-
Day 7 Assignments
Reply to post your assignment.
-
10 Replies
-
ASSIGNMENT 1:
What I learned during this assignment is that we must create open loops that extend out an entire season to give the audience a reason to return episode after episode. Instead of wrapping up things in a story as we do in a screenplay, distress and tension continues episode after episode.
For American Horror Story (Season 10):
Big Picture Distress: Can the Gardener family ever be normal again after taking the “Pill”? Can they ever escape the vampires and or are they doomed to become part of the vampire community?
A Undeserved misfortune. After a fall, the pregnant Doris finds herself in the hospital.
B. External Character conflicts. The sheriff has become suspicious of Harry and Alma and already suspects that they may already be deep into the local vampire culture. Harry’s agent arrives unexpectedly and not only puts Harry on edge but ruffles the feathers of the local vampires/writers.
C. Plot intruding on life. Harry wanted a normal life for his wife and daughter and to only be successful at being a writer but by taking the pill and giving it to her daughter he’s invited her into the same vampire culture that he can’t seem to escape from.
D. Moral dilemmas. Harry knows that his daughter, ALma, is turning into what he has become and now feeding on the blood of victims, but he has become addicted to the pills and lifestyle that has now made him so famous that Tarantino wants to shoot his scripts with making a single change. If he takes the pill, doesn’t his daughter have the right to take it as well?
E. Forced decisions they’d never make. Harry would never promote the life of a vampire for his daughter or give his daughter the pill that makes her hungry for blood, but the situation is forcing him to.
ASSIGNMENT 2:
For my Story (Stream):
Big Picture Distress: Can Michael with the help of the professor find the source of the Stream, stopping the no-birth crisis, and save mankind from doom?
A Undeserved misfortune. Michael’s wife, Diane, discovers that Michael was having an affair and has lost his job and their life savings in a crooked stock market deal. Their financial situation is collapsing around them.
B. External Character conflicts. Michael’s father blames him for his brother’s death, and had it out with him at the funeral. The SEC has filed charges and an arrest warrant has been issued for Michael’s arrest. Michael’s boss also fired him.
C. Plot intruding on life. Michael would have never planned or intended to put his family in dire straights but his actions have spiraled everything out of control.
D. Moral dilemmas. Michael thinks of himself as a family man but he has fallen out of grace with his wife. Diane (Michael’s wife) must decide whether she can live with knowing about the affair (and abortion) and whether she can forgive him his poor moral decisions.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make. Michael must sacrifice his life and leave his family in order to stop the Stream and the no-birth crisis.
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Jack Young.
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by
-
Eric Humble’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is: how creating big-picture empathy/distress creates the possibility of strong storylines as well as deepens the audience’s connection with the characters. This lesson has given me some huge breakthroughs. For years I’ve wondered how to properly write anti-heroes and less-than-heroic characters, and I’ve often received feedback stating that my characters weren’t likeable or didn’t come across as I’ve intended… even to the extant that a lot of characters I wrote whom I’ve considered tragic were received by readers as “comical.” The aspect of creating empathy with distress has really changed that around – I’m looking back at many of my old influences (movies like Taxi Driver and shows like Breaking Bad) and it’s like seeing them with new eyes as I now understand it’s the level of distress that bonds the audience with the character and ushers us empathetically on their journey, even if we don’t “like” them or the choices they’re making. This lesson alone has continued to give me breakthroughs in the past few days – I’m so excited to see how I can apply this to my scripts and elevate them!
ASSIGNMENT ONE:
Mr. Robot
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Elliot runs out of morphine and has to suffer through withdrawal
Mr. Robot throws Elliot off the boardwalk, hospitalizing him, for no real reason
Elliot pulls off the impossible hack to break the drug dealer out of prison only to discover the dealer has already killed Shayla
B. External Character conflicts.
Angela discovers Elliot has been sleeping with Shayla, even though his feelings are deeper for Angela
C. Plot intruding on life.
Mr. Robot’s plans involve Elliot interacting with people
Impossible hacks: destroy the data at Steel Mountain without blowing anyone up, break the drug dealer out of prison with one day’s notice, interact with Tyrell and not blow his cover
D. Moral dilemmas.
Mr. Robot wants to destroy the data storage by blowing up a pipeline, killing many innocents… or Elliot will have to go into the building and plant a device to harmlessly destroy the data but he’ll be exposed
Angela is hacked and has to decide whether to infect her company’s servers to keep them from ruining her life
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Elliot has to go on-site and interact with people to plant the device that will destroy the data
Elliot has to break the drug dealer out of prison in order to save Shayla
ASSIGNMENT TWO:
Concept One:
Jude:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Wife is dying of inoperable cancer
Cure for cancer is right in his grasp, but he has to help Dres in her criminal enterprises to get it
B. External Character conflicts.
Hunted and chased by professional assassins
Targeted by con artist Easy
C. Plot intruding on life.
Must synthesize a cure for cancer – and to that, must find and get Dres’s cooperation
Must infiltrate the Big Pharma company to gain admission to the cabal
Must hide Dres to keep her safe from the assassins – even as she’s continuing to put herself in danger by working on cons
D. Moral dilemmas.
Tell his wife of her condition or hide it from her
Lie to his wife to get her acquiescence as he treats her symptoms
Has a breakthrough in cancer treatment that can save a person, but the new company he’s working at to infiltrate it won’t allow him to use it
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Works for the rival company whose philosophy is all bottom-line
Dres:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Hunted for extermination because of her DNA
B. External Character conflicts.
Jude is using her to get her DNA sample so he can cure cancer – but won’t pay her and can’t be trusted to keep her safe after he gets what he wants
Cops and cabal are both after her once she kills the assassin
Easy needs the money from the con – and won’t fold the con after she calls it off
C. Plot intruding on life.
Tries to con Catherine and Jude, but ends up liking them
Kills an assassin in Catherine’s business and then has to help her cover it up so neither will get caught
D. Moral dilemmas.
Con the man who is helping keep her safe and his dying wife?
Betray Easy, her partner in crime?
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Get involved in the lives of her marks
Seduce the man involved in her mother’s murder
Catherine:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Terminal cancer
Husband lying to her about her condition
Unable to treat her own cancer after years of fighting Big Pharma to get others access to care
B. External Character conflicts.
Kills an assassin with Dres
Police investigating the disappearance of the assassin
Cabal sniffing around after the assassin is killed, making threats against her and her family
C. Plot intruding on life.
Needs to hide or destroy the assassin’s body
D. Moral dilemmas.
Tell her husband everything that’s happened, or keep it a secret
Confess to her husband that she is like Dres, an immortal – and doesn’t know why she’s suddenly very sick – or keep her secret
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Sleep with someone in exchange for getting the dead body taken care of
Place her trust in Easy, whom she inherently distrusts, to protect Dres
Marks:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
After a lifetime of service and compromising moral actions, he’s being sidelined – and possibly targeted for extermination by his own cabal
B. External Character conflicts.
Head of the European sector is trying to get his job
Leader of the cabal no longer trusts him after he asks access to the cabal’s hidden secrets
C. Plot intruding on life.
Must locate Dres before the rest of the cabal does
Has to see if Dres’s DNA can cure his own wife’s non-cancerous terminal illness
D. Moral dilemmas.
Kill Dres as ordered and retain his position and his life or secret her away for experimentation and become the cabal’s next target
Experimenting on Dres will be painful and akin to torture
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Kill his mentor, the cabal leader, to survive
Concept Two:
Darren:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
His meticulous years-long case against Scoleri is scuttled in an instant.
Family is danger now that Scoleri knows who he is
B. External Character conflicts.
Vies for control of the campaign from the existing campaign manager
Wants to expose Scoleri to make him drop our of the race
Wants to set up his candidate to fail by exposing that the candidate’s bill is what’s allowing a mass murderer to run for president
C. Plot intruding on life.
Quits job and must get into the powerful candidate’s high-level existing campaign… and get one of the top jobs with no experience
Must undermine the powerful sitting governor he’s working for to expose his bill’s cost to public safety
D. Moral dilemmas.
Destroy an honorable primary opponent’s life just to win
Set up the campaign manager for a crime he didn’t commit just to get him out of the way
Is starting to enjoy the cutthroat antics accepted in the political game
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Cut an informant loose to be killed on the streets after he vowed protection
Scoleri:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Put in the international spotlight, which could expose his criminal enterprise… and his family, whom he has shielded even from other gangsters his whole life
Has to go all the way and win the presidency or he’ll be arrested immediately – and he doesn’t know who has put him in this position or what they way out of it… there’s another shoe that’s going to drop somewhere
B. External Character conflicts.
The mysterious person or people behind the site that launched his presidential run is actively feeding info about a murder and graft he committed to his primary rival
A reporter is digging up who he really is
C. Plot intruding on life.
He must gain favor with a poor district in order to have a shot at the polls – so he has to revitalize the entire neighborhood in a month’s time by bringing in jobs, infrastructure, and massive amounts of legit investments
D. Moral dilemmas.
To stay in the game, he must betray one of his longest-serving, most-trusting lieutenants to take the fall for the things that his rival and the journalist are investigating
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Help build up the people he’s been exploiting
Let a rival gangster blackmail him out of a huge part of his operation – one which he’s emotionally-connected to, as it is where he started – in order for his silence
Eco:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Has to run the crime empire in Scoleri’s absence… and deal with dangerous people and make life-or-death decisions, even though he’s used to working at a distance from such things.
B. External Character conflicts.
Journalist uncovers a connection between the presidential campaign and front business Eco is managing… and Eco has to keep it all hidden
C. Plot intruding on life.
Eco has to run the illegal side of the business but doesn’t have the stomach for the day-to-day gangster lifestyle
Eco has to close a deal to secure European-manufactured drugs, but the suppliers are playing hardball and trying to take over Scoleri’s business in his absence
D. Moral dilemmas.
Eco discovers a rat in the organization and is compelled to protect him rather than have him whacked
Having an affair with the wife of the agent who could bust them all… but has vowed not to talk about his business or her husband’s
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Has to kill someone himself to show strength – someone within the organization he’s close with
Bender:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Struggles with compulsive gambling and mounting debt
B. External Character conflicts.
Ordered to stand down on the Scoleri investigation – but takes it up again on the sly anyway – pitting him against the FBI Director
Clashes with another agent taking over Darren’s files as he starts to pick up the closed investigations and supply info to Darren, who no longer has clearance
C. Plot intruding on life.
Must square his debts
Must make back money he lost on gambling – with more gambling
D. Moral dilemmas.
Become a stoolie for the gangsters and rat on his FBI colleagues/investigations or subject his family to torture and death to erase the debt
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Plants a bug in the FBI Director’s office
Rats on the Feds
Doxes Darren – all to cover his debt and to cover his own misdeeds that he’s already done for the gangsters
-
Madeleine Vessel’s Show Empathy/Distress
Doing this assignment, I learned that putting my characters in tough situations causes empathy and distress in the viewer and, in turn, makes them more deeply engaged in the story.
ASSIGNMENT 1
SUPERNATURAL Episode 7: Examples of big picture empathy/distress:
I detected two BIG PICTURE empathy/distress situations.
1. Undeserved Misfortune:
a. The victim of the Hook Man was a good guy trying to protect his date. While this particular character is only in this episode, all the episodes begin with an innocent person being killed in a grizzly way by some demon. This makes it big picture.
b. Sam’s terrible loss of his girlfriend is also a big picture undeserved misfortune.
c. The fact that Dean’s and Sam’s mother was killed undeservedly also is a big picture distress.
d. People around Sam keep dying. It’s like he’s cursed.
2. Plot Intruding on Life: Destroying the Hook Man is the task Sam and Dean are up against, but it is fraught with danger and many obstacles. These challenges keep viewers on the edges of their seats, hoping neither of the siblings will fall victim. Almost always one of them gets injured.
ASSIGNMENT 2
List of BIG PICTURE difficult situations and decisions my main characters could make because of the main conflict of this series.
A. Undeserved misfortune:
· Falisa is murdered by art thieves.
· Zhora is critically injured by art thieves.
· Sophie is taken hostage by one of the art thieves.
· Sophie is shot by art thieves.
· Sophie is betrayed by Olivia, her best friend.
B. External Character conflicts.
· Bill is opposed to Sophie traveling to Russia.
· Zhora is opposed to Sophie traveling to Russia.
· Maxim tails Sophie, scaring her.
· Sophie meets her estranged mother, causing her and the viewer distress.
C. Plot intruding on life.
· ????
D. Moral dilemmas.
Sophie must either kill Vitaly or be killed. If she kills him, she must live knowing she has killed someone. If she doesn’t kill him, she will die.Sophie must decide whether or not to travel to Russia. If she goes, she has a chance of identifying Falisa’s killer. If she goes, she risks the Russians finding out who she and her father really are, which would likely end in their deaths.<div>
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Sophie would never volitionally kill anyone, but when she is caught in a duel with Vitaly, either
</div> -
Lesson 7: David Quinn’s Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is that some empathy/distress comes with the first idea for the character, but I can always find more to keep the invitation to obsession hot.
1. Jessica Jones – Big Picture Empathy/Distress
A. Undeserved misfortune: orphaned, injured, amnesia and PTSD, paranoia and confusion
B. External Character conflicts: Kilgrave’s direct and indirect (Hope, Malcolm, His parents, Simpson, her neighbors) manipulations / attacks
C. Plot intruding on life: In addition to straightforward obstacles caused by Kilgrave’s interference, Jessica briefly pursues a risky plot of her own when she toys with the idea of using Kilgrave’s power for good, but the stress of this insecure situation makes her sabotage him and ups the threat level.
D. Moral dilemmas: Kilgrave forced Jessica to murder – over and over, she wonders, will he do it again – or will she do it again herself
E. Forced decisions they’d never make: every character controlled by Kilgrave elevates the empathy: violation and doing what they would never do. Jessica tries to have herself arrested and put into supermax to avoid Kilgrave killing everyone she knows. This fails, but pumps the empathy / distress.
2. Blythe: Nightvision – Big Picture Empathy/Distress
A. Undeserved misfortune, pain, sorrow, wound: victim of her lover’s sexually transmitted viral assault, stillborn pregnancy and transformation into something more and less than human, hated by all the other creatures because she was the first; she is alone, unique, outside humanity and the sisterhood and this is also a wound she endures
B. External Character conflicts: Ian’s covert manipulation of the other creatures to challenge her, threaten her, distract her from him; interference from human witnesses, law enforcement, criminals
C. Plot intruding on life: In addition to straightforward obstacles caused by Blythe’s war on her sisters, she gets sucked into human obstacles – she seems to be a magnet for them (Bette Noir, Franco, Alice James)
D. Moral dilemmas: Blythe hunts and kills her sister creatures – will she also kill her love, as she swears is her only purpose left in her existence? And she struggles with her empathy for her sisters, all Ian’s victims. (Lighter version: she defends the lives of a few human allies, despite denying that she does so.)
E. Forced decisions they’d never make: what if Blythe is forced to save a sister she hunted to kill? What would force her to do this? How would that elevate the empathy/distress after?
-
George Petersen SHOW EMPATHY/DISTRESS
What I learned from this assignment is — distress, a bad thing, leads to empathy, a good thing.
The Americans
Undeserved misfortune.
Elizabeth was raped by her KGB instructor.
External Character conflicts.
Phillip proposes selling out; Elizabeth wants to go on.
Plot intruding on life.
The kids’ everyday needs intruding in their professional life as spies
Moral dilemmas.
Should Phillip tell Elizabeth about his son or keep it a secret? After all, Elizabeth isn’t really his wife — or is she?
Forced decisions they’d never make.
Forced to “eliminate” spies who could expose them.
*
The Red Ballot
Undeserved misfortune:
Kate has recently lost her husband. Now she’s a young widow in her twenties. When men come on to her, she only thinks of him.
Pinkerton misses his home country, Scotland, terribly — having been forced to leave the country secretly because of his support of pro democratic uprisings.
Lincoln will never get over his son’s death. To abandon young Willy’s gravesite in Springfield is unthinkable. And for what? A life in Washington? It’s beyond comprehension.
External Character conflicts:
Kate and Pinkerton fight over how to compromise Ferrandini. The wrong approach could be devastating: the loss of the President — and, perhaps, even of the Union. Pinkerton insists it should be done his way. He’s the boss. He’s the professional. But Kate won’t back down. This is infuriating.
Ferrandini struggles with the Baltimore gangs and the leaders of the Knights of the Golden Circle for control of the assassination plot.
Lincoln resists Pinkerton’s security protocols. Pinkerton has to beg Kate to bring Lincoln in line. She’s the only one who can handle him. So humiliating.
Pinkerton clashes with Lincoln’s old guard security personnel. The retired military versus the new detective methods.
Plot intruding on life:
Ferrandini falls in love with Kate. Proposes marriage. That wasn’t in the plan. Kate sets a date, which infuriates Pinkerton, throwing a wrench in his plans.
Pinkerton learns there are eight assassins waiting for Lincoln in Baltimore. There was only supposed to be one.
Moral dilemmas:
Should Kate be true to her feelings and go through with the marriage to Ferrandini, thereby destroying Pinkerton’s plan… or betray her fiancé in order to save the President — and maybe the Union?
Should Pinkerton risk sending a “defenseless” woman into the midst of murderers and thieves or play it safe and make it a man’s game? What if Kate is harmed — or worse, killed? Whose fault will that be?
Forced decisions they’d never make:
Kate finds herself in a shoot to kill situation where she must protect the President— and perhaps the Union. No matter what.
Pinkerton isn’t a gun guy. He fights with intelligence, with his mind. So what’s he going to do with all these guns pointed at him?
-
Leybe Díaz – Show Empathy/Distress:
What I learned doing this assignment is: How to apply this model to create empathy and distress and how powerful this is for a show. This process helped create more depth in my story!
ASSIGNMENT 1:
SCANDAL:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Olivia and the President are in love with each other but they can’t be together and have the normal life they want.
Quinn happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, when her boyfriend got murdered and she became a suspect, her true identity was at risk of being exposed.
B. External Character conflicts.
Intentional: Billy’s attacks to the President brings a lot of pain and distress to the President and his whole administration.
Unintentional: Olivia gets pain from the President’s involvement with Amanda.
C. Plot intruding on life.
The President is trying to do his job, Billy’s attacks caused him to consider his resignation.
D. Moral dilemmas.
Olivia’s dilema about weather to say she’s the woman on the sex tape to save the President from impeachment or to remain silent?
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Olivia giving up on having a normal life with Fitz and deciding to make a deal with Mellie to save the President from having to resign.
Billy killing Amanda and the young journalist to save himself.
ASSIGNMENT 2:
THE HOME AIDE
A. Undeserved misfortune: Emma: Becomes homeless after roommate betrays her. Looses her father to gang members. She carries a past trauma which interferes with her life.
Flora: Incurable rare brain illness.
B. External Character conflicts: Intentional: As Emma enters this new world of the super wealthy (the 1 %) and politics she faces war, getting attack after attack of all kinds from many adversaries, especially from Isaac who becomes her major opponent.
Unintentional: As Isaac tried to destroy Flora, this affects Emma, since she becomes close to Flora.
C. Plot intruding on life: Emma is set to win the war against her landlord and stop all the illegal evictions in the building in a gentrified neighborhood, but when her roommate secretly signs a deal with the landlord, which leaves her homeless and out of the building, she is the one being defeated.
D. Moral dilemmas: As Emma enters the world of Flora’s high society and she starts discovering hidden information about criminal activities done by powerful people including Flora, she faces the ongoing dilema about what to do with each piece of compromising information finds – weather to expose the powerful criminals and possibly get herself killed or allow them to continue doing more harm.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make: Emma having to accept a job offer from a stranger to work as a health aide, even though she has no training, qualifications or experience for the job, which requires her to move into the patient’s home.
-
Cathryn Atkinson’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is to focus on the incidents that cause empathy/distress over the course of the season/series, rather than smaller incidents that impact a single episode. Also, to look at how the incidents happening outside the control of the main character create Empathy/Distress for that character and those close to them.
Mr Robot
A. Undeserved misfortune.
-Shayla’s murder
-Psychologist dumps him – “She wants more from me, but she doesn’t believe in me.” Would everyone be on her side?B. External Character conflicts.
-Shayla’s murder – the thread underlying the episode for Elliott.
-Darlene searching for white flower with Cisco leads to a meeting that will pull in Elliott.
-Angela convinces Colby to testify about being at meetings where decisions were made regarding poisoning workers and a community. This is how Elliott’s father and Angela’s mother were killed. And she will be fired by AllSafe.
-Gideon tells Angela that AllSafe will go bankrupt and her colleagues will lost jobs, the family will suffer. She is lying and saying she is responsible for the hack and release of data that Colby was accused of stealing, when in fact it was Elliott. Gideon tells her to stop lying.C. Plot intruding on life.
Shayla’s murder – Remembering Shayla and how they met. He blocked out for a month – “she died because of me”. He downloads all his digital info on a disk and wipes the rest “This is all I have left of her.”D. Moral dilemmas.
-He cannot be honest with anyone and he trusts no one, but he pretends to.
-Elliott comes to his Psychologist’s to “be honest” and spills that he spies on her. He explains they both are lonely. He confesses that he hacks everyone, and says he helps people and that he wants a way out of loneliness.E. Forced to make decisions they’d never make.
-Boss tries to reach out to Elliott. Wants him to take time off because of Shayla’s death, he refuses and boss says he needs someone who really knows him. Elliott then thinks about being real, would people want to see that?<div>Run Angelita
A. Undeserved misfortune.
-Angelita flees as her uncle and grandmother are seized/shot by the cartel. She loses her family and way of life, becoming a migrant walking to America.
B. External Character conflicts.
-Chance brings Angelita to Veronica, a journalist and ex-marine, who doesn’t want to see him a year after leaving his dad. STEP MOM.
C. Plot intruding on life.
-Luis and Nana are dead.
-America doesn’t welcome or want her in an immigration/refugee emergency
D. Moral dilemmas.
-Angelita was trained by Luis to protect herself and can be violent, this goes against what she wants/who she is. She wants to be a doctor.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
-Angelita is forced to flee her home after her family is attacked.
-She fights for her life, takes Chance hostage and forces him to help her escape detention.
</div>-
This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Cathryn Atkinson.
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by
-
Rafal’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is that imposing new questions, even not supposed to be adequate for certain characters, might give answers that make the character more true and human.
ASSIGNMENT 1:
1. Watch the next episode of your Example Show and focus on the Empathy/Distress that shows up in this episode and throughout the season so far.
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Daughter Abigail moving to to ex-husband and Bonnie
B. External Character conflicts.
intentional
Madeline defends a friend’s son who is wrongly accused of abuse and plots against the mother of a victim of this abuse
Madeline has to fight back to regain financing from the city for her and Joseph’s spectacle.
unintentional
She tries to conclude her affair with Joseph, yet he does not accept it and plays on her feelings towards him.
C. Plot intruding on life.
Car accident that reveals that Madeline and Joseph were together in the car and pushes their spouses to suspicion.
D. Moral dilemmas.
Madeline would like to be fair to her husband Ed and tell him the truth about her affair but she is afraid of losing him and the whole family, she permanently delays it.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Madeline physically fights against Perry to protect Celeste and has her input to his death.
ASSIGNMENT 2:
1. Make a list of BIG PICTURE difficult situations and decisions your characters could make because of the main conflict of this series.
Just ask: “Knowing the concept, what are the big picture Empathy/Distress situations that could occur?”
Arcadia:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
On deathbed old lady discovers that her beloved family members are all very unhappy and lie to her to let her die in peace.
B. External Character conflicts.
Arcadia opposes to her doctor and daughter Eve about the treatment methods and discovers her own. She promotes it among the patients knowing that it might be danger to other patients and that it surely exposes the clinic to financial danger.
C. Plot intruding on life.
One of her friends and followers dies due to abandoning treatment prescripted by Eve. This undermines Arcadia’s self esteem and recalls all the previous mistakes she made as a doctor and for which she feels guilty.
D. Moral dilemmas.
She is undermining the treatment methods refunded from insurance (state health care) and thereby undermining the financial fundaments of her family business.
She is undermining authority of her daughter as well as destroying fundaments of their family fortune.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
To quit traditional, prescripted treatment and start experimenting on herself and co-patients.
She is forced to reveal her past sins to her family.
Chris:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Parents splitting his family, being forced to lie.
The fact that another boy, Stan, is dating his beloved girl and best friend Monica.
B. External Character conflicts.
Competing about Monica with her other suitor Stan.
His teacher took on him.
C. Plot intruding on life.
Not being admitted to the high school graduation exam
D. Moral dilemmas.
Plotting against his mother.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Plot with grandma against parents
Eve:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Her husband cheating on her.
Her son in depression.
Her mother accusing her of wrong medical treatment.
B. External Character conflicts.
Arcadia undermining her methods and clinic policy.
Arcadia competing for Eva’s patients trust.
Pressure from pharmacy producers to
C. Plot intruding on life.
Conflict with the pharmaceutical producer.
D. Moral dilemmas.
Forcing medical ethics violation on Chris’s psychiatric doctor Tom to learn more about Chris and to help him.
Fulfilling contracts and strengthening the clinic’s finances or experimenting for the sake of her mother’s and some other patients health.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
To deprive the mother of medical entitlement.
Divorcing Matthew.
Matthew:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Helplessness in the field of helping a son who becomes depressed
Over jealous wife accusing him of cheating her long before he finally started doing it.
B. External Character conflicts.
With Eve about her jealousy and afterwards – his cheating on her
C. Plot intruding on life.
Arcadia not dying.
Lover exposing their affair when he wants to quit it.
D. Moral dilemmas.
He must decide if he wants to cover up his wife’s mistakes from the controllers whether to let her drown on charges of breaking contracts and gain an advantage over her.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Plotting with son against wife and plotting with wife against controllers from the state agency.
-
Paula’s Big Picture Empathy/Distress Open Loops
ASSIGNMENT #7: PAULA’S Big Picture Empathy/Distress open Loops
What I learned doing this assignment is that every successful series has characters that are deeply flawed, sometimes through no fault of their own. I learned bout how plot also affects characters and often forces them into actions they’d never normally take.
Assignment 1 – Gossip Girl
Big Picture Distress: Will Serena ever consummate her relationship with Dan? Will there ever be harmony between and among the elite and the middle class families?
A. Undeserved Misfortune – Just because she disappeared for a while, Serena has been knocked off her throne as the ‘It’ girl at her high school. Dan has a hard time trying to fit in Serena’s wealthy and exclusive world.
B. External Character conflicts: Serena doesn’t seem to fit anywhere; she has a conflict with her mother over her younger brother’s future; Blair initially rejects her and doesn’t trust her; Dan is unsure of how to proceed with her, and Nate is caught between his loyalty to Blair and love for Serena.
C. Plot intruding on Life – All of Serena’s former acquaintances are forced to look at her differently after they find out she slept with Nate. Serena is forced to draw some painful conclusions from the actions of her mother and grandmother.
D. Moral Dilemmas: Serena still cannot lose the guilt of sleeping with her best friend’s boyfriend, but still wants him. Each of the families has to confront some betrayal.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make. Because Nate breaks up with Blair, she gets revenge by sleeping with Chuck, who she’s always hated. Rafael finds out that Lilly left him because she prioritized her big inheritance over the relationship.
Assignment 2:
My Characters’ Empathy/Distress
Big Picture Distress: Will Tess continue her relationship with Tony or will she choose her job and stale marriage over him?
A. Undeserved Misfortune – Tess never expected to encounter a ‘student’ with whom she would fall in love and disrupt her entire life.
B. External Character Conflicts: Tess is smart but she never knows where she stands with Tony; she suspects he is manipulating her but she does his bidding anyway and he distracts her from her initial and important focus: getting the bust so she can get her promotion. She and husband Randy have not had a mutually healthy relationship for over 10 years. Both feel it but are unwilling to bring it out into the open.
C. Plot Intruding on Life – All Tess wanted was to be a superior FBI agent and get a good raise and promotion, but after meeting Tony and hanging out with the other thugs, she feels drawn into their lives and lifestyle.
D. Moral Dilemma – Should Tess give up everything to be with Tony, a person she knows she can’t trust? Will she escape the dangers of dealing and setting up a phony business? Will Randy have the courage to confront her about Tony and what will he do about it?
E. Forced decisions they’d never make – Both Tess and Randy are forced to look at the truth of their dying marriage. Tess is so drawn into the world of the thugs without realizing that it will have dire consequences for her.
Having to make a choice between her career and her obsession.
-
Eloise Healey’s Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is undeserved misfortune is most helpful early in the show or when a character is already at a low ebb (“kick ‘em when they’re down”).
NO MAN’S LAND – ELOISE HEALEY
Undeserved Misfortune
– Emma’s “new life” job post prison is working for another abusive man.
– The one person Emma trusts most betrays her.
– Mary discovers her lover is only using her.
– Ruth is cast aside/fired because she’s no longer young and pretty.
– The women have all their money stolen.
– The ship crew they hire screw them over somehow – drop them in the wrong place? Supposed to be Port Phillip, instead it’s the random coast?
– One member killed as a result of fight between sailors and First Nations people?
External Character Conflicts
– Emma and James’ battle for the hearts of the camp causes everyone else distress by having to choose.
– Emma and Ann’s tussle for power causes unintentional distress for Mary, Ruth and Sarah as they are continually caught in the middle.
– James’ request for help divides the camp.
– Emma’s stance on James causes unindented pain for Mary and Sarah.
– George’s decision to stay causes deep distress for Emma/contradicts her plan.
Plot Intruding on Life
– Emma plans to hire a crew when all their money is stolen.
– On the sea journey, they are shipwrecked.
– On the sea journey, there’s a mutiny.
– George and crew don’t live up to their promise to deliver Emma and Co to assigned spot.
– George and crew decide to set up camp with the women, ruining Emma’s plan for a female-only camp.
– James’ arrival ruins Emma’s plan for a female-only camp.
– The invasion of Indigenous land leads to the death of one of them.
Moral Dilemmas
– Emma must kill an Indigenous person or allow one of her women to be killed.
– Emma must turn her back on a man in need (James) or put her community at risk.
– Emma must kill James or face the imprisonment of not only herself but all the women.
– Emma must humiliate Ann or cede leadership, knowing Ann will endanger them all.
Forced Decisions They’d Never Make
– Emma must kill James or face the imprisonment of not only herself but all the women.
– Emma must take the whole camp hostage or face the gallows.
Log in to reply.