nothing substantial changed, though I may shorten one segment.
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