Sample Movie Deconstruction
(2)
Were you surprised at your list of go to movies? Can you identify
common threads regardless of the genres?
I asked facebook friends to list their ten plus movies and received a
multiple assortment. I was not surprised at their choices because they were all
quality movies in some area. However, I did notice two other common
denominators. Many lists had multiple genres on them, such as Pride and
Prejudice alongside The Princess Bride, The Matrix and Wizard of Oz, Sweet Home
Alabama and Star Wars.
And the other factor is that the common thread viewers ranged from age
20’s to 60’s on the same choices. One response noted “watching these movies over and over is often
more about a shared cultural experience with others, rather than just about the
movie itself.”
However for the movie to encompass personal and communal
resonance it had to fulfill the expectation it set up in the opening. Perhaps
not the actual physical consequences, but at least the emotional resolution.
In a workshop series T. Davis Bunn gave at Mount Hermon
Writer’s Conference 2013 he stated that the first chapter of every book is your
contract with the reader. He gave four criteria. Where are you going, What is your emotional tone, What is the first
fragment of the dilemma, and what is the pace? The opening lays out the
map.
Movies need to fulfill that contract as well, or we won’t
watch over and over when we already know the end.
Journal Prompt:
1.
Rewatch the initial opening of the movie you
chose in order to identify the general impression of the premise. This time include the preliminary sequence, but keep the sound mute until the
actual movie begins.
2.
Note
when the opening scene changed.
3.
List the few details that stood out to you in
this opening few minutes re character—anyone, setting—familiar or unfamiliar,
and language—any words that seem unusual.
Share: Which
element enticed you to watch and find the answer?
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