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Youth Market: Week 6
Wall-E
I think everyone would agree that writing a sequel to Wall-E is one of the hardest tasks out there. Pixar created the perfect romance between robots and tied it off with a bow! Because Wall-E is indeed a romance. It follows the relationship between Wall-E and EVA as it blossoms into love! How can there be anything more to that?
I have to say, I could have thought about this harder. Some of the ideas in the room were really nifty. It had hardly occurred to me to come up with something entirely different, that didn’t even feature Wall-E and EVA. I love the idea of a sequel that explores the same world and even themes but with entirely fresh characters. Because Wall-E is such an entirely fresh world.
But I will stick by my guns and present to you my idea: Where’s Wall-E.
My thoughts were lingering on the idea of flipping Wall-E’s search for EVA and instead have her search for him. The concept of human selfishness being inherent and unrectifiable is an interesting one; despite everything Wall-E has done for them, could they still abandon him? Apparently so!
After their return to Earth, the humans are struggling to make it liveable. They lack the physical ability or the patience to clean their new planet. All Wall-E’s attempts to help are taken the wrong way and he is dismissed as a “stupid piece of junk”. Abandoned and alone in a junkyard, Wall-E tries desperately to find a way out. As the sun sets, the junkyard comes to life. Hundreds of broken, forsaken Wall-E’s emerge.
Meanwhile EVA is distraught and takes it upon herself to find Wall-E. As she sets off on her expedition she soon realises… she’s being followed. By a human child! His name is Reo and he’s obsessed with maps. She allows Reo to accompany her on her quest to find Wall-E. However, the further they get from the spaceship, the harder it is for EVA to sustain energy. As for Reo…
The movie ends with EVA and Reo finding Wall-E and his posse of revitalized Wall-E’s. Together they make Earth whole again. Reo’s relationship with EVA shows his fellow humans that robot and humans can exist as one. It could even incorporate the concept that perhaps robots can show more empathy than even humans?
What a wonderful semester!!!
Thank you Meaghan :) And now time for summaaa!!
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Youth Market: Week 5
Freaks and Geeks
youtube
I love this show. It is such a TV gem that yes, we all know, got cancelled way too early. But its short-lived brilliance is definitely part of the appeal. What’s more apart of the appeal is that it's just so truthful. And, although somewhat underrated as an episode, ‘Carded and Discarded’ touches on one really sensitive subject and a typical part of high school:
Breaking up with friends.
We talked about this a lot, especially in our tute. Drifting away from friends is inevitable. Everyone is trying on new identities; figuring out what they actually like; in the process of becoming. But it doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking - accepting change.
In this ep, the new and exotic Maureen appears at the Geeks’ table. Beautiful, smart, goofy - she’s like some majestic alien. The Geeks spend the whole episode with her and inevitably end up in love. And as expected… it doesn’t last.
At the very end of the episode Maureen comes into the caf and walks towards the Geeks, whose spirits are soaring. But… she doesn’t sit. Instead, she tells them she’s going to sit with the Jocks. The Geeks know what this means. The beautiful people have claimed what they believe is rightfully theirs.
“Guys… I’m just sitting three tables over. I’m not moving back to Florida!”
Little does she know!
This episode really drills home the idea of “social hierarchy” which largely defines high school. It revolves so much around image and, no matter who you are, you’re categorised. Squeezed into a box. And despite the episode not being as complex as others, the ending still stays true to the theme of the show. The Geeks are in their box. They are still outcasts, still stumbling into rejection and failure at every turn…
When the hell is high school going to end!?!?
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Youth Market: Week 4
Animation
I watched so many cartoons as a kid, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, and of course The Simpsons, to name a few. I don’t remember seeing much of a difference between cartoon characters and live-action characters, not for a long time at least. In fact, there were several cartoons I genuinely believe it’s down to good writing and good storytelling.
That’s definitely one thing animation has going for it. It’s visual. And visual storytelling is always more powerful than any kind of exposition / dialogue. You don’t need dialogue to have conflict! And children understand so much more than we realise, they don’t need things to be spelled out for them, (Though there is definitely humour in that too!)
I think one of my favourite shows of all time is Tom and Jerry and practically none of the characters talk! But that doesn’t stop anyone (even adults) understanding the conflict and the complex relationship between cat and mouse - and finding it hilarious.
I connected with more than I did with live-action! I do think it’s easy to shy away from animation and to think that there’s some kind of emotional barrier that prevents us from emphasising with cartoon characters. But I wholeheartedly disagree! Who didn’t cry in Up? And don’t even get me started on the wonders of Burton or Miyazaki.
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Youth Market: Week 3
Synopsis
Faraway is an animated fantasy/ drama that follows protagonist Edie (7). After the death of her beloved grandfather Mimo, Edie is faced with a new, scary world. One without him in it. All she has left to remember him by is his old, tattered hat. When the hat begins to whisper Edie’s name, she decides to put it on and return to their imaginary world of Faraway one last time. When she arrives, the hat flies away, leaving Edie with no way to return home. But she’s not alone… Mimo is still here! He and Edie set out on a quest to find the hat and get them home safe. There’s only one problem. Mimo is disappearing… and fast.
Characters
Edie (7) - young, free-spirited and stubborn. She has an imagination like a wild stallion. Typically spotted wearing a yellow raincoat and an over-sized backpack.
Mimo (88) - knower of all things truthful and magical. Very funny, a bit kooky and eccentric. Edie’s best and only friend. The gateway to a world they go to escape reality (Faraway).
Themes
There were several things I wanted to touch on through Faraway, the most predominant theme being grief.
During our Youth Market classes, I’ve really fixated on the idea that material for children just doesn’t push boundaries enough. A lot of stuff out there doesn’t really tackle mature content or relevant issues.
I think death is something that is generally a touchy subject when it comes to youth market shows. Of course it’s not avoided completely, but grief and sadness are only starting to be explored.
How do you learn to live without someone? And accept that the world keeps turning, moving, even though they are no longer in it.
Allowing yourself to feel sad, giving in to your emotions
Learning to let go, grow stronger, stand on your own two feet.
Death does not need to be a scary thing, death can in fact be a beautiful thing
A Sneak-Peek
(Into the scenes I have in mind)
Mimo and Faraway
I will set up straight from the start the close bond between Edie and Mimo. (We talked about the “peek-a-boo” effect in class, of setting something up so you are expecting it and then taking it away - which has more impact).
There could be a montage of Edie cycling to Mimo’s house every day after school and him throwing open the door.
They will put on his old tattered hat and enter the world of Faraway (their imaginary kingdom).
The Empty House
Then, one day Edie cycles to Mimo’s house to find all the lights off. No one opens the door.
It will be implied that Mimo has passed away.
The Yellow Umbrella
A brief scene to show the household in mourning. All except for Edie. She has no idea how to react to the situation and refuses to believe that her Mimo could be gone forever.
Her mother tries to force her to wear black (it’s appropriate, and even death has rules) but instead she wants to wear her polkadot raincoat and yellow umbrella. The argument ends in the raincoat being ripped in half.
The Hat
After Mimo’s funeral, Edie lies in bed only to hear her name being whispered through the walls.
She follows the sound and comes to Mimo’s old hat in the cupboard. And it’s glowing. Before Edie has time to think the hat SWALLOWS HER WHOLE!
Mimo and Faraway
Edie wakes up in Faraway. Except it’s cold and dark and windy.The wind picks up Mimo’s hat and carries it off over the trees. It’s her only way home.
As Edie sits despondent and in tears, a rustle from the bushes causes her to look up. From the shrubs emerges none other than Mimo.
She knew he was here all along!
Stay tuned, more to come!!
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Youth Market: Week 2
Children are becoming sadder.
I think this was the topic that most struck a chord with me. Of everyone in the world, kids are the ones who feel the most! Or at least they’re the ones who are most in tune with their feelings. They’re so unafraid to voice and show their emotions - despite the fact that they change every minute. And that’s wonderful. That’s life!
It was really interesting to discuss that a lot of content for children sort of pushes the idea that we always have to be happy. Hakuna Matata, hey. And that’s sometimes a good thing - it’s great to be happy, we should celebrate being happy. But let’s face it, being happy all the time is just exhausting. What a lot of these films and TV programs neglect to mention to children is that it’s okay to be sad too. Hell, it took me till I was 16 (with a lot of help from Keats) to accept that happiness doesn’t even exist without sadness.
Part of growing up is all about understanding our emotions. Now, I know that’s next to impossible - even as a (somewhat) adult, I still don’t fully understand my emotions. The difference is, children aren’t afraid of their emotions, not yet anyway. And they should be encouraged to embrace them, even the negative ones. And I think that’s a really important message to give, especially to young children who are experiencing intense emotions and are on the brink of huge change.
It’s okay to be sad.
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Youth Market: Week 1
Story Pitch
An animated fantasy/drama short that follows Edie, a boney-kneed 9-year-old lost in her imagination. After the death of her grandfather (Mimo) and the discovery of his old, rather peculiar hat, Edie finds herself trapped in a faraway land. A land full of monsters — some good and some very, very bad. Edie must do everything she can to find Mimo’s hat and return home before it’s too late.
Marcia
Marcia (8) has always worn her hair in a ponytail. It’s a beautiful ponytail, she knows that, she’s been told. It’s long and red and wavy. But Alice also has a long, wavy ponytail. And Alice K., too. In fact, everyone has a ponytail. Tied with the same blue ribbon.
Every morning before school, Marcia stares at herself in the mirror. Counts her freckles (exactly 13) as her mum ties her ponytail. But today she’s not happy. She doesn’t even care that she has a new freckle above her lip. Because she just hates that stupid ponytail.
Her mum drops her off at the gate. Marcia disappears straight into the sea of ponytails and blue ribbons. But she doesn’t follow Alice and Alice K. into the classroom - not today.
Today, she waits quietly until she’s sure she’s alone. Then — she scrunches up her face, raises a hand, and quickly pulls her ponytail out. Like ripping off a band-aid. She sighs.
She pokes out her tongue in concentration as she works her fingers through her hair. She looks at her reflection in the glass cabinet. Her hair is now in a long plait. It’s wonky; it’s messy; it’s falling apart… it’s perfect.
When Marcia steps into the classroom all the Alice’s stare in awe.
They stroke the plait.
They tug the plait.
They fight over the plait.
And Marcia loves it. It’s all she’s ever wanted.
She basks in the momentary glory of being The Only One.
The next day, when her mum drops her off at school, Marcia disappears into a sea of plaits and blue ribbons.
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Year 2, Week 11 - Script Readings
Ahh, the dreaded script readings. It’s the day you have to get up in front of the class and do a strip-tease. Bare your nipples to the world and all that.
It’s nerve-racking beyond hell.
Especially with Ben as a critic because we all admire him so much as a writer. But Ben’s feedback was beyond useful. Every comment he made was so accurate and constructive. He just cuts through all the bullshit and tells you exactly what you need to change. And it’s actually quite a relief to hear what you already know is wrong with your script, because it just gives you energy to go back and makes those changes.
It was interesting to see that there were quite a few traps that most (if not all) of the groups fell in to. The first being that we all tried to cram too much plot into really short episodes. Ben did warn us but perhaps we could have all been reminded. 20 pages is only 15-20 minutes of screen time. That’s definitely something I need to work on with my episode, milking the story beats for all their worth.
Another issue most groups had was that the plot seemed to sort of dwindle away by episodes 3 and 4. I think this is a repercussion of not milking story beats. If you try to stuff your whole plot into the first four episodes, it’s going to be a bit wild and all over the place. I think our group in particular lost track of our characters’ motives and just had them doing crazy shit. Which is kind of funny now I think about it. And I really don’t mind that we made this mistake because it’s going to be something I’m wary of in the future.
I think the TV show I loved the most would have to be Coco, Kat, Susannah and Jacinta’s. I liked their choice to dedicate an episode to each character. It really gave them room to explore each character’s wounds and fears. And all of their characters had really sad, intriguing stories which I feel I could get really emotionally attached to. You go guys.
Despite the little bumps we all encountered, the TV scripts were genuinely really enjoyable this semester. They were all really memorable, there’s not one group that didn’t stand out. So good job everyone!
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Year 2, Week 12 - Meet me Halfwaaay
It’s the halfway point. We are officially halfway through the course. That’s kind of scary! It really doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was standing in Fed Hall, stuttering into a mic about why I’m here. (Why am I here??)
This semester has been pretty full-on. I can honestly say there have been moments where I thought my hair would fall out. The deadlines have been pretty tight and Games Writing has probably been the biggest challenge yet. (I hate games.)
BUT I know that I will look back on all this with immense fondness. I’ve learned so much this semester I’m still trying to make sense of it. I’m so glad we had TV writing at the start of the year. It was hard and a bit of a wakeup call too - we put so much time and effort into each little sentence of our work, it’s frightening to think if we ever do work for TV we’ll only have a couple of days to bang out scripts. Don’t even want to think about the stress. Nonetheless, I still adore what we do. I come out of every one of Ben’s classes feeling super passionate and inspired and itching to write. He’s contagious! I wish we could have TV writing again next sem.
What else… well my short script got chosen by two of the directors! That was pretty exciting. I didn’t get to crew on as many film sets as I did last year what with all the work we had, but I still managed two. And they were great! I was so pleased with what Tim and Gabe came up with from my script. Gabe’s was pretty much exactly as I imagined it but Tim’s was definitely different - which was also awesome. So I’ll get to see two versions of my work on screen pretty soon!
So all in all it’s been a pretty jam-packed, fun-filled semester. I’m probably writing this with a ginormous pair of rose-tinted spectacles on, because it’s over now and we’re literally days away from the break and all (and I’m really reaaally tired.) But I’ll embrace the spectacles. Because I feel stronger and a tiny bit more sure of myself (and tired) after all we've been through. And I’d do it all again in a heartbeat!
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Year 2, Week 10 - Collaborative Writing
I’ve loved every minute of collaborative writing! I’m not sure what I expected going into it, but it has definitely been a wonderful experience. There’s something so exhilarating about bouncing your ideas off one another and seeing how they develop and become more concrete.
I have absolutely loved working with my group as well. Claudia, Matt and Slade have been the best and I respect them so much as writers. It hasn’t always been easy and there have been moments of disagreement and a bit of tension, but even that I value. It just goes to show how emotional and passionate we are about our work. We put so much heart into our ideas that it’s normal to want to fight for them.
We all worked so well as a team and everyone in the group has something really valuable that they bring to the table. Matt is amazing at jumping on a throw-away idea and fleshing it out so it makes sense and has meaning. (His catch-phrase: “Oooh, there’s something in that!”) Slade always brings such lovely, lighthearted energy to the room and is super good at reminding us of the tone of our show so that we get in the right mood for writing it. And Claudia is wonderful at making sure everyone’s ideas are heard and always finds a way to piece ideas together so that everyone is happy - I don’t know what we’d do without her!
The TV writing experience this semester has probably been my favourite thing so far. Not only have I grown so much as a writer but I’ve made an amazing group of friends who I’ll always love and would definitely write with again!
Hugs and kisses fam xoxoxo
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Year 2, Week 9 - Go Wild
My Top 3 Rom-Coms
You heard me. They are my guilty pleasure - I think I’ve probably seen 90% of the rom-coms out there. Getting it down to 3 is actually quite a challenge. And I know, I know, they usually suck and are generated for commercial appeal etc etc, and every hardcore feminist out there will hate me for saying this… But I love ‘em. I love a good trashy chick flick. It’s nice to take a break from the in-your-face wanky art films. And hey, a lot of them have heart.
3. 16 Candles (1984)
I had to include some John Hughes. I love this film. It’s hilarious but oh, so believable. There’s something quite subtle about it. Hughes is so good at treading lightly around the subject of adolescence. Like, I watch his films and it reminds me of when I was in high school. He sort of zones in on the little feelings you have but brush away, the little conversations you think nothing of, the dynamic between friends at that age. I’ve always found his films super real.
- You know Samantha Baker. I catch her looking at me a lot. It’s kind of cool how she’s always looking at me.
- Maybe she’s retarded.
2. Clueless (1994)
This will always be the first film (other than Mean Girls) that my 8-year-old self identified with. And Paul Rudd you hot piece of beef you! It’s funny and bouncy - a witty satire one high school life. It’s totally exaggerated of course, but that’s what it’s meant to be. I know it’s said to be a bit if an airhead film that doesn’t have much going for it other than Silverstone and her one-liners. Sure, it has its flaws and Cher’s transformation isn’t totally believable - but there are some genuinely sweet moments in it. And it has a lot of heart.
People who bag this movie are just losers who take film far too seriously. It’s a comedy, so like, whatever.
1. You’ve Got Mail (1998)
This will forever be my favourite movie. It’s one of those childhood comforts that I’ve seen a hundred times but will never stop loving. Meg Ryan at her finest! This film is just all around gorgeous - New York in the fall, the quaint bookshop, the beautiful 50’s romance-esque score.
And there is nothing more heart-wrenching than the moment Joe finds out Kathleen’s true identity; having to watch him stand there and be insulted by the woman he loves…
- You’re nothing but a suit!
- That’s my cue. Goodnight.
It’s soul crushing! Ah, classic Nora Ephron.
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Year 2, Week 8 - A Game I Liked
The Wolf Among Us
Before the start of the semester I really had no interest in video games (other than Sims and Mario Kart). Buuut I wanted to make an effort and get used to the medium. So to ease me into it, my brother suggested I play The Wolf Among Us. “It’s about fairytales and shit.” Clearly meant to entice me…
But enticed I was! It’s sort of an interactive narrative that’s played through the eyes of Bigby Wolf, the sheriff of Fabletown. You’re introduced to this L.A. Noire world filled with familiar fairytale creatures - and you’re the Big Bad Wolf. It becomes instantly apparent that he’s a cop with a dark past, anger issues bubbling under the surface of his professional veneer. However, all this suave, slow-burn drama is interrupted by a SEVERED HEAD. Oh, poor Snow White.
The plot then advances as a murder mystery which you have to solve. And the deeper you get, the harder your choices become. There’s quite a strong level of player agency in the game that I really enjoyed - you don’t have any control over the plot, but you do have control over your decisions. Who will you befriend? Who will you accuse? Who will turn against you?
It actually gave me a lot of inspiration when coming up with the idea for my Twine game. One of the things I liked most about The Wolf Among Us was how the writers managed to incorporate such a deep exploration of character into the plot. The dialogue choices and relationships established through gameplay were really interesting. You really get a feel for what kind of person Bigby is and how and why he got to where he is in the game.
It just beautifully combines the gritty, dark world with intriguing characters and an equally intriguing plot. I was genuinely hooked throughout the game.
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Year 2, Week 7 - Conflict stemmed through characters’ episodic goals
Mad men - Pilot, ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’
This episode does a cracking job at setting up the conflict, not only for the episode, but for the entire show, all in the opening scene. In Todd Vanderwerff’s article about Mad Men he says that the opening scene of a series, or of anything for that matter, is “not where we begin, but where we enter”. I feel this strongly applies to ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes’. We are thrown into suave 1960 New York City and within the first seconds are introduced to both the main character and the main questions addressed in the show.
We enter with Don talking to a busboy about what type of cigarettes he smokes and why. We immediately understand that Don is struggling with how to sell cigarettes in a world where they are becoming known for their health risks. The rest of the conflict of the show stems from this goal as Don battles with why people want what they want.
In the above scene, both Don and Pete’s goals are the central source of conflict. It’s evident that Pete wants nothing more than to be Don. He even blatantly declares, “I’m not going to pretend I don’t want your job.” There’s clearly some tension between the two, Pete trying to butt his horns in where they're not welcome.
So when Don awkwardly comes up empty-handed in front of clients, Pete steps in: “I might have a solution”. Don watches on in displeasure as Pete looks down at a file of notes he’s taken from Don’s office. The scene ends with Pete’s babbling sparking an idea in Don. We watch the clogs turning in his head. He regains control, coming up with a marketing slogan “It’s toasted” that throws him headstrong back into the game. In this moment, we admire him.
The conflict comes to a head at the end of the episode when Don confronts Pete. He declares, “I had a report just like that. Its not like there’s a magical machine which makes identical copies of things.” The audience is left wanting more, eager to see how the conflict unfolds between Don and Pete in the next episode.
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Year 2, Week 5 - How’s Twine working for you?
Dear Twine,
I remember when we first met. When Tim introduced us. You were… different. And I liked that. I was excited to spend time with you, get to know you… Even when you were playing hard to get. It was like cracking some sexy and mysterious code or something. You were fun.
But things have changed. I just don’t understand you lately. You’ve started to get really clingy, like, not the good kind of clingy. Always asking why I’m not paying attention to you but never responding when I try to make things work.
You’re just so confusing and I can’t keep up any more. I’m entangled in your web of rules and double-standards. You’re always analysing everything I do and trying to put everything into boxes. All these mind games… It’s exhausting.
And well… there’s no easy way to say this. But I think we should take a break from this. From us. I think it’s for the best. You’ll find someone better at this than me. I can promise you that.
Your one-time gamer,
Thea
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Year 2, Week 4 - compelling character
LUTHER
I’ve just started watching this show and it is SO GOOD. Every episode is so compelling and confronting and the emotions are so raw, I just love it! And I adore Idris Elba. Obviously, I’m pretty excited to write about it.
Episode 1 -
One of Luther’s main characteristics is that he’s morally ambiguous.
We are introduced to this within the very first minute. The show is totally enthralling from the get-go. We watch as Luther stands over a serial killer who is about to plunge to his death. As the killer’s fingers slowly start to slip, Luther is faced with a decision: to save him or let him die. The right thing to do would be to help him, then arrest him and put him on fair trial. But Luther’s emotions often get in the way of his choices. How do you help someone who rapes and kills children? We feel for him as he screams “I dug Emily out with my own hands!”
And so he lets him fall. The best part about this is that the audience is actually with Luther in his decision - it wasn’t the right thing to do but it felt like it and we empathise with why he did it. The lines between right and wrong are often clouded and we’re driven to consider that life’s not black and white. Maybe there are degrees of wrong, degrees of evil.
Episode 2 -
Another of Luther’s traits is that he is passionate. And his passion drives him to manipulation.
I would say that the end of the second episode is one of the most intense scenes ever - but then the whole show goes on like this. Luther is engaged in a game of Russian Roulette with the killer. While he points the gun at Luther and then at himself, continuously pulling the trigger, Luther tries desperately to convince the killer that his father is not a man he would want to die for. He goes to all extremes of emotional manipulation, even blatantly lying, to tear apart the killer’s motives. To stop him. What other policeman would be so passionate about his job that he would literally put himself on the verge of having his brains blown out just to catch the villain?
Episode 4 -
Despite all this moral shadiness and manipulation, Luther is compassionate.
There’s a very touching scene at the end of episode four where Luther has to explain to a woman that her husband of 20 years is a rapist and a serial killer. Brilliant, ruthless, a man with a wicked temper; you don’t imagine Luther to be someone who comforts. But he is. Despite his flaws and his anger management issues, goodness prevails. We watch him get down on his knees and literally cradle this broken woman. We see how compassionate he is, how emotionally invested he becomes in every one of his cases; and in turn the audience becomes emotionally invested in him.
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Year 2, Week 6 - The Semester So Far
The first few weeks of the semester have literally disappeared. I feel like we’ve only been back for a few days. Time flies when you’re having fun! hahahahhahahah………
But in all seriousness, I feel like this year so far has been such a learning curve. I’ve tried as hard as I can to absorb every morsel of knowledge in Ben’s TV classes - how did we not know this stuff before?? He just has such a myriad of screenwriting knowledge. There were so many little exercises and techniques he was able to give us that have really, really helped me hone in on what makes a good story / screenplay.
The character square is probably my favourite. Writing down three key strengths and one main flaw (or vice versa) for your character helps so much in identifying his motivation/ drive for the whole plot. This even runs into the whole organic plotting thing. Once you know what your character wants and fears, it becomes apparent what they would naturally do in situations and how they would react to things.
I’m sure I was already subconsciously applying most of the stuff, but thinking about your screenplay with these rules at the forefront of your mind make such a difference. It’s like Ben opened some magical treasure chest. Everything’s just sort of clicked.
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Year 2, Week 3: Weekly Weather with the Walrus! - Games
Tragedy vs. Triumph??
I had a great conversation with Tim about my game for Twine. One thing in particular he talked about really cleared my thoughts. He said that since the game play-through only needs to be about 5 minutes, a good route to take would be the dual story route. The player’s decision-making will either take them down the route of tragedy or lead them onto the road to triumph.
This really helped me get back on track with my ideas for Twine. Video games are definitely not my forte but this concept of “tragedy” and “triumph” inspired the storyteller in me. It gives room for character building and developing a backstory - why is your character in this position? why does he make the choices he makes? why does he ultimately fail or succeed? what is his goal and what does he learn from the journey?
I was super super dubious for the first two weeks of games writing. It’s not that I didn’t already know that games are a great storytelling medium, I suppose Tim’s analogy just reminded me. It kind of prompted me to look at my game differently, more about the character and the journey rather than, like, aliens and guns.
And FIASCO. Really really good fun! But also what the shit haha
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Year 2, Week 2 - TV show themes
Naruto!!!
Yes, anime. An overlooked storytelling gem! I’ve chosen to write this blog post about Naruto because I think that the show as a whole is incredibly clear-cut with its themes and subtext. Anime as a genre kind of lends itself to this in that the characters are able to explicitly express these themes and subtexts through dialogue without it seeming too on-the-nose.
There are tons of themes explored in Naruto, much like most TV shows; but one of the most prominent has got to be: the acceptance of/ believing in one another.
After being possessed by the spirit of an evil Nine-tailed Demon Fox at birth, Naruto is shunned by his village. Not understanding why they hate him, he resorts to humorous pranks for attention. However it is clear that Naruto’s main “Want” is to be accepted. Examples of theme:
1. Naruto is easily persuaded by Mizuki to steal the sacred scroll so that he can learn all the ninja jitsu techniques. He wants to pass his test so his Sensei will believe in him and his friends will accept him.
2. During the battle for the scroll at the end, Mizuki tries to beat Naruto down by pouring salt in his deepest wound. He says, “Didn’t you think it was strange how they treated you? Like dirt. Like they hated you for just being alive.” This just nails the theme on the head - all he wants is to be loved/ accepted.
3. In the last scene Naruto’s Sensei says, “Naruto is one of a kind. Works hard. Puts his whole heart into it. Sure he messes up sometimes and people jump on him, but his suffering makes him stronger.” Clearly, he believes in Naruto. This gives Naruto the strength to master an advanced jitsu technique and ultimately defeat Mizuki at the end of the episode.
The reason that Naruto has such a huge cult following is because he is a brilliant character with a clear Wound, a clear Want, all which fall under a clear theme!
Aaaand as his catchphrase goes: BELIEVE IT! :)
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