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Hey folks, welcome to Spitball!, the world's first screenplay written by blog.You may want to read the posts in our about section, particularly our Statement of Purpose

Or, you can start on the first post and work your way through sequentially by using the 'suceeding' links above the post name.

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There are two of us here: Kent M. Beeson (aka Urban Shockah) bio, and Martin McClellan (aka Burley Grymz) bio.

Speedy Synopsis

After fighting through 50 different story ideas, the boys have picked Time to Die as the script to write. They are now starting the writing process.

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Round 9.9 [The Atheist v. Atmosphere]

March 23, 2006 · by The Urban Shockah · Permalink · comment on this post in the forum · Category: Original Version, the screenplay
In this case the story rests on a fulcrum: the audiences ability to make an emotional connection with the protag. Making him autistic seems like an artificial barrier to doing that.

I totally disagree with this premise. I can't imagine walking into a movie about an autistic person and thinking, "This guy can't make an emotional connection to people, so I can't make an emotional connection with him." That doesn't make any sense. I literally don't understand or recognize what you're describing. It's totally contrary to everything I know about stories and films.

The question is whether this story will be enhanced or troubled by having the protag be autistic. I think the latter.

And I think the former.

• His autism is an inner incarceration, a thematic reflection of his external incarceration.
• It connects with his obsession with terraforming, and its symbolic connection to alchemy: he desires an inner change, and can only attempt it by making an external change in the world around him.
• It makes his relationships within the jail and his goal of transforming the atmosphere around the jail more difficult, and thus more interesting.

The fact that he's, again, for lack of a better phrase, "mentally handicapped" is problematic, but it seems more like an opportunity than a crisis. It's strange, because putting the deaths of hundreds or thousands of people on the head of a mentally handicapped man is an odd premise for a story. But I don't think it's an excuse -- he's still responsible, and there are still ramifications: meaning, this guy with mental problems goes to jail. I think that's interesting, and invites a complicated response.

But again, what I'm penultimately saying isn't that it has to be an autistic guy, simply that my version and your version are on the same level, imo -- that is, my "autism made me do it" and your "it was a mistake cuz I fell asleep" are more or less equivalent. I still think the culpability of the protagonist needs to be raised.

And what I'm ultimately saying is that I'm tired of considering the audience and trying to imagine what they will or won't accept. It's cart before the horse. Figure out the story first, then figure out how to "sell" it to an audience.