Psychology for Screenwriters

by William Indick

  DESTRUGTIVENESS VERSUS NON-VIOLENGE

  In Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs (1971), David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) moves to the English countryside, ironically to escape the violence in America. But the local hoodlums harass David and his wife in increasingly vile and brutal ways. David reacts to their bullying with controlled repression and restraint, until the climax of the movie, when the hoods go too far and David experiences a radical epiphany, resulting in an orgy of vindictive rage.

  The release of the inner beast as character epiphany is also epitomized in the Popeye cartoons. Popeye endures abuse upon abuse from the barbaric Bluto throughout each cartoon, until Popeye “can’t stands no more!” He eats his spinach, which, like Dr. Jekyll’s potion, unleashes Popeye’s pent-up id in a frenzy of violence. When writing the change or development in your character, whether the change portends a fall into vice or an epiphany, keep in mind the fundamental interplay between retention and expulsion – the restraint and release of libido energy. Either force can be climactic when it is proceeded by 100 minutes of the other.

  PASSION VERSUS ABSTINENCE

  In American Beauty (1999), Lester’s (Kevin Spacey) repressed and frustrated personality changes radically after he starts smoking some extremely potent marijuana. Like Dr. Jekyll’s potion, Lester’s pot releases his libidinous nature, and his once restrained character becomes wild and reckless. In The Age of Innocence (1993), the two main characters spend a good deal of the movie restraining themselves from the act of love that they both desperately desire. When they do get together, a visceral sense of release is experienced, as massive amounts of sexual tension are finally discharged. The tension between the release of passion and the inhibition of abstinence is a central device in all romantic plot lines. When writing the romantic script, remember to practice restraint, and not give away too much, too soon. Audiences want to feel the vicarious thrill of lust, passion, and romance. These thrills are saucier when they have to wait for them, just as food tastes better after a long, hungry anticipation.

  REBELLION VERSUS OBEDIENCE

  There is a rebel inside everyone of us. At different times in our lives, we’ve all wanted to rebel against the tyrannical authority figures we faced at home, in school, or at work. The rebel character is a ubiquitous figure in movies, as audiences immediately identify with him. The rebel formula begins with injustice. In Jesse James (1939), the evil railroad men use trickery and brutality to run the poor farmers off their land. In Braveheart (1995) and The Patriot (2000), the evil English imperialists treat their Scot and American colonists with cruelty, barbarity, and contempt. In Spartacus (1960), the cruel Roman slave-masters oppress and mistreat Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) and his fellow gladiator-slaves. And in Mutiny on the Bounty (1939), Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton) is sadistic and wicked to the men of his crew. Tension rises as the evil deeds of the authority figures accrue and become more vile in nature. The authority figure finally goes too far and commits an act so vile that the hero must rebel in order to defend his own honor. The straw that breaks the camel’s back is always a deeply personal and tragic loss. The railroad men in Jesse James (Henry Fonda) kill Jesse’s mother. The English soldiers in Braveheart rape and kill William’s (Mel Gibson) wife, and the English soldiers in The Patriot kill Benjamin’s (Mel Gibson) son. Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) is finally moved to mutiny when Captain Bligh’s brutal punishment of an innocent sailor leads to the poor man’s death. The longer your hero remains obedient and nonviolent, the more tension you will build in your plot. Tension makes the story more engaging, and it increases the excitement in the moment when the tension is finally released, and the obedient pacifist becomes a violent rebel.

  THE PHALLIC STAGE

  In Freud’s third psychosexual stage, libido energy is directed toward the phallus, as the young boy discovers the pleasurable experience of self-stimulation. Once again, the developing ego must learn to repress its desire for instant gratification in deference to the demands for social propriety made by the parents. The most significant conflict at this stage is the Oedipal complex. The boy’s libido energy, stemming from his incestuous longing for mother, is further restricted by the parental prohibition against phallic self-stimulation. As the young boy learns to repress his libido, he becomes obsessed with phallic symbols, which supply an outlet for the boy’s repressed sexuality. Phallic symbols are typically violent in nature, because they also serve as channels for the boy’s pent-up aggression toward his father. Hence the ubiquitous obsession that young boys have with guns, knives, swords, cannons, rockets, bats, clubs, and other phallic instruments of destruction. Have you ever wondered why the typical children’s cartoon is filled with guns, bullets, sticks of dynamite, and other ultra-violent forms of aggression? Freud would say that young children (especially boys), are obsessed with these symbols and themes because they are redirecting their sexual desire for mother and their aggressive drive toward father into phallic images of destruction.

  It is ironic that television shows and movies made for children tend to be extremely violent. Blockbuster “family films” such as Jurassic Park (1993) and Spy Kids (2001) are packed with fight scenes and frightful images of death and destruction. Despite the complaints of concerned parents, child advocates, and censors, films made for child audiences continue to be extremely violent, because that is simply what children (especially boys), want to see. These themes, however, are not relegated solely to children’s movies. Westerns, gangster movies, cop movies, and war movies all provide heroes and villains who handle their phallic symbols (their guns), with supreme talent and agility. In these movies, the gun is a visual representative of the character’s strength and masculinity. The manliness of Western gunslingers like Shane (Alan Ladd) and tough cops like Dirty Harry (Glint Eastwood) are measured by the length of their gun barrels and their skill in shooting.

  THE WEAPON AS A SYMBOL OF IDENTITY

  There is a close psychological link between a hero’s weapon and the hero’s identity. Luke’s identity as a hero in the original Star Wars trilogy is related directly to his mastery of his light saber. Apart from being an obvious phallic symbol, the light saber represents Luke’s ultimate goal of becoming a Jedi knight. It is also a symbol of his relationship with his father, as Luke’s light saber once belonged to Darth Vader. Each of the Star Wars films, including the latter installments, The Phantom Menace (1999) and Attach of the Clones (2002), culminates in a climactic light saber duel, just as most Westerns culminate in a big shootout. Since the hero’s relationship with his weapon is linked so closely with his identity, you may want the weapon to play a significant part in the climax of your script. In Return of the Jedi (1983), the climactic duel between Luke and Vader is doubly significant, because Luke has been learning to master his saber throughout two films, and also because Luke is using his father’s weapon against him.

  The Arthurian legend (which inspired the Star Wars movies), illustrates a superb example of the link between the hero’s weapon and his identity. In the 1st act of Excalibur (1981), Arthur’s (Nigel Terry) identity as the heroic king is defined by his ability to draw the mythical sword from the stone. In the 2nd act, Arthur loses Excalibur and all seems lost. But then, in the 3rd act, he is reunited with Excalibur, and he can lead his army one last time into victory. Since the phallic symbol exists on a purely figurative level, the craft you use in structuring the hero’s weapon should not stand out overtly in the script. The symbolism should reveal itself as a sense of psychological depth in the hero’s character. In effect, the weapon or phallic symbol is any material aid that assists the hero on his quest. The “weapon” can be the hero’s car, boat, airplane, computer, etc. By paying just a bit more attention to your hero’s weapon, you can add a whole new dimension to his identity.

  PENIS ENVY

  According to Freud, the little girl’s realization that she has no penis results in “penis envy.” The feeling of envy exists until sexual maturity, when the female can incorporate a penis into her bod
y (at least temporarily), during the act of sex. Penis envy is eventually transformed into a desire to give birth to a male child, the deep psychological need to create and own a being with the physical member that she unconsciously desires. Not surprisingly, this element of Freudian theory was not appreciated by female readers, who found the notion of penis envy to be unfounded, untrue, and blatantly offensive. Nevertheless, feminist revisionists have reinterpreted Freud’s original theory and embraced it as an essential part of feminine psychology. In the revisionists’ interpretation, the girl does not envy the actual penis, she envies the social status and empowerment awarded to boys and denied to girls, by nature of the fact that boys have penises and girls do not. Women throughout history have been treated as second class citizens and forced to live as subordinates in male-dominated societies. The right to equality and social empowerment is a universal female desire that is often repressed, due to a fear of retribution from an autocratic male society. Just as women in many cultures are forced to hide their faces behind veils, women have also been forced to veil their desires for freedom and equality behind a mask of complacency.

  The knife as phallic symbol: Janet Leigh in the infamous “shower scene” in Psycho (1960).

  The theme of penis envy is most literally depicted in Slasher movies, in which a girl is hunted by a male psychopath and his terrifying phallic symbol. The slasher’s knife is phallic not only because of its shape, but also because of its function in the film – to be thrust into the female body. But most importantly, the knife represents male power and violence, the forces that men have used to subjugate women since the dawn of civilization. The goal of the female hero in these films is to overthrow their male subjugators. Typically, the heroine accomplishes this feat by using her superior intelligence to disarm the villain and catch him by surprise. The heroine then arms herself, usually with a knife, and kills the slasher. On a figurative level, penis envy is represented by the heroine’s fear of the man. Penis envy is resolved when the female acquires her own phallic symbol, represented by a knife and her determination to use it.

  GIRL POWER

  Female empowerment is the central theme in “Girl Power” movies such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Charlie’s Angels (2000), and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), in which women are cast in the traditionally male roles of conquering heroes. Despite their one-dimensional characters and sexually revealing outfits, the “anything you can do I can do better” credo of these heroines advances the notion that women can be just as powerful as men. The same theme is expressed in subtler ways in movies such as Working Girl (1988) and Erin Brockovich (2000), in which women display their equal power and abilities by becoming conquerors in the traditionally male realms of business and corporate law. In G.I. Jane (1997)’ O’Neil (Demi Moore) is seeking acceptance into the male dominated world of the Navy Seals. As the only female cadet, she suffers many insults and injuries, mostly at the hands of the sadistic chief (Viggo Mortensen). In her climactic fight scene, just before she knocks the chief out, she tells him: “Suck my dick!” O’Neil’s penis envy is overcome with her mastery of physical violence, expressed as ownership of her own powerful phallic symbol. Apparently, she now has a “dick.”

  In its broadest interpretation, the theme of penis envy is almost always addressed in movies with a strong female lead role. No matter what the heroine’s goal is, there is always at least one scene in which a burly male chauvinist chides the heroine and laughs at the idea of a woman trying to succeed in a man’s world. The device has become tired and trite, yet it still remains resonant with many viewers. If you are writing a script with a female lead, your challenge is not necessarily to avoid the penis envy theme, but to find new and interesting ways of expressing this inherently female conflict in a manner that amplifies the complexity of the character, rather than reducing her to a hackneyed cliché.

  THE GENITAL STAGE

  Following a period of “latency,” in which libido urges are successfully repressed and sublimated, psychosexual conflict reemerges with a vengeance in the final stage of development. At puberty, sex hormones herald the dawn of sexual maturation, and a fully developed sex drive awakens. Young adolescents have resolved their Oedipal complexes by now, so sexual desire is directed safely away from opposite sex parents and onto other love objects. Resolution of this stage involves the search for a romantic partner who provides as much love and intimacy as mother supplied during infancy, while also being a satisfying and receptive sexual partner. First love, however, may still be tinged with Oedipal undercurrents. Adolescent crushes are often directed toward older adults such as teachers and counselors, who play the roles of parental figures in young people’s lives. Adolescent crushes on adult father or mother figures represent a regression to Oedipal desires, and obstruct the teenager’s development toward psychologically mature love relationships.

  CHARMING ELEGTRA

  The popular teen temptress genre plays upon the sexual tension that arises when a sexy teenage girl becomes infatuated with an older father figure. Films such as The Crush (1993) with Alicia Silverstone and Poison Ivy (1992) with Drew Barrymore use the sexual attraction between an underage girl and an older man as a source of danger and suspense. The girl has reached sexual maturity and is extremely appealing on a physical level; but psychologically, she is still a child and prone to dangerous obsessions and irrationality. The older man is torn between his physical desire for the girl and his awareness that acting upon this desire is immoral, unlawful, and socially unacceptable. While the father figure is typically portrayed as a good man in a state of moral conflict, the troubled teen is usually depicted as a” bad girl” – a female child who never resolved her Electra complex – in the body of a sexy, yet unstable, young woman.

  When the father figure’s superego finally takes hold and impels him to rebuff the temptress’ seduction, her passionate love is transformed into an equally passionate rage – the “fury of a woman scorned.” The teen temptress is ultimately punished for her actions, the inevitable retribution for not properly resolving her Electra complex. Though the teen temptress figure is rife with emotion, conflict, and psychological complexity, her part in films has rarely deviated from the rather simplistic formula spelled out above. Some talented filmmakers such as Stanley Kubrick Lolita (1962) and Francoise Ozon Swimming Pool (2003) have depicted teen temptresses in more intricate and interesting ways. Screenwriters should be aware of the untapped potential in this character. Teen temptresses carry the primal power of both sex and aggression, and the heroes they seduce can fall into great pits of tragedy and despair. Formulaic teen temptress thrillers are a-dime-a-dozen, but unique and original depictions have been few and far between.

  TEEN SEX MOVIES

  The American Pie (1999, 2001, & 2003) films have been heralded by some as the springboard for a fresh new wave of teen sex movies, though it’s difficult to see how the characters, plot, and humor in these films deviate significantly from the Porky’s movies of the 1980s, and dozens of other films just like them. The male-oriented teen sex movie typically centers around a neurotic, insecure teenager Pee Wee (Dan Monahan) in Porky’s, Jim (Jason Biggs) in American Pie, whose desperate struggle to resolve his genital stage of psychosexual development is represented by the goal of losing his virginity. The virgin hero has a clear journey (the path of sexual conquest), a distinct goal (sex), a band of allies (his equally horny buddies), an inner flaw he must overcome (his own desperation), and a great reward (intercourse). There is even a moral lesson that the hero typically learns – that sex is an empty experience without love.

  When the hero earns a beautiful girlfriend in the end, he has realized all of the essential elements of the hero formula in a way that any teenage boy can identify with. Hence, the same formula (replete with similar penis jokes, gratuitous nudity, and raunchy sex humor), can be re-tilled every decade for a new generation of teen audiences, and the characters and themes will resonate just as strongly. The basic psychosexual themes of gen
ital development – finding and learning about first love and sex – are experienced anew by every generation of teenagers, so the same old stories seem fresh and original to teens currently experiencing these challenges. You may be the screenwriter who will write the Porky’s or American Pie for the class of 2005. If so, try to use the formula to express new or interesting insights into the conflicts of adolescent sexuality, rather than abusing the formula by slapping together another teen sex comedy about a bunch of horny boys trying to score.

  CHAPTER THREE SUMMARY POINTS

  The oral stage of psycho sexual development is related to neediness on emotional, physical, and psychological levels.

  An oral fixation is depicted when a person deals with an emotional, physical or psychological need by placing external objects or substances in his mouth.