As a counterpoint to this notion is the realization that modern audiences are much more sophisticated. The critical and box office failures of romantic comedies such as Gigli (2003) and The Mexican (2001) prove that audiences are less willing to blindly accept any romantic comedy regardless of how empty the plot is, as long as there are two gorgeous and charismatic stars on the screen. Modern audiences want beautiful and charismatic stars, on-screen chemistry, witty banter – and they want realistic character development and engaging stories, as well. If you can supply all of these elements in one script, you’ll be way ahead of the game.
GENERATIVITY VERSUS STAGNATION
Erikson’s seventh stage of identity crisis occurs in midlife. Consequently, the terms “generativity versus stagnation” are typically used interchangeably with the more popular term – “Midlife Crisis.” The individual undergoing a midlife crisis has experienced the realization that his life is half over. He realizes that he is not satisfied with what he has done, he does not appreciate what he is doing, nor does he look forward to the things he sees himself doing in the future. He finds that he is “stagnating.” He’s going nowhere. He has no meaningful goals and no perceivable purpose in life. The resolution of this crisis is found in “generativity” – the creation of new goals, a personal rededication to meaningful causes, and a commitment to supporting future generations. While stagnation is a state of lifeless resignation, generativity is a rebirth… a resurrection into a new life.
THE STAGNATING MENTOR
Part of the despondency of the midlife crisis arises from a realization of lost youth. On a dramatic level, the middle-aged character can no longer see himself in the role of the hero, and consequently he feels lost and out of place. He is an actor who has outgrown his part. The goal at this stage is to find a new part. The middle-aged character already played the lead role of the young hero, so now he must adapt himself to the supporting role of the older mentor. Often times, the would-be mentor must be coaxed into generativity by an eager young apprentice. Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) in The Karate Kid (1984) must be convinced by Daniel (Ralph Macchio) to become his karate instructor. The intricate relationship between apprentice and mentor is symbiotic. The would-be hero inspires the would-be mentor out of stagnation and into generativity by convincing him to take on an apprentice. In turn, the mentor guides the apprentice and gives him the inspiration to become a hero.
THE MENTOR HERO
It is very common, especially in war and sports movies, for the middle-aged mentor character to play the lead role in the film. While the younger soldiers and athletes perform the action on the field, it is the older mentor who inspires the young heroes. More importantly, the mentor is the central figure of the squad or team. He is the character that connects all of the heroes’ separate plot lines. Major Reisman (Lee Marvin) is the central figure in The Dirty Dozen, the inspiring mentor who leads his men on their mission. Similarly, Coach Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) is the central figure in The Bad News Bears. The mentor hero can also play the role of teacher, as seen in Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939) and Dead Poets Society (1989).
The hero-mentor relationship is both complementary and reciprocal. The hero draws the stagnating mentor into a state of generativity, helping him to resolve his midlife crisis. The mentor then inspires and guides the hero on his journey, helping him resolve his adolescent identity crisis. The setting is relatively flexible. Wherever there are young heroes waiting to be inspired, there is the need for an experienced role model to rise out of stagnation and dedicate himself to the generative task of mentorship.
BEYOND GENRE
Occasionally, films are made that depict everyday people going through everyday crises. In American Beauty, Lester Burnham’s (Kevin Spacey) desire for a young lover, his disenchantment with his job and wife, his realization of personal stagnation, and his longing for a lost youth are all classic symptoms of the midlife crisis. The same symptoms are displayed by Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) in The Graduate and Gabe Roth (Woody Allen) in Husbands and Wives (1992). These realistic characters are tragic rather than inspiring. The quality of tragedy arises from their own obliviousness and the consequential depravity of their actions. As older adults, these characters should care for the young people in their lives by wanting to guide and inspire them as generative mentors. But when the older adults, in a desperate attempt to re-experience their own youth, use the young people’s vulnerability to possess them, they transform themselves into self-centered, avaricious sexual predators. The midlife crisis is an emotionally charged conflict. When resolved in the direction of generativity, the individual becomes an inspiring mentor. When resolved in the direction of stagnation or self-indulgence, the individual becomes a tragic figure.
INTEGRITY VERSUS DESPAIR
Erikson’s eighth and last stage of identity crisis is an inherently existential conflict. In the final stage of life, when death is no longer an abstract eventuality in the distant future, but an imminent inevitability, the individual is forced to look back at his life in retrospect, in search of a sense of meaning. If he perceives his life story as essentially meaningful and worthwhile, then a sense of “integrity” is achieved. However, if no meaning or purpose is found, if the individual sees his life as an empty, meaningless, pointless string of random events, then the individual will regret his mistakes rather than feel proud of his accomplishments. This sense of autobiographical regret is most profound at the final stage of life, because along with the realization of a meaningless existence, comes the awareness that it is too late to do anything about it. The poignant combination of meaninglessness and hopelessness intensifies regret into an overall sense of “despair.”
SELF DETERMINATION
A central issue at the final stage is self-determination – whether the individual can credit himself with making his own choices and living his own life. Though we all make mistakes, a basic sense of integrity still can be achieved if we can look back and say to ourselves: “at least…” (as Elvis sang), “I did it my way!” To conjure a much used literary metaphor, existential meaning is found in the realization that life is a story, and that, regardless of the quality of my story, I, as an individual, was the sole author and hero of my own life story. My major life choices were not made by someone else, and the plot and story lines were not determined by characters other than me.
THE POWER OF ONE
A sense of existential despair invoked by the realization of imminent death is a common motivation in “life affirming” movies such as About Schmidt (2002), My Life (1993), and Ikiru (1952). In these films, characters are forced to reappraise the meaning of their lives when they realize that they only have a short amount of time to change the final acts of their life stories. The motivation to change is real and believable, and the viewer is willing to follow these driven characters through their inspiring journeys of self-redemption.
Ikiru (1952), Akira Kurosawa’s often overlooked masterpiece, stands out as one of the most resonant of the “life affirming” movies. Kanji Watanabe (Takashi Shimura) is the quintessential bureaucrat. Called “the mummy” by his coworkers, the main character in Ikiru is lifeless, abject, morally empty, and spiritually dead. Though he has the opportunity to do good things each day, he chooses to keep a low profile like a good government worker, and simply passes the buck whenever a civil need falls onto his desk. But when Watanabe discovers that he has cancer and that he only has three months to live, he embarks on a spiritual journey in search of his true self. For Watanabe, existential meaning is found in the opportunity to help his community. He completely changes his personality, shedding his bureaucratic skin and becoming a whirlwind of positive social action. In the end, he sits in the playground that he brought into being, thinking that his life’s work was not for naught – that he did something worthwhile that will live on after him.
Integrity: Watanabe’s last scene in Ikiru.
Kurosawa advances his life-affirming premise even further by continuing his film after his
hero’s death, showing the funeral banquet, in which Watanabe’s once soulless co-workers eulogize “the mummy,” remarking on the remarkable change he displayed in his last days, and the inspirational effect he had on everyone around him. Kurosawa demonstrates that the power of one person, vitalized by a crisis of identity and motivated to change himself, can, in fact, inspire an entire community and even change the world.
ERIKSON’S STAGES OF IDENTITY CRISIS
CHAPTER SEVEN SUMMARY POINTS
Identity versus identity diffusion is the fifth stage of identity crisis.
The hero’s backstory typically provides crucial information about his identity and the crisis of identity that he is struggling with in the film.
Backstory can be revealed through biographical opening sequences, voiceover narration, personal disclosure, and flashbacks – or it can be woven into the plot through action and dialogue.
Most films address the issue of identity diffusion in some way, as the hero must struggle in order to establish a meaningful sense of personal identity.
Moratorium is the stage of active searching that precedes “identity achievement.”
Foreclosure is when someone settles on an identity provided by outside sources, rather than searching to achieve a true sense of personal identity.
Teen heroes often engage in rebellion against authority figures as a way of establishing their own sense of identity.
In teen movies, adult authority figures are typically portrayed as moronic, hostile, or hopelessly out of touch. The teen hero has no recourse but to solve his own problems, thus discovering his own personal sense of identity.
Intimacy versus isolation is the sixth stage of identity crisis.
The search for an intimate love relationship is the central theme in romance movies and romantic comedies.
The key to developing intimacy between characters is to build a sense of trust through progressively personal scenes of open communication and mutual disclosure.
The crisis at the end of the 2nd Act in romantic comedies is typically brought on by a communication breakdown, which leads to a tragic misunderstanding.
The crisis of intimacy most often is resolved by a third party figure… the compassionate mediator.
Generativity versus stagnation is the seventh stage of identity crisis. It is more commonly referred to as the “midlife crisis.”
Mentor figures are typically dealing with the crisis of generativity. They must venture out of their stagnant ruts in order to become generative guides to the future generation of heroes.
The hero-mentor relationship is both complementary and reciprocal. The hero draws the stagnating mentor into a state of generativity, the mentor then guides the hero on his journey.
Integrity versus despair is the last stage of identity crisis.
Life affirming movies often revolve around a character who realizes that death is imminent. The final struggle to establish existential integrity – a sense of meaning in one’s life – inspires the hero to change his identity and accomplish great feats.
CHAPTER SEVEN EXERCISES
1. Using your knowledge of film, identify two films in which the hero’s backstory is revealed through biographical opening scenes and/or voiceover narration.
2. Identify three films in which the hero’s backstory is revealed through personal disclosure.
3. Identify two films in which the hero’s backstory is revealed through flashbacks or dream sequences.
4. Write a comprehensive biography or backstory for every character in your script. Come up with all the details, such as their dates and locations of birth, their major subjects in school, hobbies, dreams… even when and where they lost their virginity. Creating these biographical details of your characters’ backstories may help you add depth to their roles.
5. Watch some classic romantic comedies such as It Happened One Night, The Shop Around the Corner, When Harry Met Sally, and Sleepless in Seattle. Analyze how intimacy is built between the two principal characters. Pay special attention to the crisis of intimacy at the end of the 2nd act, and how this crisis is resolved in the 3rd act.
6. Identity five “stagnating mentor figures” from your favorite movies. How does the hero draw the mentor into a state of generativity?
7. Identify three films that deal with the crisis of integrity versus despair. How does the hero establish a sense of identity integrity?
ADDRESSING IDENTITY CRISIS IN YOUR SCRIPT
1. Your characters’ identities are intimately related to their backstories. How are the backstories of your principal characters revealed? Think about how you can juxtapose the revelation of their backstories with events in the plot in ways that can add tension, suspense, conflict, or drama to your script.
2. The challenge of intimacy is an issue addressed in nearly every movie, not just romances. However, the love motif is often the weakest part of the plot – frequently thrown in just to fulfill the “love interest” requirement. Whether you are writing a script with a romantic main plot, or a non-romance with a romantic sub-plot, your love interest theme will be stronger if your characters’ need for intimacy is tied in directly with their identities. How can you write a unique love interest plot that relates to deeply personal identity issues in your principal characters?
3. The “Baby Boomers” are an audience of lifelong filmgoers who have created (for the first time in history), a glut in the market for films about middle-aged people facing middle-aged issues. The idea that a major motion picture must have a young star in a lead role in order to be successful is no longer true. If you are writing a script with middle-aged characters, consider how you can address the issues of “generativity” and/or “stagnation” in your characters’ motivations and conflicts.
4. Rumor has it that “DreamWorks” is planning a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru— possibly starring Tom Hanks, with Steven Speilberg as either producer or director. Watch the original Ikiru and consider how it addresses the identity crisis of integrity versus despair. Then think about a remake script that will appeal to contemporary American audiences, while retaining the existential message of the original film.
IDENTITY CRISIS AT A GLANCE
IDENTITY CRISIS
PLOT DEVICE
EXAMPLES IN FILM
Identity vs.
Identity
Diffusion
Revelation of Backstories
Hidden Backstories
Personal Disclosure of Backstory
Identity Diffusion
Moratorium & Foreclosure
Rebellion & Identity Achievement
The Royal Tennenbaums
One Hour Photo
Your Friends & Neighbors
Rebel Without a Cause
Malcolm X
The Empire Strikes Back
Intimacy vs.
Isolation
Courtship
Communication Breakdown
Tragic Misunderstandings
Compassionate Mediators
All Romantic Comedies
It Happened One Night
The Wedding Singer
The Parent Trap
Generativity
vs.
Stagnation
Stagnating Mentors
Mentor Heroes
Midlife Crises
Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid
Lee Marvin in The Dirty Dozen
Kevin Spacey in American Beauty
Integrity vs.
Despair
Realization of Imminent Death
Search for Self Determination
My Life
Ikiru
PART THREE
Carl Jung
Chapter Eight
ARCHETYPES OF CHARACTER
Unlike Erikson, Carl Gustav Jung was never really one of Freud’s students or disciples. Though Jung was inspired and guided by Freud’s theories, they first met as professional colleagues, and throughout their lengthy correspondence, Jung always maintained a s
ense of individuality and independence in his concepts of neurotic conflict and the human psyche. Freud mistook Jung’s independence and creativity as theoretical subversion, leading to a fundamental rift between the two that would never be breached. The Freudians’ loss was Psychology’s gain, as Jung – unencumbered by the limits of Freud’s paradigm – went on to develop a theory of the human psyche which was as original, unique, and beautiful as “the Master’s.”
THE COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS
Jung’s most significant digression from Freudian theory was his belief that there is an inherently spiritual element within the human psyche. Though he did not claim to any specific deity or spiritual force, he believed that all humanity is linked on a metaphysical level, and that this metaphysical link is the psychological force behind the universal need for religion, faith, spirituality, and the belief in a higher power. Freud, a devout atheist, rejected all non-biological bases to human drives, making Jung’s unscientific assertion of a spiritual drive seem somewhat blasphemous. Jung called the metaphysical link between all humans the “collective unconscious” – as the material within this realm of consciousness is shared collectively by all humans.
Psychology for Screenwriters Page 13
