Child heroes are often cast as orphans. This ubiquitous plot device provides an element of wish fulfillment, giving the child complete freedom and independence. It also offers a clear goal – to reconnect with the parental archetypes.
Role reversals, in which child heroes must save their parents, are popular with kids because the children get to play the role of powerful defenders while the parents must play the role of defenseless victims.
Animal heroes are extremely common in movies for children, because kids are particularly adept at identifying with animated and animal characters, and readily project themselves into those roles.
The ultimate goal in most children’s films is to reunite with beloved parental figures.
CHAPTER TWELVE EXERCISES
1. Identify five superheroes from movies and analyze their inferiority complexes.
2. How do all of these superheroes compensate for their feelings of inferiority?
3. Identify five supervillains from movies and reveal the feelings of inferiority behind their superiority complexes.
4. How do all of these supervillains overcompensate for their feelings of inferiority?
5. Identify the hamartia – the weakness or critical flaw – in your five superheroes.
6. Identify five child heroes and analyze their primary goals and motivations. Can all of these themes be related in one way or another to the issue of powerlessness?
7. List all of the great heroes from myth, legend, and film that you can think of. How many of these heroes are either orphaned or separated from their birth parents in infancy or childhood?
8. Identify 10 films that were marketed toward children that involve a role reversal plot.
9. Identify 10 films that were marketed toward children that have animal heroes or animal characters in principal roles.
10. Analyze the following films and relate the plots to the child-hero formula described in this chapter: The Lion King, Cinderella, The Prince of Egypt, Snow White, Mulan, Hercules, Toy Story, Dumbo, The Sword in the Stone, and The Brave Little Toaster.
ADDRESSING THE INFERIORITY COMPLEX IN YOUR SCRIPT
1. What is your hero’s hamartia, or inferiority complex? What must your hero compensate for?
2. Is there a character in your script with a superiority complex? If so, how could you add depth to this character by revealing the inferiority complex behind his or her over compensatory behavior?
3. Could including a scene in which your hero must deal with powerlessness add a level of tension to your plot?
THE CHILD-HERO FORMULA AT A GLANCE
ELEMENTS
FUNCTIN
EXAMPLES
Powerlessness
Establishing the need for change, and
the need for independence and power
Dorothy’s conflict in the 1st Act
of The Wizard of Oz
Wish
Fulfillment
Experiencing an exciting adventure
Being free of parental control
Pinocchio joining the circus
Pinocchio in “Pleasure Island”
Orphan
Heroes
Freedom from parents
A need to reconnect with parents
Pinocchio, Harry Potter,
Dorothy, Arthur, Cinderella
Role Reversal
Becoming powerful and strong
Spy Kids
Marriage /
Parent Saving
Resurrecting or preserving the
nuclear family unit
The Parent Trap
Spy Kids
Animal
Heroes
Characters whom children love to
imagine and identify with
Dumbo, The supporting
characters in Jungle Book
Animal
Mentors
Non-threatening, non-dominating,
understanding & wise mentor figures
Jiminy in Pinocchio
Mushu in Mulan
Reuniting
with Parents
Returning to the 1st stage of the
journey as a fully developed hero
The final sequences in
Pinocchio & The Wizard of Oz
Chapter Thirteen
SIBLING RIVALRY
Freud focused on Oedipal rivalry as the primary motivation related to the need for love and approval from the parents. Adler, on the other hand, focused on the rivalry between siblings. Sibling rivalry in myth and legend is an archetypal theme and the mythological progenitor of the ubiquitous rivalry conflict in dramatic structure. Rivalry is also a common theme in hero plots. Great heroes tend to have great rivals or “nemeses.” Superman has Lex Luthor, Batman has The Joker, Spider-man has Green Goblin, Sherlock Holmes has Professor Moriarty… and even God himself has Satan – the greatest and most powerful of the angels. Though the elements of the rivalry plot in this chapter will be delineated in relation to the archetypal sibling rivalry theme, the same elements can be generalized to any rivalry plot, whether the rivals are siblings, or not.
Sibling Rivalry; Aron (Richard Davalos) and Cal (James Dean) in East of Eden (1955)’
EAST OF EDEN
The archetypal theme of sibling rivalry in Western mythology is epitomized in the biblical story of Adam’s first two sons, Cain and Abel. The Bible (Genesis 4:16), tells the story of how Cain killed his brother Abel and was consequently banished by God: Cain “went out from the lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” The rivalry between Cain and Abel is not over the love of Adam or Eve, it is over the love of God – the archetypal father. Hence, Cain and Abel are best read not as real brothers, but as archetypal brothers, who are perpetually pitted against each other in competition for the love of the parental figure. John Steinbeck recast the Cain and Abel myth in his novel, East of Eden, which was made into a feature film by Elia Kazan. In the movie, Cal (James Dean) and Axon (Richard Davalos) are brothers in rivalry for the love of their father, Adam (Raymond Massey).
THE GOOD CHILD/BAD CHILD DUALITY
Cal is the “bad” son and Axon is the “good” son, just as Cain was bad and Abel was good. The clear-cut duality between the good child and bad child is symbolic of the persona/shadow duality within the self. In a broader sense, it is symbolic of the conflict between good and bad in everyone, in the world and in nature itself. In film, the good child/bad child duality is often recapitulated in the hero/villain dichotomy. The hero is supremely good, while his nemesis, the villain, is unconditionally bad.
In East of Eden, badness is related to both sexuality and knowledge of the inherent selfishness and egoism in people. Goodness is related to innocence and a naïve idealism in the inherent goodness of others. In this sense, Cal and his mother are “bad,” while Axon and his father are “good.” When Cal encounters his mother and learns that she left his father in order to live on her own terms, his newfound knowledge of her validates his knowledge of himself and makes him stronger. But when Axon is forced by Cal to encounter his mother, the knowledge of her existence destroys him. He cannot comprehend the notion of having a mother who abandons her family to run a brothel. In the end, it is Axon, the good son, who is banished from Eden, because Axon’s view of the world is based on the bible and not on reality.
PARENTAL FAVORITISM
The root of the conflict between the rivals is the love of the parent. One child sees himself as good and the other as bad because the parent favors one child and disfavors the other. The child thinks, “If Father loves me, I must be good;” or alternatively, “Father does not love me, so I must he bad.” The children then cast themselves in the roles of good child and bad child and play out those roles, ostensibly for the rest of their lives. They rival each other over many things, but the root of the conflict remains their jealousy for the love of the parent.
Often times, the conflict over favoritism is complicated when Mother favors one child and Father favors the other. In this case, the paren
tal conflict between Mother and Father is extended into their children, who play out this conflict within a sibling rivalry. In East of Eden, Cal, disliked by his father, has always bristled under the role of the bad son. After discovering his mother, the notion of being the bad son doesn’t bother him as much, because he sees that he is more like his mother, and therefore favored by her. This knowledge of his mother helps Cal accept himself for who he is, and it motivates him to “atone” with his father – his central quest in the film.
THE RIVAL/MENTOR SWITCH
While the parent is the primary mentor figure, there is an inextricable link between parents and siblings, which creates a link between the archetypal rival and mentor figures. Consequently, we often see the theme of a former rival becoming an ally and/or mentor. This theme recapitulates the common occurrence in real life of an older brother or sister replacing the parent as a mentor figure when the parent dies, leaves, or becomes otherwise negative or absent. This theme is represented quite comprehensively in the five Rocky films.
A. In Rocky (1976), Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) is inspired by his mentor (trainer), Mickey (Burgess Meredith), to face his rival, Apollo (Carl Weathers).
B. In Rocky II (1979) Rocky defeats his rival.
C. In Rocky III (1982), the death of Rocky’s mentor predicates the emergence of a new rival – Clubber Lang (Mr. T) – the man who killed Mickey. Apollo, Rocky’s former rival, now becomes Rocky’s new mentor.
D. In Rocky IV (1985), Rocky becomes Apollo’s mentor in Apollo’s return-from-retirement bout. (By this point, the former rivals have both become mentors to each other.) Apollo’s death now predicates the emergence of a new rival – Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) – the man who killed Apollo. And Apollo’s former mentor, Buck (Tony Burton), becomes Rockys new mentor
E. In Rocky V (1990), Rocky becomes a mentor to a young fighter, Tommy, who promptly leaves Rocky for a new mentor – Duke – who was a former mentor to both Rocky and Apollo. Rocky finds himself in a mentorship rivalry with Duke, and a fighting rivalry with Tommy.
The role transformations in the Rocky movies represent the fluidity in which the rival and mentor archetypes can change hands. The linking element between the mentor and rival roles is that they both serve essentially the same function – they inspire the hero to compete and succeed.
ROMANTIC RIVALRY
Another typical element of the sibling rivalry in film is a romantic rivalry over a mutual love interest. In East of Eden, both Cal and Axon compete for the love of Abra (Julie Harris). The romantic rivalry is the central conflict for the female love interest, because – while she loves the gentle and kind good son – she is simultaneously attracted and drawn to the sexy and shady bad boy.
THE NEED FOR APPROVAL
The driving force between the sibling rivalry is the competing need for the parent’s love, attention, and approval. In film, the different levels of psychological conflict between siblings are typically played out through a rivalry to attain an external goal. This visible goal is the external representation of the rivalry, while the driving unconscious force of the conflict is the internal rivalry for parental approval. A common element within the external goal plot is a moral conflict in which the good child/bad child theme is played out.
In East of Eden, Cal wants to make money to help his father recover from a failed business venture. He thinks that by doing this, he can win his father’s approval and consequently become the favored son. Cal contrives a plan to make quick money through war profiteering. Meanwhile, Aron is openly expressive of his belief that war is immoral, as is anyone who would make a profit from war. The external goal for money becomes tinged by a moral conflict between the siblings over the ethics of war.
In a key scene, Cal surprises his father with the money he earned. The father rejects Cal’s gift, just as God rejected Cain’s sacrifice. In the same scene, the father is overjoyed with Aron’s gift – the news that he and Abra are going to be married. Just as God’s rejection of Cain’s sacrifice and acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice lead Cain to murder Abel in a fit of jealous rage, the father’s rejection of Cal’s gift and his acceptance of Axon’s gift leads Cal to destroy Aron. Both of these plots revolve around the child’s desperate need for love and parental approval.
DUEL IN THE SUN
In King Vidor’s epic Western, Duel in the Sun, the sibling rivalry is between Jesse (Joseph Cotten) and Lewt (Gregory Peck). The rivalry between brothers exists on all six of the levels listed above.
1. Jesse is the good son – kind, gentle, civilized, and moral. Lewt is the bad son – cruel, violent, savage, and immoral.
2. Jesse is Mother’s (Lillian Gish) favorite. Lewt is Father’s (Lionel Barrymore) favorite.
3. There is a romantic rivalry over Pearl (Jennifer Jones), the beautiful half-caste whom both Jesse and Lewt desire.
4. There is a psychodynamic rivalry over the love of their father, whose respect and approval they both crave.
5. The rivalry over an external goal is a political conflict over the building of a railroad in their family’s territory.
6. The moral conflict involves both the railroad and the brothers’ treatment of Pearl. Jesse is for the railroad – a good commodity that will help all of Texas. Lewt is against the railroad, because it conflicts with his father’s imperialistic desire to control vast tracts of land. Also, Jesse treats Pearl with honor, kindness, and respect. Lewt brutalizes Pearl. He uses her for sex but refuses to offer her anything more than a physical relationship, because she is a half-caste.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN SUMMARY POINTS
The classical theme of sibling rivalry, as epitomized in the biblical story of Cain and Abel and analyzed in the theories of Alfred Adler, provides the template for the ubiquitous rivalry plot in movies.
The good child/bad child duality is the most basic part of the rivalry formula. One child or character is the good guy and the other is the bad guy. This dichotomy is similar to the hero/nemesis duality, in which every great hero has an equally great villain.
In the classic sibling rivalry theme, one child is typically favored by a parent over the other child. The favoritism element can build some extremely sophisticated levels of conflict, when Mother favors one child and Father favors the other.
The rival figure is similar in nature to the mentor figure – as both characters provide the hero with motivation to succeed. Often times, a rival can develop into a mentor and vice-versa, as the functions of these two figures are so closely related.
Another staple of the rivalry formula is a romantic rivalry over a mutual love interest.
Finally, most rivalries also focus on an external goal… i.e., winning the big game, winning the election, winning the big race.
Often times, there is a moral element involved in the competition to achieve the external goal, in which the good child/bad child duality is played out. For example, the good child wants to win the election to save the town, while the bad child wants to win the election so he can sell out to the evil oil conglomerate.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN EXERCISES
1. Identity three films in which there is a classical sibling rivalry theme – brothers and/or sisters conflicting with each other.
2. Do the rivalries in these films contain the plot elements delineated in this chapter?
3. Identity three films in which the sibling rivalry theme is represented less directly – the rivals are not siblings, the rivals are not competing for parental or romantic love, the rivals are not either good or bad, etc.
4. Do the rivalries in these films still contain some or most of the plot elements delineated in this chapter?
5. Analyze the rivalries in the following films: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Crimes and Misdemeanors, and The Royal Tennenbaums.
6. Do you have siblings? Analyze your relationships with your own siblings, and see if you can detect any elements of rivalry. Think about how any of these rivalry issues may have affected your goals and motivations in your own life st
ory.
ADDRESSING SIBLING RIVALRY IN YOUR SCRIPT
1. Most heroes experience rivalry at some level, whether or not the rival is a sibling or even a main character in the film. In Shane, the hero faces a rival early on – a tough cowboy in the saloon. The fight with the minor rival foreshadows the big shootout in the end with Wilson – the primary rival. The rivalry is a showcase for the hero… a chance for him to prove his strength, intellect, skill, or courage. Do you have at least one scene in your script in which your hero is confronted with a rivalry?
2. Rivalry for the love interest is a ubiquitous plot line, even in movies that are not overtly romantic. The romantic rivalry adds tension and conflict to the love interest theme. Does your hero face a rival for the heart of his love interest?
3. There is typically a moral element to the conflict between rivals. In Shane, the hero is fighting for the good homesteaders, while his rival – Wilson – is fighting for the evil cattle baron. What is the moral conflict between your hero and his rival?
Psychology for Screenwriters Page 22
