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Books > Arts & Architecture > Performing arts > Films, cinema > Film theory & criticism
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Me and You and Memento and Fargo - How Independent Screenplays Work (Paperback)
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Me and You and Memento and Fargo - How Independent Screenplays Work (Paperback)
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Within the last twenty-five years, an enormous burst of creative
production has emerged from American "independent" filmmakers. From
"Stranger than Paradise" (1984) and "Slacker" (1991) to Gus Van
Sant's "Elephant" (2003) and Miranda July's "Me and You and
Everyone We Know" (2005), indie cinema has become part of
mainstream American culture. But what makes these films
independent? Is it simply a matter of budget and production values?
Or are there aesthetic qualities which set them apart from ordinary
Hollywood entertainment? "Me and You and Memento and Fargo" argues
that the American independent feature film from the 1980s to the
present has developed a distinct approach to filmmaking, centering
on new and different conceptions of cinematic storytelling. The
film script is the heart of the creative originality to be found in
the independent movement. Even directors noted for idiosyncratic
visual style or the handling of performers typically originate
their material and write their own scripts. By studying the
principles underlying the independent screenplay, we gain a direct
sense of the originality of this new trend in American cinema.
There are many screenwriting manuals and guidebooks on the market,
but they pose many problems for the aspiring independent filmmaker.
First, they all rely on formulas believed to generate salable
Hollywood films. For instance, most writers, including Syd Field
("Screenplay"), Richard Walter ("Screenwriting"), and Linda Seger
("Making a Good Script Great"), present a "three-act paradigm" as
gospel and proceed to lay down very stringent rules for
characterization, plotting, the timing of climaxes and so on. Some
writers, notably Field and Seger, even go so far as to demand that
the screenwriter present a dramatic turning point within specific
pages. Even advice books that appear to be more open about such
rules (e.g. Robert McKee's "Story") turn out to be just as
inflexible in their advice. But the screenwriting manuals tend to
ignore the fact that Hollywood companies do not want only the
formula; they also want novelty (which is hard to teach as a set of
rules). The independent filmmaker is usually aware of the rules but
treats them as flexible guidelines, to be used as necessary but
also to be rejected or reworked if it will be of creative benefit.
The screenplay manuals have a second fault. On the rare occasions
when they deal with independent films, they tend not to appreciate
the genuine innovations that the films introduce. This is partly
due to the fact that the manuals' authors are unaware of the
historical tradition of independent cinema. Thus, McKee treats
"Stranger than Paradise" as an "anti-plot" film. This category,
however, cannot adequately analyse what the film does positively;
it does not lack a plot, but rather has a different kind of plot.
Ironically, it has a three-act structure, but the structure becomes
geographical rather than plotted as a dramatic arc. Moreover,
"Stranger than Paradise" derives its approach to storytelling from
1970s minimalist cinema, punk subculture, and the Beat tradition of
"Shadows" and "Pull My Daisy". The fullest understanding of the
independent film's innovations comes from an awareness of the
historical tradition it continues. "Me and You and Memento and
Fargo" offers a positive account of the various options open to the
independent screenwriter. The book shows the broad range of
creative principles that have been used in the narrative
construction of independent films. One consequence of this is to
show the uniqueness of this phenomenon by positioning it as a
hybrid form that exists somewhere between the classical Hollywood
tradition and "art cinema."
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