[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 15 Assignment #2 (Build Meaning Over Multiple Experiences)

What I learned doing this assignment is the same as in #1 above.

Since my script is already written, I will need to give this particular assignment more thought and brainstorm if and where to inject/use profound dialogue over multiple scenes.

“Duty” is certainly a common theme and can perhaps be utilized to create greater/deeper meaning.

Also, “Shattered hopes and dreams” is another theme that pops up a few times.

I understand the exercise, and certainly “Here’s looking at you kid” is an awesome example.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 15 Assignment #1 (Height of the Emotion)

What I learned doing this assignment is that profound dialogue is most effective if it’s delivered at the “height of the emotion” and, if possible, spread over multiple experiences.

1. Setup: We are several weeks into training camp. Sgt. Heller is instructing the platoon in hand-to-hand combat techniques with rifles and scabbard-covered bayonets. Up to this point, Freddie has taken the brunt of Sgt. Heller’s verbal and physical abuse, and the rest of the platoon are aware. Sgt. Heller has already taken a couple men down. We close on Freddie, lost in thought. SGT. HELLER (O.S.) “I want y’all to focus!” PEARL (Freddie’s wife) (V.O.) “You can do anythin’ you set your mind on. You hear me? Anythin’.” SGT. HELLER (O.S.) “Next up!” JONAH (O.S.) “Go on, Freddie.” MOSES “Stick ’em, Freddie.” Freddie snaps out of his daze. Sgt. Heller prods him. SGT. HELLER “Show me what you got.” Freddie glances around. The platoon encourages him. SOLDIER (O.S.) “Go on.” SUGAR FOOT “You can do this.” Freddie summons his courage and pent-up frustration and lunges at Sgt. Heller, who blocks the oncoming bayonet. Sgt. Heller tries to fend Freddie off, but Freddie locks on and they struggle. Freddie eventually gets his foot behind Sgt. Heller’s leg and flips him onto his back. The men cheer and glance at one another in amazement. Freddie quickly points his scabbard-covered bayonet at Sgt. Heller’s throat. FREDDIE “That how you do it, sergeant?” SUGAR FOOT “We in deep shit now.”

Emotion: Elation. Freddie overcomes Sgt. Heller’s verbal and physical abuse.

Meaning of Scene: Freddie gains the confidence he needs to survive.

2. Setup: After arrival in the Meuse-Argonne sector of the Western Front, the 371st Infantry learns they have been loaned to the French army. Late one night, Freddie’s platoon polish off their first French Army wine ration. Freddie has had more than his share. He and his pals are rolling dice. FREDDIE “Y’all don’t feel betrayed?” SUGAR FOOT “You just gettin’ worked up for nothin’.” Moses picks up the dice and hands them to Sugar Foot. FREDDIE “Nothin? Where’s your dignity?” SUGAR FOOT (shaking dice) “What you talkin’?” MOSES “We all need to settle down.” Freddie takes a swig of wine. SUGAR FOOT “Come on, Lucky Lady. Let’s dance.” Sugar Foot rolls his dice. SUGAR FOOT “Shit.” JONAH “Look like you dancin’ by yourself, Suga.” SUGAR FOOT “Story a my life.” Freddie takes another swig of wine. Sugar Foot picks up the dice and offers them to Freddie. Freddie whacks the dice out of Sugar Foot’s hand. SUGAR FOOT “How that gonna help anythin’?” Freddie grabs the wine bottle and stands. FREDDIE “Nigga ain’t good enough to fight with the white man army! (louder) We ever gonna get respect?” Freddie now has the entire platoon’s attention. SUGAR FOOT “Who say we ain’t good enough?” Freddie takes another swig of wine. MOSES “Best go easy on that wine. You gonna have a big head in the mornin’.” JONAH “Don’t get no wine in the American army.” Freddie polishes off his cup. SUGAR FOOT “It don’t matter. American Army, French Army. We all fightin’ the same enemy.” FREDDIE (loud) “Are we?” The men ponder that thought. Freddie hurls his empty cup against the wall.

Emotion: Betrayal.

Meaning of Scene: Still dealing with home-grown prejudices (in France).

3. Setup: Freddie is promoted to corporal. He and his squad get the night off and stroll over to the next town, home of Regimental Headquarters. They are celebrating in a cafe with another black squad. Drinking, conversing, and dancing with the local women, mostly white. Suddenly, the front door is kicked open and a handful of white American MP’s burst in, wielding clubs, and break up the fun. Piano music stops, women scream, tables are kicked over, and several black soldiers are shoved about. Eventually all the black troops are shoved out onto the street. Moses stops in the middle of the street and glares back. SUGAR FOOT “C’mon.” MOSES “Where’s Freddie?” The last small group, including Freddie and Jonah, are shoved out the door and onto the street. MP#1 “Get outta here! And don’t come back!” Meanwhile, Sgt. Heller and is walking along the street. His attention is drawn to the commotion. He sees MP#1 whack Freddie on the back with his club, knocking him to the ground. Moses and Sugar Foot approach Freddie and Jonah. They help Freddie to his feet. FREDDIE “Son-of-a-bitch.” Outraged, Sgt. Heller quickly approaches and confronts MP#1. SGT. HELLER “Hey! Hey! What the hell you doin?” Before MP#1 can respond, Sgt. Heller slugs him. The MP falls. SGT. HELLER “These are my men! These are Americans!”

Emotion: Anger. Freddie beaten for color of skin.

Meaning of Scene: Sgt. Heller is a man of honor.

4. Setup: The 371st Infantry have spent three months in the trenches, followed by a brief leave in which Freddie, Moses, and Sugar Foot enjoy in Paris. The regiment is now back near the front, on the eve of battle. Freddie’s platoon are resting on a hillside, awaiting orders. Most of the men are sleeping. Freddie is lying on his back, gazing at the stars. Lt. Heller is sitting next to Freddie, drinking coffee. FREDDIE “Lieutenant, you scared?” LT. HELLER “Honestly, I don’t feel good about this one.” Freddie reflects for a moment. FREDDIE “Most folk will never see what we see. Know what we know. The guilt. Sense a purpose. Brotherhood.” Lt. Heller listens intently. FREDDIE “My whole life, I been lookin’ over my shoulder. Livin’ in fear. No more. People fight for what they want in this life. Make sacrifices.” LT. HELLER “It’s all right to be scared.” FREDDIE “I never been more at peace.”

Emotion: Coming to grips with own mortality.

Meaning of Scene: Finding inner peace.

5. Setup: The battle for Hill 188 is won. But for a few distant shell bursts, all is calm, peaceful. Moses cradles Freddie in his arms. He wipes a tear. MOSES ” Look at you.” Moses pulls Freddie’s Bible from his breast pocket. He opens the Bible and gazes at Pearl’s letter-envelope (that Freddie had stuck there prior to the battle). MOSES “How’m I ever gonna explain this?” Moses sets the envelope back in its place and sticks the Bible in his own breast pocket. Looking at Freddie, Moses spots a piece of American flag protruding from the top of his tunic. (This is the same flag Freddie removed from Lt. Heller when he was killed early in the battle.) Moses unbuttons a few of Freddie’s buttons and pulls the blood-soaked flag out. Moses clenches the flag with both hands, SCREAMS, then gently drapes it over Freddie and tries to smooth it out. Moses wipes another tear and pans No Man’s Land. Dozens of dead comrades lie scattered about. MOSES (O.S.) “Freddie, we done our duty.” Moses gazes at Freddie and wipes another tear. MOSES (softer) “We done our duty.”

Emotion: Loss. Moses loses his lifelong friend.

Meaning of Scene: Freddie performed his “duty” (above and beyond), but at what cost?

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 14 Assignment (Delivers Irony)

What I learned doing this assignment is that adding irony to a screenplay can add profound insight. Irony is a powerful tool.

1. In 1917, Freddie Stowers is drafted and mandated to risk his life for a country that suppresses his life. (Insight: Do your duty or face prosecution)

2. After slugging an MP for beating Freddie and his men with a club, Sgt. Heller is hauled away. One week later, Sgt. Heller returns to the platoon after being promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. (Insight: Virtue is its own reward)

3. On the eve of battle, Lt. Heller tells Freddie, “It’s all right to be scared.” After the horrors of life in the Jim Crow south and three months in the trenches on the Western Front, Freddie responds, “I never been more at peace.” (Insight: Finding inner peace in the face of mortality)

4. Freddie’s selfless acts of courage results in victory for his regiment and his country, but costs him his life. (Insight: Liberty comes at a price)

5. Following Freddie’s heroism on Hill 188, on September 28, 1918, he is recommended for the Medal of Honor by two white officers. Not until his “misplaced” file is discovered in the late 1980’s is his sacrifice rewarded. On April 24, 1991, nearly 73 years later, President George H.W. Bush awards the Medal of Honor (posthumously) to Freddie’s two surviving sisters (ages 96 and 91 at the time). Freddie Stowers is the first black soldier from either World War I or World War II to be awarded the Medal of Honor. (Insight: Systemic racism in the government and military)

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 13 Assignment (Delivers insights Through Conflict)

What I learned doing this assignment is that Conflict forces people into situations they aren’t always prepared to deal with, often forcing a reaction from a deeper place.

Using Conflict to express an Insight:

1. (Emotional issue) Early in the story, Freddie is up late one night gazing out the window at the cotton fields. Pearl is sleeping. Freddie has a flashback to age 8. He is playing tag in the nearby woods when he discovers the lynched body of his 65 year old friend, neighbor, and mentor Elijah. Over black, he screams. Back to present, Pearl puts her hand on Freddie’s back, startling him. Pearl, “We gonna be all right. Understand? Our plans just delayed some.” Freddie, “I worry ’bout your safety.” Pearl, “I’m fine. I’m not goin’ nowhere.” Pearl hugs Freddie, still gazing out the window, from behind. Freddie, “Maybe Suga Foot’s right. Maybe this war’ll someday give us a chance at a better life. Far from here.” Pearl, “Nobody’s gonna take our dreams away.”

2. (Emotional issue) Deep into training camp, Freddie confronts Cpl. Thomas after he kicks dirt in Jonah’s face. Jonah is a simple-minded recruit Freddie has befriended. “What the hell you doin’?” Cpl. Thomas, “Get outta my way.” Freddie, “Y’all trainin’ us to be soldiers or slaves?” Cpl. Thomas, “I said get outta my way!” Freddie grabs Cpl. Thomas. Sgt. Heller quickly jumps in and tries to separate the two. “That’s enough. Let go. Let go!” Ready to burst, Freddie eventually lets go. Sgt. Heller (to all), “Get back to work! Go on!” Freddie, “This is bullshit! Why we here?” Sgt. Heller, “It’s your duty!” Freddie, “We owe nothin’! To nobody!”

3. (True nature) Near the end of training camp, Freddie’s platoon plays a baseball game. Moses is playing catcher. Sugar Foot hits the ball. As Moses watches the ball sail into right field, Cpl. Thomas runs home and bowls over/blindsides Moses. Later that night, Freddie and Moses (with a bandage wrapped around his head) are sitting outside the barracks discussing their plight. Moses wipes a tear. “This ever gonna end?” Freddie, “We can’t control what other folk do, or say. Every man gotta search his own soul, colored or white, and be accountable for his own self. Moses nods. Freddie, “Remember what Pastor Reed say?” Freddie/Moses “Everybody meet their own come judgement day.” Moses cracks a half smile.

4. (Telling truth) After Freddie’s regiment is loaned to the French army, the men get their first wine ration. It’s late night and Freddie’s platoon are in their billets (a barn) for the night. Freddie and Sugar Foot are arguing about betrayal and dignity. It eventually gets loud and they have the entire platoon’s attention. Sugar Foot, “It don’t matter. American Army, French Army. We all fightin’ the same enemy.” Freddie (loud), “Are we?” The men ponder that thought. Freddie hurls his empty cup against the wall.

5. (Secret) Late in the story, Freddie’s unit has moved up to within five miles of the front. Most of the men are sleeping on a hillside, awaiting orders. Freddie is lying back, gazing at the stars. Lt. Heller sits next to Freddie, drinking coffee. Freddie, “Lieutenant, you scared?” Lt. Heller, “Honestly, I don’t feel good about this one.” Freddie reflects a moment. “Most folk will never see what we see. Know what we know. The guilt. Sense of purpose. Brotherhood.” Lt. Heller listens intently. Freddie continues, “My whole life, I been lookin’ over my shoulder. Livin’ in fear. No more. People fight for what they want in this life. Make sacrifices.” Lt. Heller, “It’s all right to be scared.” Freddie, “I never been more at peace.”

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 12 #2 Assignment (Turns Insights Into Actions)

What I learned doing this assignment is that showing insights through action is more powerful than verbalizing those insights.

Action expressing insights:

1. Through the first few weeks of training camp Sgt. Heller appears to be picking on Freddie, both verbally and physically during various drills. One day, Freddie has had enough. During a hand-to-hand combat drill, Freddie summons his courage and pent-up frustration and lunges at Sgt. Heller with his scabbard-covered bayonet. Sgt. Heller tries to fend Freddie off, but Freddie locks on and they struggle. Freddie eventually gets his foot behind Sgt. Heller’s leg and flips him onto his back. The men CHEER and glance at one another in amazement. Freddie quickly points his scabbard-covered bayonet at Sgt. Heller’s throat. “That how you do it, sergeant?”

2. Freddie and his squad are enjoying a night off in a French cafe, drinking and dancing with the local women, mostly white. Suddenly, the front door is kicked in and a handful of white American MP’s burst in and break up the fun. Later, as the men are shoved out the front door onto the street, Sgt. Heller is walking by. His attention is drawn to the commotion and sees Freddie getting whacked on the back with an MP’s club. Outraged, Sgt. Heller quickly approaches and confronts the MP. “Hey! Hey! What the hell you doin?” Before the MP can respond, Sgt. Heller slugs him and the MP falls. “These are my men! These are Americans!”

3. Following a trench raid late at night in which Freddie kills his first German, he is washing up and in a very dark, empty space. Sgt. (now Lt.) Heller tries talking to him, but is not connecting. Lt. Heller allows Freddie a few moments to collect himself then extends his canteen. “Here. Must be thirsty.” Freddie hesitates. (Of course, he must be thinking about the whites only and colored water fountains back home.) Lt. Heller, “Go on, it’s clean.” Freddie wipes his mouth on his sleeve, accepts the canteen, and takes a good gulp.

4. We learn early in the story that Freddie can’t write. He’s practicing his letters, slow and methodical, a bit sloppy, upper case followed by lower case. Frustrated, he scratches the last botched letter and drops his pencil on the table. Before returning to the front lines in France for the final big battle Freddie receives a letter from his wife Pearl. Lt. Heller learns Freddie can’t write. Lt. Heller glances at his watch, pulls out his small notepad and pen, then sits back down on the wall next to Freddie. “Tell me what you wanna say.” After some hesitation, Freddie dictates a beautiful letter to Pearl in Lt. Heller’s handwriting.

5. Before heading up to the front lines for the first time, Lt. Heller’s patriotism compels him to conceal his American flag under his tunic. (The regiment is fighting with the French army.) When Lt. Heller is mortally wounded in the final battle for Hill 188, Freddie rips open his tunic to try and patch him up and sees the tattered, blood-soaked flag. In a show of solidarity, after Lt. Heller succumbs, Freddie removes the flag and stuffs it down the front of his own tunic.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 12 #1 Assignment (Seabiscuit Analysis)

What I learned doing this assignment is that while dialogue can be profound we can generate greater impact be delivering insight through profound moments (action). Show, don’t tell.

Profound Moments:

1. Opening stills with V.O. up to and including “Within five years, Ford turned out a vehicle every ninety seconds.”

2. Tom’s love of the West and taming horses.

3. Stills of the 1929 crash and V.O. “Millions of Americans had a new definition of home.”

4. Close up of Red with tears in his eyes, while watching horse race. Demonstrating his love. Followed by his father handing him the bag of books and saying, “You have a gift.”

5. Frankie (Charles’ son) reading Flash Gordon and saying, “It’s about the future.”

6. Frankie’s death.

7. Red going from getting pummeled in the ring to reading his poetry book. Retreating to Old Ways.

8. Tom demonstrating compassion and his connection to horses by taming the horse about to be shot.

9. Charles standing on a balcony watching the kids kick a ball around. What could have been?

10. Tom to Charles after saving horse, “You don’t throw a whole life away just because he’s banged up a little.”

11. Charles to Tom, “You always tell the truth?”

12. Red “hot walking” through the fog with horse and looking him in the eye. Shows deep connection.

13. Charles, “What exactly do you like about that horse (Seabiscuit)?” Tom, “That spirit!”

14. Tom viewing three men trying to tame SB, then Red fighting with other jockey’s.

15. Tom, re SB, “Just needs to be a horse again.”

16. SB running like the wind with Red on his back. “You’re an amazing horse!”

17. Red reading in the stable while Tom sleeps under a tree, instead of the comfort of the manor.

18. SB sleeping with dog and other horse in stable to calm down.

19. Re Red, “What are you so mad at?”

20. Red standing at high bridge looking over edge, then contemplates tossing book bag over with V.O. from his father, “You have a gift.”

21. Charles, “The future is the finish line!”

22. Re Sam and War Admiral, Charles, “There stuck in the past. We’re the future.”

23. After Red admits he can’t see out of one eye, Charles to Tom, “You don’t throw a whole life away just because he’s banged up a little.” Throwing his own words back at him.

24. Re chances against War Admiral, “Horse too small. Jockey too big. Trainer too old…”

25. Training at Pimlico, SB running in the dark. Followed by Tom being hounded by reporters next mid-morning. “When are we going to see Biscuit run.” Tom, “He’s sleeping.”

26. Red to George (new Jockey), “Let him (SB) look Admiral in the eye.” Paraphrasing, “He won’t win with his feet. It’s his heart.”

27. Re Pimlico race, stills of people all over America listening to the radio with McCullough’s V.O. “Forty million American’s would hear the call.” Captured the nation.

28. Back at Santa Anita, woman smacking/cleaning rug as SB comes up lame with popped ligament.

29. Red in a cast and SB in a cast meet/hug. Recoup together. “Brick by brick my citizen’s.”

30. Red dining with Charles and Marcela, loading his plate to get his strength back, followed by a couple scenes later Red dining with Charles and Marcela, and skimping on the portions to get his weight down to ride again.

31. SB (with George on his back) sees Red approaching and whinnies. Touching.

32. Red to Charles, “Biscuit made me better! You made me better!”

33. George to Charles, “Better to break a man’s leg, than his heart.”

34. Final race at Santa Anita. Marcela sits in the stables. Can’t watch. Then we see her standing on the hood of a car watching, “C’mon Biscuit!”

35. V.O., “Everyone thinks we found this broken horse and fixed him. He fixed us. And each other.”

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 11 Assignment (Living Metaphors)

What I learned doing this assignment is that we can challenge Old Ways if we can get our audience to question their own beliefs, and that we can do this by using two models, “Should work, but doesn’t” and “Living metaphors.”

5 Should Work, But Doesn’t Challenges:

1. Setup: Training Camp is nearly complete. Freddie’s lifelong friend and comrade Moses is playing catcher at a platoon baseball game. As he watches Sugar Foot’s hit sail into right field he is blindsided/bowled over by Cpl. Thomas, crossing home plate. Later that night Freddie notices Moses is not in his bunk and finds him sitting outside the barracks, alone. FREDDIE “You okay?” Moses reflects, eyes welling with tears. MOSES “Them German folk. They never done us no harm, did they?” FREDDIE “Not that I reckon. The government want everybody to believe our very existence is threatened.” MOSES “Hell, our existence more threatened walkin’ into town on a Friday night.” Freddie nods. FREDDIE “Look at me.” Moses wipes a tear and glances at Freddie. FREDDIE “We gonna get through this. All of us. Together.” Reluctantly, Moses nods. FREDDIE “Listen, if we gonna get home in one piece, we just gotta do our job best we can. The rest’ll sort itself out, like it always do.” Moses wipes another tear. MOSES “This ever gonna end?” FREDDIE “We can’t control what other folk do, or say. Every man gotta search his own soul, colored or white, and be accountable for his own self.”

2. Setup: Freddie is home for Christmas leave. It’s late at night. Freddie is going to war the next morning. He is lying in bed, back to Pearl, gazing at the wall. PEARL “Please, talk to me.” Freddie is unresponsive. PEARL “It’s gonna be all right.” FREDDIE (snapping) You don’t know that. You got no idea. I got no idea.” Pearl puts her hand on Freddie’s shoulder, trying to comfort him. PEARL “You’ll get through this. I know you will. And when you get back, just think a the whole new world we gonna experience, together, as a family.”

3. Setup: Freddie is hanging out with his buddies on the deck of the ship, crossing the Atlantic. They are trying to figure out shuffleboard. It’s rather funny, and sad, at the same time. JONAH “Go on, Freddie. Try it.” Jonah hands Freddie a puck. He turns and flicks it like a frisbee. The puck bounces and slides past the board. Everyone laughs. FREDDIE “That ain’t right.” MOSES “You ain’t supposed to look. Watch.” Moses turns his back to the board and tosses the puck over his shoulder. The puck bounces and misses the board. Everyone boo’s. SUGAR FOOT “Nah, this how ya do it.” Sugar Foot turns his back to the board and bends over. He tosses the puck between his legs, like he’s hiking a football. It lands cleanly on number 8. Everybody cheers. Sgt. Heller comes into view, chuckling. SGT. HELLER “What the hell y’all doin’?” JONAH “Suga’s teachin’ us a new game.” SGT. HELLER “Let me show y’all how to play.” FREDDIE “We good sergeant. Just havin’ some fun.” SUGAR FOOT “Go on, sergeant, show us.” Freddie acquiesces, as Sgt. Heller walks over to the wall, grabs a cue-stick, and returns to the board. SGT. HELLER “Need a cue-stick. Then y’all gotta get behind this line. Gimme a puck.” Jonah hands Sgt. Heller a puck. He sets it down behind the line and, using the cue-stick, properly slides it towards the board. Sgt. Heller’s puck knocks Sugar Foot’s puck off the board and lands cleanly on number 7. Everyone cheers. SGT. HELLER “Lucky seven. You lose.” SUGAR FOOT “Damn.” Freddie cracks a wry smile.

4. Setup: It’s night. Freddie’s platoon are in their billets. An old barn. That morning, the regiment learned it had been loaned/transferred to the French Army. The men have already voiced their anger to Sgt. Heller (who is also upset). Some of the men are playing dice and all are drinking their first French Army wine ration. Freddie has had too much to drink, and he’s not done venting. FREDDIE “Y’all don’t feel betrayed?” SUGAR FOOT “You just gettin’ worked up for nothin’.” Moses picks up the dice and hands then to Sugar Foot. FREDDIE “Nothin’? Where’s your dignity?” SUGAR FOOT (shaking dice) “What you talkin’?” MOSES “We all need to settle down.” Freddie takes a swig of wine. SUGAR FOOT “Come on, Lucky Lady. Let’s dance.” Sugar Foot rolls his dice. SUGAR FOOT “Shit.” JONAH “Look like you dancin’ by yourself, Suga.” SUGAR FOOT “Story a my life.” Freddie takes another swig of wine. Sugar Foot picks up the dice and offers them to Freddie. He whacks the dice out of Sugar Foot’s hand. SUGAR FOOT “How that gonna help anythin’?” Enraged, Freddie grabs the wine bottle and stands. FREDDIE “Nigga ain’t good enough to fight with the white man army! (louder) We ever gonna get respect?” Freddie now has the entire platoon’s attention. SUGAR FOOT “Who say we ain’t good enough?” Freddie takes another swig of wine. MOSES “Best go easy on that wine. You gonna have a big head in the mornin’.” JONAH “Don’t get no wine in the American Army.” Freddie polishes off his cup. SUGAR FOOT “It don’t matter. American Army, French Army. We all fightin’ the same enemy.” FREDDIE (loud) “Are we?” As the men ponder that thought, Freddie hurls his empty cup against the wall.

5. Setup: Freddie has been promoted to corporal. His squad walks over to the next town, home of regimental headquarters, and joins another black squad enjoying their night off in a cafe. The men are having a great time, dancing, drinking, and conversing with the locals. Mostly young white women. Moses is playing Maple Leaf Rag on the piano. Suddenly, the front door is kicked open and a half dozen white American MP’s break up the fun. We pick up with the men being shoved out the front door. MP#1 “Get outta here! And don’t come back!” Meanwhile, Sgt. Heller and Cpl. (now Sgt.) Thomas are walking along the street, laughing. Sgt. Heller’s attention is drawn towards the commotion. His POV – MP#1 whacks Freddie on the back, knocking him to the ground. Outraged, Sgt. Heller quickly approaches and confronts MP#1. SGT. HELLER “Hey! Hey! What the hell you doin’?” Before MP#1 can respond, Sgt. Heller slugs him. He falls. SGT. HELLER “These are my men! These are Americans!” Sgt. Heller is quickly restrained by two other MP’s as the MP IN CHARGE approaches. Freddie steps towards the MP’s restraining Sgt. Heller, but Moses holds him back. MOSES “Stay out of it.” MP IN CHARGE “Sergeant, fraternizing with French women is strictly prohibited.” SGT. HELLER “You mean white women!” MP IN CHARGE “Just following orders.” SGT. HELLER (loud) “Whose orders?” MP#1 gets up off the ground and wipes the blood off his lip. MP#1 “You’ll pay for this.” SGT. HELLER “We all gonna pay for swine like you.” MP IN CHARGE “Get ’em outta here.” Dejected, Freddie peers at Sgt. Heller as he struggles to break loos.

5 Living Metaphor Challenges:

1. BASEBALL BAT. Same setup as #1 above. Freddie is taking practice swings in the on-deck circle when Moses is bowled over. As Cpl. Thomas picks himself up and dusts off, Freddie approaches, bat in hand. As he draws the bat back, Sgt. Heller flies into view and tackles Freddie. Determined to gain superiority, Freddie and Sgt. Heller roll over a few times. Eventually, Sgt. Heller pins Freddie down. FREDDIE “That son-of-a-bitch gonna get his!” Freddie struggles to get up. SGT. HELLER “Don’t be a fool. Wanna spend the rest a your life behind bars?”

2. TROOP TRANSPORT. The 371st Infantry is at the Newport News docks. Confined behind a tall chain-linked fence, dozens of men, women, and children, dock workers and local families, mostly black, are cheering as the regiment boards a large troop transport. Many wave American flags. The First Platoon, single file queue, advances slowly towards the gangplank. Freddie’s eyes wander up the bow of the massive hull and lock on the name of the steamer, ‘USS President Grant.’ FAMILY MAN (OS) “Good luck, boys! Give ’em hell!” DOCK WORKER (OS) Show ’em what we Americans are made of!” Freddie turns and fixes his gaze on a cute black girl behind the fence, age 6, excited, waving a tiny American flag. (Note: the 371st actually sailed to France on the USS President Grant. Can’t can’t make this stuff up.)

3. CANTEEN. While in the front line trenches, Freddie is selected to go on a German trench raid to obtain any information that might be found regarding enemy strength, positions, etc. Freddie kills his first man. When he returns, he’s in a very dark space. Sgt. (now Lt.) Heller tries to console Freddie. He eventually offers him his canteen. LT. HELLER “You must be thirsty.” Freddie hesitates. LT. HELLER “Go on, it’s clean.” Freddie wipes his mouth on his sleeve and takes a good gulp.

4. LETTER. After his leave in Paris and before heading back to the front line, Freddie receives a letter and photograph from Pearl. Freddie confides in Lt. Heller that when he was young he learned to read scripture and add up numbers, but never learned to write words, proper-like. LT. HELLER “You don’t know how to write?” FREDDIE “Not good enough to say what’s on my mind.” Lt. Heller glances at his watch, pulls out his small notepad and pen, then sits on the wall next to Freddie. LT. HELLER “Tell me what you wanna say.” FREDDIE “Serious? I can’t do that.” LT. HELLER “Go on.” FREDDIE “Nah.” Freddie hesitates, lost in thought. LT. HELLER “I’m ready.” Freddie searches for the right words,. FREDDIE “Okay. (shyly) Dear Pearl…”

5. AMERICAN FLAG. While gazing at an American flag, fluttering above the barracks, as he enters Camp Jackson, Freddie is tripped by a white recruit. Fast forward to France. Preparing to move up to the front line, Lt. Heller is reprimanded for carrying his American flag. CAPT. WHARTON “Leave it here. We’re fighting with the French.” LT. Heller disobeys orders and conceals his American flag under his tunic. Fast forward to Hill 188. Final battle scene. Lt. Heller is hit. Freddie tries desperately to save his life. He rips open Lt. Heller’s tunic and pauses. The tattered, blood-soaked American flag is still wrapped around his waist. Freddie removes the flag and stuffs it down the front of his own tunic. When Freddie is killed, Moses spots a piece of the flag under Freddie’s tunic and pulls it out. Moses clenches the flag with both hands, screams, then drapes it over Freddie’s body.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 10 Assignment (Challenging Old Ways – Counterexamples)

What I learned doing this assignment is that by challenging the Old Ways with “questions” and “counterexamples” we can, perhaps, get people to reconsider their way of thinking or behaving.

5 Question Challenges to an Old Way:

1. ELIJAH “Make me a promise?” FREDDIE (age 8) “Anythin’ ‘Lijah.” ELIJAH “There’s a great big world out yonder, waitin’ just for you. Never surrender your hopes, and dreams. Dream big.”

2. CPL. THOMAS “Think the army’s gonna let these niggas fight?” SGT. HELLER “Best heed how you refer to my men, corporal.”

3. FREDDIE “Why should we risk our lives for a country that treats us like dirt?” SUGAR FOOT “Can’t you see? If we fight, we can show everybody what we made of. What we can do. Our opportunities will come.”

4. MOSES (after being abused) “This ever gonna end? FREDDIE “We can’t control what other folk do, or say. Every man gotta search his own soul, colored or white, and be accountable for his own self.”

5. SGT. HELLER “How can we ask a man, any man, to fight and maybe die for his country when his country don’t want ’em?” CPL. THOMAS “I don’t understand.”

5 Counterexamples to an Old Way (using Experience):

1. Sgt. Heller slugs an MP who has whacked Freddie in the back with his club. (Stark contrast to home where whites would stand back and watch, or participate, in the beatings of black men and boys.

2. Lt. Heller (promoted) shares his canteen with Freddie after a trench raid in which Freddie kills his first man, and survives a near-death situation. (Stark contrast to the Whites and Colored Only water fountains back home.)

3. Freddie’s short leave in Paris fulfills his dream of seeing the ‘big-city.’ Freddie, Moses, and Sugar Foot slowly make their way along the crowded street. Parisians of every nationality come and go. / A handful of young French soldiers pass in the opposite direction. Mixed races, drunk, laughing. / Freddie glances around. The club is filled with a diverse crowd of soldiers and civilians, young and old, men and women, mixed races, enjoying their evening (watching Lt. James Reese Europe, black American, and his octet play Memphis Blues). This experience didn’t exist in South Carolina.

4. After learning that Freddie can’t write, Lt. Heller writes a letter to Pearl, Freddie’s wife. Freddie dictates a beautiful letter. Also describes Lt. Heller to Pearl. (Lt. Heller demonstrates his compassion, not afforded Freddie back home.)

5. Following Lt. Heller’s death on Hill 188, Freddie removes the tattered, blood-soaked American flag he had concealed under his tunic. Freddie stuffs the flag down the front of his own tunic and carries it forward into battle. (Less than a year earlier, Freddie was tripped by a white recruit while gazing at an American flag, entering Camp Jackson.)

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 9 Assignment #2 (Shifting Belief Systems)

What I learned doing this assignment is that if we hope to change people’s lives with our films we need to shift their way of thinking. We do this by presenting the “old ways” as the norm, “challenging” the old ways, and presenting “new ways” through profound moments (either through action or dialogue).

OLD WAYS:

Film set in 1917 Jim Crow South Carolina (racist environment).

Racist cotton field foreman.

Racist manor owner: RECRUITMENT OFFICER “Sir, we understand this years crop is late, but the war goes on just the same. The army needs these men now.” MANOR OWNER “Capt’n, you can tell General Pershin’ that my niggas ain’t goin’ nowhere, drafted or not, ’til every boll in this crop is picked clean.”

Uneducated. Freddie can read with effort. He can’t write.

Stuck in a rut: MOSES (lifelong friend and comrade) “Freddie, we been workin’ this land a long time.” FREDDIE “This ain’t no life! Ain’t no future here!” MOSES “It’s a livin’.” FREDDIE “We better than that. A lot better.”

Dislike/Distrust Country: FREDDIE “Nobody want justice and liberty more than me, but why should we risk our lives for a country that treats us like dirt?” SUGAR FOOT (lifelong friend and comrade) “Can’t you see? If we fight, we can show everybody what we made of. What we can do. Our opportunities will come.” FREDDIE “Suga, you a damn fool if you think fightin’ this war gonna make any difference in our lives.”

Dislike/Distrust White People: Cotton Field Foreman, rednecks who lynched Elijah (Freddie’s childhood friend and mentor), white recruit PEAVEY. Entering Camp Jackson, Peavey trips Freddie. Moses and Sugar Foot help Freddie to his feet. Seething, Freddie turns and stares at Peavey. PEAVEY “C’mon, nigga! Show the army what you got. C’mon!” STOCKY WHITE RECRUIT “Peavey, knock it off.” Without saying a word, Freddie picks up his bag, turns away with Moses and Sugar Foot, and continues along the road. PEAVEY ” Hey, boy! Look like you turnin’ yella’!”

CHALLENGES:

Freddie driven to provide a better, safer life for family.

Freddie ignores racist insults, ridicule, laughter.

Freddie stands up to Sgt. Heller’s harsh training camp treatment.

Freddie confronts Cpl. Thomas’ racist/physical attack.

Sgt. Heller defends his men: CPL. THOMAS “Think the army’s gonna let these nigga’s fight?” SGT. HELLER “Best heed how you refer to my men, corporal.”

Sgt. Heller’s gaze at Freddie, with curiosity.

Officer’s confidence in men: COL. MILES “Congratulations, captain. I’ve had nothing but good reports.” CAPT. WHARTON: “Thank you, colonel. The men have made remarkable progress.” COL. MILES “Tell me. Honestly. Can we count on these colored boys?” CAPT. WHARTON “If my life depended on it.”

Pearl’s optimism: “You’ll get through this. I know you will. And when you get back, just think a the whole new world we gonna experience, together, as a family.”

Community backing: BLACK DOCK WORKER “Good luck, boys! Give ’em hell! Show ’em what we Americans made of!”

Sgt. Heller showing his men how to play shuffleboard.

Sgt. Heller confiding in Freddie about being beaten as a child for having a “colored” friend.

Sgt. Heller’s anger for being loaned to the French Army: “How can we ask a man, any man, to fight and maybe die for his country when his country don’t want ’em?”

Freddie’s development as a leader and promotion to corporal.

Sgt. Heller’s defense of his men (as Freddie is whacked by an MP’s club on the back): “Hey! Hey! What the hell are you doin?” Before the MP can respond, Sgt. Heller slugs him. “These are my men! These are Americans!”

Sgt. (now LT.) Heller’s return to the platoon after being hauled away by the MP’s: “Thank God our regimental command staff have a sensible ear.”

Lt. Heller’s speech to the platoon before heading off to the front line to fight with the French Army (excerpt): “No matter what happens in the days ahead, your country owes you a lasting debt. Never let anybody tell you different.”

Lt. Heller concealing his American flag under his tunic.

Lt. Heller sharing his canteen with Freddie after a trench raid in which Freddie kills his first man, and narrowly escapes death.

Freddie’s short visit to Paris (while on leave) with Moses and Sugar Foot. The ‘big-city’ he’s always dreamed of. Harmony. Diversity.

Freddie’s trust in Lt. Heller. Confides he can’t write.

Lt. Heller’s willingness to write a letter to Pearl for Freddie. Freddie dictates.

Freddie confides in LT. Heller his hopes and fears: FREDDIE “My whole life, I been lookin’ over my shoulder. Livin’ in fear. No more. People fight for what they want in this life. Make sacrifices.” LT. HELLER “It’s all right to be scared.” FREDDIE “I never been more at peace.”

Cpl. Thomas is struck in the neck and choking on his own blood. Freddie darts onto the road as bullets spat about and drags Cpl. Thomas into a ditch. He tries everything he can to save him. Cpl. Thomas dies in Freddie’s arms.

The loss of his friend and commander (Lt. Heller), as well as the discovery of the American flag concealed under Lt. Heller’s tunic, inspires Freddie to act “above and beyond the call of duty,” and lead his regiment to victory on Hill 188.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 9 Assignment #1 (Shifting Belief Systems)

What I learned doing this assignment is that if we hope to change people’s lives with our films we need to shift their way of thinking. We do this by presenting the “old ways” as the norm, “challenging” the old ways, and presenting “new ways” through profound moments (either through action or with dialogue).

12 Angry Men Analysis

Administration of Justice is the First Pillar of Good

ASSUMPTION OF GUILT

Old Ways: Juror #2 “I just think he’s guilty. Nobody proved otherwise.” #3 to #7 “We’re trying to put a guilty man in the electric chair and you change your vote!” #7 He’s guilty. You can talk for 100 years, you won’t change my mind.”

Challenge: #8 (Fonda) “We have a reasonable doubt.”

JUST WANT THIS OVER

Old Ways: The judge seemed uninterested. Juror #3 ” Those lawyers talk and talk even when it’s an open and shut case.” #7 “Let’s get out of here pretty quick, I got tickets to the ball game tonight.” #7 to #8 “You do-gooders are all alike. I’m tired of all this yackity-yack.” #8 to #9 “He can’t here you. Never will.”

NOT CARING

Old Ways: Juror #3 “I almost fell asleep” and “Rotten kids. You work your life out for them.” #4 “The kids entire story was flimsy.” #7 to #8 in bathroom, “What are you getting out of this, kicks?” #11 to #7 (after #7’s not guilty vote) “What kind of man are you, playing with a man’s life? All you care about is the baseball game.” #12 (Ad man) always has work on his mind.

Challenge: When #8 sees #3 and #12 playing tic-tac-toe, he grabs their sheet. “This isn’t a game.”

PREJUDICE

Old Ways: Juror #3 “I’d tap those tough kids down before they start any trouble.” #10 “I’ve lived among them my whole life. You can’t believe a word they say. They’re born liars.” Also, “Boy, oh boy. There’s always one. We don’t owe him a thing.”

Challenge: #8 “Prejudice always obscures the truth.”

NOT LOOKING BENEATH SURFACE

Old Ways: Juror #9 to #3 (re: change of vote) “Only an ignorant man would say that. He (#7) didn’t change his vote. I did.” #10 to #2 “You think too much. You’re getting mixed up.” #11 “He looks guilty on the surface, but we should look deeper.”

Challenge: #8 “I have lots of questions.” #11 “Why did the boy come home? I’m simply asking questions.”

ASSUMING EVIDENCE IS NOT QUESTIONNABLE

Old Ways: Juror #3 “Facts are proven a dozen different ways. Can’t refute facts.” #10 (re: woman witness across street) “I don’t care about facts.”

Challenge: #8 “I’m not trying to change your minds.” and, “The burden of proof is on the prosecution.”

ASSUMING WITNESSES WERE ACCURATE

Old Ways: Juror #3 (re; old man witness) “He’s an old man. How can he be positive about anything?” #5 “Witnesses can make mistakes.”

Challenge: #4 (on being questioned by Fonda about the movies he saw earlier in the week) “And you aren’t under emotional stress.” #8 “People make mistakes.” And “Suppose two eye witnesses were wrong?” #? (re: woman’s potential lack of wearing eye glasses when she looked out window) “You can’t send a man off to die with evidence (or lack of) like that.”

ASSUMING DEFENSE ATTORNEY DID HIS JOB

Old Ways:

Juror #11 (re: prosecutor) “I think he did an excellent job.”

Challenge: #8 “Defense council let many things go by.”

ASSUMING CASE IS COMPLETELY LOGICAL

Old Ways:

#6 to #8 “Suppose you talk all of us out of this and the kid really did knife his father?”

Challenge: #3 rips up the photo of his own kid (who he had made a man of) and breaks down crying.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 8 Assignment (Profound Ending)

What I learned doing this assignment is to construct an ending that will stick in the audience’s minds for the rest of their lives. To do this, I must use the final scene or series of scenes to “payoff” the most profound “setups” in the story.

Logline: (Based on a true story) Drafted into World War I, a humble black farmhand struggles to reconcile his life in the Jim Crow south with his “duty to country,” before leading his regiment in the bloody capture of a German stronghold.

1. Profound Truth: Some things worth fighting for in life are greater than self. Love. Honor. Liberty.

2. Completed Change: Both lead characters, Change Agent and Transformable, die.

3. Setups/Payoffs: The two primary setups occur early in the script. First, on page 21. Still downhearted, Freddie enters Camp Jackson and plods along a muddy tract between a row of barracks. He ignores the white recruits who are laughing, ridiculing, and insulting the black recruits, and gazes at a large American flag fluttering above the barracks. Given his life so far, one can only imagine what is going through his mind when he sees the American flag. This setup is bolstered on page 72 when the 371st Infantry is preparing to move up to the front lines. Lt. Heller is told to leave his American flag behind because they are fighting with the French. Angered, Lt. Heller conceals the flag under his tunic. The second primary setup occurs on page 34 when Lt. Heller breaks up a fight between Freddie and Cpl. Thomas. Heller, “Get back to work! Go on!” Freddie, “This is bullshit! Why we here?” Heller, “IT’S YOUR DUTY!”

4. Inevitable Ending Design: In the final sequence of battle scenes Lt. Heller is mortally wounded. Freddie pulls him into a shell hole and tries desperately to stop the bleeding. Freddie rips open Lt. Heller’s tunic and sees the tattered, blood-soaked American flag. He grieves at the loss of his friend, then recognizes the flag represents the symbol of hope they are all, deep down, fighting for. Freddie eventually removes the flag and stuffs it down the front of his own tunic. After selflessly making his way across No Man’s Land and taking out the menacing German machine-gun (allowing his men to advance), as well as the officer who initiated the surrender ruse, Freddie pushes on. We expect Freddie to survive at this point, but he doesn’t.

5. Parting Image/Line(s): Occurs in the final two-scene sequence, before the CUT TO BLACK and postscript. In the first scene, the battle for Hill 188 is won. But for a few distant shell bursts, all is calm, peaceful. Moses (friend since childhood) cradles Freddie in his arms in a shell hole. He wipes a tear. “Look at you.” Moses pulls Freddie’s Bible from his breast pocket. He opens the Bible and gazes at Pearl’s envelope (last letter to Freddie). “How’m I ever gonna explain this?” Moses sets the envelope back in its place and sticks the Bible in his own breast pocket. Gazing at Freddie, Moses spots a piece of American flag protruding from the top of his tunic. Moses unbuttons a few of Freddie’s buttons and pulls the blood-soaked flag out. Moses clenches the flag with both hands, SCREAMS, then gently drapes it over Freddie and tries to smooth it out. Moses wipes another tear and pans No Man’s Land. Dozens of dead comrades lie scattered about. Moses (O.S.), ” Freddie, we done our duty.” Moses wipes another tear. Moses (softer), “We done our duty.” In the final scene, the 371st Infantry survivors solemnly observe the burial of their shrouded dead, row upon row. More than one-hundred. Moses stands alone, Freddie’s Bible in hand. Col. Miles, Capt. Vivies, and Capt. Wharton (leg bandaged and leaning on a cane) stand nearby. The next cross his hammered into the ground. As Lt. Heller is laid to rest, Moses opens Freddie’s Bible to the page where he placed the envelope. Moses (V.O.), “This is my commandment. That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” Moses pauses as the next cross is hammered into the ground. As Freddie is laid to rest next to Lt. Heller, Moses continues (O.S.), “Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends.” (Note: We know it is Lt. Heller and Freddie because we close on their names, painted on the crossbar of the crosses.) Clutching Freddie’s Bible over his heart, Moses invokes every fiber his soul can bear and sings: AMAZING GRACE. The burial detail stops. Everyone is still. Soon all the officers and men are singing.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 7 Assignment ( Connecting With Audiences)

What I learned doing this assignment is that a key to a successful story is to have the audience feel connected to the lead characters, and it is my job to intentionally cause them to connect via relatability, intrigue, empathy, and/or likability.

Character: Freddie Stowers

A. Relatability: In the beginning we see Freddie picking cotton under a searing sun. He is badgered to work harder by the white foreman. Most of us have been pushed to the brink at some time in our lives by a parent, boss, teacher, coach, etc. Freddie and wife Pearl dream of moving to the north for a better, safer life. Most of us have dreams/goals, and applaud those who have the fortitude to chase what they want. When Freddie has to say goodbye to his family it is heartbreaking. Most of us have had to say goodbye to someone or something we love.

B. Intrigue: We connect with Freddie via two flashbacks to his childhood (age 8). First, Freddie is sitting at a table in his bedroom, practicing his letters. He doesn’t know how to write. (Note: He can read with effort due to his early learning of scripture.) Frustrated with the mistakes he’s making he slams his pencil down, picks up a dominoes box on the corner of the table, and pulls out a tile. Lost in thought, he gazes at the tile. We flashback to Elijah, black, gaunt, aged beyond his 65 years, sitting on his front porch teaching Freddie how to play dominoes. Freddie and Elijah converse about life. It is clear Elijah is a mentor figure to Freddie. When Freddie realizes it’s late he dashes off. In the second flashback scene, before Freddie says goodbye to his family and heads off to training camp, he is staring out his bedroom window, pensive, at the moonlit fields. Pearl is asleep. A light gust rustles some nearby trees, catching his attention. He is now playing tag in the woods with Moses (sub-character) and two other pals, all age 8. Freddie covers his eyes and counts to ten while the others scatter. Freddie opens his eyes and starts running through the woods in search of his friends. In the meantime, three drunk rednecks walk up a tract, laughing. Freddie hides behind a thick tree trunk as they pass then runs down the tract in the opposite direction, once they are out of sight. When Freddie gets to a clearing he stops and bends over to catch his breath. He spots a domino tile in the dirt, then another, then a third. He picks them up, stands erect, and glances around. As we pull back, a pair of old boots slowly appear, suspended above Freddie’s head. Over black, Freddie screams.

C. Empathy: We empathize with Freddie, laboring in the cotton field under a searing sun and being bullied by the foreman. We empathize with his frustration, trying to practice his letter writing. We empathize with his plight. “Why should we fight for a country that treats us like dirt?” While plodding into training camp with his suitcase, Freddie gazes at an American flag fluttering above the barracks. A white recruit, Peavey, sticks his foot out and trips Freddie. He tumbles into a mud puddle. Several white recruits laugh.

D. Likability: In the beginning, Freddie is in a barn late at night cleaning a tractor air filter. Moses enter with a pitch fork to bale some hay. He tells Freddie to go home, he’ll clean up. Freddie says, “Promised I’d get this tractor runnin’ before I turn in.” We know Freddie’s goal is to move to the north. He encourages Moses to Join he and Pearl. Freddie displays concern for his friend Moses when he says he’d rather stay put. “This is home.” Freddie’s obvious love and concern for Pearl and her safety. Freddie’s love for his family and special attention paid to his youngest sister, Mary, age 10. Freddie asks her to help Pearl when the baby comes along. First morning in the barracks, Freddie and the rest of the recruits are under the gun to get dressed and hustle outside. Freddie reverses course, drops to a knee and helps Jonah (sub-character), simple-minded, tie his boots. (Note: Earlier we saw Jonah entering the camp in his bare feet.)

Character: Pearl (Freddie’s wife)

Relatability: Loving wife. Shares Freddie’s dream. Shares Freddie’s concern for her safety. Tries to diffuse Freddie’s concerns.

Empathy: In the beginning we see Pearl on her hands and knees scrubbing a factory floor. She’s exhausted and collapses onto her elbows. Another laborer helps Pearl to her feet. She turns and, holding her baby bump, reveals she is seven months pregnant. We empathize with Pearl when she has to say goodbye to Freddie.

Likability: We like how Pearl appears a tower of strength. When Freddie is leaving for camp, he laments, “You know I could never…” Pearl lifts a finger to Freddie’s lips. “You can do anythin’ you set your mind on. You hear me? Anythin’.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 6 Assignment (Transformational Structure)

What I learned doing this assignment is that an effective story structure is the Mini-Movie Method. This method forces the TC and CA characters to change their ways in a progressive (natural) fashion that engages the audience.

1. Logline (Based on a True Story): Drafted into World War I, a humble black farmhand struggles to reconcile his life in the Jim Crow south with his “duty to country,” before leading his regiment in the bloody capture of a German stronghold.

2a. Change Agent: Sgt. (later Lt.) Luke Heller (white, mid 20’s)

2b. Transformational Character: Freddie Stowers (black, age 21)

3.MM#1 Status Quo and Call to Adventure

Our story starts on September 28, 1918 at Hill 188, a German stronghold on the Western Front in France. The American 371st Infantry, an all-black regiment commanded by white officers, is advancing in overwhelming force. We follow Freddie through the initial stages of the attack, showing his leadership and prowess. The Germans suddenly deploy a surrender ruse. One year earlier, Freddie is picking cotton in South Carolina. His pregnant wife, Pearl, scrubs factory floors. Freddie can read, with effort, but can’t write. We show him practicing his letters. Freddie finds Elijah, his much-older childhood friend, neighbor, and mentor lynched. Freddie is unexpectedly drafted.

Vision: Move to the north for a better/safer life and proper education for child.

Old Ways: Racism. Fear. In a rut.

Challenge: Survival. Protect family.

Weaknesses: Stuck in Jim Crow environment

3.MM#2 Locked into Conflict

The rural black community rallies around the cause, but Freddie is having none of it. “Why should we fight for a country that treats us like dirt.” Entering Camp Jackson, Freddie gazes at an American flag fluttering above the barracks. He’s then physically and verbally abused by a white recruit from another unit. Freddie’s introduced to his gruff Drill Instructor, Sgt. Heller, and his racist assistant Cpl. Thomas. Harsh treatment during drills reaches a boiling point. Freddie summons his courage and pent-up frustration, and takes Sgt. Heller down during a hand-to-hand combat drill. Freddie gains confidence. He is now fully locked in.

Transformational Character: Freddie. New world.

Change Agent: Sgt. Heller. White. Tough.

Betraying Character: Cpl. Thomas. Racist.

Vision: Survival. Return home to family.

Old Ways: Racism. Subjugation. Anger.

Emotional Gradient: Excitement.

Challenge: Expectations. The unknown.

Weaknesses: Distrust of Sgt. Heller, Cpl. Thomas, system.

3.MM#3 Hero Tries To Solve Problem – But Fails

Freddie emerges as a leader, often helping his comrades in their time of need. Coming to the rescue of one vulnerable comrade (Jonah), Freddie confronts Cpl. Thomas. Sgt. Heller breaks up the fight. Freddie, “Why we here?” Sgt. Heller, “It’s your duty!” Freddie, “We owe nothin’, to nobody!”

Transformational Character: Freddie struggles to adapt.

Change Agent: Sgt. Heller demands recruits conform.

Betraying Character: Cpl. Thomas’ hatred continues, to get his way.

Vision: Form a cohesive unit.

Old Ways: Cpl. Thomas kicks dirt in recruits face, blindsides another, pees on latrine floor after Freddie has scrubbed it.

New Way: Sgt. Heller acknowledges Freddie’s skill at rifle range, acknowledges his men at Company-wide sing-a-long by clapping in unison, nodding his head to the beat, then locking eyes with Freddie and nodding.

Emotional Gradient: Doubt

Challenge: Accept circumstances OR deal with circumstances and risk punishment.

Weaknesses: Lack of control.

3.MM#4 Hero Forms New Plan

Having completed basic training, Freddie goes home for Christmas leave. He meets his newborn daughter, Minnie Lee. Freddie and Pearl decide Detroit is going to be their new home. Knowing the 371st Infantry is a fighting unit, and not laborers or dock workers, Freddie is concerned. Pearl assures Freddie he will be okay and has a whole new world waiting for him when he gets back. While sailing across the Atlantic, Freddie and Sgt. Heller meet one late night on the deck. They are both vulnerable. Freddie is seasick and concerned about how far away they are from home. Sgt. Heller reveals he was beaten by his father as a child for having a “colored” friend. After a lengthy conversation they begin to find common ground. The 371st lands at Brest, France. Three day train ride later, they are billeted near the Meuse-Argonne front.

Change Agent: Opens up. Reveals he’s not racist.

Vision: Find common ground.

Old Way: Marching through town on the way to front, Freddie spots a YMCA establishment. A large sign next to the front door reads, “No Negroes Allowed.”

New Ways: Freddie’s platoon have formed a cohesive fighting unit.

Emotional Gradient: Hope.

Challenge: Gain respect.

Weaknesses (MIDPOINT): Freddie’s regiment learns they have been loaned to the French Army because they are “better suited” fighting with the French.

3.MM#5 Hero Retreats & The Antagonism Prevails

Angered by the news of being loaned to the French Army, Freddie gets drunk on his first French Army wine ration. He and his comrades feel betrayed. Despite setbacks, Freddie continues to demonstrate leadership skills and is promoted to corporal. One night, while celebrating with his squad, and another black squad, in a local cafe, six white American MP’s burst in and break up the fun. As the black troops are being shoved out onto the street, Sgt. Heller happens to pass by and see Freddie get whacked with a club, knocking him to the ground. Incensed, Sgt. Heller confronts the MP with the club and slugs him. “These are my men!” These are Americans!” Sgt. Heller is hauled away. One week later, Freddie’s platoon are on a route march in the countryside. No sign of Sgt. Heller. The men are down. They pass a group of elderly peasants (50’s and 60’s) tending to their young crops. The men are reminded of home.

Transformational Character: Freddie regresses. Betrayed.

Change Agent: Sgt. Heller willing to fight for his men.

Betraying Character: Cpl. Thomas (now Sgt.) stays on Freddie’s case in Sgt. Heller’s absence.

Vision: Continue preparations for the front line.

Old Ways: Systemic racism.

New Ways: Sgt. Heller stands up for his men. Risks everything.

Emotional Gradient: Discouragement

Challenge: Adapt to new circumstances.

Weaknesses: Seems all is lost.

3.MM#6 Hero’s Bigger, Better Plan

Inspired by Sgt. Heller’s (now 2nd Lieutenant Heller) return a week later, and his stirring talk to the men before heading off to the front line, Freddie holds his head high. Lt. Heller is scolded by Company C’s captain for carrying an American flag. “Leave it here. We’re fighting with the French.” Lt. Heller returns to the barn and conceals the flag under his tunic. Freddie’s platoon rotates in and out of the front line trenches for three months, in a defensive posture. “Hold these positions at all cost.” Freddie demonstrates leadership, over and over, despite facing death on a daily basis. He’s selected for a trench raid in which he kills his first German, with a knife. This sends him into a very empty, dark space. Lt. Heller continues to demonstrate his courage and compassion. He shares his canteen with Freddie (an act surely unseen back home). Freddie’s Company his pulled out of the front line trenches. He discusses the futility of it all with Lt. Heller. Lt. Heller retorts, “Someday our children will ask what we sacrificed in this Great War.” While on a brief leave in war-torn Paris with two comrades, Freddie is overcome by the sheer amount of “sacrifice” he experiences.

Transformational Character: Freddie survives. Gets to experience the tremendous “diversity” of the big city, Paris.

New Ways: Lt. Heller continues to demonstrate compassion.

Emotional Gradient: Courage

Challenge: Survival.

Weaknesses: Overcoming fear.

3.MM#7 Crisis and Climax

Returning to camp, Freddie receives a letter and photo from Pearl. Lt. Heller learns Freddie can’t write. He insists Freddie dictate a letter to Pearl. He write’s down Freddie’s words. The regiment returns to the front line. This time the stakes are raised. The regiment will be on the offensive. Lt. Heller acknowledges to Freddie he doesn’t feel good about this one. Freddie’s life and war time experiences compels him to tell Lt. Heller that people fight for what they want in this life. Make sacrifices. And that he has lived his whole life in fear. Lt. Heller tells Freddie that it is all right to be afraid. Freddie responds, “I have never been more at peace.” We pick up the opening battle scene on Hill 188, where we left off. Following the German surrender ruse, it’s absolute chaos. Company C is getting cut to shreds by machine-gun fire. 50% casualties, killed and wounded. Lt. Heller is mortally wounded. While desperately trying to save Lt. Heller’s life, Freddie rips opens his tunic and sees a tattered, blood-soaked American flag. It’s the same flag Lt. Heller concealed three months earlier. He succumbs. Freddie takes the flag and stuffs it down the front of his own tunic. Miraculously, Freddie makes his way across 50 yards of No Man’s Land, takes out the menacing machine-gun and its crew with a grenade. He then leads a few squad mates in a pitched, hand-to-hand battle in the German first line trench and kills the officer who initiated the surrender ruse. As Freddie moves onto the second line trenches, the survivors of his Company begin to advance under heavy enemy fire. Engaging the Germans in the second line, Freddie is mortally wounded. As the survivors of his Company pounce on the second and win the battle for Hill 188, Freddie dies. Moses, Freddie’s lifelong friend and comrade, holds him in his arms. “We done our duty.”

New Ways: Cpl. Lt. Heller continues to demonstrate his humanity. Sgt. Thomas dies in Freddie’s arms, choking on his own blood. Freddie tries to revive Lt. Heller. Freddie commits selfless acts of courage.

Emotional Gradient: Triumph.

Challenge: Overcome obstacles. Defeat the enemy.

Weaknesses: Lt. Heller dies. Freddie dies and leaves a wife and infant daughter behind.

3.MM#8 New Status Quo

The 371st Infantry captures Hill 188. Help win the war. Freddie and his comrades (from the fields of South Carolina) fulfill their “duty.” Freddie and Lt. Heller are buried side-by-side.

Old Ways: In the postscript, we learn that Freddie was recommended for the Medal of Honor following the capture of Hill 188, but his “misplaced” file languished for 73 years. On April 24, 1991. President George H. W. Bush presented the Medal of Honor, posthumously, to Freddie’s two surviving sisters, ages 96 and 91. Of the 1.5 million African Americans who served in World War I and World War II, Freddie is the FIRST to be awarded the Medal of Honor.

New Ways: Regardless of skin color, working together, caring for one another, and fighting for a shared cause, proves a winning formula. But at what cost!

Profound Truth: Some things worth fighting for in life are greater than self. Love. Honor. Liberty.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 5 Assignment (The Three Gradients)

What I learned today is that the core, or heart, of the profound story is built upon three gradients or sets of journey’s (emotional, action, and challenge/weakness models). The Emotional gradient can be “forced change” or “desired change.” Could it be both? The Action gradient will drive the plot, and the Challenge/Weakness gradient will expose weaknesses (old ways) that the Transformable character must overcome (new ways).

1. I will use the “Desired Change” gradient.

2.A.a. Emotional Gradient: EXCITEMENT.

2.A.b. Action Gradient: Freddie arrives at training camp. Thrust into new world of conformity/rigid rules. Meets Sgt. Heller (change agent). Meets Cpl. Thomas (betraying character). Meets new recruits.

2.A.c. Challenge Gradient: Expectations. Weakness Gradient: Distrust of both Sgt. Heller and Cpl. Thomas.

2.B.a. Emotional Gradient: DOUBT.

2.B.b. Action Gradient: Comes in many forms, but primarily in having to deal with Cpl. Thomas’ racist antics and Freddie’s eventual confrontation with Sgt. Heller. “Why we here!” “It’s your duty!”

2.B.c Challenge Gradient: Accept circumstances OR deal with circumstance and risk punishment. Weakness Gradient: Lack of control

2.C.a. Emotional Gradient: HOPE.

2.C.b. Action Gradient: Again, comes in many forms, but focusing on two. First Freddie is challenged by Sgt. Heller in a hand-to-hand combat drill with rifles and scabbard-covered bayonets. After being humiliated by Sgt. Heller a few times in prior drills, Freddie finally takes Sgt. Heller down. Two, comes after arriving in France. After displaying leadership qualities, Freddie is promoted to Corporal.

2.C.c. Challenge Gradient: To gain respect. Weakness Gradient: Self-doubt.

2.D.a Emotional Gradient: DISCOURAGEMENT.

2.D.b. Action Gradient: Again, comes in many forms, but focusing on two. First, after arriving in France, Freddie’s regiment learns they have been loaned to the French Army because they are “better suited” fighting with the French and two, after Freddie’s promotion, his squad is celebrating in a cafe when six white American MP’s burst in and break up the fun. As the black troops are being shoved out onto the street, Sgt. Heller happens to pass by and see Freddie getting whacked with a club. Incensed, Sgt. Heller confronts the MP with the club and slugs him. “These are my men!” “These are Americans!” Sgt. Heller is hauled away. (Note: To the great surprise of Freddie and the men, Sgt. Heller returns a week later. He is now Lt. Heller and permanent leader of Freddie’s platoon.)

2.D.c. Challenge Gradient: Adapt to new circumstances. Weakness Gradient: Insecurity/Seems all is lost.

2.E.a. Emotional Gradient: COURAGE.

2.E.b. Action Gradient: Again, comes in many forms during three horrific months in the front line trenches, where Freddie has a near-death experience, but I’ll focus on the final courageous act. After a brief respite, Freddie’s regiment is ordered back to the front for the start of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. They are held in reserve while advancing behind a French Division and a Moroccan Division. A gap develops between these two divisions and Freddie’s regiment is ordered to fill the gap. Hill 188 stands in the way. The Germans defending the hill deploy a surrender ruse to expose Freddie and his regiment. The Americans are slaughtered by machine-gun fire. Cpl. Thomas (Betraying Character) dies in Freddie’s arms. Lt. Heller is mortally wounded. Freddie tries desperately to save his life, but he succumbs. Freddie is distraught. Lt. Heller had become his trusted commander and friend. Always had the backs of his men.

2.E.c. Challenge Gradient: Survival. Weakness Gradient: Lack of self-control (or is it?)

2.F.a. Emotional Gradient: TRIUMPH.

2.F.b. Action Gradient: Freddie turns towards the menacing machine-gun. With 50% of his Company dead or dying, Freddie makes his way across 50 yards of No Man’s Land, takes out the machine-gun and its crew. He leads a few squad mates in a pitched, hand-to-hand battle in the German first line trench then kills the German officer who initiated the surrender ruse. As Freddie moves onto the second line trenches, the survivors of his Company begin to advance under heavy enemy fire. Engaging the Germans in the second line, Freddie is mortally wounded. As the survivors of his Company pounce on the second line and win the battle for Hill 188, Freddie dies.

2.F.c. Challenge Gradient: Overcome obstacles. Moses, Freddie’s lifelong friend and comrade, holds him in his arms. “We done our duty.” Weakness Gradient: Freddie dies and leaves a wife and infant daughter behind.

Postscript Added Emotion: The audience learns Freddie was recommended for the Medal of Honor by two white officers after the capture of Hill 188, but his “misplaced” file languished in Washington, DC for 73 years. On April 24, 1991, Freddie Stowers is the first African American soldier from either World War I or World War II (out of 1.5 million that served in both wars) to be awarded the Medal of Honor.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 4B Assignment (Analysis of Dead Poets Society)

1. The Transformational Journey is that some people can change from conformity to free thinkers.

2a. The Change Agent is Jack Keating, the teacher. He has the background (went to same school), taught at a different school for two years (different perspective), and platform (entire campus) to effect change.

2b. The Transformable Character(s) are the students, whose journey’s we follow. Their various backgrounds and pressures make them ripe for change (or not).

2c. The Oppression is the school administration and other teachers who are stuck in the old ways of applying pressure to conform.

3. I think we are lured into this profound journey because most of us have dealt with pressures to conform at some point in our lives, whether at school, with parents, at work, etc.

4. All of the main characters change except for Richard, who can’t stand with his buddies in class at the end. Neil has a dramatic change, claiming “For the first time in my whole life I know what I want to do.” Of course, it’s devastating when we find out the end result. Todd’s change is super profound, going from total fear in the beginning to total free thinker at the end, standing on his desk and leading his classmates in the conformity revolt.

5. The Gradient Change: Taking Todd, he starts off terrified – then writes a poem, but can’t read it – he crumbles it in front of the class – to creating a poem in front of the class – total fear to total freedom. Defends Keating’s new ways.

6. The old way is challenged by Keating, taking the students out of their normal routine, both physically and mentally (see profound moments and lines below).

7. Some Profound Moments: Keating has students tear introduction out of text book. Viewing of old class photos on the wall in hallway – “They’re all dead!” Keating conducting class in the courtyard and ball fields. Keating standing on his desk and having each student come up, one at a time, to stand on his desk to get a new perspective.

8. Some Profound Lines: You will learn to think for yourself. Poetry is about life – you may contribute a verse. Do something incredible with your life. Strive to find your own voice. Oh, captain, my captain! The dead poets were dedicated to sucking the marrow out of life. Medicine, the law, business, engineering – these are all noble pursuits – poetry, romance, love – these are what we live for. Carpe Diem – Seize the Day!

9. The payoffs in the final scene are numerous. The head master asks Richard to read from the introduction. “It doesn’t exist.” Richard then reads the Pritchard scale. Richard doesn’t change. He is stuck in the old way. Todd loathes the head master. He sees Keating enter the classroom. “It wasn’t my fault.” Todd then stands on his desk. “Oh, captain, my captain!” The head master demands Todd sit down, or get expelled. Half the class stands on their desks.

10. Profound Truth: We can all be free thinkers if we so choose.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 4A Assignment (Change Agent and Transformable Character)

What I learned in this assignment is that the profound model includes three characters (Change Agent, Transformable, and Betraying) and an unrelenting force (Oppression) that weighs heavy on the characters throughout the story.

1. Transformational Logline: Drafted into World War I, a humble black farmhand struggles to reconcile his life in the Jim Crow south with his “duty to country,” before leading his regiment in the bloody capture of a German stronghold.

2. Change Agent: Sgt. Luke Heller. He is a tough, gruff, southern white who was beaten by his father as a child for having a “colored” friend. His vision is to get his black recruits to conform to the military way of doing things and, at the same time, build a cohesive unit that has each others back. He leads by example.

3. Transformable Character: Freddie Stowers. He has a difficult time adjusting to the military life and is often the recipient of tough love. He doesn’t feel he has a duty to serve, or owe anything to anybody.

4. The Oppression is the racism Freddie faces pre and post draft, then the war itself. The oppression is compounded when Freddie’s regiment learn, upon arriving in France, they have been loaned to the French army because they are “better suited” fighting with the French, and can’t fight under their own flag.

5. Betraying Character: Cpl. William Thomas. He is a dour, southern white racist. He often subjects his men to verbal and physical abuse, as well as impede the progress Sgt. Heller is trying to make with his platoon.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s Day 3 Assignment (The Transformational Journey)

I learned doing this assignment that constructing a profound story is much like solving a large piece puzzle. Start with the edges (beginning “Old Ways” and ending “New Ways”) then fill in the middle (connect the two with a transformational journey).

1. Logline: Drafted into World War I, a humble black farmhand struggles to reconcile his life in the Jim Crow south with his “duty to country,” before leading his regiment in the bloody capture of a German stronghold.

2. Old Ways: In the beginning, my transformable character, Freddie, age 21, is living a mundane, meaningless life, picking cotton in South Carolina. He has a limited world view. Freddie is threatened and worries for his family’s (and own) safety. He has contempt for white people and his country. Freddie’s plan is to move (great migration) to a northern city in search of a better, safer life with his pregnant wife Pearl. His plan (and journey) changes when he is drafted into an all-black regiment commanded by white officers.

3. New Ways: By the end of the story, Freddie’s world view has expanded. He values all people, especially his white lieutenant, and is hopeful for mankind. Freddie is a valiant leader, at peace with himself, heroic, and an unsung patriot.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s slight modification to Decision #3

Entertainment Vehicle: Embellished as-it-happened conflict set in the Jim Crow south and Western Front during the First World War.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan’s First Three Decisions (Day 2 Assignment)

In today’s assignment I learned I need to keep looking deeper and deeper for the Profound Truth (message) I am trying to get across; that Audience Change, not character arc, is what makes a film profound, and that the Vehicle I choose and Entertainment value are critical for success.

1. Profound Truth: Some things worth fighting for in life are greater than self. Love. Honor. Liberty.

2. Audience Change: Inspired to treat others with dignity, regardless of skin tone. Action speaks louder than words.

3. Entertainment Vehicle: Embellished True Story set in the Jim Crow south and Western Front during the First World War.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan Analysis of Groundhog Day

1. The change is Phil going from being self-absorbed to caring for others.

2. Rita is the change agent. She’s the subject of Phil’s desire. Phil is the transformable character. Deep down, he and Rita want each other. The oppression is the 6 am wake up call, I got you babe, and mundane routine.

3. Most people can connect with the wake up call and wondering what the day will bring.

4.

5. Gradient steps: egotistical Phil, mundane job, unhappiness with others, lying, deceiving, stealing, to taking risks, to seemingly “perfect day” with Rita to losing it all, kidnapping Pux Phil, in free fall, to wanting to believe in self and gaining Rita’s trust and affection.

6.

7. Profound moments: hit on head with snow shovel, interactions with Rita, Larry the driver, Ned the insurance salesman, stepping over the pot hole, Nancy the supposed former high school classmate, 6 am wake-up call, same song every morning, risking death on RR track, all the deja vu moments, the freefall (toaster in bath, step in front of moving truck, drive off cliff, jump off building, Rita’s face ice sculpture, Rita waking up with Phil at 6 am, etc.

8. Profound lines: Why couldn’t I get that day over and over? What if there were no tomorrow’s? If you only had one day to live what would you do? What do you want out of life? I want to believe in me. I’ve come to the end of me, Rita. Winter is just another step in life. Today is tomorrow. Music ending – Smile for the human race.

9. The ending pays off the setups with Phil and Rita getting what they want, each other and happiness.

10. Profound truth – treat everyone with dignity.

Apologies, assignment is incomplete. Burning the candle at both ends today.

[Frank Jordan]

I learned the reason I’ve watched some movies over and over is that something “profound” is occurring and has penetrated my psyche, perhaps unknowingly.

I, also, am unable to find the Matrix Map.

[Frank Jordan]

Frank Jordan:

I agree to the terms of this release form.

[Frank Jordan]

Hello, I’m Frank Jordan (he). Just completed my second feature screenplay. Was born in Glasgow, Scotland. Moved to California as an infant. Something unique, I have been leading 1914-1918 Western Front battlefield tours in France and Flanders for 30 years as a hobby. I love the emotional journey of profound stories and hope to write one someday.