Screenplays

These two screenplays obviously were written by two students with a strong understanding of gospel principles. What a relief that they didn't need to be didactic in nature to convey a strong moral message. Yet, the ideologies of the perspective authors were very clear in their works. Take A Todd's for example. He obviously believes strongly in receiving inspiration from living life. That we can only learn about ourselves by going outside of ourselves. Outside our comfort zone. You don't learn how to apply the gospel by sitting in your house studying the scriptures all day but by going to some foreign land and trying to teach it to strangers. And suddenly we have a gospel principle oriented theme.

This is how I'd like to someday convey the gospel in my own media. I'm to much of a fan of force feeding my audience a message. I like the idea of letting them get there on their own. Chloe's screenplay could be interpreted thousands of different ways. What does Grace's hair symbolize to you? The natural man? An addiction? A negative relationship? Our own interpretation of the symbol ends up telling us more about ourselves than about Chloe.

I want this someday for myself. As a writer by nature (maybe someday by career) I make a constant effort to write something that is received differently by everyone. To incorporate gospel principles on any level is to invite antagonists from across the demographic spectrum. You'll have some of the church's worst enemies and best friends banging down your door to call you out. Yet I plan to try and express the ideology I have inherited from the church as much as possible.

Wow! I found Chloe’s script to be extremely compelling. What a great way to take a look at this mortal existence. When we think of hair, we don’t always think about it being a living part of us, we think of it as something that is dead and something that we can get rid of if we want because it will always grow back. Why is it so hard for us to think about death in this same way?

So what I’m thinking is that Chloe was using hair as a symbol for our carnal selves and how we literally need to cut ourselves off from it if we are to be free and happy. Other’s I think mistakenly see this as death of sorts; they feel sorry for us because we can no longer take part in worldly things but we know that we are better off because we were ready for the change. We were tired of the fight and see that the worldly fun was becoming more pain and regret then pleasure.

I love how in the end Grace floats away…I know some might find that ending cheesy but I liked it. I thought that it was wonderfully able to show how there are many different deaths in our existence and they should all be seen as being wonderful because they are always a start of a new journey on a new road to better places.

Screenplays- Investigating Gospel Principles

            The screenplays written by Chloe Huber and A Todd are truly bold (not even considering the general opinion/favor of their scripts). I really respect their artistic endeavors. And, perhaps these screenplays do investigate gospel principles, which can be seen through their artistic techniques in the script.

            I had the chance to closely follow these directors throughout (and still) their production of their films. As I have watched them visualize and conceptualize their scripts, I recognize the deep concern, and excitement they have to carry out their screenplays. The screenplays really do speak their styles.

            In terms of investigating gospel principles, I believe Chloe Huber’s script is this engulfing, dominating aspect of Grace’s Hair. I believe that her hair represents the natural man. Grace is under-shadowed by her hair, a living character itself. Perhaps, maybe a foil that reveals the duality of any individual? Thus, in the script, there are scenes that bring the hair into humanly characteristics: eating popcorn, being concerned with the mustard on her face, tuned to the whistles, sounds of the outdoors, etc. But eventually, her hair visually becomes rattier, messier. The hair is no longer polished, glossy, or trimmed. The hair carries her misdeeds, her mistakes (like the dried up paint, the popcorn, etc). Grace becomes burdened, and alienated. The rooftop scene reveals redemption. As she falls off the roof, she finally has the chance to cut her hair. She isn’t fearful anymore of this malicious hair, this living “thing.” And, with that, the ratty hair, the dirty hair is cut and away with. She is left with “her”— polished, cut, neat hair. Now, the wind can carry her away.

            In Todd’s screenplay, I find it may touch on the subject of “home.” Perhaps, Bellpond’s home (his type of Eden) was taken away from him, and like all of us we are continually searching to return back to our home. Yuridia becomes his “Ithaca.” And his writer’s block, and his challenge to compose this “masterpiece” is the raging sea (that of Odysseus’s travels). Bellpond doesn’t recognize his home until it is lost, and he cannot return to his home unless he is renewed. Perhaps, it’s the “broken heart and contrite spirit” motivation. We all must be broken before we can be repaired. 

The Screenplays

How do these screenplays investigate gospel principles? What artistic techniques are used to accomplish this invetigation?

The screenplays were definitely interesting to read. They both had very diverse qualities that set them apart from other screenplays that I have read or movies that I have seen. I believe that the main quality that set the screenplays apart was the presence of gospel principles strewn through out them. The presence of the gospel was never obvious, but the screenplays were tinged with hints of gospel principles. In Smith's screenplay, the main character suffered a great loss and chose to fall away from his work and his talents instead of holding strong to them and working through the pain of his loss. This often occurs to members of the church. It is very easy for people to fall away from the church when experiencing hardship even though staying closer to the gospel will only lighten the burden of suffering. There were many parts of Smith's screenplay that I was confused about but I could tell that the screenplay will be very visually effective. The audience will be able to see for their own eyes the shift from complete happiness to great despair. However, there are also elements of repentance and the atonement. If Smith completes another masterpiece and abandons his sorrows then he will be rewarded with not only excellent work but also a letter from his love. His despair will be forgotten and he will have the chance of happiness once again.
Huber's screenplay was very different than Smith's. The screenplay reminded me a great deal of Tangled. I was slightly disappointed at the unoriginality of the story, but I think that Huber added some extra stuffing to the story which elevated the symbolism and level of importance for telling the story. The main character was weighted down by her hair. Her hair had a life of its own but it was also a part of her. Her hair symbolized different emotions that she feels in an external, physical way. It is almost as if her hair represents the little angels and devils that are floating around buzzing in the ear of each and every one of us. The hair causes her a lot of grief, but at times it also helps and assists her. It is as if she has a love/hate relationship with her hair. She is torn in multiple situations internally and we see this struggle by the actions of her hair. By the end of the story it is as if her hair has control over her instead of the other way around. In the end her hair represents evil that has gotten hold of her. By fighting back and cutting her hair off she is regaining control of her life and she is cutting off all forms of evil in her life. That is why she is exalted and lifted into the air. Because she has overcome adversity and evil. The Screenplay plays with ideas of sin, repentance, exaltation, and achieving the highest level by overcoming the will to do evil.

The Scripts

These scripts that we said were.. interesting, to say the least. I had to abandon my traditional view in order to even somewhat understand them. The best I can figure, both scripts are purposely asynchronous with traditionally understood themes and motives. I was reminded of the farcical acting styles of "Moulin Rouge" and Phil Goodwin's "Bread to Kill".

Smith's "Mr. Bellpond's Masterpiece" seemed to me to be a look at insanity. At least, I would hope that the events of the script are only occuring internally in this Bellpond character's decent into madness over his wife's death. If I were to choose a gospel principle explored by this script, it would be hope and faith. The overarching sense of the story is that this man has lost his purpose in life, and it is found again in his renewed search to receive his wife's letter. I thought that the best artistic choice made in the screenplay is to show the man going off in search of his wife, having not even read the letter he received. There is some meaning attributed to this that I'm sure will show up in the production, like faith or the need to continually seek hope.

I don't have any idea how to analyze the Huber script. I can't figure out what possessed hair has to do with anything, let alone something gospel related. It seems that Grace finds some sort of redemption in cutting away the possessed hair and dying (I think she died..). There really isn't much else I can say on a subject that I really don't understand.

To be totally honest, I did not like these screenplays. They were too obscure for me to relate to them on any level, so I found no meaning in them. Obscurity can be good in allowing the audience to find ambiguous truths for themselves, but I just found these stories to be ridiculous. I hope no one is offended by this, but I just can't pretend to find meaning in something which I did not connect to at all. I hope that someone else found more to these than I did.

The Worst Scripts I've Ever Read

Wait...I thought Saw VII was the 'Final Chapter', and yet here I am being tortured all over again. These are by far the worst screenplays I have ever read. I got through about five pages of 'Smith' and eight pages of 'Huber'. I don't know who I should pity more, myself or the authors who didn't take these to a level worth making public. There general ideas carry the potential for an interesting narrative, but their current drafts are still trying to find the necessary thoughts to convey their potential goals. These stories are weighed down in pages of fat. I could not find cohesiveness in their stories, and was left wondering what they were trying to achieve outside of utter nonsense. They have no clear story structure and visually the stories make little sense. Is Mr. Bellpond suppose to be a comedy or a tragedy? The self indulging tone of the voice over and the coupling of 'spooning' and depression feels horribly artificial. Meanwhile Grace shows no mentally capacity to process what is happening to her, and the world in general breaks any form of plausibility.

I'm hoping these screenplays were primarily intended to 'investigate gospel principles' because that may explain why they feel so completely forced. The characters are put in wildly imaginative situations but then they just sit and mope while the authors try and find what the point of their writing may be.

I cannot take this blog prompt seriously. These scripts need real editing and revisions that I do not have time to preform. After all, I have my own horrible scripts to write.

-Nephi Hepworth

Screenplays and the Gospel

It was interesting to think about the gospel principles that were addressed/part of the screenplays that we read this week. I think I will discuss each of them separately and talk about what I felt they were trying to say and how they accomplished that goal.

Mr. Bellpond's Masterpiece focuses on the principle of hope and how hope affects and is a large part of our lives. In Mr. Bellpond's case we are given a negative example about what happens to our lives when we live without hope. This screenplay suggests that hope is an important part of what helps people do what is right. This is especially important to our faith as hope is mentioned frequently in the scriptures. In Ether 12:6 we are taught that hope is an anchor to the soul and that idea is reflected in Mr. Bellpond's life. A. Todd Smith did some interesting things with this screenplay to argue for the need for hope and how that applies to each of its readers/viewers.

Mostly I want to talk about how Mr. Bellpond is narrated. Thus, although Bellpond is given a personality, he seems to be less of a character and more of a character type. We don't really get to hear what he says and we aren't given the chance to try and interpret him...we are given access to his thoughts and emotions directly. This method helps the viewers, in a didactic sense, understand what the "moral of the story" is.

For Chloe Huber's story, I believe a gospel principle she tackles is the danger of refusing to prune ourselves. In other words, just like we are taught in the scriptures, especially in Jacob's allegory of the Lord's vineyard, we must be pruned to be shaped correctly. This pruning takes the shape of discipline and righteousness in our lives and is always difficult to deal with. Grace's hair might represent her desires and her refusal to cut that hair represents her inability to discipline herself. Likewise, if we refuse to undergo the pruning we require, we can never become who the Lord wants us to be. Yet, as soon as she prunes her hair, she is carried up. It is an interesting allegory. I liked that artistic method of presenting the story allegorically to real life and I think that helped the story teach about this gospel principle.