by Jeff Kitchen
Free Association
The 36 Dramatic Situations work very well as a free-association tool. One of the situations might prompt ten ideas, each of which can then set off ten more ideas, until your script is exploding with possibilities. Say that you’re thinking about your plot and you look at the situation Disaster. It may remind you of the tornado that hit your house when you were a kid. You then remember seeing hundreds of family photos spilled onto the front lawn afterward. That in turn might remind you of working on the high school yearbook, when you lost the seniors’ photos and the captain of the football team pummeled you in the parking lot. . . . And so on. Remembering how it felt when the football captain broke your tooth may trigger an unexpected idea for an ending that’s had you stumped. One of the 36 Dramatic Situations could break the dam and release a flood of ideas, some of which may prove useful in developing your plot. As the flow of free-association ideas cascade, get them all down on paper. If one of the situations takes you on a strange little voyage, then this tool has done its job.
Starting a Story Idea from Scratch
The 36 Dramatic Situations are especially useful when you’re just starting out with an idea and are scrambling to get a solid plot up and running. Say you’ve got a raw idea for a story in which a spy’s curious son gets into his dad’s hidden espionage equipment and accidentally sparks an international crisis (think War Games). You don’t yet have a plot or characters or a setting or an ending—just a dynamic idea. Take a quick cruise down the list of the situations. Supplication suggests that the kid is in over his head and begging for help. Governments, thinking there’s a real emergency, are panicking and looking for help. The father could be pleading for help; the mother, who doesn’t know what’s really going on, certainly would be. Deliverance hints that the kid could end up rescuing his father from a catastrophic situation. Maybe the kid even saves the world, and perhaps this whole adventure saves the family.
Crime Pursued by Vengeance proposes other directions for this story: Has this kid stumbled onto a great crime in the world of espionage or international politics? Are there people after him, perceiving his hijinks as a crime? Does one country retaliate against the other because of what the kid touched off? Does the father flip out on the son? Does the CIA come down on the father—or on the son? Pursuit evokes yet more possibilities: People after the kid, people after the father, the kid in pursuit of a solution, or the son seeking respect or attention from his dad. Vengeance Taken for Kindred upon Kindred smacks of infighting among the family members, and perhaps turf wars within the CIA. Disaster would certainly be very active in a story like this, whether personal disaster, psychological disaster, family disaster, the wrong people getting arrested, the wrong people getting out of jail, people getting killed or almost getting killed, international disaster, new enemies coming into power, possible nuclear disaster, or the end of the world.
Without taking this particular scenario too far, think of how each of the following situations could be active in this script idea: Falling Prey to Cruelty or Misfortune, Revolt, Daring Enterprise, Abduction, The Enigma, Obtaining, Enmity of Kinsmen, Rivalry of Kinsmen, Madness, Fatal Imprudence, Slaying of a Kinsman Unrecognized, Self-sacrifice for an Ideal, Self-sacrifice for Kindred, All Sacrificed for a Passion, The Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones, Rivalry of Superior and Inferior, Discovery of the Dishonor of a Loved One, Obstacles to Love, An Enemy Loved, Ambition, Conflict with a God, Erroneous Judgment, Remorse, Recovery of a Lost One, Loss of Loved Ones.
Starting with a basic idea—a boy who gets into his dad’s spy equipment—and merely thinking about the 36 Dramatic Situations for a few minutes, we have constructed a road map showing many potential routes for a script. You can see how writer’s block might cease to be a problem with the cascade of ideas this tool can trigger.
Exploring Plot Possibilities
While in time you might naturally come up with some of the aforementioned ideas, the 36 Dramatic Situations can help you explore a complete spectrum of possibilities more quickly and efficiently. These situations are either already inherent in the material or could be tried out to tweak the plot into new directions and dimensions. At first you may not see how each situation might fit, but as you spend more time with this tool you’ll become quite versatile with it. Plus, you may stumble on things that never would have occurred to you in a million years. The important thing is that these thirty-six situations stimulate your mind and activate your imagination. Don’t be afraid if you’re overwhelmed with possibilities, because that’s what true brainstorming really is. The 36 Dramatic Situations are often compared to Pandora’s Box: an explosion of possibilities. You may be totally swamped, but it’s an embarrassment of riches. Now you’ve got a full range of ideas to play with. Just take your time and work through the options.
Taking Stock of What You’ve Already Got
Another function for the 36 Dramatic Situations is to reveal the budding plot elements already present in a raw idea or in a script that needs work. You may be surprised at how your story idea is already seething with possibilities that have gone unnoticed. Seeing the active elements in a raw idea is akin to the astrophysics process known as “spectral analysis.” Breaking down the light from a star into colors enables scientists to determine the percentages of iron, hydrogen, and so forth contained in the star. In the same way, you can see that a script idea contains Remorse, Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones, Fatal Imprudence, etc., before you even start working on it. You may discover that your story is loaded with more potential than you suspected, providing a great platform on which to build.
Maintaining Flexibility
Each of the situations can be applied in varying degrees of intensity, as Polti describes in Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations:
Murder, for instance, may be reduced to a wound, a blow, an attempt, an outrage, an intimidation, a threat, a too-hasty word, an intention not carried out, a temptation, a thought, a wish, an injustice, a destruction of a cherished object, a refusal, a want of pity, an abandonment, a falsehood.
Each situation can be taken literally or in a more figurative sense. There is no one correct way to use the thirty-six situations, and there are no rules. You cannot make a mistake with them, any more than you can with a Lego set or finger paints. If this tool triggers ideas, then it’s done its job. And don’t be thrown by the slightly antiquated language—you’ll get used to it quickly.
Overcoming Blind Spots
The total focus that story building demands can often create tunnel vision, blinding you to potential directions inherent in your material. Or there may be stunningly radical ideas that exist well beyond your normal orbit as a storyteller. In either case, the power of the 36 Dramatic Situations exposes you to a full spectrum of fresh, dynamic story possibilities that you might otherwise miss. For instance, if you feel as though you’re forgetting something important but can’t quite put your finger on it, then go through the list of thirty-six situations. You may stumble into a new dimension for your story so that your script may no longer inhabit the same universe.
It’s important to remember that you are working with the raw elements of plot—the proto-matter of your story—and so the potential is immense for each situation you explore. Experiment. Try on the situations for fun. Play mad scientist and dynamite your ideas into new realms. Magnify parts of the plot, turn them inside out, violate them, and shake it all up. Think of wildly imaginative movies that you’ve seen and try to write with that adventurous spirit and level of abandon. The 36 Dramatic Situations will take you on many fascinating and fruitful journeys when you learn to use them fully and fearlessly.
THE USE OF THE 36 DRAMATIC SITUATIONS IN FILMS
Now let’s look at the 36 Dramatic Situations in each of the six films studied in this book. The primary goal in doing so is to show you the tool in action so that you can familiarize yourself with its function. Once you know how it works, you will be able to develop a raw story idea into a working plot. In other
words, the end goal is not this after-the-fact script analysis, but rather constructing a plot of your own. In essence, we’re taking a working clock apart to teach you how to build one from scratch.
Each analysis below could go a lot deeper, but that would run too long and complex for our needs in this book. The 36 Dramatic Situations are not an overly complicated tool. Once you understand it fully, then you’ve got it and you’ll be ready to use it. So with that in mind, as you’re going through the following analyses, feel free to stop reading and move on once you grasp the process. This section covers all six films, but don’t feel as though you have to read them all. Come back to them later if you want to substantiate your knowledge of the 36 Dramatic Situations.
The Use of the 36 Dramatic Situations in Training Day
Pretend you are watching Training Day again while reviewing the list of thirty-six situations. What’s going through your brain? What do you see? Do any of the situations jump out at you in relation to the film? Look down the list and select those situations that seem to be active in the nucleus of the story. Can you see: Revolt, Daring Enterprise, The Enigma, Madness, Rivalry of Kinsmen, Self-sacrifice for an Ideal, Rivalry of Superior and Inferior, Discovery of the Dishonor of a Loved One, An Enemy Loved, Ambition, Conflict with a God, Erroneous Judgment, Slaying of a Kinsman Unrecognized, and All Sacrificed for a Passion? If you don’t see how they relate, don’t worry. It takes some experience working with the 36 Dramatic Situations to become familiar with them, to see how versatile they are, and to get your sea legs with this tool. Now let’s examine each situation, its role, and why it stands out:
Revolt — Jake is in revolt against Alonzo, and he wins. But Alonzo also rebels—against his situation with the Russians as well as against the norms of police work that Jake considers sacred.
Daring Enterprise — Jake is on a brave adventure, dealing with Alonzo and later trying to take him down. Alonzo, too, is involved in Daring Enterprise, working the system to hustle and rob and murder his way out of the death sentence that the Russians have hung over his head.
The Enigma — Jake has a life-or-death riddle staring him in the face: He must figure out how to do what Alonzo tells him without losing his soul—or he will lose his place on Alonzo’s squad. That’s his dilemma, and he’s really stuck. In addition, Alonzo clearly has a puzzle on his hands with the high-stakes chess game he’s caught up in.
Madness — This is a particularly active element in Training Day because Jake’s whole world gets turned upside down. He’s getting stoned out of his mind on PCP first thing on the job, and Alonzo is utterly unpredictable: scary, intoxicating, loony, wise, deadly, and fatherly all at once. None of Jake’s anchors to reality are holding very well. This craziness builds until Alonzo tries to have Jake murdered. Alonzo is caught up in an insane situation as well: His own madness caused him to beat a Russian to death in Las Vegas, so now he owes the Russians $1 million in order to buy his life.
Rivalry of Kinsmen — There’s a genuine kinship between Jake and Alonzo—as well as an ongoing rivalry, which escalates to a fight to the death by the end of the film.
Self-sacrifice for an Ideal — This situation is absolutely central to the story because Jake risks everything in his fight for justice, honesty, and his vows as a police officer.
Rivalry of Superior and Inferior — Alonzo appears vastly superior to Jake in virtually every way. If Jake makes a move, Alonzo is there ahead of him; if he wonders about something, Alonzo already has it figured out. It’s David versus Goliath. And yet Jake is morally superior to Alonzo, which becomes increasingly apparent as the movie progresses. Ultimately, Jake turns out to be completely superior, as proven when he defeats Alonzo in the film’s final struggle.
Discovery of the Dishonor of a Loved One — Jake discovers how deeply and totally crooked Alonzo is, and this knowledge grows as he finds himself sinking deeper and deeper in the mire.
An Enemy Loved — This situation is right at the core of the film: Jake is fascinated with Alonzo. Although it becomes increasingly clear to Jake that Alonzo is his enemy, he has huge respect for him nonetheless. Everything that Alonzo tells him about doing undercover police work is absolutely true, and Jake knows this. On the flip side, Alonzo discovers that he respects Jake for his “magic eye” (Alonzo’s term for how Jake sees what other cops miss). Alonzo is reminded of himself when he was young and idealistic.
Ambition — Jake burns with unstoppable ambition. He wants to make Alonzo’s squad more than anything. He tells his wife that he wants his own division and wants a house like the division commanders. Jake’s ambition is his fatal flaw; it drives him into Alonzo’s trap. Alonzo has a great deal of ambition as well, not only for the $1 million to pay the Russians, but also for his long-term goals. He would love to be one of the “three wise men” at the restaurant, making high-level decisions and accepting bribes, rather than working the streets.
Conflict with a God — This situation is very much at the nucleus of Training Day. Jake is in conflict with Alonzo, who is the god in Jake’s new world. Jake is completely in over his head because Alonzo seems infinitely powerful. But then, to Alonzo’s surprise, it turns out that Jake is a powerful god in his own right, which he proves by destroying Alonzo.
Erroneous Judgment — Jake vastly underestimates Alonzo in many ways, but Alonzo also underestimates Jake, and it costs him everything.
Slaying of a Kinsman Unrecognized — Jake is feeling “slain”and unrecognized as Alonzo drags his fellow officer deeper into dangerous territory.
All Sacrificed for a Passion — Both Jake and Alonzo are willing to lay everything on the line for what they believe in.
The next step would be to prioritize these situations, because some are more central or pertinent to the story than others. It’s helpful to write each one on a 3 x 5 card and then sort them by priority. In computer programming they call this a “bubble sort,” in which the best ones float to the top. Conflict with a God pops right to the top, followed by An Enemy Loved, Madness, Ambition, Revolt, Daring Enterprise, and The Enigma. Crime Pursued by Vengeance, Rivalry of Superior and Inferior, and Self-sacrifice for an Ideal are all central, too. But Conflict with a God is the most central situation for Training Day, because Jake is up against such an incredibly powerful foe. He is also fascinated with this foe and has tremendous respect for him, so An Enemy Loved is smack at the core of this story as well. Madness and Ambition are right there, too, because they explain what Jake is experiencing (madness) and who he is (ambition).
The Use of the 36 Dramatic Situations in What Women Want
What Women Want is such a sweet love story that right away it’s easy to see Obstacles to Love, An Enemy Loved, and Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones. Also quite central are Deliverance, Ambition, Conflict with a God, Rivalry of Superior and Inferior, Discovery of the Dishonor of a Loved One, Crime Pursued by Vengeance, Madness, The Enigma, Disaster, and All Sacrificed for a Passion.
Obstacles to Love — This situation is central to the story because it concerns the barriers that stand between the growing love of Nick and Darcy: He’s hunting her, she’s defensive, he’s mad at her, and he’s reading her mind. The fact that he can hear her thoughts is the biggest obstacle because he’s using it to steal her ideas and get her fired. He’s a predator—a kinder, gentler predator in this romantic comedy, but a predator just the same. Another impediment is that Darcy got burned by falling in love with her last husband at work, so she’s reluctant do that again. Plus, Nick is from old-school Las Vegas where women are second-class citizens, and Darcy is a modern, liberated woman.
An Enemy Loved — Nick has literally fallen in love with his enemy. He’s attracted to her on many levels; she’s good looking, smart, funny, talented, straightforward, and gregarious. So while he’s working to get rid of her, he also has tremendous and growing respect for her—and it grows as he learns more about her. He’s fascinated with his enemy. It’s the essence of his dilemma.
Necessity
of Sacrificing Loved Ones — Nick’s mission is to get rid of Darcy, especially once he begins to fall for her. This also describes Darcy’s situation: Once she gets to like him, she needs to keep him at arm’s length emotionally since she works with him. In the end, too, Darcy has to fire Nick because he stole her idea and got her fired.
Deliverance — Nick’s deliverance from his emotionally shutdown state is at the core of this story. He learns how to love, and how to be more connected to the real world, to the people around him, and to his real self.
Ambition — Nick’s thwarted ambition is the launching pad of the story: Darcy taking “his” job drives his revenge. Nick gets to work at 10:00 A.M. every day, so he is not overly ambitious, but still he expects to get that corner office. Darcy, on the other hand, is very ambitious—going after big accounts, overhauling an antiquated advertising agency, and working long, hard hours. Nick’s ambition grows and changes as the story moves along, and his fall for Darcy mirrors that ambition.
Conflict with a God — Nick is up against a mighty deity in Darcy. She seems to see all and know all, and she is not the pushover that Nick, with his mind-reading ability, expected her to be. But Nick is also a god in his own right since he can hear what women think. With any move she makes, Darcy keeps finding herself a full step behind him.
Rivalry of Superior and Inferior — Nick feels superior to Darcy, and Darcy keeps finding that Nick has beat her to the punch. But conversely, his ability to hear her thoughts reveals that she is, in fact, superior to him in many ways.