DZ-52: Antagonists! 4 - vs Systems

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast

How do systems pressure your characters to change?

This is Part Four (!!) of our Five Part Epic Exploration into antagonists forces and sources of conflict. In this episode we explore "system/world/society" antagonists. While stereotypically associated with science-fiction, these sources of conflict are found across genres.

To that end, we talk MINORITY REPORT, DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, MUDBOUND, and THE LOBSTER - with a special mention of high school movies.

We continue refining our tools surrounding antagonists/sources of conflict: obstacles, pressure, enablers, pushers, pullers, education and thwarting. We especially focus on how the pressures of the system/world/society force characters to either submit to the system, overthrow it or escape it; and how framing all of your characters’ journeys in relation to the rules of the world they inhabit can lead to a thematically strong story.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND!

Audio quotations used for educational purposes only. Timestamps indicated below. Chapter markers included in the mp3. Watch it on on YouTube. Read the transcript on GitHubor in HTML.

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EPISODE LINKS

• DRAFT ZERO RELATED EPISODES
  • DZ-49: Antagonists! (Part 1) – vs Humans
  • DZ-50: Antagonists! (Part 2) – vs Self
  • DZ-51: Antagonists! (Part 3) - vs Nature
• INTRODUCTION: vs Society
• MINORITY REPORT scplay by Scott Frank and Jon Cohen [@ 6m 50s]
  • Script: "MINORITY REPORT" -- May 16, 2001 revised draft
  • JustWatch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/minority-report
  • Watch: Anderton Sees Himself Kill
• DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES w: Mark Bomback and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver [@ 36m 49s]
  • JustWatch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes
  • Watch: Apes do not want war
• MUDBOUND scplay: Virgil Williams and Dee Rees [@ 53m 31s]
  • Script: Mudbound - FYC Draft
  • Read: The First White President
  • Watch: Mudbound - An Inside Look
  • JustWatch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/mudbound
• THE LOBSTER w: Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthymis Filippou [@ 1h 30m 43s]
  • Script: The Lobster - 30 April 2013 Draft
  • Watch: The Dance
  • JustWatch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-lobster
• SYSTEMS AND GENRES [@ 2h 01m 02s]
  • JustWatch: Not Another Teen Movie
  • JustWatch: Brick
  • JustWatch: Mean Girls
  • JustWatch: The Road
• WRAP UP & KEY LEARNINGS[@ 2hr 05m 30s]

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