Transcription
Standard 2-point Opposition:HeroOpponent
4-point OppositionHeroOpponent 2Opponent 1Opponent 3
American BeautyLester ( Ricky)(deposed king-trickster)Jane( Angela)(princess-rebel princess)by Alan BallCarolyn ( real estate king)(queen-mother)Col. Fitts(warrior)
TV 4-point OppositionHero 1Hero 2Hero 3Hero 4
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance KidGoldmanButch(trickster)Harvey(warrior)by WilliamSundance ( Etta)(warrior lover)E. H. Harriman posse (Lafors)(king warriors)
Slumdog Millionaire opponents:1. police inspector2. Maman, boss of the child thieves3. Javed Khan, gangster4. Prem, the talk show host5. brother Salim
The Philadelphia Storyplay by Philip Barry, screenplay by Donald Ogden StewartTracy(goddess)George, her fiancé(king)Dexter(lover)Mike ( Liz)(artist)
Conflict possibilities in the 4-point OppositionHeroOpponent 1Opponent 2Opponent 3
The beliefs of the hero have nomeaning, and do not get expressed inthe story, unless they come into conflictwith the beliefs of at least one othercharacter, preferably with all theopponents.
Hero’s values2nd Opponent’s values1st Opponent’s values3rd Opponent’s values
Key point: by identifying the negative aswell as the positive side of the same value,you can see how each character is mostlikely to make a mistake while fighting forwhat she believes.
The Seven Samuraiby Akira Kurosawa & Shinobu Hashimoto & Hideo OguniWithin the samurai teamLead samurai others(warrior-king)master swordsman(artist-warrior)apprentice(student)Mifune samurai(farmer-warrior)
Within the worldLead samurai team(killer-king)farmers(growers)bandit samurai(killers)Mifune samurai(grower-killer)
The Godfathernovel by Mario Puzo, screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis FordCoppolaWithin the familyGodfather ( Tom)(king )Fredo (then -king)
Within the worldCorleone family(king warriors)Barzini(king)Sollozzo(warrior)Carlo ( Tessio driver bodyguards)(tricksters)
Oppositions within the character arebased on weaknesses and beliefs.
Rick in Casablancacynic: loves only himselfdisillusioned idealist: loves a freeand just society, but has lost faithjealous romantic: still loves ilsaproud and competitive
Don Draper in Mad Mencraves happiness,but knows it won’t lastbelieves in fidelity,but cheats on his wifecraves the American Dream,but knows it’s fakebelieves in meritocracy,but hires only 1 woman fora creative position
Assignment for next classIF YOU ARE WRITING SCENES FOR YOUR STORY:1. write the next three scenes in the story where there is dialogueBe sure to start by listing the premise in 1 line2. write your hero’s weakness in 1 line3. write the endpoint of your hero’s character change,In other words, his or her self-revelation
Assignment for next classIF YOUR STORY IS AT ANY OTHER STEP OF THE WRITING PROCESS4. Important: state which assignment you are doing5. follow the instructions for that month’s assignment6. send in any question you have about story in general or aboutyour story in particular
Remember: hand in only 1 assignmentat a time.
Next class: Wednesday, April 18
The Godfather novel by Mario Puzo, screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola Within the family Godfather ( Tom) Sonny (king ) (warrior) Fredo (then Kay) Michael (lover) (trickster-warrior-king) Within the world Corleone family Sollozzo .
