Can we give up cancel culture and adopt restorative and transformative justice?
Tag: cinema
The Curse of the El Bandito
If you are thinking of producing a movie some day, remember: This is a cursed mustache.
On Males and Rape
The movie "It Coudn't Happen to a Nicer Guy" starring Paul Sorvino carries a message still relevant today.
When It’s Gotta Be William Shatner.
If a script is tailored to a certain actor, it is doomed to fail. Or is it?
The Seventh Seal
Truly introspective fiction is no longer made. But the movie "The Seventh Seal" survives.
Zombies, Vampires and the Next Big Thing
The original Godzilla, in its first cinematic incarnation (1954), was a veiled criticism of American firebombing of Japanese civilian cities. Some scenes, such as Japanese defense forces impotently firing their guns at an impervious enemy, a radio announcer choosing to broadcast words of farewell rather than evacuating, the thermonuclear monster disappearing toward the sea after … Continue reading Zombies, Vampires and the Next Big Thing
POV and the Emotions of the Narrator
The emotions of your narrator, your POV, is something you have to be conscious about.
The Four Act Plot Structure
Everyone talks about the Three Act Plot Structure. But have you ever heard about the Four Act Structure? It is the basic structure of classic Chinese poetry, and in places like Japan (probably Korea and China as well) students are encouraged to write all stories and essays based on this structure. The Four Act Structure … Continue reading The Four Act Plot Structure
The Bechdel Test
Now known as the Bechdel-Wallace test, it is a test to measure the level of gender enlightenment in any given script or manuscript. It has three criteria. 1) The story must have at least two women in it who 2) talk to each other about 3) something other than men. Needless to say, most Hollywood … Continue reading The Bechdel Test
Blake Snyder Beat Sheet
And now that I have mentioned Blake Snyder, I am obligated to mention "Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet" or "BS2". Blake Snyder was a Hollywood script writer who suddenly died at age 51, one year younger than I am now. In his instructional book on screen writing Save the Cat he proposes a plotting plan based … Continue reading Blake Snyder Beat Sheet
Samurai Novelist 