-
Post Day 7 Assignment Here
Post Day 7 Assignment Here
-
24 Replies
-
Meg Stout’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is that I am drawn to historical settings where all kinds of terrible and undeserved things happen. It’s great to be a person who writes Historical Fiction!
Assignment #1
Thirteen Reasons Why
A. Undeserved misfortune
Hannah loses her friend Kat, then Justin goes on a date with her only to trash her reputation. Alex creates a list claiming Hannah has the best ass, opening Hannah up for various predators to check it out for themselves.
B. External Character conflicts
Intentional (post death) is Hannah’s tapes and the structure of forcing everyone to listen lest something worse happen.
Unintentional is the harm that comes to some of the people because of the tapes.
C. Plot intruding on life.
I haven’t watched enough of the show to see a serious plot intruding on Hannah’s life. But for the other characters, we have Hannah’s parents suing the school, though by the third episode, it isn’t clear what the complaint is or what evidence the complaint is based on.
D. Moral dilemmas.
A relatively minor moral dilemma Clay faces is whether or not to drink the 40 oz beer. He decides to drink to avoid the threat that the other boys will beat him up if he doesn’t. This is his first beer and it’s clear his parents aren’t happy with him coming home drunk on a week night.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
At the end of episode three, Hannah tells her listener they will have to be quiet, and Clay sneaks out of the house, headed to the next spot on the map. But I haven’t really seen any forced decisions, per se.
Assignment #2
Children of Heaven
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Bennett was sexually abused as a child. Bennett’s wife left him for bigamy because of a clipping referring to a different Dr. J. Bennett. Jonathan’s wife is gang-raped and all the Mormons have been “exterminated” from Missouri, a fate few (if any) deserved. Annie is denied marriage to Bennett because his estranged wife won’t grant Bennett a divorce (and Bennett never told Annie he was still married). And it goes on and on.
B. External Character conflicts.
Intentional – Bennett is trying to make Nauvoo an important city
Unintentional – the newspaper editor in Warsaw decides to attack Bennett and later all in Nauvoo, hoping to win/retain Warsaw’s importance, including plans for the future railroad to pass through Warsaw.
C. Plot intruding on life.
For Annie, her dreams become impossible to achieve once she learns Bennett is still married. For Bennett, his hope of rebuilding an honorable life with a loving wife at his side are scuttled when Joseph learns about Bennett’s wife in Ohio. For Joseph, his intent to restore biblical marriage is horribly endangered when he learns Nauvoo is infested with people participating in an illicit intercourse heresy (which arose from Bennett trying to cover his adulteries).
D. Moral dilemmas.
When Bennett finds others are having sex with Widow Fuller, Bennett can either continue his pretense to Widow Fuller that illicit intercourse is being taught by the Church or admit he was a base seducer. In this case, he avoids choosing between these two options and tries to kill himself.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
When Eliza Snow is impregnated by Bennett, she agrees to marry Jonathan Holmes so her baby will have a legal father.
Bennett’s lack of sexual control was caused by the sexual abuse he suffered in childhood, pushing Bennett towards infidelities he would not have otherwise made.
When Bennett tries to treat Marietta for “hysteria” and ends up triggering an extreme PTSD response to being raped, Bennett is forced to choose between admitting what he has done or attempting to use laudanum to calm her, knowing the medicine could kill her in her weakened state (and she does die).
-
Sherri D. Coffee Module 1 Lesson 7 Empathy/Distress
Big Little Lies
A) Undeserved misfortune:
Madeleine – being stalked by theatre managers wife.
Celeste – abused by her husband and son is identified as bullying girl at school
Jane – son is accused of bullying a girl at school. Raped.
Renata –feeling guilty about working
B) External Character conflicts
Madeleine– affair – conflict with his wife
Celeste – angry with therapist for forcing her to see the truth
Jane – recognizes Celeste’s husband as her rapist. Gordon threatens her for harming Renata.
Renata – blames Jane for her daughters’ abuse.
C) Plot intruding on life
Madeleine – trying to avoid the affair being revealed and harming her life with Ed.
Celeste – trying to prevent the abuse from being revealed and destroying her image and life.
Jane – trying to reconcile with flashbacks of rape.
Renata – trying to protect daughter from abuse and fails.
D) Moral dilemmas
Madeleine – hurting Ed by telling him of her affair.
Celeste – leaving husband and breaking up her family. Confronting Max about abuse at school
Jane – identifying Perry as rapist. Must tell Celeste the truth about her son Max.
Renata – learns truth about Max abusing Amabella and apologizes to Jane. Discusses with Celeste.
E) Forced decisions they’d never make
Madeleine – confiding her affair to others. She is consumed with guilt.
Celeste – getting an apartment and planning to move out. She is afraid for her life.
Jane – confronting Celeste with the knowledge of her sons’ abuse at school.
Renata – apologizing to Jane.
I learned to think about big picture and the interaction of the characters in situations to create empathy and distress.
-
Emmanuel Sullivan’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is broader empathy and distress situations can be carried over an entire season. It’s great to use this strategy because normally you focus writing on episode empathy or distress.
Assignment #1
Show – The Americans
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Philip and Elizabeth interrogated by the KGB.
B. External Character conflicts.
Philip and Elizabeth must engage with external love interests as part of their duties.
C. Plot intruding on life.
Having an FBI agent as a neighbor affects movement around the house.
D. Moral dilemmas.
Philip and Elizabeth must destroy innocent lives and murder people that get in the way of their secret mission.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Elizabeth would never betray the KGB. Philip would never leave his children.
Assignment #2
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Andrew is shot giving a speech at a bipartisan event. Mark is accused of rape by a staffer.
B. External Character conflicts.
Andrew consistently violates the nonprofit board’s orders which causes all to resign. Mark is followed by a private investigator that his wife ordered.
C. Plot intruding on life.
The press follows Mark and Andrew’s (former presidents) children around to publish gossip-style articles to ruin their reputation.
D. Moral dilemmas.
Mark orders his security detail to conceal the details about his second family. Andrew takes funds from the nonprofit to fund his auto racing team. Both manipulate their children to gain political favor for their party.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Mark will never reveal his affair. Andrew will never reveal how he is able to make national policy decisions out of office.
-
Daniel Melin’s Supernatural and Athens, MN Empathy/Distress
What I learned during this assignment is the counterpoint between distress that is directly tied to a character’s actions and moral failings and distress that is beyond their control. Each complicates and plays off the other, creating a rich, multifaceted layer of sympathy vs. empathy. We feel bad for the characters when they suffer, but we also know that they could grow and deal with their problems in a more constructive way.
Assignment 1—Supernatural
Sam
A.
Undeserved misfortune: Death of mother and girlfriend.
B.
External Character conflictsIntentional: Sam fights various monsters and
spirits, that poke at his weaknesses in some way.
Unintentional: The people around Sam get caught
up in these battles.C.
Plot intruding on life: Sam’s desire to find his dad gets interrupted by
Dean’s insistence that they hunt monsters on their way, and John’s
attempts not to be found.
D.
Moral dilemmas: Sam has to often choose how much to reveal about the nature
of the danger facing various people he encounters, often facing putting
them in danger either way.
E.
Forced decisions they’d never make: When the spirit that killed his mother
comes back to kill his girlfriend, he goes back to the monster-hunting life
he wanted to escape from.Dean
A.
Undeserved misfortune: Death of mother
B.
External Character conflictsIntentional: Dean fights monsters, and often
fights with Sam on how best to fight those monsters.
Unintentional: His drive to hunt down monsters
at all costs, often puts other people and Sam in dangerous situations.C.
Plot intruding on life: Getting involved with one of the victims of a
spirit causes him to have doubts about his commitment to hunting monsters.
D.
Moral dilemmas: When Dean tries to solve the mystery of a spirit who
drowns people, he has to choose between dredging up painful memories for
the people beset by the spirit or leaving them vulnerable.
E.
Forced decisions they’d never make: Trying to solve the mystery of the
drowning spirit forces him to get close to a young boy who knows important
information about the spirit’s identity.Assignment 2—Athens, MN
Tom
A.
Undeserved misfortune: He had to move away from his hometown when he was
young and lost touch with the girl he was infatuated with.
B.
External Character conflictsIntentional: He pretends to be loyal to Lizzie,
but actually works behind her back, trying to lift the curse she has
placed on him and several other young men.
Unintentional: His fascination with magic,
causes him to upset the natural balance of life for the people around
him, opening old wounds and sowing confusion.C.
Plot intruding on life: Tom’s responsibilities at work constantly put a
strain on his attempts to learn more about magic and lift his curse.
D.
Moral dilemmas: The magic that Tom learns and that he needs to implement
to lift his curse, often involves wider consequences that he has to weigh.
He has to make decisions between his responsibilities at work and his goal
of lifting his curse. He has to choose between learning magic on his own
terms and betraying Mark’s confidence or staying within the boundaries
that Mark has set.
E.
Forced decisions they’d never make: When Tom learns about the werewolves
that have been set loose in Athens, he has to make a snap decision to use
his limited magical ability to fight them.Mark
A.
Undeserved misfortune: His mother cut him off and his wife divorced him.
B.
External Character conflictsIntentional: Mark fights Lizzie in order to
take advantage of the magical resources she possesses. He fights with Tom
over the rate of Tom’s education and what role magic ought to have.
Unintentional: Mark’s use of magic causes it to
infuse itself into not just his life, but Miguel’s life as well.C.
Plot intruding on life: Mark’s personal spats with Miguel soon begin to
intrude on his attempts to find Oberon’s staff.
D.
Moral dilemmas: Mark has to choose between using his magic to help Miguel,
whom he intensely dislikes, or deliberately leaving him to suffer from
extended consequences of Lizzie’s curse.
E.
Forced decisions they’d never make: When Mark learns that Nick has been
infected with the curse, he has to help Tom go into Everlasting Summer to
make things right.Miguel
A.
Undeserved misfortune: He was abused by his parents as a child.
B.
External Character conflictsIntentional: He fights with Milly about their
relationship, Nick about his performance at school, and with Tom about his
performance at work.
Unintentional: His relationship drama with
Milly deeply hurts Nick.C.
Plot intruding on life: The magic that Mark and Tom create wreaks havoc on
his work and on his home life.
D.
Moral dilemmas: Miguel has to choose between staying in a relationship
that has already been rocky or forming a new relationship that will break
apart his family.
E.
Forced decisions they’d never make: When his son falls prey to forces beyond
his comprehension, he has to join forces with Tom and Mark, who understand
them a lot better than he does. -
Hi all,
I’m playing catchup, joined late. Posted my concept in day 1 forum, but I know you all are looking ahead not back! So, posting it here again. working through lesson 4 and will be caught up with you this week. Looking forward to being with you for the next 6 months…cheers!
Show Concept
Renee Brown’s Alien Mafia
Alien Mafia toggles between ancient past and present day, following the origin stories of 3 alien species who share earth with humanity. In present day, the species form factions that dominate the underground, the sky, and the deep sea. The interaction among these factions and humanity is mob-like. Each species has a Don (or Donette) including humanity (with its unofficial leader) .
Each species has its main hero or heroin and the plot lines intertwine.
The vast majority of humanity has no idea the earth is inhabited by these aliens… until now.
While navigating the chaos of the biggest lie ever being unleashed in the present, the series explores how each species came to earth and why.
The first aliens to arrive were the longheads. They have been searching for “the one” for the last few millennia to unite the planet with all its inhabitants. Now they have found her. A longhead / human coalition has been forming for thousands of years in anticipation of “the one” arriving.
The series takes us into the intriguing world of each alien species’ habitat on earth: underground networks and city caverns, sky cities cloaked in clouds, deep ocean trench cities, as well as the top-secret world of human military coverups and “handling” of humanity.
That’s the basics. Looking forward to filling in the blanks….and man are there lots of them!
-
The Americans
A.
Undeserved misfortune: The kids Paige and Henry getting left at the
Mall. And the guy who picked them up was a creep who looked like he might
sexually assault Paige. Vasili being set up and sent back to Russia.
Elizabeth and Phillip getting kidnapped and beaten up and interrogated to
make sure they didn’t give information to the FBI.B.
External Character conflicts: Elizabeth and Phillip are angry with
each other over her telling her captors in the interrogation that Phillip “liked”
it here too much. Stan in conflict with his wife. Nina in conflict with Stan
for being the mole, and with herself for sleeping with Vasili. Henry
hitting the creep over the head with a bottle of beer in the park to
protect his sister. Elizabeth losing her temper and beating up Claudia.C.
Plot intruding on life: Elizabeth and Phillip getting kidnapped; having
to wreck their car on the way home to explain the bruises on their bodies
to their kids. Nina, this beautiful young Russian woman having to sleep
with and old man to get information.D.
Moral dilemmas: Phillip having to give jewelry to and kiss Martha
Hanson to get information. Elizabeth having to shoot the contractor, and
the cop who wanted to inspect their van.E.
Forced decisions they’d never make: Nina giving blow jobs to an old
man. The black guy in the tea shop planting diamonds in Vasili’s tea.
Phillip choking the hostage to death in their garage. -
LESSON 7: EMPATHY/DISTRESS, Big Little Lies
ASSIGNMENT 1:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Madeline- divorce from nathan, car crash with director, problems with abigail
Renata – amabella’s choking.
Celeste – Parry’s abuse
Jane- being raped. Ziggy being accused of bullying
B. External Character conflicts.
Madeline- renata about AVe Q and Ziggy, ed, nathan about marriage, with abigail about bonnie and being a teen, madeline and director about affair, with bonnie about abigail
Renata with jane, madeline and celeste about ziggy, with madeline and celeste about ave q, with husband about power and ziggy.
Celeste with perry about abuse. Celeste with therapist about abuse.
Jane with unknown rapist she confronts. With Renata about ziggy and amabella
C. Plot intruding on life.
Madeline. Car crash forces her to brink about hidden affair.
Renata. Amabella’s abuse is random and triggers her conflicts with madeline, Celeste and her husband
Jane. Being pushed by the rape, she tries to confront the rapist, but can’t for unknown reasons and flees
D. Moral dilemmas.
Madeline- is forced by affair to lie to husband and everyone
Celeste is forced by abuse to lie to everyone, and to give up her career out of fear.
Renata is forced by Amabella’s being bullied to take on team Madeline.
Jane is forced by rape to hide Ziggy’s parenthood, the rape and her plan for revenge
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Madeline. Car crash forces her to acknowledge affair, at least in her mind and to the director and also to cover it up.
Renata – amabella’s abuse mystery forces her give in at least so far vs. to confront the school and take on Madeline and Celeste to the bitter end.
Jane- generally a peaceful watcher, the rape and the abuse charges are forcing her to take action and be assertive in a way she would not normally do.
Celeste is forced by Perry’s abuse to stand up to him and maybe leave. She is forced by Madeline to be a lawyer again and defend Ave Q
-
Sherri D. Coffee Lesson 7 Show Empathy/Distress
Grace:
A) Undeserved misfortune: Grace is in a relationship with a man dying of cancer and estranged from his children.
B) External character conflicts: Sam’s estranged children try to remove her from Sam’s life.
Grace promised Sam that she would execute his will to honor his wishes.
C) Plot intruding on life: Sam re-establishes a rocky relationship with his children and they scheme to remove Grace from his life.
D) Moral Dilemmas: How can she leave Sam as he is dying when he saved her life 5 years earlier?
E) Forced decisions they’d never make? When Sam goes into a coma, Grace is forced by his children to move out of their home and abandon Sam as he dies.
Sam
A) Undeserved misfortune: Sam is dying of cancer.
B) External character conflicts: His estranged children and their history. Sam bailed out his son’s hedge fund and told him never to call him again.
C) Plot intruding on life: While Sam is in a coma, his son pays an attorney to produce documents giving him sole control of Sam’s affairs.
D) Moral Dilemmas: He chose Grace instead of his children to control his finances.
F) Forced decisions they’d never make: He wakes up from the coma and is told that Grace has left him. He believes his children.
Carlton:
A) Underserved misfortune: He is being blackmailed by his sisters for hiding his money in an offshore account to protect from his ex-wife.
B) External Character conflicts: Sam after the bailout. Sisters threats to expose him. Grace who loves and takes care of Sam.
C) Plot intruding on life: Carlton seizes the opportunity to gain control of his fathers’ affairs when he is in a coma.
D) Moral dilemma: He separates Sam from Grace when he is dying. How far can he go to prevent his sisters’ from exposing him?
E) Forced decisions they’d never make: Carlton pays an attorney to prepare documents to not only give him control of Sam’s affairs but also evict Grace from their shared apartment.
Harmony:
A) Undeserved misfortune: She is a psychic who can see the past.
B) External Character conflicts: Carlton and Sam – she sees the danger for her and Grace.
C) Plot intruding on life: She becomes in danger as she befriends Grace.
D) Moral dilemma: How much should she share with Grace?
E) Forced decisions they’d never make: Must relive the past with Grace to survive the present.
I learned to think about different situations that I could create that would generate empathy and distress but still be true to the core story.
-
What I learned doing this assignment is…There’s so much more under the surface of every character.
CHEATERS
A.
Undeserved misfortune: Rebecca getting bipolar disorder; Ruby being
molested by her father;
B.
External Character conflicts: Ruby with her husband, Thor; Ruby with her
mother; Ruby with her daughter; Ruby with her partner, Curtis.
C.
Plot intruding on life: Ruby’s father being a spy, a rapist; Lula married
to an operative when she didn’t know; Curtis killing someone by accident;
D.
Moral dilemmas: Ruby dilemma of killing the men; Thor’s dilemma of
sleeping with younger women, feeling like a woman inside; Jody’s dilemma
of not owning up to being trans; Myra, not owning up to faking news
sources
E.
Forced decisions they’d never make: Ruby was a child and had her father’s
sexual attentions forced on her; the men she murdered never had a choice. -
Ben’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is … that the shows you get deeply involved in have characters you feet deep empathy for and/or you were distressed about, and that’s what keeps the audience glued to the story and returning to it.
JACK
A. Undeserved misfortune – the new story Jack is sucked into ultimately involves a derided subject that will destroy his career and reputation.
B. External Character conflicts – Intentional: Jack and Harold are enemies, one fighting to expose the truth and the other fighting to keep it. Unintentional: Jack’s credibility, and therefore, his entire life will be scrutinized causing pain to loved ones like his boss Margaret with whom he is having an illicit affair.
C. Plot intruding on life – Jack must battle: bureaucracy and possibly conspiracy to access information from the government; government agents attempting to stifle and stop his investigation and story; attention seekers and conspiracy theorists and government disinformation agents to sort them from those who have real and actual knowledge; to sort actual knowledge from speculation, myth, exaggeration, embellishment; the ridicule from his peers and colleagues and the public.
D. Moral dilemmas – throw “under the bus” his confidential informers, confidential sources, and loved ones in pursuit of this story.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make – forced to genuinely put his career and reputation on the line for the first time.
GINA
A. Undeserved misfortune – Gina has to go into hiding because she got scared by what she saw in the government program and how they handled her.
B. External Character conflicts – Intentional: Gina must hide from government agent Harold Waker who is out to erase her existence; Unintentional: Gina’s actions have made ex-colleague and physicist working on the government project, Tom Bennett’s life intense, stressful and scrutinized.
C. Plot intruding on life – Gina wants to expose the truth, and Harold wants not only to stop but erase her.
D. Moral dilemmas – she took an oath / signed a confidentiality agreement about the programs she worked on and now must decide what and how much she reveals especially in relation to ex-colleagues, which may put them in the firing line.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make – hide, go on the run, then publicly out herself.
-
What I learned from doing this assignment was that I’m drawn to mystery, bad things happen to good people, but bad things could also happen to bad people…I need to spend some time on my show and get creative with Empathy and Distress.
Assignment 1
Big Little Lies
Celeste and Perry’s violent relationship seen in at least 1 scene per episode with the level of Perry’s agitation and violence increasing
Madeline’s competitive and controlling behaviour and simmering anger towards Ed, and it’s impact on her relationships with her kids (her teenage daughter just moved out to stay with Ed and Bonnie), Ed, Bonnie, and increasingly Nathan (Madeline had sex with the Theatre Director).
Ziggy pressing Jane for information about his father triggers Jane and her reaction is unpredictable: leveled when others are around but when Ziggy and Jane are alone it’s more extreme.
Assignment 2
My show Green Lake
I need to work on this but I would say that all main characters have the potential to experience all
A. Undeserved misfortune – Jess’ brother’s disappearance.
B. External Character conflicts – Jess pushing Sheriff into early retirement.
C. Plot intruding on life.
D. Moral dilemmas – Jess and Sarah secret lovers should they reveal this secret that will hurt Jess’ brother.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
-
Stuart’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is the valuable mechanics and interweaving of episode and big picture empathy/distress elements in my sample show. I also found the most challenges with “Plot intruding on life” and distinguishing between Moral Dilemmas and Forced Decisions. When looking at the big picture examples of Breaking Bad, several could fit multiple categories. I found this in analyzing the Watchmen episode as well as in the exploration of my show. The categories big question to ask as well as the creative processes were a huge help, allowing me to break through this block of abiding by a definition. Most important is the creation of distressing situations that help build empathy.
Assignment 1: Observations about Watchmen
Episode 7 was a significant episode considering Empathy/Distress and big picture vs episode levels. This episode delivered the situation that forced Angela to decide to extract Dr Manhattan from within her husband Cal’s skull. Since she had to decide between her family and the higher cause of protecting Dr. Manhattan from the 7th Kavalry, then the forced decision is moral dilemma as well.
The episode also focused on integrating important backstory of Angela while connecting her to Dr. Manhattan’s plan to hide in Tulsa disguised as a human, Cal.
1. Undeserved Misfortune:
Episode: Young Angela witnesses the terrorist bombing that kills her parents in Vietnam.
This builds empathy as we see her placed in the distressing situation of the orphanage, before finally connecting with Grandmother June who promises to take her to Tulsa. But before they can leave, Grandmother June dies. These Empathy/Distress elements within the episode build our empathy for Angela and allow us to understand her actions and tactics (solitary detective, protective of family, withholding information, anger and impulsive actions).
Big Picture: Angela finds mentor Judd Crawford hanged. This event sets the season in motion as Angela is determined to find the murderer and destroy the Seventh Kavalry.
2. External Character Conflicts:
Episode:
Intentional: Angela doesn’t trust FBI Agent Laurie Blake and won’t let her help her recover.
Unintentional: Angela’s ingestion of Will’s Nostalgia medication threatens Will’s memory.
Big Picture:
Intentional: Angela and FBI Agent Laurie Blake constantly fight and withhold information. They do not trust each other. Angela’s secretive tactics also challenge her professional relationship with Wade.
Unintentional: Angela’s relationship with Judd Crawford. Angela’s professional world impacts her relationships with Cal and children.
3. Plot Intruding on Life:
This episode’s big plot reveals are also big picture: Revelation of 7th Kavalry’s plan to use Dr. Manhattan to restore White Supremacy. Lady Trieu’s decision to use the Millennium Clock.
These push Angela to go home and sacrifice family for the high cause (protecting Dr. Manhattan).
Big picture: Placement of FBI Agent Blake in Judd Crawford’s position as temporary chief of Tulsa Police. Abduction of Will Reeves by Lady Trieu. FBI Agent Blake’s crackdown on masked vigilantes.
4. Moral dilemmas.
The episode’s big moral dilemma for Angela is also a big picture hook: Knowing Senator Joe Keene’s and the Seventh Kavalry’s plan to use Dr. Manhattan, Angela goes home to extract Dr. Manhattan from the skull of her husband Cal. She chooses between Dr. Manhattan and family.
Big Picture: she decides to take Will away from the scene of Judd’s hanging.
5. Forced decisions.
Episode: Angela’s choice to pull the tube facilitating her recovery. Her choice to leave the Millennium Center before the completion of her treatment.
Big Picture: Angela’s choice to swallow all of Will’s Nostalgia to protect him. Choice to protect Will and Judd by withholding evidence.
Assignment 2: My Show’s Empathy/Distress:
Lots in the big picture mix… exploring and discovering.
1. Undeserved misfortune.
King Goplik’s attack/usurpation of Lavinia.
Hop-Frog’s physical disabilities.
Hop-Frog witnesses the massacre of his mother and his people.
Trippetta witnesses the massacre of her family and her love Prince Brann.
Lord Krapp’s abduction of Trippetta.
Hop-Frog and Trippetta are caged and tortured.
The King’s and the minister’s abuse and ridicule of Hop-Frog.
The King’s and the minister’s treatment (abuse/rape) of Trippetta.
Hop-Frog witnessing the lustful leers, actions and remarks inflicted upon Trippetta.
2. External Character conflicts.
Intentional:
Hop-Frog and Trippetta need each other and conflict with each other for survival and revenge.
Hop-Frog manipulates King Goplik without being discovered.
Hop-Frog receives punishment from ministers as he tries to manipulate them.
Hop-Frog must please King Goplik and ministers or be tortured.
Hop-Frog and Lord Krapp are adversaries for Trippetta’s love.
Trippetta adversarial/sexual relationship with Lord Krapp.
Unintentional:
Consequences of Trippetta’s and Hop-Frog’s individual plans against each other.
Impact on the King’s daughter, Princess Cyrrell. And the Prince of Balog.
Fear and pain upon the citizens of Brattvia and Balog.
3. Plot intruding on life.
Hop-Frog and Trippetta working at cross-purposes.
Escalating tension between Balog and Brattvia.
Political decisions made by King Queeg of Balog.
King Goplik’s plans for a grand practical joke delivered on Balog.
The unleashing and spread of a plague whose victims are were-beasts.
4. Moral dilemmas.
Hop-Frog and Trippetta needing to decide how far to go for revenge. (will they torture, maim, seduce, kill?)
Deciding what they are willing to give up – to accept punishment/pain or to fight it?
The choice between delivery of vengeance and the pain to their friend/co-conspirator (Trippetta, Hop-Frog, or another ally/co-conspirator?).
5. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Their situation has thrown Hop-Frog and Trippetta into an upside-down, dark, demented fairy world – challenging each of them as they fight for survival, vengeance, and freedom.
How far will Hop-Frog and Trippetta go to protect themselves (body, mind and soul) and each other?
The series pushes the two to the decision they would never make…
Hop-Frog is forced to sacrifice Trippetta to keep his plan secret (or deliver vengeance).
Trippetta is forced to sacrifice Hop-Frog to keep her plan secret (or deliver vengeance).
-
Jane’s Show Empathy/Distress – What I learned doing this assignment is that my four characters all have flawed plans for meeting their goals but that within those flawed plans are places where you can really feel for them that they have gotten to this place in their lives. So my task is going to be to get the audience to feel empathy for characters who are trying to accomplish something through illegal and/or harmful actions. This exercise really brought that home to me and helped me think about the characters as being empathetic when their not so great actions get thwarted.
<hr size=”1″ width=”100%” align=”center”>
ASSIGNMENT 1:
Undeserved misfortune: Jason Blossom murdered; Veronica’s dad jailed for fraud; Betty’s sister Polly taken from her; Jughead’s dad an alcoholic and thug; Archie’s dad a pawn in the Blossom’s game
External Character conflicts: Cheryl and Betty continue to spar, hurting Polly; all parents lying to the kids and weaving their own web of intrigue that is based in the past.
Plot intruding on life: Betty and Jughead’s romance takes their eye off the goal of solving the murder; Sheriff in Blossom’s pocket and won’t investigate vandalism on Fred’s worksite; Jughead’s dad forcing guy to continue to see Kevin in order to know what’s going on in the Sheriff’s office
Moral dilemmas: Should Veronica support her dad when she knows he’s guilty? Should Betty tell her parents where Polly is hiding? Should Polly return to her parents home where they’ll make her give up her baby? Should Hermione continue to lie to Fred?
Forced decisions they’d never make: Polly decides to move in with the Blossoms.
ASSIGNMENT 2:
Empathy/Distress for Jodie:
A. Undeserved misfortune: Discovers that her dad is really ill
B. External Character conflicts: Treated unfairly by other staff because of her weight
C. Plot intruding on life: Mother shows up to “help” and Susie drags her into her problems when the diary is stolen.
D. Moral dilemmas: Should she include her dad in her plans or leave him to take the blame for her sister’s kidnapping?
E. Forced decisions they’d never make: Puts her own plan on hold to rescue Susie
Empathy/Distress for Susie:
A. Undeserved misfortune: Discovers that her baby was sold
B. External Character conflicts: Abusive ex-boyfriend shows up
C. Plot intruding on life: Her diary, with an outline of her plans, is stolen
D. Moral dilemmas: Should she continue to involve Jodie when her problem turns to murder
E. Forced decisions they’d never make: Kills abusive ex-boyfriend
Empathy/Distress for Lucas:
A. Undeserved misfortune: Cop assigned to watch him works for the gang in Chicago
B. External Character conflicts: Kept from a computer where his alter ego lives
C. Plot intruding on life: Witnesses Susie killing her boyfriend
D. Moral dilemmas: Has to decide whether or not to tell Miguel about his brother
E. Forced decisions they’d never make: Suicide to save family
Empathy/Distress for Miguel:
A. Undeserved misfortune: Mistaken for someone else and arrested
B. External Character conflicts: Prejudice against LatinX
C. Plot intruding on life: Susie’s diary held information that can get him killed
D. Moral dilemmas: Can he kill a guy who has a family with small kids
E. Forced decisions they’d never make: Must kill brother or mother with be killed by drug gang
-
(Patricia Ruland’s) Show Empathy/Distress
Lesson 7: Empathy/Distress: The Binge Worthy Drug!
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.
2. Notice the difference between Big Picture Empathy/Distress and detail oriented Empathy/Distress. Big Picture will have an impact across multiple episodes.
Deadline: 24 hours
Completed: Watched Season 1, Episode 7 of Gossip Girl.
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?”
Caren Cay
A. Undeserved misfortune.
She is afflicted with chronic mental illness.
B. External Character conflicts.
She butts heads with her husband Fred Oscar (FO!) often. He can reduce her to tears and does not seem to care. His arguments with their children, o and k, distress her even more.
C. Plot intruding on life.
She looks forward to performing at the Woostockishish festival, but from the time they go to bed the night before, through the time they fight like cats and dogs before they leave, during the car ride, and at the festival, sadden and destabilize her, to the point they push her off the edge.
D. Moral dilemmas.
She thinks, dreams constantly of a more fulfilling life, but she loves her children more than life itself, so she seems always to be one foot in the door and one foot out.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
She embarrasses Fred Oscar so much that he has her committed at the end of the pilot. She is furious and lets everyone know. She abandons all civility and trashes him very vocally as she is being admitted. . . . but this may be her ticket . . . to the life she’s always wanted. Yes, a mental institution, her ticket.
Fred Oscar
A. Undeserved misfortune.
He has intimacy issues because his parents died in a terrible wreck when he was a teenager, so he keeps everyone at arm’s length—not too close but always near enough for him to exert control.
B. External Character conflicts.
He admits he loves to argue, that it is “some of the best fun there is,” and, indeed, stirring others up even to a frenzy seems to be sport for him. He’s always been this way, his aunt once told him.
C. Plot intruding on life.
As he’s greasing the wheels of his political candidacy for governor, Caren Cay has a very public meltdown, and he finds himself apologizing for her—again—to his VIPs.
D. Moral dilemmas.
He knows Caren Cay has never abandoned her college dreams of a career in rock-and-roll, so her very “relevant” performances both make him mad and make him proud. Should he accept the good with the bad here?
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Due to Caren Cay’s over-the-top behavior at the concert/festival, and her “stunt” as FO! calls it, hen she leans out farther and farther out the window, then falls in a tree, FO! takes out the form he’d already filled out that will get her admitted. He really does not want to do this, has an aversion to sickness and hospitals, but feels it’s his responsibility to protect her from herself
What I learned doing this assignment is:
Characters slowly take on lives of their own—we come to know them and care about them as people. I had little empathy for Fred Oscar—until, I did this exercise. I had let the worldly overshadow the intrinsic wisdom in life anyone can know, that at least some point in time, everyone has feelings, everyone hurts, everyone deserves empathy.
3. Post your assignment in the forums at https://www.screenwritingclasses.com/forums/
Subject line: (Your Name’s) Show Empathy/Distress (place in first line)
Deadline: 3 days (for both Assignment 1 and
2) -
Donna Stockwell’s Show – Empathy/Distress
What I learned from this assignment was two things: I couldn’t write this assignment fast enough since adding this extra piece of intrigue to my story line and I think this double the amount of intrigue and mystery into my story, which is shifting drastically to enhance my original concept, and with each assignment I add more to my characters and give them more subplots.
ASSIGNMENT 1: Jessica Jones
A. Undeserved Misfortune
Jessica is a survivor of trauma, and as an independent woman rejects being or becoming the victim. She is strong in the public, and comforts herselfB. External Character conflicts
Kilgrave is a sociopath who controls the minds of others to do undesirable acts.C. Plot intruding on Life
Jessica finds out Kilgrave is alive and sneaking around to find her and torture her by using other people.
Jessica is kind to clients who are victims of abuse, and has strong sense of justice.D. Moral Dilemmas
Does Jessica leave or turn from hunted to hunter, on the advice of Trish? Does Jessica continue to work for the DEA and take verbal abuse from Hogarth?E. Forced Decisions
Jessica tries to find Kilgrave before he damages and kills more people.ASSIGNMENT 2: Donna Stockwell’s Show – Empathy/Distress
BIG PICTURE difficult situations and decisions your characters could make because of the main conflict of this series:A. Undeserved misfortune –
Ben & Jasper’s mother is mistakenly killed by Jasper.
Ben and Patrice get married too young.B. External Character conflicts
Ben marries a version of his mother but Patrice always thought there was something odd about the relationship but can never figure it out.
Patrice finds marriage is strained and fighting like cats and dogs with Ben, and increases strain when she meets and falls in love with daughter’s boyfriend.C. Plot intruding on life –
Ben tries to control life by restraining women (who look like his wife), then when they don’t play nice, he kills them… in delusional thinking that his wife will come back and respect him.D. Moral dilemmas
Jasper needs his mother, and disillusioned by her death, hides her in cemetery but digs her up every night for “bed-time stories”,
Ben keeps Jasper safe and away from anyone who would discover secret, and uses Jasper to bury more bodies when he becomes a serial killer, as a consequence to his divorce.
Can Patrice break up her marriage and leave her husband for true love, which she found in her daughter’s boyfriend?
How can she take her daughter’s boyfriend from her.E. Forced decisions they’d never make
Ben makes Jasper help bury the bodies.
Patrice lying to her husband and daughter for a piece of happiness. -
Lesson 7 – Assignment #1
Empathy/Distress: Revenge
A. Undeserved Misfortune: Emily Thorne (as the young Amanda Clarke) loses her father and her entire childhood in an instant when he is framed for a crime he didn’t commit.
B. External Character Conflicts: Intentional – Emily despises the Graysons due to their betrayal and Victoria detests Emily because she is an outsider who is dating her son. Unintentional – Emily is dating Daniel as part of the plan to penetrate the Grayson family, but she hurts herself when her childhood friend Jack shows interest in her and she has to turn him down. Jack’s pain is also unintentional.
C. Plot Intruding On Life: Due to Frank’s meddling investigation, he tracks down the real Emily Thorne, who has swapped names with Amanda Clarke, but the real Emily kills Frank and shows up at the alias Emily’s house, which will complicate her plans.
D. Moral Dilemmas: Emily is using Daniel to get closer to the Graysons, but she is truly beginning to fall in love with him because he is not like the rest of the family. She does love Jack, however, and would love to be with him, but when he shows interest in her and asks her out on a date, she could choose to leave behind her revenge plan and sail away with Jack (as Nolan tells her), but instead, she rejects him to stick to the bigger plan.
E. Forced Decisions They’d Never Make: Victoria is forced to accept Emily because she is dating Daniel and she doesn’t want to strain her relationship with her son.
Lesson 7 – Assignment #2
Marc Armstrong’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment was that the thing that draws in the audience and helps them really connect with the characters is empathizing with them and worrying about them in distressing situations. This creates the pull to keep watching the story unfold.
Empathy/Distress: Catch and Release
A. Undeserved Misfortune: Nikolas’ parents, brothers and sister were all mass murdered in a senseless crime. Charlie was bullied in high school.
B. External Character Conflicts: Intentional – Charlie is jealous of Brandon’s friendship with Nik. Unintentional – When Charlie lies to Nik’s girlfriend Sabrina and tells her that Nik is cheating on her to sabotage their relationship, he unintentionally causes her great grief.
C. Plot Intruding On Life: While justified in the eyes of Nik, the protagonist, his revenge takes the life of Bryson’s brother, causing Bryson much grief.
D. Moral Dilemmas: Nik’s mission to track down and kill criminals contradicts his Christian values. Bryson vowed to his wife that he left behind his violent ways in war and would never return to them.
E. Forced Decisions They’d Never Make: Although Brandon has vowed to only help set traps for Nik, but never kill for him, he is put into a situation where he must kill or be killed.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by Marcus Armstrong.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
-
Sean’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment:
1. It seems the connection is greatest to the main character through Empathy/Distress.
2. The main character is much more unforgettable through Empathy/Distress.
Assignment 1 – SUPERNATURAL
Undeserved misfortune – The death of their mother and Sam’s girlfriend, losing out on normal life to be trained as hunters.
External Character conflicts – Sam’s rebellion against Father, tension between Sam and Dean because Sam rebels, Sam wants normal life.
Plot Intruding on Life – Sam gives up everything he worked for at Stanford to go back to hunting following Jess’s death.
Moral Dilemmas – They have been arrested more than once and almost killed more than once due to scheming and illegal ways they support themselves and gain access to victims or information.
Forced decisions they would never make – giving up Stanford Law full ride interview, stop looking for father, not helping father find/destroy mother’s and Jess’s killer.
Assignment 2
BIG PICTURE Empathy/Distress for Cian Shea in The SAT.
Undeserved misfortune – older brother, Mitchell is a psychopath, evil and on his way to becoming world’s most prolific and elusive serial killer. Devil terrorizes and challenges Cian as a boy, because of who Mitchell is and who he will become. Older brother will kill their parents.
External Character conflicts – Cian needs God and hates God with supernatural intensity. Cian’s life is only a means to bring about new world. FBI profiler, famous musician, writer, actor, celebrity is all second to his goal. Tempted to give up challenge and live/enjoy his extraordinary life. Falls in love with Bridget and Anastacia equally, wants relationship with both.
Plot intruding on life – Cian takes on Devil’s challenge to rid the world of evil. Creates plan for new world.
Moral Dilemmas – Cian hunts and kills more serial killers than he catches and turns in to FBI.
Forced decisions they would never make – Is not home when his parents are killed, because Caliel led him away.
-
Lesson 7
Renee Brown’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned from this assignment is there is no way…ok, very slim possibility of my coming up with these plot lines if I were not putting my characters through hell. I do still love them…. How can something so wrong feel so right….I mean write. 😉
The 100
Underserved misfortune: Sister is kidnaped by grounders
External character conflicts Blake and sister blame each other for mother’s death
Plot intruding on Life: Blake going into forest to rescue sister.
Moral Dilemma: Clark: Be truthful with Raven about Finn or lie about their affair.
Forced decision: Blake has to kill chancellor in order to come to earth with sister to protector her.
Renee Brown’s Alien Mafia
What will make the audience worry about this character?
How could this character be in Hell on earth…or the moon.
Tallas:
Underserved misfortune: The death of his ancestors is replayed in his ancient telepathic memories when he reads the sacred cave “pool” as part of his prophecy telling.
External character conflicts: the “benevolent -ish”(not) Don is high priest of the Longheads. He choose Tallas at a young age of 500 to be the keeper of the prophecy.
Plot intruding on Life: Good bye stoic/ reclusive life of the scholar when the Don comes knocking.
Moral Dilemma: Keep inventing prophecies or tell the High priest Don that the whole thing is a scam.
Forced decision: Finds out his ex is pregnant with Steelman’s child and is being hidden away on the DSOM. He betrays the priesthood to protect her.
Anauk:
Underserved misfortune: His father beat him so badly that one of his wings was permanently nerve damaged.
External character conflicts: His father is the cruel Skyflier – Don who ridicules him
Plot intruding on Life: His father limits access to the dark side of the moon (DSOM) because of a deal gone wrong. This interrupts something Anauk has going.
Moral Dilemma: Stay loyal to his horrible father or stay true to himself and face the punishments.
Forced decision: Told he will never succeed his father as Don because his blood is not pure. The father found out Anauk’s mother has distant longhead contamination in her ancestry. The father kills her. Anauk then declares inwardly that he will avenge his mother.
Saltar:
Underserved misfortune: The Reptilisander council killed her mother for disloyalty and placed Saltar as Reptilia-Don. the lineage must be respected.
External character conflicts: Placed into a position of power – she wants love but can trust no one.
Plot intruding on Life: She and her daughter were planning a sea farm before she was recruited. Triggers childhood memories of her Mother as Reptilia – Don
Moral Dilemma: Reject the Don position and stay on her peaceful farm path or take up her Mother’s cruel torch.
Forced decision: The council threatens to not only kill her, but her daughter and her extended hatch if she does not take up the torch. Starts executing distant hatchlings first and tells her they won’t stop until she decides.
Steelman:
Underserved misfortune: His wife stepped into a trap he set for someone else, and it killed her.
External character conflicts: His job is to mediate between the alien factions.
Plot intruding on Life: Tries to have a hobby, but the job robs it from him every time.
Moral Dilemma: Tell his superior he is allied with Longheads or keep playing chess and keep humanity in dark.
Forced decision: After MJ-12 is formed, he is forced to leave military and he joins the resistance.
Rollin:
Underserved misfortune: Chosen as the One
External character conflicts: Forced to train for the most important position that he has no interest in.
Plot intruding on Life: Lost childhood due to training
Moral Dilemma: Tell his sister he is training her to take over?
Forced decision: Overhears something that makes him start to train his sister.
-
Lesson 7
John Anderson’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is That other than my main character, many others don’t have enough background in the book for us to have empathy. I will need to add logical back stories from my imagination that will increase the possibilities for empathy and distress (as this is a true story).
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.
2. Notice the difference between Big Picture Empathy/Distress and detail oriented Empathy/Distress. Big Picture will have an impact across multiple episodes.
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?”
Belenko:
A. Undeserved misfortune… Father is a mean drunk living with WWII memories, removed from mother at 2 and then from grandmother and aunt at 7, forced to live with strangers packed on a commune, living with mean stepmother who father sides with, living in USSR and all that means, poverty, cold war, no connections, jealous comrades, wife unhappy due to assignment in Siberia, not connected enough to move up in Air Force, spies everywhere, CIA doesn’t trust soviet defectors, KGB wants him back or dead (can’t just let it go).
B. External Character conflicts…. Father does care, step mother has her own kids to defend and watch out for, Police give no quarter to young kids (Zeks everywhere as a threat), Emotional bond with wife is strong but fragile, plant manager needs alcohol runs to control men, KGB officer always on look out, Doctor is controlling on base as is the commander (military life requires no questions), CIA affair is torrid, Relationship with Jim (CIA) is uneasy at best, farmer is too smart for his own good.
C. Plot intruding on life… KGB and Soviets do everything they can to know what you are doing (constant spying) and encouraging all to turn their comrades in, His CIA handlers are luck of the draw that they have their personalities, fuel levels are what they are, wife gets sick of the misery, baby exacerbates the issues, affair puts his trustworthiness in doubt with Jim (and vice versa – is it real?)
D. Moral dilemmas… Having to leave his country, having to break his oath as a military man, leaving his child, hurting his country, having sex with a still married CIA agent, lying to CIA man he promised to be truthful with
E. Forced decisions they’d never make. – leaving wife and knowing she will face problems. Knowing his captain will pay a big price, knowing the CIA woman could be demoted (at best), knowing she is married, he still has sex with her.
Ludmilla:
A. Undeserved misfortune. – forced to live in Siberia in cramped home, husband not attentive
B. External Character conflicts. – must follow rules of
military and marriage
C. Plot intruding on life. – KGB control every move and
her parents are selfish
D. Moral dilemmas. – leaving husband to make better
life, must pull son from his dad
E. Forced decisions they’d never make. – will be a
divorcee, make her son fatherlessFemale CIA agent:
A. Undeserved misfortune. – husband left her
B. External Character conflicts. – troubled marriage,
can’t find love due to job hours
C. Plot intruding on life. – meets attractive Russian,
forced to act as a honey pot (planned or unplanned we don’t know)
D. Moral dilemmas. – – should she or not (whether sex
something she will do for country or something he does against the rules)
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.- must lie to
either Belenko or Jim/ CIA, break wedding vows -
Carrington Manor Empathy/Distress
What I learned during this assignment is the importance of empathy and distress and the effect it has on the brains of the viewers. This is what grips people into watching the show.
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Gwenn can’t get her mother to come live with her, she has spent too much money on her college loans and needs this job desperately to begin to pay off her debts.
B. External Character conflicts.
Gwenn’s boss is in love with her, Gwenn falls for the married Dr. Abigail makes everyone’s life miserable at work, Gwenn is participating in medicare fraud in order to pay the bills.
C. Plot intruding on life.
Gwenn is going along with her job, attempting to save all the patients when she makes a horrible decision with a patient that pushes them too far.
D. Moral dilemmas.
Sleeping with the married Dr, rescuing the patient is wanted by the FBI,
. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Having so many problems with her mom and APS she is forced to forge her mothers signature on a document saying she is not of sound mind and Gwenn now has the power of attorney.
-
Hello all, I definitely got lost while creating my character maps. I felt like I had to watch all the episodes in my series to truly get ALL the maps on a deeper level. And I still don’t have my character maps all worked out. Then life hit, my TV acting job needed me to travel for 3 days. No excuses. I only mention this because what I really learned in the past 8 days:
It is REALLY easy to get knocked off your path. Off your writing rhythm. After just 6 days, I forgot everything I was trying to do in my storytelling. It took me 2 days to get my head and body back into this world and start being productive again.
A few things that kept me motivated and kept me moving forward.
1. Listening to Hal talk about brainstorming and systems.
2. Getting much MORE organized. At the beginning of the class, I didn’t even own a printer. I had an uncomfortable chair and no real desk. My vision of HOW to organize all this information had to be processed. A binder notebook, sectioned off for each character, with printed papers filled in with pencil for easy brainstorming. Establishing how I was going to create…
OK…
Undeserved Misfortune
Rebecca – See’s a UFO abduction and feels compelled to know more
Jakob – Lost his job and family living before meeting Rebecca
Lukas – Father Killed Mother and then Father committed suicide. He is being Blackmailed by the Government to keep the secrets.
Julianne – Experiences she has no control over
External Character Conflicts
Rebecca – At odds with Lukas as to whether the incident is real or not. Catches him in a lie. Doesn’t like Jakob but needs him for information.
Jakob – Using Rebecca for her Governmental connections in a dishonest way. Trying to get more information on Lukas. Lukas has been leading Jakob astray and getting him to discredit himself in the community. Is a fellow investigator with Julianne but is suspicious of her involvement.
Lukas – Trying to discredit Jakob. Has to try and stop his old friend and romantic flame Rebecca from investigating more. His program watches Julianne as a suspect in Alien involvement.
Julianne – She is in the spotlight of all the investigators on one level or another. HAs been kidnapped by Lukas, is being looked for by Rebecca, and has to keep Jakob in the dark about her deeper involvement and abduction history.
Plot Intruding on Life
Rebecca – She has recurring dreams, her husband loses his job and her daughter goes missing.
Jakob – his standing in the UFO community is jeopardized because of false information passed to him by an agent controlled by Lukas. His kids are ridiculed and he has no money or source of income.
Lukas – He is being blackmailed. He loves Julianne and looks at her as a way out of his situation and into a better life. He tries to pass good information to Rebecca about Julianne but is thwarted by his superiors.
Julianne – Her Professorship is threatened while she balances all the different people inquiring about her at her place of work. She has instances of disappearing from responsibilities because of her abductions/kidnappings and must risk her life to save the plan.
Moral Dilemmas
Rebecca – Tempted to cover up her sighting and in exchange, she can move up at the UN. Uses her job standing to get information through less reputable standards.
Jakob – Doesn’t support his family. Is not around. Is inconsiderate.
Lukas – Forced to hurt Rebecca he faces how far down the Rabbit hole his life has become.
Julianne – She really wants to tell people but is forced to keep the secrets of Hybrids by lying and deception.
Forced Decisions
Rebecca – Lies to husband – Trades secret information illegally
Jakob – Breaking and entering, manipulates people
Lukas – Gets Rebecca’s husband fired. Gets her daughter kidnapped. Tries to get Rebecca into a blackmailed situation.
Julianne – Part of abductions and protections.
-
Jason’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment was it’s easy to go on for pages with layer upon layer of backstory and internal circumstances–there needs to be a balance between immersive details and easily grasped high concepts.
Assignment #1
L O S T
Example: Jack
Undeserved Misfortune: After begrudgingly following his estranged father to Australia at his mother’s behest, Jack finds his dad has drunk himself to death; when transporting the body back to the States, the plane crashes on a remote island.
External Character Conflicts:
Intentional: Jack is the only doctor among the survivors and, being a surgeon, is a natural leader—he has little time for people who don’t want to help, and less time for discussions about people’s ideologies or religion.
Unintentional: Other alpha males resent Jack’s ‘take charge’ personality; Jack’s pragmatic attitude rubs people the wrong way, and his drive to act immediately often proves impetuous to those with more experience in things “not medical.”
Plot Intruding on Life: Jack’s closure with his father is sabotaged by the plane crash, and the necessity of current circumstances allow no time to reconcile his internal chaos and feelings of guilt.
Moral Dilemmas: Jack cannot reveal he doesn’t believe he “has what it takes,” haunted by regret, shame and guilt over his father’s decline and death. His Hippocratic Oath to preserve life also conflicts with life-or-death situations which evolve that include overpowering/harming others, but the obstacle of his inner conflict at times overpowers his objective to heal and help.
Forced Decisions They’d Never Make: Jack tends to a mortally wounded Federal Marshal who asks Kate to kill him. Kate gives the gun to Sawyer, but Sawyer misses the heart. When Jack confronts Sawyer and learns the truth, he’s forced to kill the Marshal as he has no means of saving him. Jack also dives into the ocean to save a drowning woman, but finds another passenger, Boone, also swept up in the rip tide—Boone is closer, so he pulls him to safety and heads back for the woman, but cannot reach her in time; he blames himself for her death.
Assignment #2
Dreaming Wide Wake
UNDESERVED MISFORTUNE:
Gina: Once on her way to acclaim as a musical prodigy, manipulation and abuse by her manager forced an emotional and psychological withdrawal; after institutionalization, her caseworker reveals to her military hero father that she may be on the spectrum, or she may just be very smart, but she’s developed borderline agoraphobia; now, in the present, years after her parents’ death, she completely loses privacy and anonymity in her small town when her journal–the fantastical ‘safe place’ she has created for years–is broadcast without her consent, which prompts the listeners to experience wonderful, touching, inspiring, and sometimes unsettling effects.
Maggie: Hoping to help Gina recognize her brilliance, she traumatizes her instead, which causes rift with husband; then she breaks her tailbone—which reveals stage 2 lymphoma.
Chris: Chris is a Broadway star who finds he has HIV and has being living with it secretly for nearly a decade.
Parker: Too drunk to drive, Parker called his fiancé to pick him up–only to get into an argument with her in the car, resulting in a crash that takes her life. Parker severely beats a man who accuses him of being the driver and spends a year in jail, after which he moves to Point North to start over.
EXTERNAL CHARACTER CONFLICTS:
Gina:
Intentional: Gina shies away from going out and meeting people due to the deep wounding in her past. If pressured, we see more of her intellectual fortitude, which alienates others, which further drives Gina into her head.
Unintentional: Others find Gina weird and unrelatable—and Gina typically makes no effort to meet them halfway due to her own resolution that being alone is better because there’s no risk of pain.
Maggie:
Intentional: Maggie is a go-getter who doesn’t take no for an answer. Sometimes she should.
Unintentional: Maggie’s desire to help others often fails to actually take their wishes into consideration.
Chris:
Intentional: Chris is famous, and uses his fame if necessary as leverage for getting what he wants.
Unintentional: Chris is not arrogant by nature, but he is passionate, emotional and opinionated and unafraid to make a scene.
Parker:
Intentional: Parker doesn’t care about others’ feelings if they’re being stupid or blatantly ignorant, and has zero fear of conflict until it becomes a question of violence–he carries guilt for crippling a man.
Unintentional: His protection of his past makes him defensive and aloof in matters of his own heart, and the guilt her carries makes him blame himself for bad circumstances.
PLOT INTRUDING ON LIFE:
Gina: She believes she’s set, content with her job and her hidden world. When her private life is suddenly brought into the open, her past begins to open up as well, and the pain she’s carefully compartmentalized begins to leak out—but the people praising her and asking for her advice, time and wisdom are in conflict with how she views herself.
Maggie: The backlash of sharing Gina’s brilliance is reconciling how she interfered and has perhaps ruined Gina’s carefully built life, and also threatens her own marriage. Adding the sudden hospitalization unsettles everything that was stable.
Chris: Expecting to earn some money and more ‘buzz’ for workshopping his passion project, he doesn’t anticipate developing a relationship with Gina that threatens to hurt her when she misinterprets his intentions.
Parker: Parker came to Point North to reinvent himself, but Gina’s evolving challenges and his promise to Maggie to help ‘look out for her’ threatens his own anonymity and desire to control his circumstances.
MORAL DILEMMAS:
Gina: Mildly agoraphobic and carries a lot of baggage, but doesn’t want to upset or hurt anyone so the newcomers pouring into her life place her in an incredibly awkward position.
Maggie: Knows she may have ruined Gina’s life but still believes she can salvage it—but her husband might be right in that she’s using Gina to live vicariously because she’s almost 50. Or he’s wrong, and he’s given up dreaming, so she needs to either wake him up or consider the alternatives.
Chris: He loves Gina’s mind and creativity, and had no idea she didn’t know he was gay in the Age of Information, so he didn’t think at all about setting boundaries; breaking her heart in the face of her public outing would be devastating.
Parker: He doesn’t want to hang around Gina because he doesn’t want to develop feelings for her, but he promised Maggie he’d help because of her injured state.
FORCED DECISIONS THEY’D NEVER MAKE:
Gina: She must decide whether to embrace the new circumstances of her life or run. Embracing the new will open her up to manipulation and abuse, again, but running will never offer her the healing that comes from the love of others affirming her and exploring her possible newfound purpose.Maggie: She must confront her husband about the viability of their marriage and whether they can remain intact by giving up everything they sacrificed themselves for in order to have security.
Chris: Revealing his sexuality and hurting Gina is as big of an issue as informing her he’s HIV positive and has no idea what the future may hold—but he must in order to help grant permission for her own coming to terms with life and its abuses.
Parker: Parker fights falling for Gina because he’s clutching the memory of his deceased fiancé—rather, the fear he will somehow hurt her as well—and must decide if controlling his life is more or less important than surrendering it.
-
What I learned doing this assignment is how to not accept anything less than creating the best show possible. When you think you have everything ready to go, there’s always more if you know where to look and how to connect the characters in such a way that the audience identifies and cares about outcomes.
Assignment #1
Handmaid’s Tale
A. Undeserved misfortune:
Luke has to flee with his family because America is taken over by a fundamentalist regime. He loses his family (wife, June, and daughter, Hannah). He is shot and almost dies.
June suffers torture, rape, and other abuses when she is captured and forced to be a Handmaid for Commander Waterford and his wife. She has no idea where her daughter is or if she’s still alive.
B. External Character Conflicts:
June is upset with Luke for not leaving for Canada sooner. This causes a conflict between them. The audience feels this conflict and knows June and Luke need to work together to save their daughter and escape.
Luke’s desire to go back to Boston is a conflict with a woman that is trying to save his life. As a result, this slows them from getting on the boat to escape to Canada. When they are attacked making their getaway she is killed by the new regime. Luke didn’t mean for her to die but his actions resulted in unintentional consequences.
Commander Waterford can’t get Offred pregnant, so Mrs. Waterford forces Offred to have sex with Nick. Because Offred doesn’t want to be alone, she has a love affair with Nick.
C. Plot Intruding On Life:
When Luke and June hide in a family friend’s house, a stranger arrives that warns them that their friend was killed down the road. June and Luke decide to leave but are ambushed on the road and forced to split up. Luke is shot and placed in an ambulance and heading to the hospital. Due to bad driving, the ambulance crashes, and Luke escapes. In freezing temperatures, he makes his way to an empty town where he passes out in an empty store. He is almost killed when he is kicked awake and mistaken for enemy forces because he is wearing their jacket. When he is on the bus with other escapees, he is threatened with a gun as he tries to leave the bus. Despite being shown bodies hanging in the church, he still tries to go back to Boston. When he arrives at the boat he has to give something as a fee to ride on the boat. So he gives up the medical supplies he uses for pain and that keeps him alive. Then, the fundamentalist police arrive to try to kill him as he boards the boat and disappears into the night.
D. Moral Dilemmas:
In Nick’s bedroom, Offred decides to keep sleeping with Nick even after she receives word that her husband, Luke is still alive.
F. Forced Decisions They’d Never Make:
Luke and June put their lives along with their daughter’s life in the hands of a stranger by getting into the trunk of their car to escape.
Offred having sex with Commander Waterford to give him and Mrs. Waterford a baby.
My show: Edgemont
A. Underserved Misfortune:
Simone raising twin sons by herself while trying to save the Edgemont.
B. External Character Conflicts:
Roman and Remy constantly go against each other to gain approval from either Simone (Mother) or King, (Grandfather).
C. Plot Intruding On Life:
Simone is nearing a deal to convince her father, King, not to sell the Edgemont to developers when her son Remy rescues another kid from Region 26. This angers the Senator from Region 26 and since it’s an election year, he pledges to destroy the Edgemont and kill everyone to rid himself of this growing threat to his power.
D. Moral Dilemmas:
In the woods, Roman’s dilemma about whether to have sex and with Mrs. Conner (his Grandfather’s younger girlfriend) and join her schemes which will give him greater power or not, knowing this could be the last opportunity to gain the upper hand on his mother and his brother.
E. Forced Decisions They’d Never Make:
Simone knows the only way to save Edgemont and her family is to betray both of her sons and run for Senator.
-
NORENE SMILEY – LESSON 7 – EMPATHY/DISTRESS
What I learned doing this assignment: I always knew about making the journey harder for characters, putting obstacles in their way, but had not always considered why they might make difficult decisions the goes against their nature.
ASSIGNMENT 1:
JESSICA JONES
BIG PICTURE EMPATHY/DISTRESS
– Kilgrave controlling her and forcing her to kill Luke’s wife <div>
– trying to stop the terrible evil and powerful that Kilgrave is capable of
– her self-enforced estrangement from Trish to protect her sister
– the major guilt and conflicted feelings about admitting her actions to Luke
– her loneliness
her willingness to put herself in danger to protect othersDETAIL ORIENTED EMPATHY/DISTRESS
– Luke discovers Jessica has been spying on him </div><div>
– telling Luke he has been cheating with married woman
– refusing to help disabled ambulance driver kill himself
– cornering professor who was used by Kilgrave
– stealing drugs from hospital to disarm Kilgrave
– taking advantage of the weakness of neighbour Malcom and resultant guilt
SHADOW & BONE
BIG PICTURE EMPATHY/DISTRESS
– Alina being an outcast, looked down on by everyone due to her race(rice eater) </div><div>
– orphans who only have each other, learning to never show weakness
– the Shadow Fold that endangers the world and killed their parents
– saving Mal reveals Alina is a Sun Summoner
– being forced to choose being a Grisha leaving her only friends; she is hunted wherever she goes
– the pressure on Aiina to help destroy the Fold
– Kaz’s deadly struggle for power in the underworld with Pekka and their past relationship
DETAIL ORIENTED EMPATHY/DISTRESS
– Alina and Mal forced to separate from each other </div><div>
– Kaz trying to buy Inej’s freedom from brothel
– Jesper and Kaz’s feelings for Inej
– Inej’s brother was sold into slavery too; her search for him
– ruthlessness of the underworld boss- use of Heartrender to force Alex to tell about Alina, then killing him
– Alina would never burn maps but does it to be able to go on ship with Mal
– Inej asked to kill but it is against her religious beliefs
– Alina’s guilt over leaving Mal and living in luxury as Grisha; her attraction to General Kirigan
<div>
ASSIGNMENT 2 – TROUBLE
LIST OF BIG PICTURE DIFFICULT SITUATIONS & DECISIONS RELATED TO MAIN CONFLICT
Undeserved misfortune:
– Scrap is cursed, destined to destroy humankind, the natural world
B. External character conflicts
Intentional – struggling against the restrictions of the Keep and Ruby and Bardo’s superstitions
– eluding Agrippa’s control and the machines
Unintentional – the Curse making Scrap disrupt and cause chaos wherever she goes
C. Plot intruding on life
– Toodie forced to betray Scrap and other underlings <div>
– Fidget is unreliable and causes Scrap to be captured by machines
– Ruby and Bardo trying to stop Scrap and the curse
– being mislead by the bully Nancy
D. Moral dilemmas
– Scrap lying to Ruby and Bardo to get freedom, even though she loves them
– Scrap may have to sacrifice Toodie to elude Agrippa
– Scrap may have to sacrifice herself to defeat the curse
</div></div></div>
Log in to reply.