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I Aristotle's Poetics
for Screenwriters
I
d
!
Michael Tierno
~HYPERIONI
NEW YORK
¡,
,~
i
i
I Preface
I,
I
f, scarily enough, your screenplay happens to get read by
I a Hollywood studio, the story analyst will sum it up using
a "coverage" form that looks something like this:
•
Log Line:
Brief:
Plot Summary:
Comments:
Idea:
Story:
Charaeter:
Dialog:
Producnon Values:
Good writers serve their stories; bad writers serve their own
;g:nd.:s.
Byth;;nd-;;rtlÜs ¡;;;;;k:-;;;;;II
~der;ttnd-;hiit's~;;:;'-=-
------- ...--
portant to say what the story demandso You'11 be able to judge
1
¡ Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters 3
2 Michael Tierno
¡
I for Jaws is an ACTION llpon which the entire story is built.
I We could reduce the ACTIONevenfurther to read, "stop-
can get a real job and earn the money to put his kids what they pay foro A good movie reveals poignant tmths of
lhrough schoo!' Al college he slruggles lo lranscend his the human experience in either a small or big way, depend-
SO 1.0., but instead of bribing teachers to pass his c1asses, ing on the kind of movie it is.
he decides to pass on his own merits, setting the ultimate Just hearing a good ACTION-IDEA can impart a small
example tor his kids. feeling of eatharsis, but the bigger drawn-out one experi-
enced during a complete movie is more cleansing for the
Bravo! We did it. We crealed an ACTION-IDEA suit-
able for building into a full-length film. And notice that the
human psyche, and even therapeutic. Bear in mind, a secret
.--_.-...... _ .
_ - -<~ ~ . ....
to understanding catharsis is that ...it doesn't happen
",·.,,,·....."'''....
,~~~_~· ...
at the ··~,="~~c~_ ·",;.""",,,,,,,,~_,,,",.,-,,,,~,·,;, -e'''~;'.~'''·'''''''''''''',,·,·"'·'''"~>
finishing touch was adding the fact thatJoe Schmo, the agent end of watching a. movie,
__.._.,_',.,....,.,.... __
but builds
...._"'." • ..
throughout
•.
the__.._,..
entire
=,....,.~""'-"'.;,~,"">4¡.; ,~'". "'.,.;".,.~,.-". ""_ .-",~""~r"~~'_;""-_..,._ ".v.~_"'_ _~."...".,,...,.,_,,~ _.~
of the action, got to make amoral choice, two important story ando fli1ll;q.FSgf~:!JltI:e cnd, giving the audience a final
"'~~l;;";~~''''"....'"' ""'-,.r<i" .... ~.~, '''''"''''''''''"''''''"'-''''''' ~'"- co "C~~'~c"""' _ _ "'_~ .",~_'_~'_'_'__~"<·~'_~'
Aristotelian concepts. Admit it, with Joe's decision to pass
college on his own merits to set an example, you can't help well-crafted story is needed to make an ACTION-
but feel for him. And that's what it's all about, getting the IDEA cathartic. Our task is to take our simple ACTION-
audience to feel and to conneet with your characters. IDEA and develop it into a fuIl-length screenplay, without
Of course, you might get cute and ask, "If the abandoning the essence of the original idea. So now, all
ACTION-IDEA is capable in and of itself of doing emo- that's left is for me to lead you to the master who can point
tional work on an audience, why make them sit through a the way. The task is easier than you think.
two-hour movie?" The answer couId be, "What else are we
going to do on Saturday nights?" The real answer is that
undergoing catharsis through a full-length story is a richer
experience than listening to the mere summation of a story
in a few sentences.
Aceording to AristotIe, catharsis (which literally trans-
lates to "emotional purging") is the whole point of dramatic
storytelli;;g:';;;:'"eÍif~';:h;t~~~ry single story event is working
to achieve in the audienee. Your movie should take the au-
dience on an emotional and psychological journey-that is
1.
T
o
bis quote from the Poetics has led to the common mis-
conception held by many screenwriters that the Poetics
preaches a three-act stmcture as the be-al!, end-all template
for a dramatic story. In fact, Aristotle never stipuIates three
acts, but he does taIk about two distinct movements in a dra-
matic story, the "complication" and the "denouement":
continues through the opening of the movie until right be- that he can usher in drugs, an action that sets the entire plot
fore the change in the hero's fortune occurs. That said, how in motion. But this action was muy necessary from his point
does beginning,. middle, and end apply to story structure? of view. In Dead Poets Society, Mr. Keating shows his stu-
Let's go to the a.ctual excerpt: dents old photos of now deceased students and tells them
"seize the day," urging them to take action before it is too late
Tiagedy is an imitation of an action that is whole and to follow their dreams. Nothing in the plot has caused
and complete Ín itself and of sorne magnitude ... a whole Keating to challenge his students in this way. Because this
is that which has beginning, middle, and end. * A begin- kind of inciting incident is not caused by anything else in the
ning is that which is not itself necessarily after anything plot, yet sets the entire plot in motion, I call it _a_..."first """
cause"
__ "..¿,~~",,'~. 0',,,_ _, , .
else, and which has naturally something else aftú it; an of action. These inciti!,g insi<!~!lts in TIe Godfather and Dead
,,·'''·'"''.·.. . . ..,-=, , ""
~_C ,·d''_'''~,
end is that which is naturally after something itself, either Poets Society are perfect examples of first causes of action. ,,
as its necessary or usual consequent, and with nothing It is important to understand that tJ:te.ª:~t5'.ª1!~e.?faction
i '~"''"'''-''--'''<-.".,.,.
11-e
else after it;and a middle, that which is by nature after must occur after the moviebegins, not in the back story. But ;;,z.J:'::j.,
"'"'~~,.,." ..., _. __ -'_ ,-- .' '""... ,~.,,,.·~.~,,~»,,,-,,,,·",,~ ... ·,,,.~~_w<_,,~,,,,_,., ..., " ,""', ; . o', . , ," ,_, , .... '"~...... ..
one thing and has also another after it. A well-constructed the fi~stCa;:;se'~f acti~n mnst happ~';:~~rIYlr;'thtn:;~'y¡e,be- !h. ,. e:
"~"",~ ,_""_."'-''''''~"~''''' _ _ ~r,....",~""",,,,,,,.__ ,"
Plot, therefore.cannot
. " "
either begm' or end al any point
,', .
cause it must be solely responsible for setting off the chain of
one likes; beginning and end in it must be of the kind events that drive the plot. To give writers sorne space to work
just described. with before the first cause of action kicks the plot off, Aristode 1
I
10 Michael Tierno
In the deeouement, al! the plot action that got "wound An end is that which is naturally after something 1
\
up" in the middle unravels. For example, iilThe'Godfather, it~elf, ei~. er.. as its nec7ssary or usual consequent, and.·•• • j.
\
the denouement begins with the change in Michael's fortune, WIth nothing else after...,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
it.
_.-.-",~' ='-""'''-,"",."-,~""",,,,,",
'.
which is the jolt that causes the unraveling.But what really
unravels in this denouement? Wel!, since Aristotle believed To summarize, let's touch on the key points of what
drarnatists must depict not merely life but t~6~~-;:~líif~-~f: constitutes a "beginning, middle, and end." The beginning
hero, what g;;~¡;;;;¡;:r'iip'~nd;n-;~;~¡~i~
____ : -, ,. ._ _.. . _
th~ ~~d;~~tcotÍ:-
. _._._
~ _.~ .'.,.-~ '_"_""_'"'O~:"_:"· ',.,,~,
of the plot action occurs soon after the movie starts with a
cern the hera's moral conflict that developed during the "first cause of action," which is a self-initiated, incitinfin-
-;tory"snuaaíe~owIiatwá;Mi~h~-;;f's;;;':-al;~~fli~t ¡~ih~ cident that is apure act ofwil!-nothing causes it, or makes
--~·""""~'-_~~~:C_"""'~
12 Michael Tierno
denouement the plot action that got wound up in the com- A tragedy, then, is the imitation 01 an action that
plication and .that centers on the moral conflict of the bero is serious, has ma¡r;nitude, and is complete in itself.
unravels. As a result, the conflict resolves and truth is
gained, whe~~;~li~~¡h;ili;me'orth~'~to~Wh~-ili~"~t;;;Y
c~ncludes, th; auclience mtl~tG;;;-'f~;-;;~rtain that it has
and that the plót action will not continue. Al! of these major
e are must be taken not to misread the eloquent but
unfamiliar language of the Poetics. If you quickly read,
"A tragedy is an imitation of a serious action, one having
points of dramatic story construction can be clearly deline- magnitude," you might say to yourself, "Yeab, so what else
ated in a simple ACTIüN-lDEA as demonstrated here: is new?" But then you might look again at this sentenCe and
say, "Wait a minute ... an 'imitation' of a serious action?
,,,
I@
. A
.,T':lEGODFATHER-Afteranatte ITlPtonDON
CORLEONE's Iife, MICHAEL, who had forsaken the
What is Aristotle talking about?"
Good question, because you'll see the word "imitation"
family Mafia business, killsSOLLOZZO and POLlCE CAp· used throughout the Poetics.. For the answer, we need to slow
TAIN MCCLUSKEY to Save his family, then takes over the down and deconstruct Aristotle's sentence a bit. We've al-
family business, kills alLhis rivals, SQan risesto the top of ready discussed that "tragedy" means all serious drama, so
the American Mafia, and becomes the new Godfather. He let's jump to a tougher concept, that drama is "an imitation of
then kills all the enemies he has inside his family. His tate a serious action," The stumbling block for a screenwriter at-
as Godfather is sealed. tempting to use this concept might be to think "imitation"
means a direct copy of something. Therefore, an "imitation of
Expressed properly, a strong ACTIüN-IDEA-with a be- serious action" could make him think he's supposed to mimic
ginning, middle, and end, a complication and a denoue- serious events as they might "really" have happened. Remem-
ment~is the best springboard for writing a screenplay, ber the scene in The Player when a Hollywood suit thinks he
13
14 Michasl Tierno Aristotle's Poetícs for Screenwriters 15
can copy newspaper events as they are, puttf¡em directly on scene work, more than ho',\' to have just one bomb explode
screen, and make a good story? Well, that's t~e wrong way to under atable. We need a way for all the action in our story
)go about drarn.atic writing. Any seasoned screenwriter or de- to be unified and to develop into "onebig idea," one single
lvelopment exic will tellyou that "reality" is óften quite boring connected story. The besfway to do this is not by raising
jand not dramatic enough to produce the kilid of engagement a bunch of little questions, but by raisinZ l developing,
..
.and ,;:,,«,,,,,,,,,,,"!>,.,,,"",.,,;c.~~.t"'':-1;;:''''!';;~'''":ci- ''''N'~'''-''_,",¡, -A~',,,,,.,.,,."""'{,.(,
'responds "Ú)lÍtatively" aswell, as ifto real events, their.b.r.~ns a goodidea to state the ACTIüN-IDEA in a way thati.m-
.' . "", :... .' <.-.,--:'.:.:: ,.. -""0.', .""",-. ""', . ~'." . -",.' ,:" ,'" ,- " " ".,•.,,'.,.."'., , ,"-.. "'"'".~.~.,,, -<-" .',-. ,-...,.,.)
aroused to astate ofactibn. . - plies a central dramatic question:
" P~rhaps jNfr~d Hi;~h~~ck said it bestwhen he claimed
that if a bombunder atable suddenly explodes out of no- •
,,,
f@ .,DEADPOETS<SOCIETy-prOfessorKEAT-
.
where in a movie, it's not a great ,:,!ovie. That is, the audi- .• ING inspires young students to live for their
ence needs tI) know beforehand that a bomb is under the dreams, which causes them to start a poetry society. One
table and that it is about to explode. This information ac· boy, NEIL, defies his FAl'f:lER and takes up acting, then kills
tually puts their brains into a state of action by raising the himself when he's trans'ferred to military school, which
tense dramatic question, "Whenis the bómb going toex- causes KEATING to getfired. The boysstand on theirdesks
of action. When Keating takes his students to look at 100- and pulls him out of school, enrolling him into a military
year-old photos of deceased students and conveys his mes- academy. Because he sees no other way out of his situation,
sage to them, "Carpe diem" (seize the day)~take actionnow Neil shoots himself. The bomb has exploded!
to live life to the·fullest-the "bomb" is clearly planted under At this point the audience is asking, "Now what's going
the table. The .audience is hooked as it begins ticking .. ~ to happen to Keating and the boys?" Even though the action
AlI ihe scenes that follow are connectedto this cause of has now gained serious magnitude, the central dramatic
action, through what Aristotle refers to as "probable" or question is still hanging. When the boys are forced to play
"necessary" incidents that help move the plot along and Judas and blow the whistle on Keating (blaming him for
develop the central dramatic question. Each scene arises causing Neil's suicide), the glorious answer is prepared: The
from the previous scene in a way that plays to the audience's boys stand on their desks to honor the fired Keating, despite
mental participation and focus, and dramatic "imitation" of the old schoolmaster's threat to expel them. This final action
action succeedsin provoking an emotional response. Keating is one that might never happen in "real" life, but it sure is
doesn't just say words to inspire the boys, he makes them a great "imitation" of life that induces deep, cathartic emo-
rip pages out oE books and stand on their desks to read tions in the audience. And itbrings home the boys'-and
Whitman (in "real" life, an inspirational teacher might not the audience's-emotional journey.
be quite so dramatic). These events eventually spur the boys Write your screenplays to raise, develop, and answer
to form their own Oead Poets Society. They hide out in the. one central dramatic question so that your reader or audi-
woods, where they write and read poetry aloud, bang ence will stay hooked. Hopefully when your screenplay is
drums,play saxophones, dance in circles, paint their faces, covered, the bomb of your central dramatic question willbe
and invite girls to read poetry. The action develops as Knox heard ticking in the story analyst's head as well. And some-
tries to date Christine and gets beaten up by her boyfriend, day that ticking will furn into the ringing of a cash register
and Todd throwshis desk set off the roof, in symbolic de- when you fina11y sell your script. How's that for a serious
fiance ofconvention and orderliness (and his parents). action with magnitude!
As the story moves on, the bomb ticks louder. The
serious magnitude of the action in Dead Poets Society builds
to a peak when Neil gets the lead in the school play, setting
his sights on an acting career. But Neil's father is going to
make sure bis son becomes a soulless master of the universe
,'3.
A
¿s~otle b,elieved thaba drama,tic.story mus,t ha~e unity
Ir It'S gomg to move an audlence and bnng lt to ca-
tharsis. He also knew that dramatic writers were often fooled
into thinking t!Iatbecauset!Iey used one hero t!Iroughout
an entire story, this alone.lmified t!Ieir plots. Screenwriters
make the same mistake today. But the appearance of Her-
cules in every frame of a movie about Hercules, according
to Aristotle in no way ensures dramatic unity:
The Unity
...,.... ".. .
'"'''':"=_'''~''~
of a Plo(
,,~
does not consist,
"-..•."'".,_" ..•.....,.,,.. ,'.,_",., .. ·-.-...
'"."_,~,~". •._,__ . ,_,.. ._...
,";,o~">'.T'"
as sorne sup:
< ....~_".. "',_,_. ,,_•• _'#co",," .-"'- . -,"
,~!i,~t?~!;. ..i~~!~ts ~h~t in~ llnifi~d dralllaticsto!Yth~.§!!k: no probable or necessary connexion with one another-
~l~:~!~.,~~.~,:.~~on:~~t· ap~rs~n .. By presenting one strong instead of doing that, he took an action with a Unity of
unified action fro;;;'á' he~~'slire, you depict the hero. For the kind we are describing as the subject of the Odyssey,
example, if on a job interview, a potential employer asks you as also of the [liad.
to teIl him about something that depicts "you," you'd teIl
him about something significant you'd accomplished. This Homer chose for the "subject" of The Odyssey an acrion
would "sum you up" better than teIling him a million an- in which each incident foIlows the previous one in a nec-
ecdotes about what yourpersonality is like. Screenwriring essary or probable way and at the same rime causes the story
works the same way: You write a single unified acrion as a to go forward. Such cause-and-effect linkage makes the story's
"through line," which becomes the story's subject. Then a acrion coherent in the same way a statue's parts fit together to
hero takes the lead in that action, which has a "oneness" and form one image. However, there are key differencesbetween
connectivity so elear that Aristotle compares it to a statue: probable cause-and-effect incidents and necessary ones.
Incidents of necessity always happen afler a given cause
In the other imitative arls (like sculpture] one imitation of acrion and propel the story forward. For example, if you
is always ofone thing, so in poetry the story, aS an imitation of came home and found your house broken into and robbed
action, mustrepresent one action, a complete whole. you would always caIl the' police; calling the police is an
acrion that necessarily foIlows the incident of discovering
When we see a statue of aman, it's easy to see what your house robbed. As we discussed previously, The God-
the one whole thing is ... a statue. That's how tight and father's inciring incident is SoIlozzo havingthe Don shot,
unified a story's acrion must be. But while a statue is frozen, j which causes Michael to kill SoIlozzo and Captain Mc-
a story moves through ti.me, so for acrion to be unified and Cluskey. SoIlozzo's action causes or makes it necessary for
form a "whole," its incidents must have what Aristotle I Michael to kill SoIlozzo and McCluskey in the restaurant..
termed a probable or ~ecessary.,- --.,,'"'----_.,-,
~~~s~~;~d:~ff~~t~o~~~;;t¡~~~._
..-
Probable dramaric incidents also cause the story to go
forward but are only likely to happen. They aren't incidents
In writing an Odyssey, he did not make the poem cover of dramaticnecessity, in terms of how the eharacters view
al! that ever befel! his hero-it befel! him, for instance, to thei;··~;:~~::ti~;;:;.'F~r example, in Rocky it makes sense that
get wounded on Pamassus and also to feign madness at after Rocky gets a shot at the boxing crown, Mickey begs
the time of the call to arms, but the two incidents had him to be his manager, but this didn 't have to happen. How-
22 Michael Tierno Aristotle's Poetics:for Screenwriters 23
ever, notice th~t this probable incident caUS~$ the story ac- 1 or necessary relatiolfship t6each other ~!,l~.E~H$"e.Jh!?,I~§~
tion togo forward: Mick~y trains Rocky, w~ich causeshim , to. move forward. Rocky dating Adrienne, Paulie puttingad;'
to last15roti~~s. RockYitaking Mic~ey O?ialso helps the ~~~R;;~k;;;;;~b';,Mickey training him__all of these incid~Ilts
audience like~~ckY, andsince Rocky is our/hero, we have are prob~le and cause ROFky to grow, and drawhim closer
to likerim irt!?rder to~are ahout~hat h~ppens to hiIh. tohis change in fortune. ~fact, !~!:~,"~~.~.~.~~2~~.~S~?,~
RockY'$relati?nship withAdrienne is similarly construded, does; Itdepicts th~ trapsf()rma~on of a hero's fortune'<lIld,
.' "-"'~"''';"<_'''''- -'-~."'~'::"",'"_,:",'''''';!'''-~'-C';''''''''>~~'''~:''''''~'~-'''''''_-t~"\;,,-,-,,,··_r., '<"-'·";"·',"'"'_">'·":__"~'_'"':,","O';"_''''~''''"'~~'~-.o= ~··'':tt-~'
in that their courtship is a sequenceof prob"ble events. the b0xÍrlg match with Appllo Creedis the supreme way it
Because Rpcky uses lIlore probable inci~ents thannec- finally happens for Rocky;
essary ones its chain of cause~and-effect events' feels looser Aristotle tells us that ,,!h~,.P,~?~,.s,~,P~~.,~!,S,2.~ghUhe!.it
than The Godjaiher's, butit's still a tight, U1üÍied plot. Leú y~utookaWllY anf~~e irtcident, thewhole would literal!Y.--
take a look at'its ACTION-IDEA.
~oil~p~~': ••••. ~u •• , ••,.,••• "'''''''",''''''~'''-'''''''-'---''--;-
'.,'"""' '"',.-,'''
~.
.A'J~ RPCKY-ROCKY desires tobe mor~!!ian a bum ! [The plotshouldh'ave] its severa! incidents
,~ frqrrÚhe neighbClrhood and tries to acc;Oinplish this I closely cónnected that ,the transposalor withdí:awal 0['
'J ,',:, ,,' " ", ':':',",-
Episodic [pIols] are lhe worsl.I caIl afIol episodic smoke pot, and work out~::He eatehes theeye of his neigh-
when therfis neilher probability nor necessity [causality] bor COLONEL FITZ, a Nen-Nazi homophobe. After rejeet-
in the seqt¡ence of ils episodes. ing a sexual advanee fron1.\he COLONEL, LESTER almost
has'sex with ANGELA bu{léarns she's a'.yirgin, decides not
Th.e "s.ing.·.I.•.e.•· • issue" ae.•.t.ion. thal ti.e.•·.S A.m~.rt. ·. 'can Beauty.. to-
to havesex with·her, a'nd:regains hisc:lignity. ThenCOL.,
gelherl; simPlr lhis: Thépereeptionof beauly and thel'ffeet ONEt FITZ murders him,~nd in his dying momentsLester
it hason ped~le's lives i~ anaetionin whi;h al! lhe .ehar- rea'Hzes the beautyof jusfbeing alive.
nature of this love Lester lost, which is causing his crisis? deed resolves aH the action in the story and makes it ONE
The audience can't know what he lost; this cause of the COMPLETE ACTION in a very concrete way.
action must he fed to them. This is done through Janey and American Beauty has no sub-plots, only sub-actions
Ricky, their young innocent love providing a model of what driven by a single issue and thereby connected t~i¡:;~h~;~;~
Lester once hado Ricky'spersonality, his very "being" pro- action, all of it ultimately forming ONE COMPLETE AC-
vides the audience with information that helps it imagine the TION, which is neady resolved by the murder of the hero
youthful spirit Lester had, that's gone. The .details relating at the end.
to what causes Lester's mid-life crisis, like what he's lost, Abandon the concept of sub-plots, structure your
must he telegraphed to the audience through minor scenes, screenplay as well as American Beauty is structured, and you
such as Lester huying dope from Ricky as he fondly remem- may end up with a cinematic beauty, and maybe evell an
bers his teenage years, when he flipped burgers all surnmer Oscar.
in order to buy an eight-track player. The actual i;"cidents
of the story must convey the nature of what's "causing" the
character's actions: You have to "show it" ,lJ,Q.tjusU,cll.it..
. -.,,,-.,•. ........ '.'
""""'.',,",.. ~,,~.,~,,- .•. """'."_,'c'_ ~.'~'" ."".,.*,~ ,~.<""" .~
i
Michael Tierno
relates to al! of the action, then the plot can depict a simple
__ __
':""'-""¡',..:. ,-,,,,,,:,-..-,'",.".
",·'c·,-,·· - :_,,_,_..:_:":"_"""':"': " .. >,'"
_,·~,_.::"_._C_-.:i:~.:'·'·"~-""_-;"~-'c-r"'_:_,_". "_"'''~_"._''~;'~'r'_~·'''''''''~·=·
I 6.
. ;__.",:.,_.,,,,,,,,:,::,..
"",~/.,.,:,:,:",::, ••.,., ,:, .•,.'_,.;,..,,,,,
.'._._.,,,~:,,,,_,,:,.,,,"'L,·
The action of Rocky is connected to Rocky's desire to The Ends Are Always in the
make more of his life. He dates Adrienne, argnes with Means of the Plot
Mickey, and attempts to save a twelve-year-old girl from the
streets. Then he learns Apollo wants to fight him, and
Mickey trains him for the match. Rocky confesses to Ad- So that it is the aetion in it, i.e. its Fable or
rienne that he can't win the fight, but only wants to last Plot, that is the end and purpose of the tragedy;
fifteen rounds so that he'll know he isn't just another bum and the end is everywhere the chief thing.
from theneighborhood. With this great line of dialog and
in a stroke of screenwriting genius, the story's action is gal-
vanized and its dramatic unity becomes crystal clear, because
the hero's desire. has been stated. It'~ importantfortheau-
A ristotle calls the plot the story's "end" and purpose,
because to him, "plot is soul" and it's the plot struc-
ture that arouses emotions from the aud;~~~~.'When A;i~:
_"",.",;"",",,,",,,,,,-,,,.;.-,.-;.;,.,,,,,.,."N"~''''''"''·'¡''';_''''f<''''~i·,§\.~~."""l'''''Vt.. <,,,=,,,,.,,,",,,,,,,,,,:,,.,,,.. ·",,,.',,,,,,,,,,,,, ~'~'"~,..,..,.,,,.
dience tb understandthe emotiond" ;;;~~;;i;g,.~tili;·;~t¡~; totle uses a term like "end" to describe plot, he's saying that
","". -,...--'_,.,-,",.'...-".•-.... -''''.''''"-.,,,-, .. "-'.,--./.. ·",.~~·.·""",·,·'·'j~"''';;';"'';"'"'''''¡~'m"'>'''''''''''<''C.'"",,""."",,\,><,,,,,,<\,,,·t"'~¡;""""'<;."',*-';''''';'''im,)..'''''''''''''''''=·~
for the hero, which, to be moving, must be connected to a the ACTIÜN-IDEA, or plot, must always be in your mind's
, strong, .~ing1e.·aesr~eSfth~'he;~;~·~oul:'ln'fác¡;theer;;~ti;~;r. eye when you are writing scenes. In other words, writing a
,'·.·:,.,.,.-.<,-" .... '~ ..._., .._.;,:,.;-..'.I."}.-,,",,:.;<"<,.,.:,,,,.,,,-,,"",,,,,>,,,,.!,:"'_,,..,'C,,",,,;,.,,,,-~.,,,."""',,,
experienée the audience éan get trom a movie will be akin plot is more thanjuststitching scenes together. For example,
to the hero's emocional experience, a good rule of thumb say 1 wanted to build a tree house. The visual image <if the
for the screenwriter. tree house wonld be my "end" or finished product, and
In Rocky, when the movie final!y cuts to the boxing ring everything to build this house would be a means to this end.
for the final action sequence, the finale is completely charged In al! the activity of cutting down trees and hammering wood
by the movie's ACTÜN-IDEA. Every punch Rocky throws together, I would be thinking about the final product of the
and receives is connected to every story incident that pre- house. This image wonld serve as a point of focus gniding
ceded it and is emotionally linked to his desire to become the activity.
somebody. pearlY',.Ro(k):~~~<;!-:ives. ~,:?/~jl§,Rlºl.¡md Plotting a script requires the same kind of foens froma
not from its spectacle (the visuals of the fight). And that is writer. For an example of this, let's examine The Breakfast
what makes it a cinematic masterpiece. Club, starting with its ACTlüN-IDEA:
33
40 Michael Tierno
*Peripety -means "the change of the kind described from one state of
things within the play to its opposite."
41
42 Michael Tierno Aristotle's POEdics for Screenwriters 43
,~~~!~?~~: This type of plot isAristo~e's favorite,and the Ycry soulof lhe drama. Ingmar Bergman's workin-
will be the principal sort of plot that we'P study through- volves so much psychological suffering on the párt of
out tlrisbook. .. thesharacters (and aUdience) thathis stories coul3be
It's~orth menti?ning thatAristotle also describes called "tragedies of suJfering," Aristotle might saythat
what hecalls the "simple" plot: in Bergman's work, "s.uffering isthe·.soul." You n¡ight
want. to check out some of his masterpieces on vigeo-
~lots are eilher simple or complh, since tile tape, works like Persona, Críes' and Whispersand , "
actions lhey repreSent are natUrally ()f tbis twofold nroitgh a Glass Darkly.
desc¡-iption. The action, proceeding jnlhe way de-
fined~s one conti[luC)us whole 1 call~imple, when . 3. Tragedy of character. Mike Lei~h develops hisplots
lhe c~nge in lhe ~ero's fortunes takesplace without throllgh improvisationswith actors. The reslllt is liy,ely
fa r~versal of fortuneJ or Discovery;ándcomplex, char.a.cter studies tha.!. beco.me films like Naked C.a.'·.r.. ~er
,'o , ' - " , , ' " , , ' :
whehit involves o"e or lhe olher, or ~olh. Girls, aIld Secrets á1ld L.ieS. Thes.e.films are more in
. •••.t.• er-
ested in. developing theinuances. ofcharacterization~and
Clerh i;i~ day in the life of a young'§onveniencestore rela~onships in a looselyplottedway that emph~sizes
derk \Vh~has to show up to his boriIl~ job on his d~y personality and character traits.
off and9~al with allthe irate custo[llers that coIIle in.
It'$ a story that uses,the degrading environment of the 4. Spe~tacle. Moviesofspectade areyery abundant ittto-
lower l~v~l "slacker'>type jobs to evo~e the gloom that day's cinema. The most recent example of such a [ll~vie
Arnerica'syouth feels toward the co~g reality of the is Moulin Rouge. StaIlley Kubrick's work also thrives on
work w()l"ld that awaits them and is ~J~ood example üf spectade and visual atmosphere, especially 2001. S~ec
a .simpleplot. tade refers to the effect of the vi.suals,that
.is,thecos-
.
turnes, the scenery, and the actors.This brings ton#nd
2. Tragedyof suffering. Aristotleteaches us that aUgood the term "mise-en-sceIle," which is French for "putinto
tragedyhas suffering, and most gooddramatic movies a see:ne." Everything that isn't plot, character, chal'acter
containscertain amount of intense rhysical or mental thought, dialogue, Ofmusic track, is rnise-en-scene.Re-
suffering~. or both. Some movies co.~tain suffering to melllber, spectade ir(;cinema is not just mis-en-$g~ne;
such a gegree that it would seem as iflhe sufferingwere sound effects, for example, playa huge role in today's
44 Michasl Tierno Aristotle's Poetics for Screenvvriter~ 45
spectade-driven cin"ma. Try and imagine Jurassic Park one film is Titanic, a complex drama complete with a re-
without its brilliant sound e!fects. This is of interest to versal offortunejdiscovery, spectade, and su!fering.
screenwriters because they need to have an understand- So you may want to combine all four species of drama
ing of the power of the medium they are writing foro in your screenplay. The point is, you should know which
Their tme medium is the printed page, which is a fright- one or which combination of them you are· using and what
fully reductive way of representing the richest, most lav- kind of dramatic e!fect you expect to achieve if your screen-
ish medium of all time, the cinema. play is to survive in the process of Hollywood selection.
That said, it's important to note that all four species
of drama can be used together in the same work, as
Aristode reminds us:
A.'.. ~~nre.u
g p
ccor•. d.•·•. i.•.n .to An
•••.. stode, . •.• e•.. •ic poetry•. •.l.·.•.s.•·.a .• nto 1ts•. e1.f.
andhas ,ts own set of lessons forwntmg.What Ar-
o istode me<ms by "epic" is a.~aITated stqry like Homer's The
¡liad, orThe Odyssey:
In the.• •·•. epic genre, a nar.I'.a.tor can sW1.·•.·tch back and fQr.•.th
between n~rrating the story("once upon a linIe ....") ~lld
" , " : o" , ' , ' - - -. .', "",'.-'
the story. Epic poems can also be acted out dramatically on spectacle and visual effects, as well as flashier editing and
stage, like tragedy. sound design, but also take place over long periods of time,
Movies often use such techniques from ancient epic po- while dramas work better with compressed time:
etry; consider how Charles Dickens's novel Great Expecta-
tions became the David Lean moVie of the same name, The [Epicaiso differs from tragedy] in its length-which
movie opens. on a shot of the physical novel and we hear a is due to its action having no fixed limit of time, whereas
voice-over ofPip, quoting from the novel and telling us how Tragedy endeavours to keep as far as possible within a
he came to earn the name Pip, and so forth. Lean connects single circuit of the sun, [24 hours] or something near
some of the narrative dots by using Pip as a "narrator," that.
combining techniques from both tragedy and epic poetry to
depict fictÍon. The best tragedies take place over a single day, as in
In some ways, a movie is a play on the screen (hence Oedipus Rex. This makes the plot events more intense, giv-
the term "screenplay), but the cinematic medium has huge ing the change in the hero's fortune· the greatest magnitude
potential for elaborate and exotic locations, from the bowels and the audience the biggest rush. It's easier to make a story
of the Titanic to the center of a meteor approaching the "one complete action" and uniIY all irs incidents through
earth, as in Armageddon. In fact, Armageddon recalls ancient causality if the story happens over a day, or close to one
epic poems, containing multitudes of peoples, great wars, day. Some movies compress time to less than twenty-four
and so on. Part of the reason such works belong to the hours, like American Graffiti. Butgreat movies like The
spoken epic genre is their scale, which made them ludicrous GodJather II span decades. The GodJather II is a fusion of
on stage. In short, epic stories didn't lend themselves to the tragic and epic storytelling, with an emphasis on tragic. Also
staged dramatic medium and were best if spoken by a nar- in tragedy, Aristode tells us to keep "improbable" deeds
rator. (unrealistic ones) outside !he play (in back story). But this
Whenwe think of "epic" movies, we think of them as doesn't apply to the epic:
grand and sweeping, depicting not so much an everyday
reality but an exaggerated reality or fantasy. Even if an epic The Epic, however, affords more opening for the
story tells of a realistic period, ir still uses a sweeping mode improbable, the chief factor in the marvellous, because
of presentation. Epic cinematic storytelling might rely on in it the agents are not visibly before one. The scene of
50 Mi-cheel Tierno Aristotle's Poetics tor Scieenwriters 51
thepursujiofHectorwould be ridieulous()rt the stage . stories ínways that they cart'tirt straíght drama,epícs"Ild
the Greel>shalting instead of purstIing mlll,and Achilles dramas share certairt structllral requirements:
shaki~g m~ head to stop them; but in thepoernthe ap-
surdity is(jverlooked; '1'he eonstruction ofits..• ..•[epic]storiesshould elearly .~, ,."," ~ .. ".-.-:",.""",.",.,,:.,.~'(""-'"
Epícs, .h<lpause theyiwere narrated, aJJ()wed. wrít$rs to actión; one that is a complete whole in itself, with a be-
""-"""''''¡i"Y:;'''~''"J'",''~O<'''~'''''''~''''''~'.o"."",<~.~"''';iV;'~i,'~".""."-,:."""''',,,,,,,,<':",,r.,,,?-,,.,-,.,,..,.-",,,,,,, ~~..~"'.. ,~
use anYÍmpr()hable story$vent they GouJd (ireamof, hecause ginning, middle, and end, so as toenable _~-". ..v.v-~~~ to'
'i,q".;"..~,,;,,;i;"~::·¡:""'''''>'_'.'''"'-'''!''''4';''~'"'\ _~".':'·9., . ,,",,,,,.",_;,,,:;_,,,;,,,,,,,,, ;,.';',:.>'.>.'" ~;'"<"""":'.=' ,.e.""" ';:." ... ~. , . '. - .,~'~-.,~.~'
Sorne bad ancient poets had no regard for creating a of his narrative. As for lhe olher epic poets, lhey treat of
I
tight plot when depicting history beeause they were fooled ~ oneman, or Qlle period; or e1se of an action which, al-
into thinking that because events had a "unity of time" (were though one, has a multiplicity of parts in it.
about a historical periQd and followed oneanother chron-
ologically), this· meant that there wasan automatic dram'atic This is probably the best advice for a screenwriter looking
unity t~ thoseevents. In an epic story, you can have multiple to adapt a book intoa screenplay. Aristotle tells us that even
story lines but (hey must al! have the same end and resolve thoughthe Trojan Warnaturally had a beginning and end,
the same issue. A recent example is the epic movie The Homer singled out one section of it and made one complete
Mummy Returns, which has three separate plot lines moving aetion of it to depict the war. He added other kinds of scenes
through it, but th~y all converge on the ret~ of the évil as episodes to break upthe monotony, but The Odyssey has
mummy and the ~~bsequent w¡¡~~~;;dT;;ttl~s~ausedby him. a simple ACTIüN-IDEA as narrative glue. Le!'s take a look
But remember, this strUcture differs from more somber, re- at Aristotle's definiiion of The Odyssey'sj\CTIÜN-IDEA:
alistic tragic structure.
Epic movies can have filler episodes surrounding the
A certain man has heen ahroad many years; Posei·
main action for embellishments, but this doesn't stop the
don is ever on the watch for him, and he is al! alone.
story from being mostly about one action:
~-._--~-----~<., . ,.,..,-,.._.
~.~.~~~, Matters at home too have come to this, that his substance
is being wasted and bis son's death plotted by suitors lo
Herein~ lhen, lo repeal whal we have said befare,
hiswife. Then he arrives there himself afler his grievous
we have a further proof of Homer's marvel!ons superi-
sufferings; reveals himself, and falls on his enemies; and
ority lo the resl. He did not attempl to deal even with
lhe end is his salvalion and their death.
the Trojan war in its entirety, though il was a whole with
a definíte beginning and end-through a feeling, appar-
ently, that it was too long a story to be taken in at one Aristotle informs us that this ACTIüN-IDEA, which holds
view, or if not thal, too complicated from the variety of together the massive poem The Odyssey, is all that matters
incident init. As it is he has singled out one section of and everything else is filler:
, --~'-~~~~-~-'- , -- ,-,~~~'_--"----"'"
the whole; many of the other in~idenís; however, he
¡;ri;;~~_·;:~·:~- episodes, using the Catalogneof lhe Ships, Tbis being al! lhal is proper lo .lhe Odyssey, every-
for inslance, and other episodes lo relieve the unifortnily thing else in il is episode.
54 Michael Tierno
.A
,. nstode's favonte pl~!, OedipusR~x, about.wh~thap
is
pens when you trytoescape destmy, as Oedipuslearns
tbe hard way. All bise~orts to escape bis predicte~fate
(that he< would kili bisfatherandmarry bis mother)lead
him closer lo fulfilling tllis destiny.• Many of theeventsthat
happen.in Oedipns Rex a~pear to be chance incidents.How"
'ever,as Ihe plotunfolds, itbecomesclear tbat thes~inci
dents . are anything butphance. Oedipus fulfills his <;l;stiny
and loses bis eyes because he didri't regard the god~'pre
dictiori as a senous factQrin shaping his life.
/ Heignored destinY.And while you might thin~Ihat
modero audiencesare t?O sophistifated to desire the;9ues-
tion of destiny tobe ad~ressed in movies, thinkagai~J"iEven
chance incidents in Th~Blair Witch Project feed i~~othe
"meaning" of what's gqing on, namely, that there r~~ly is
an .evil Blair Witch lurking in the . dark Maryland ~oods,
55
56 Michael Tierno Aristotle's Poetics tor Screenwriters 57
messing with the students. It's not a coincidence that those getting killed by Butch the boxer, in another chance inci-
fihu students lose their map and fipd Josh's ear after he dent. This information (that only the audience knows) leads
disappears. It al! starts to form a definitive "meaning," as the audience to "agree" that JJlies should heed the sign and
Aristotle says.It's not a good meaning for those film stu- leave the life of crime.
dents, but it's certainIy a "marvellous" one for the audienc'e. Pulp Fietion is not a classical take on destiny but con-
The theme of destiny also pops up throughout the hip nects story incidents of chance, necessity, and probability in
film Pulp Fieti01z.For example, when the drugdealer shoots a way that enhances the story's ACTION-IDEA, as well as
and misses Jules, Jules interprets this fluke accident as a sign its unique hipster sou!. The fluctuation between chance el-
from Cod to leave crime. He discusses his newly awakened ements and fate allows viewers to make up their own minds
sense of destiny .lo Vince as they drive along, but this notion about destiny. This is why the movie is much more than a
is smashed whefl their car hits a bump, causing Vince to "cool flick" about two hoods spouting jive. Its structure
accidentally shoot and kili Marvin in the hackseat. Now makes it a masterpiece, and earned Quentin Tarantino an
events are portrayed as pure accident, almost in response to Oscar for best screenplay.
Jules's earlier encounter with "destiny." Evoking destiny
-~.~~-_ .. ,
by using the tools of chance, destiny,
.-- ...
Story incidents that happen by chance are another build. necessity, and probability to form ONE COMPLETE AC-
. ing block of action, connecting the action through cause and TION is a provocative way to shape screenplays. Shape
effect the way incidentsof necessity and probability do. In yours this way, and someday you may be strutting down the
Pulp Fietion, the appearance of design in the story's chance aisle to accept an Oscar for your screenplay. And that would
elements allows Jules t<y read his luck as destiny, although be no accidento
he also witnesses Marvin's luck run out because of a fluke
accident. But perhaps, unlike Oedipus, Jules will go through
life with rus eyebal!s intact, spared from his own violent end,
.which would come about if he ignored the "signs." IfJules
had continued bis criminal behavior, he would havé de,
served whatever misfortune that would have then followed.
This is his one chance for salvation. Don't forget, as we are
watching the ending of the movie, because of its non-linear
chronology, we have already Seen Vince (Jules's partner)
11.
can advarice as an actor. Afterward, ROSEMARV tries to . wouldn't have the same magnitude. Thetragic deed always
discoverw~yher pregnancy is difficult, and what herweird illv()lves. the heroal1dso~ethil1g b~i;gdone' to the hero.11
neighbors want from her fetus, until she gives birth to the .. give~.th~~t~~ ~~ight;~~·é~~¡;-;~. h6fd·;t·4o~~·a~d--k~~p-
devil's childand decides to mother ¡t. 1;jr-th~~th~~'st~;;'~i;~~;'t~fl~~ti;'ga;~~~dit'¡¡k~"¡¡ttf~~~t~.
... ~,~ ú._.__•.,,'" .'.... ,.... ,• .•" •.,'.., ...,.,..... ".'. ,'.'. "",.. ;.-".'> " ..•.,,_.,.• ,. ;"•. " ,,'.. ~, "',", _'-, ;'-." ,-,'"".,"" . ' '·"'C"·.••.•. "'__"'-"''-'''',,, .... '~',..." ,.... ~.•.,.. , ,'" .,•. "·.-._e-,,, .,..'~" •. ~,~,,,'.'
elIites.
,~ <',","",'- ~ ,\ ~
In Rosemary's Baby, Rosemary's husband (Cuy), after TheoreticalIy, the tragic deed can happen anywhere in
slipping her sleeping pilIs, delivers her to the devil worship- the story. It can even happen in the back story, before the
pers and offers her body to Satan, who impregnates her. No actual movie begins, as in Oedipus Rex. Oedipus had met
two ways abOllt it, the devil having sex with Rosemary is his father on the road and kilIed him, without knowing.it
the tragic deed~ Aristotle emphasizes an important aspect of was his father. This deedweighs the entire story down
what makes it so horrific: and ultimately connects to Oedipus blinding himself at the
end of the play. The physical pain Oedipus feels when he
In a d~ed of lhis description the parties musl nec- gouges his eyes out matches his psychic pain. As Aristotle
essarily be ',either friends, or enemies, or indifferent to teaches us, lhe tragic deed usually involves the hero ex-
one another. Now when enemy does il on epemy, there periencing very intense physical suffering because of it.. In
is nOlhing to move us lo pity either in hisdoing or in ne GodJather, the tragic deed is that Michael must kilI
his meditating lhe deed, excepl so far as the actual pain members of his family because they are lraitors. In Ti,
of the sufferer. is concemed; and the same is lme when tanic, the tragic deed is Jack freezing in the icy Atlantic
the parties are indifferenl lo one anolher. Whenever
.. . 'C_';i_~'~_'-.,~, •.
th~
" ~,,._._-
waters as he props up lhe wood raft to save Rose. (Aris-
í lragic deed, however, is done within the family-when totle implies thal if the tragic deed doesn't actually happen
¡'murde;:o;'lhe'I;keis dü;¡e(;,. ;"edilaled brolher on to the hero then it should, happen to a family relation or
t
brolher, by son on father, by molher on son, or son on to someone like farnily, as jack is to Rose in Titanic.)
r
mother-theseare the siluations the poel should seek l(eep~~tr~gic ~e~.dinthe farni1y, and use it as a strong
afler. cen;~r·~f'g;a~;t;;t~ gi~~";~~;";~;eenplay rich, dramatic
depth. 11 can happen in the beginning, as in Rosemary's
Thal Rosemary's misery is caused by her own husband Baby, or al lhe end, as it does in Titanic. JUSI make sure it
greatly adds tothe pity and horror we feel forher. Ifa sleazy happens.
pomo directortricked her, the scene wouldbe scary, but it
1
.' .h.~
T p.,oeties í.S so us.e.·.IUI to scree.n
. ·.writers. b.. ecause..·•.•.A,ri
tot!e explaíns whywe humansrespond/to draI)latíc
. .s-
Beauty;
Bu! how do we relate to movíe heroes when wedon't
fight ín gladíator arenas,~onsort with the devíl, or battle the
63
64 MichaelTierno Aristotle's Poeticsfor Screen\Nriters 65
Evil Empire of the Death Star? The answer is that like he- you understand that Aristotle is clear on this concept: It is
roes in drama, we make choices that cause our own misfor- poor reasoning, not primal urges, that causes the hero's mis-
0t~rt;';;';e. . -.0 - . . . . , " , - . ,
result of ~~r~",n errorsi~judgIllent,We~fte~-f~~i'fu;i~~; flaw" i~hi~pride, displ~red when he refuses to honor Com-
'~~Il.miaro;t;,úa§:,,':lJ!l4e~e~~d.
,; ", ' " -."." .o~._·-·'·__ '~~d~s,.·;h~·~~;3¡;;t;t~I~;';h~·th;;;;,;;:o-A;.;-¿rth~;;~oii!'Thi;
Take a quick hypothetical example: Jane tries to be an ~;;o~ i~j~d~l1'le~;s~i~~lr~iTt¡:;;;~;~~t~o-th~~ lead to his misfor-
actress, risks her wholelife on (his dream, and at fifty-seven tune: Commodus has Maximus's wife and son killed, and
hasn't made it and has nothing. She has caused her misfor- . Maximus is sent off to be executed; he escapes wounded, then
tune; she made a choice, an error in judgment, and kept becomes a slave, a gladiator, and although he restores the
pursuing acting. But she doesn't really deserve such misfor- government to the people, he still dies. His pride, for which
tune either, because at the time she made her decision to be you can't blame him, causes his downfall. Now in Maximus's
an actress, she didn't know that she didn't have a chance to ' case, it's a pretty simple mistake. It happens once, and that's
make it. Although she persists in pursuing her dream against all the story needs. But this error in judgment adds a rich,
all odds, we still feel tl-lat she doesn't deserve her misfortune tragic tone to all the misfortune that befalls him, preeisely
and misery. because he has actively caused his own fate.
When misfortune that befalls a hero is both undeserved Dramatic stories with happy endings use action based
and caused by the hero,it arouses "pity" and "fear" in the on the undeserved misfortunes of the hero as well. The
audience. The hero must use reasoning (wrong reasoning), obvious difference is that in happy dramatic stories, the hero
because drama works by illuminating the plight of conscious overcomes the misfortune, as in Racky. Rocky chooses to be
humankind. Despite the gift of creation that is our higher a thumb breaker instead of a serious boxer, but that's soon
mind, we humans still screw up our lives. Aristotle points fixed by Apollo, Mickey, and the Rock himself, who is de-
out that in drama, ~o~.5~llses of!!,!isfortune can't be deprav-
,/, .'''"''',,'''"'''''' .. .... -.-----.,_.._~._~_.,_~_~' .... 'o, .", .,',- .~~.".~".~.~
termined to overcome his loser status in life.
ity, because then the misfortune would be a result of our Now let's turn our attention to actual misfortunes and
'~;';;;:;'al nature and therefore not interesting. You can call draw on an analogy from life once again. What makes an
such bad judgment a "tragic flaw" if you like, but make sure undeserved misfortune weighty enough to carry a plot? If
'-~
66 Michael Tierno Aristotle's Poetícs for Screenwriters 67
you park your new RolIs Royce in a mn-down neighbor- 10. Having good tbings come too late
hood overnight and come back to find your window 11. Having no good things happen to you
smashed and radio stolen, is this an action on which you 12. Having good things happen but being unable to enjoy
can build a story? lt's a misfortune, it's (somewhat) unde- them
served, and it's caused by an error in judgment. Howe~er,
an ACTION-IDEA that will arouse pity and fear in an au- Undeserved misfortunes destroy heroes like Maximus in
dience must be based on undeserved misfortunes of g;reat Gladiator, ~-th~h~~~rc;;-~~;ili~~~~ -;~iiock;.Th¡
~key-¡;;;-you -aoñ<r]ustl;;~;;s-"the-;hok;;~rY-;;';;~; big
-",~ ..... ,~-""\-""""',,:' '-"'".--"~ . ,,": ,',.~~...:.::¡:,.•.-,,',' ..,-" -,__.'",_ "',' "."",.'<-_ ' .. J"_'."~""C·' ",." ".,,,,,,,,,,,;, c' ,. "-",,, ... ~.""''''''''''"'-~,,,__ .,,,
feel glad it isn't you. (And because it's caused by the hero's undeserved event, y~u buildaU the significant sc~~~saro~nd
error in judgment, it éould very welI be you!) Here is a list ~S.~~~?:"~.~~~!:.~it~~~~~'""·''''''' ""0' ,
of undeserved misfortunes that Aristotle, elsewhere in his To do this, you can use a series of misfortunes, ones
writings, outlines as subject matters that arouse pity and fear from the twelve itemized aboye, in individua! scenes. Let's
in audiences:* see how undeserved misfortunes work in Gladiator, starting
with its ACTION~IDEA:
1. Death
2. Bodily assault or ill treatment n~ GLADIATOR-MAXIMUS, a brillianl Roman
his error in judgment, occurring when he refused to ac- of "strength and honor" that he utters in the opening scene
knowledge Cornmodus as Caesar, for which we can't blame as a general for Caesar. Because he suffers so much during
him and so we pityhim when al! these bad things happen the story, his life becomes a tragicdemonstration of this very
to him. Plus, because Maximus cares about his family and mantra.
refuses the advances of Lucilla, he seems honorable to I us, The tnistake in a hero's reasoning, leading to the hero's
andhis humanity makes him someone we relate too In other subsequent related tnisfortunes, is a great tool in building
words, he seems like us, in ourmost tragic-heroic image of story action and in conveying profound tmth to the audi-
ourselves, so we fear his bad fate can be ours aswel!. ence. But remember: Aristotelianprinciples are not rules,
The numeroustnisfortunes that befall Maximus serve they are starting points to understand how and why audi-
nOt only to propel the plot of Gladiator but to connect its ences respond to drama. Examining these principIes and
scenes thematically.For example, Maximus kilIs the barbar- how they work will hopefully give you a hanclle on how to
ians (death) and wishes to return home but can't (having apply them to your own screenwriting.
good things happen. but being unable to enjoy them). He May strength, honor, and peace be with you and your
refuses to honor Commodus and is sentenced to die (death), future audience!
but he escapes and is wounded (bodily harm). He then is
captured as a slave and trained as a gladiator, where he must
defend himself against further bodily harm and death. He
fights other gladiators, who also don't deserve their misfor-
tune, and has to kilI them (death). Finally at the end, Com-
modus wounds him (bodily harm) and then he dies,
returning to heaven to join his wife and child.
. Notice that in Gladiator, all the scenes are organic and
that they make sense in relation to the movie as a whole.
They are of similar tone and style and blend together wel!,
and they create ONE COMPLETE ACTION.
Even though the ending of Gladiator isn't really tragic
. because Maximus goes to heaven when he dies, the movie
itself is still a classic tragedy. Maximus lives up to the mantra
13·
sorne way. Because Gladiator used this technique so effec- Maximus's actions, as we have seen, are inherendy "right"
tively, it won Best Picture at the 2001 Academy Awards, and "wrong" at the same time. That the gladiators he must
despitebeing very gory-a decidedly unusual vote by the slaughter in self-defense aren't al! enemies but have been
academy. victimized like himself, raises the same agonizing moral con-
In Gladiator, there .is no doubt that Maximus and his tradiction. AlI this "moralizing" helps us relate to the movie.
armyare right in attackihg the barbarians. Not only do we In our day-to-day efforts to survive, we all feel like the
hear Caesar say that they are savages, but we watch the real world is a jungle. In showing a human tendency toward
Germanianshold up the messenger's severed head and later violence and revealing this as a tragic aspect of human na-
send back his headless corpse as a response to Caesar's ture, Gladiator imitates life and makes a statement about the
request fora peacefuL surrender. But bloodshed is still human condition modern viewers can appreciate.
bloodshed, and the tragic batde plays asa dark comment The message to you as a screenwriter is this: Don't shy
on the way human beings get things done. To paraphrase away from using moral~ontradiction to spice up your
Caesar, the barbarians will have civilizationbrought to them. screenplay stories. The audience wa~ts t?~ee ripht and
.,
Ironical!y, d>e "civilized" ends of the Roman Empire must ~~ng addr~ss~d, b~c~~~~ e~eryo?e feelst~~t~!~:g~ts~t the
justifr their brutal means. heartofwIlatit ~~'to¡'~h¡;;;';;"::Andj~~tbe glad th~~ ;o~;;~
Aristotle knew that his audiences were interested in ;;'ot-geftingUpi~'¡1í~;:';:;';~;;'i;'¡g- and strapping on gladiator
moral questions, and when he told his students that tragedy gear for another day in the arena. Be glad that your own
is an "imitaH?Ilofaction aIld life," theyautomatical!y as- moral contradiction probably consists in competing with' an
sumed 'h~. ;;~lref~rringtoth~';:;;~;~-ii¡:e of7he~0.Wh~-;; associate for a promotion. Be glad-yes!-that after putting
~,".'.,_ .,.",.,,.':"..'. """t':: - '-"'_"_'~';"""H'._ A,_.''"".. ,•... "•..,.>"._."_._".'.=....-=".-_,,,."_.,,".,,.,...~=-''''''''~·
M¡n¡;imus washes blood off his hands after the batde and on the screenwriting armor of the Poetics, you can race out
stares into the bloodied water, the audience feels his anguish into the brutal arena of Hollywood and shout, "Bring 'em
for having to kilI the barbarians even though they are ruth- on!"
less savages.His moral turmoil helps the audience relate to
him even thóugh it might not relate to the specific situation
that he is in (i.e., slave-turned-glad.iator).
Al! the action that brings change in the story must raise
the central moral question. What brings change in Gladiator
is fighting and killing. Albeit those of a· brilliant general,
lS.
A .
ristotle tells us that the "causes" of the action tIlat
ar?llse the a~di~nc~'spity ~~d fear mustb~;~cl~d~d
in the'~t~rY:Whatd"éshe ~e~?I;:; ~ ;'';;~h~ll, h~'~t~¡fu,g
"";;sUlatiilsn"t én;;nghf¿rtb~~n(_Íié;'éét;) hé"t;)ici;;that a
héro'sfortnne h~sre~ers~cl.1'hé a';dience must experience
a systematic buildup· through~'~tages," cul~inating inili;
herü's reversal offortune ina ~ay tbat arouses their em-
pathy.
--For example, take a look at Citizen Kane. The causes of
the action that arouses our pity and fear are simple, starting
with the first cause of action: Young Charles Kane is taken
from his home because of an inheritance that prompts his
mother to send him away with Mr. Thatcher, a guardian his
mother has· hired to raise her son. Charles's undeserved mis-
93
Aiístotle's Poetics for Screenwriters 95
Michael Tierno
leads Harry closer to rus eternal rever~al of fortune (goil}g
fortune affectsihis entireJife; he becomes controlling !;md
tohell). But the fact lhat Harry realizes the moralimpli¿a-
selfish a~ an adult and dies an old, lonely m¡m. Becausewe
lÍons of his actions help us feel for him.· We have seen that
understapd why he got th~t way, theplot arouses ourpity
he tmly regrets his hehavior and haveknown him to bea
and fear. For ~ristode, aU this is reve~led by a very sp~eial
definitioÍl of character: I
moral character, so we relate to him.
To close, I'd like to sum up this chapter thus:
To bring upon us now? What is to be fulfilled shrink and the cops are a perfect example of "chorus" com-
From daysof old? menting on the action. The questions and comments of the
Tell me thís, O Voice divine eops and the psychiatrist help to validate and explain the
Thou child of Golden Hope reality of the Terminator's mission, of Reese's role, and of
Sarah's role in saving the future of the world.
The chorus here does not move the plot along but makes In constructing theACTION-IDEA of your screenplay,
moral comments on what is happening by raising questions. consider how using seeondary characters as members of a
This ancient technique is not used in modern drama, al- "chorus" might work to strengthen it. If you're into far-·
though modernversionsof it can be found. For example, fetched plots, a <:horus may be key in making sure the au-
in Something About Mary, the two guys who sit in the trees dience understands what in the hell is going on.
and sing about the action are as close to a chorus in Greek
theater as has ever existed in modern film. Notice how the
"chorus" in this movie makes appearances, comments on
the action, emhellishes its'meaning and emotional impact,
while not reaJly adding anything to the plot. Notice how this
"chorus" keeps JOu at arm's length from th~ action while
giving you a window into it. The viewer feels like a privi-
leged spectator andat the same time becomes better con-
nected to Ted the hero, who finally gets Mary. Something
About Mary is an example of a comical way to use a chorus,
serving the overall tone of the story.
Remember, the important thing in trying to use a mod-
ern chorus is to understand the chorus's job-to comment
on the action and to reinforce it in the audience's perception.
y ou can have all kinds of secondary characteis commenting
on the action. For a quick example of this, consider The
Terminator, where Reese is held in the police station and
questioned by a psychiatrist, who thinks he's crazy. The
How to Create
.
Characters
.
..
that they existo Finally, whatever characteristics you do give he gives us five principIes of life that we can use to create
them, make sure JOu keep them there throughout the length character in our stories:*
of the screenplay. As Aristotle says, make sure they are "con-
sistently inconsistent."
,_,_0'-"""', _~_"~_•.•,.,__ ~ •••_,.., ,,"
l. Nutritive Life
In another passage, Aristotle elaborateson what líe 2. Desiring Life
means by making a characer, realistic. Once again, he uses 3. Sensitive Life
painting as an analogy: 4. Locomotion
5. Capacity for Rational Thought
As Tragedy is an imitation of persons better than the
ordinary man',we in our way should follow the example .Because these five principIes all belong to the makeup of a
of good portrait-painters, who reproduce the distinctive real-life person's "psychology," they can be used to create
features, of a roan, and at ~e same time, without 'losing convincing three-dimensional characters. Let's examine each
the likeness, make him handsomer than he is. The poet . ane.
in like mannei, inportraying men quick or slowto anger,
or with similar' infirmities of character, must know how 1. Nutritive LiCe. Do you wonder about your characters'
to represent them as such, and at the same time as good eating habits? Wouldn't that tell you (and your audi-
roen ...
ence) a lot about them? Don't your eating habits saya.
lot about you? You should braill.storm as much as you
Rocky, trying in a larger-than-life way to be more than can to get a clear picture of what the eating habits of
a bum from theneighborhood, is still oddly recognizable your characters might be, to gather clues about who they
as a regular guy. 'Lester Burnham from Ameriean Beauty is are. How do they eat, what do they eat? Do they think
the ultimate mid-life-crisis guy who eventually redeems about food a lot? What do your characters' refrigerators
himself in declining to sleep with Angela. Even Michael look like? Not that any of this ever has to make it to
Corleone, the mafia son par excellence, appears noble in a the page, but it's a window into their character. 1 mean,
time of family crisis because he is willing to defend and when Rocky gets up at 4- a.m. and drinks four raw eggs,
honor his family. In their actions and attributes, these
three characters illustrate the realism to ""hich tragic *The following list is derived from Aristotle's other writings, mainly De
drama, according to Aristotle, should aspire. Additionally, Anima (On the SouZ).
126 Michael Tierno Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters 127
isn't that wQrth a gazillionpag~~_ºfp§}'Q!lplogical notGs touch,smell, arid taste--cdefine our lives at thG most ba-
on hi ? That image isso powerful andevocative thit sic leve!. Lester Burnham spends alot of time mastur-
lll
you know without furthGr elaboration that he is serious bating, doesn't he? In fact, it's'how we are first
abo\lt this bQxing match. Look at Lester B\lrnham. What introdl.lced to him. Whai mOre do we need to sense thilt
doeshe eat?iBy the endof his transformation from mi~ Lestef is real and to "know" who he is? In cinema,
erablé mid-life-crisis guy to seekerof eternal youth, hG's perhaps the most important sense in regard to character
blending ancl drinking hGalth drinks. What could telllts development is. visual perception.Great screenwriters
more. about.· Lester's new attitude toward life? What know how to feed inf¿rillatión to the audiente through
could:makeLester seemmoie human? the eyes of characters, such as when Lester sees Angela
at thepep 'rally and fantasizes about her. Shówing h6w
2. Desiring Life. At the heart of alIaction is the desire of characters .actually see ihings with their own eyes ena-
the .h~r() .. Ba~ic·h~~~~ci;;;;~;~;~;Uly'~;hi¡~;;¡Z~~';h~-' . bies. the audienc:e to experience "causes" of (he action.
actets come alive on the screen. In1he Godfather, when It also puts touse a powerful aspect of thecinematic
Michael Corleonegoes tO Italy and falls id love with an mediulIl , which is the hero's literal point of view.
Italiallwoman from the mountaills, does\l't that make
. him 'seem truly alive? It's a probable incidGnt that fIows 4. Locomotion. Carefully
......... ...•..
,"" - -
depictipg
-_
.•.... ,
movement is vital tó a -
- , ,
withthe action, iefIecting his deep coIIlIl1itment to his screenplay. For exampl~, 1he Blair Witch ~rojeet is a
Itali<ín "roots." In Gladiator, Maximus rearns to go i.~p~~tryóf rest and locomotion, in which thecharacters'
home to his family and,after they have been murdered, use of their eyes andears .ls also notably importaJ:lt.
to join them:in eternity. In 1he Blair Witch Projeet, the Heather, the lead character in the story, spends a lotof
kids' ambitidn to tape the Blair Witch and make a film time rimning around, screaming, and trying to videotape
leads them to their death. Desiring is at the heart of the ground in front of her. The lifelike aspect of alI the
what it means to be a living, breathing human being. characters is transmitted largely by their physical mo."e-
ment,as they trudge ihrough the woods.
3. Sensitive LiLe. It goes. without saying that our five
senses. are abig part oE being alive. If a human being 5. Capacity for Rational Thought.Thinking. about the
faces the prospect of losing sight or hearing, it's devas- mindand thought proc~sses of people can be a fun~ay.
tating. In fact, alI of the five senses-sight, hearing, to brainstorm charactets into existence, In Annie Háll,
128 Michael Tierno
gets its power frOln the plot, whose e/fect builds In a cu- more dynamic to anaudience, so it'snot a good idea to
mulativeaswellas line~:way. Dial;g formsst~ryaction~rld hav~ characters saying exaetly what's o?their minds butto "
~erives lifeand energy fr~~" the action it helps build. tbis '-;';~dialogto
i;Upíy ~ha¡they are think!Ilg·
is a symbiotic relationship. For a simple demonstration, iEl That's.not to saythat c()nversational dialog isn't impor-
say the line, "They're here," it's not agreat line of dialogo tant~audíences love dialog like that in ~uljJ Fietion ,or Night
But in Poltergeist, when it's theyoung child announcing the on Eartn.I lóve dialog more than theaverage moviegoer,
arrival ofa house full of ghosts, it's brilliant, because it's and> myown scripts and films ate dialog heavy. However,
. concise but moVes usinto anew stage of the plot (we now in even thi; most dialog-dependent sc~ipt like My Dinn~r
want to find out exactly wnat's "here"and why this child witn Andr~, t!le dialog is intrinsic to theaction~to the plot,
,iSBO attun.ed to the new invisible guests). meaning,causality oE the incidents, amI dramatic unity. In
Aristotle goes so far as to say that although dialog isa fact, sometimes plot actiondoes require that dialog be 'Ion
building block of a drama, it can sometimes get in the way: the ilose,"as in Gladiator, when Maximus gives his gladiator
team c1earinstructions on how tofight the coming onslaught
El<lb0rate Diction, h6wever, is requiredin places of enemygladiators. Aristotle stressesthe ÍJ.nportance oflan-
where lhere ii no action, ~nd no Character 0f Thought guage at every level of drama:
to be revealed. Where there is Character or Thought, on
the other hand, an Dver-ornate Diction tends to obscure The Thought of the persons in a play is shown in
them. alI thafmust be elfected by their language-in every elfort
to pro~e or disprove, tú arouse emotioic(pity, fear, anger,
Not only can elaborate dialog obscure thought, sometimes and tJ,>e like), or to exaggúate or minitnize things.
dialog that. is "straight on the nose" can ~ina sce?e when
·~h~r~ct~~s s~ie~acÚy whatis on tlleir 'mind~~nd ¡h~;~ ¡;'- However, language can be tricky. If ¡¡ctions speak louder
no sub-text to fhat they are saying. In (;[¿di~tor, in the than words, they can also speak better:
scene where Maximus and Lucilla flirt in the garden, -Ve
sense an intense unstated sexual undercurrent to theír The only dilferenceis that in,ac§on the elfe~t has
words. But their dialog is not 'Ion the nose," it's what's to be,produced without~-"planatioh;whereas with the
going on insidetheir minds that's intriguingto uso What's spoken word it has to beproduced by the speaker, and
not said, (jr the,¡nner thoughts of the characters, is often resuIt •from his language. What, indeed, would be the
132 Michael Tierno Aristotle's Poetics for Screenvvriters 133
good of lhe speaker, if lhings appeared in lhe required !i~re, dialog is a kind of fighl lhat uses infonnalion in lh~
lighl even aparl from anything he says? lasl slalemenl, and opposes il and moves tlie fighl forward.
I)ialog as dialectic is, in effecl, aclion. Compare lhe previous
Arislotle:s syslem of lhoughl indudes a concepl called exchange lo ~.er:e conversa,tion:
"~i~e.:~c::' Sounds like "dialog," doesn'l jI? Tha!'s because'
the lwo concepls .are indeed similar. Le!'s see· how they
JOE: We won'l make il because you drive like my grand-
work.
molher.
Firsl, someone makes a stalemenl, a "lhesis." Then an
BOB: I'm hungry.
opposing slalemenl is made,an "anti-thesis." These lwo
JO E: I hopethis car don'l break down.
slalemenls then coilide in opposition, forming a synlhesis,
",hich is kind of a"we slarl all over again" lhesis:
Obviously, lhis is more lypical of lwo friends lalking in thal
JOE: (THESIS) We won'l make illhere because you're driv- neither listens lo lhe olher. It's mere conversalion, and does
Nolice lhal inthis exchange, joe makes a stalemenllhal JOE: We won'l make il there because you're driving like my
Bob is driving like his grandmolher. Bob doesn'l jusI re- grandmother.
spond, he uses the informalion conlained in joe's slalemenl BOB: Your grandmother's dead.
ifies joe's real message, thal Bob's driving is falally flawed. for a molel.
Il's a fusion of lhe two ideas, thal Bob drives like joe's BOB: Yeah. Do you know anylhing aboul computers?
grandmolher, and thal joe's grandmother is dead. Notice .J o E: Keep your eyes on the road.
lhal what gels balted back and forth is simply informalion. B o B: I wilL Do you wanna drive afler lunch?
134 MichaelTierno
'A'
•.,
ristotle tells us that tu;~;.~x.beiIlg.tol~ the,~asic plot"
listen,ers should be moved by it, just as they would be
. when watching it enacted 011 the s~;~en., What better wa~,
, then, to test whether your sereenplay is going to do what
you want it to do than toutter your ACTIüN-IDEA to
people andsee what kind ofteaction it gets? Dramatic story
is first and foremost an oratorical art; the ineident~ hay,,,. to
~.?ul1cd good to the ear. (and.rnind) if they' ar~'ioi~i to e;:~
. ter;~i~f~; ~ylength~fti~~.-· . ., ...."
. COI1~ider the ind~pend~~t-film success The Blair Witch
Project, where you never se~. the witch. That's because tp.'e
'makers of that movie had me insight to understand the ot·
atorieal aspect of dramatic storytelling. The incidents of the
movie sounded so gripping and scary that they spread over
the Internet like wildfire aIld later by word of mouth at
135
Michael Tierno Aristotle's Poetics for Screenvvriters 137
136
colleges. It all worked because the hasic plot, or ACTION- information and entertainment. The printing press, hooks,
IDEA, of 'The Blair Witch Projeet was so strongthat people movies, and. TV are relatively recent developments in the
felt compelled to see the movie. In fact, they were scared human scheme of things. But how we appreciate the essence
before they saw the movie! of a story hasn't changed. We sound it out in our minds to
The Blair Witch Projeet had the luxury (as well as thé enjoy it. It's that simple. That's why if it sounds good to
genius) of using a mock documentary format whereby local people before we write it, it is. good. Saying your idea out
residents are interviewed about the legend of the Blair loud should produce whatever effect you want it to have on
Witch, who would make one kid face the wall while she screen, or on the page. This is why the "pitch" is so im-
killed the other and then kili the one facing the wall. Admit portant to everybody. Let's face it, the pitch is just the
it, you felt.something, even if you hate horror. That scenario ACTION-IDEA sounded out loud. And if yours doesn't
gets played out at the end, when it happens to the two grab people the way The Blair Witch Projeet's grabbed mil-
remaining kids: Michael faces the wall as Heather is killed. lions of fans, your screenplay won't either.
But the incident has already been implanted in our minds,
which makes the repIay of the incident at the end more
powerful.
To take another example, how would a teenager try .to
convince his peers to see Something About Mary? They
would retell the hilarious story incidents they saw. Or, con-
sider how many people walking the American streets today
can make other people laugh by retelling the incidents in A
Christmas Story? Haven't you done that? 1 have. 1 rememher
once 1 told my screenwriter friend the plot of .creen Card
(a couple has to pretend to be married so one can get his
green card, and they fall in love). He said, "Oh wow." He
was feeling the power of the whole story, just [rom hearing
its ACTION-IDEA.
_~.tol)' has always been an oratorical arto Long ago, peo-
pie sat around the fire, telling stories to each .other for
29·
•T· his ehapter will look at the. style of the highly original
screenwriter Quentin Tarantino. We'll examine a very
interesting aspect of l¡is masterpiece, Pulp Fietion,which is
its "non-linear" plot.Playing with a story's time line might
be something you want to think about when starting to bu¡ld
your screenplay's outline. This style of plot is veryprevalent
in today'scinema.
While the Poetics doesn't directly address time-bending
plots perse, it's not a big stretch fromAristotle's "arrange-
ment of the incidents" to the plot rearranging tl¡.at
characteriies many non-linear narratives. But it's important
to understand that non-linear plots are not composedof
simple flashbacks or told as memory or recollection. Their
chronologieal shuffiing must work to create meaning, and
jolts in the movie's time line must call attention to themselves
(and better be used for a good reason!). Now let's examine
a brilliant chronological rearrangement of plot incidents.
139
Aristotle' s Poetics for Screenwriters 141
140 Michael Tierno
In the first scene of Pulp Fiction, we find Hpney Bunny for instanee, are portrayed most truthfully by one who is
and Pumpkin robbing a dinero The story moves on and feeling them at the moment.
when Vince andJules recover Marcellus's stolenmoney from there is an "authentic feel" to his movies: They seem to
drug dealers again. The action jumps right to Jules's speech, come right from his heart and sou!. Many people have tried
·which he quotes from the Old Testament before killing the to emulate his style, but the results have been weak. Not
drug dealers. This is the first time in the "chronological that Tarantino hasn't tapped into other films for his own
story" that Jules ¡aunches into this speech bui the second ideas, but he manages to blend his own kuowledge of other
time in the story we see it. This speech is the pivot and films and genres in a unique Way.
y ou, too, have to find your soul and tap into it. It might
handle of the whole non-linear structure.
In effect, PufJp Fiction takes the middle of .lhe chrono- not be quite as marketable as Tarantino's, but at the end of
logical story and slices it into the beginning and end of the the day, Aristotle would rather see youwriting something
powerful from your own soul than trying to reproduce some- .
plot, giving the movie a unique twist whereby banal con-
one else's cool style. As a story analyst, so would I.
versation (the funny dialog in the rest of the story) is con-
trasted with Jules's urgent renuneiation of his ,criminal life E<:lIl'.l.try to.second-guess what the Hollywood market is
J)()king for.1'1I telÍ you a I~ttlesecret that is not such a secreto .
and his quoting of powerful passages from the Old Testa-
In Hollywood,theydon't kuow what they are looking foro
· ment.
They kuow it when they see it. This is not to kuock Holly-
Perhaps the teason Tarantino is able to be convincing
wood, because, as William Goldman said, "Nobody kuows
· with his unique style of plot bending is because in all his
anything. Nobody knows a goddam thing." It's also not to say
writing he says what he really feels, from his own unique
go ahead and write something completely idiosyncratic, and
perspective. To understand what 1 mean, consider the fol-
wonder why a studio doesn't want to invest 100 million dol-
lowing Poetics passage:
lars to produce your fantasy. Instead you should attempt to
write from your soul and move an audience in a way that
As far as may be, too, the poet should even aet his
comes naturally, but you must have "moving your audience"
story with the very gestures of his personages. Given
as your ultimate end; everything else should fall into place.
SOme natural qualifieations, he who feels the emotions
Gene Wilder has been quoted as saying that his overall guide-
deseribed will be the most eonvineing; distress and anger,
142 Micháel Tierno
your soul for an.audience, not for your favorite esoteric film
song or syltlphony, as the folk>wing passage from the Poetid
'direct()r'in'S;~d~;;':-'-
points out:
143