by Jeff Kitchen
Ambition — Michael is incredibly ambitious to get acting work, but he ruins all his jobs because he must always have things his way. Dorothy is a champion of women’s rights, and Michael wants to land Julie. Dorothy inspires Julie with the ambition to break free from Ron’s dominance.
Recovery of a Lost One — Michael finally gets Julie back in the end, and Julie gets Dorothy back in essence. Through the whole process of being Dorothy, Michael also gets his true self back.
The Use of the 36 Dramatic Situations in Blade Runner
In the original feature release of Blade Runner, Deckard and Rachael drive up north to freedom, breaking the story out of the claustrophobic ambiguity of the director’s cut ending. The film is about human liberation, and in the original version you truly get the feeling that Deliverance is at its core. Other potent situations are The Enigma, Madness, Supplication, Conflict with a God, An Enemy Loved, Disaster, Revolt, Crime Pursued by Vengeance, Daring Enterprise, Rivalry of Superior and Inferior, Obtaining, Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones, Pursuit, Falling Prey to Cruelty or Misfortune, Loss of Loved Ones, Slaying of a Kinsman Unrecognized, Remorse, and Obstacles to Love.
Deliverance — Roy saves Deckard’s life by showing him the importance of really living, and Deckard gets it, waking up to escape with Rachael. Deckard and Rachael also save each other from their emotional deadness, essentially making each other human. Their escape to the north delivers them from the dreary, rainy, nightmarish world of 2019. The replicants, too, seek deliver-ance—from their status as subhuman.
The Enigma — Deckard puzzles over the replicants (much more so in the voice-over version). Why do they collect family photos when they don’t have families? Why do they display emotions if they’re not human? Why does he care about them? How can he escape the disspiriting job of hunting them?
Madness — The whole world is crazy in Blade Runner. It’s dismal, dark, twisted, depressing, and abandoned (most people live off-world). The replicants frantically try to extend their four-year life span. As the film builds to climax, the madness all comes to a head: Roy kills Dr. Tyrell and J. F. Sebastian, Deckard stumbles into J. F.’s insane apartment, Roy finds Pris dead, and Deckard faces off with Roy, this unstoppable high-level military replicant who behaves like an insane god.
Supplication — Deckard seeks a way out of his job. Rachael begs him for help once she is discarded by Tyrell and discovers that she’s a replicant. The replicants beg for help in extending their life span.
Conflict with a God — Deckard takes on Roy, who is created perfectly superior to everyone. Roy confronts his creator, Dr. Tyrell, demanding the extension of the replicants’ life span. Tyrell goes up against Roy, a “god,” and loses.
An Enemy Loved — Because he sees them for who they really are—slaves who have been given a raw deal—Deckard feels for the replicants even though they’re slaughtering humans. Rachael loves Deckard, whose job it is to kill her. The replicants want to be human despite their rejection and elimination by humans.
Disaster — The entire world is a disaster after a catastrophic world war; radioactivity has forced everyone who can leave to flee to the off-world colonies. A group of renegade replicants have massacred dozens of people and escaped back to earth, where their presence is forbidden. Deckard is drafted back into the Blade Runner unit against his wishes. Rachael makes the shocking discovery that she’s not human. The replicants try—and fail—to avoid imminent death by reversing their four-year life span. Dr. Tyrell and J. F. are slain by Roy. Roy finds Pris’s dead body.
Revolt — The replicants rebel against their fate as slaves. Deckard revolts against being drafted to hunt replicants.
Crime Pursued by Vengeance — The replicants see their fate as a crime and seek vengeance. Deckard’s job is to hunt down the murderous replicants and “retire” them.
Daring Enterprise — Roy is an exceptionally brave leader who strives mightily to save his band of doomed replicants. By the end of the film, Deckard finally learns to live boldly.
Rivalry of Superior and Inferior — Deckard goes up against Roy, who is designed to be “superior in strength and agility, and at least equal in intelligence, to the genetic engineers who created” him. And yet even Roy meets his match when Dr. Tyrell cannot undo his four-year life span and is cruelly indifferent about it.
Obtaining — The replicants are trying to gain longer lives. Deckard ends up acquiring a new, more valuable life, as does Rachael.
Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones — Deckard is ordered to kill Rachael, with whom he’s falling in love.
Pursuit — Deckard is in pursuit of the replicants, who are in pursuit of more life. Gaff (Edward James Olmos), Deckard’s fellow detective, tracks Deckard to keep an eye on things.
Falling Prey to Cruelty or Misfortune — Bad things happen to Deckard, but he sees how truly bad the replicants have it. Rachael is devastated when she discovers that she isn’t human. Dr. Tyrell and J. F. get killed, as does Pris. Roy runs out of time and dies.
Loss of Loved Ones — The replicants watch one another die, which is especially painful for Roy and Pris. Rachael loses her “humanity” and learns that her memories are just implants.
Slaying of a Kinsman Unrecognized — Deckard begins to feel a kinship with the replicants, whom he’s supposed to “retire.” The replicants feel unrecognized by the human race, which uses them as slaves and preordains their death with the built-in four-year life span.
Remorse — Deckard comes to feel remorse for hunting the replicants, and Roy Batty, amazingly, feels remorse in the end as well.
Obstacles to Love — Deckard and Rachael are trapped in a brutal, oppressive world in which Deckard has been ordered to kill Rachael. Roy and Pris face imminent death.
SUBHEADINGS OF THE 36 DRAMATIC SITUATIONS
All but one of the 36 Dramatic Situations have subheadings, which are useful in suggesting nuance and subtle distinctions to explore within each situation. If you’ve found one main situation central to your story idea, then its subheadings might offer a deeper and more complex set of story and character possibilities. Below is the complete list of the 36 Dramatic Situations with their subheadings, followed by a brief look at Training Day to demonstrate their use. The list is intended as a resource to which you can refer when you’re building a plot. The language appears a bit archaic—and some of the subheadings are pretty damn strange—but on the whole you’ll find these subheadings lend further value to a remarkably useful tool.
Complete List of Subheadings
1. Supplication
A. Fugitives imploring the powerful for help against their enemies. Assistance implored for the performance of a pious duty which has been forbidden. Appeals for a refuge in which to die.
B. Hospitality besought by the shipwrecked. Charity entreated by those cast off by their own people, whom they have disgraced. Expiation: the seeking of pardon, healing, or deliverance. The surrender of a corpse, or of a relic, solicited.
C. Supplication of the powerful for those dear to the supplicant. Supplication to a relative in behalf of another relative. Supplication to a mother’s lover in her behalf.
2. Deliverance
A. Appearance of a rescuer to the condemned.
B. A parent replaced upon a throne by his children. Rescue by friends, or by strangers grateful for benefits or hospitality.
3. Crime Pursued by Vengeance
A. The avenging of a slain parent or ancestor. The avenging of a slain child or descendant. Vengeance for a child dishonored. The avenging of a slain wife or husband. Vengeance for the dishonor, or attempted dishonoring, of a wife. Vengeance for a mistress slain. Vengeance for a slain or injured friend. Vengeance for a sister seduced.
B. Vengeance for intentional injury or spoliation. Vengeance for having been despoiled during absence. Revenge for an attempted slaying. Revenge for a false accusation. Vengeance for violation. Vengeance for having been robbed of one’s own. Revenge upon a whole sex for a deception by one.
C. Professional pursuit of criminals.
4. Vengeance Taken for Kindred upon Kindred
A. A father’s death avenged upon a mother. A mother’s death avenged upon a father.
B. A brother’s death avenged upon a son.
C. A father’s death avenged upon a husband.
D. A husband’s death avenged upon a father.
5. Pursuit
A. Fugitives from justice pursued for brigandage, political offenses, etc.
B. Pursued for a fault of love.
C. A hero struggling against a power.
D. A pseudo-madman struggling against an Iago-like alienist.
6. Disaster
A. Defeat suffered. A fatherland destroyed. The fall of humanity. A natural catastrophe.
B. A monarch overthrown.
C. Ingratitude suffered. The suffering of unjust punishment or enmity. An outrage suffered.
D. Abandonment by a lover or a husband. Children lost by their parents.
7. Falling Prey to Cruelty or Misfortune
A. The innocent made the victim of ambitious intrigue.
B. The innocent despoiled by those who should protect.
C. The powerful dispossessed and wretched. A favorite or an intimate finds himself forgotten.
D. The unfortunate robbed of their only hope.
8. Revolt
A. A conspiracy chiefly of one individual. A conspiracy of several.
B. Revolt of one individual, who influences and involves others. A revolt of many.
9. Daring Enterprise
A. Preparations for war.
B. War. A combat.
C. Carrying off a desired person or object. Recapture of a desired object.
D. Adventurous expeditions. Adventure undertaken for the purpose of obtaining a beloved woman.
10. Abduction
A. Abduction of an unwilling woman.
B. Abduction of a consenting woman.
C. Recapture of the woman without the slaying of the abductor. The same case, with the slaying of the ravisher.
D. Rescue of a captive friend. Rescue of a child. Rescue of a soul in captivity to error.
11. The Enigma
A. Search for a person who must be found on pain of death.
B. A riddle to be solved on pain of death. The same case, in which the riddle is proposed by the coveted woman.
C. Temptations offered with the object of discovering his name. Temptations offered with the object of ascertaining the sex. Tests for the purpose of ascertaining the mental condition.
12. Obtaining
A. Efforts to obtain an object by ruse or force.
B. Endeavor by means of persuasive eloquence alone.
C. Eloquence with an arbitrator.
13. Enmity of Kinsmen
A. Hatred of brothers—one brother hated by several. Reciprocal hatred. Hatred between relatives for reasons of self-interest.
B. Hatred of father and son—of the son for the father. Mutual hatred. Hatred of daughter for father.
C. Hatred of grandfather for grandson.
D. Hatred of father-in-law for son-in-law.
E. Hatred of mother-in-law for daughter-in-law.
F. Infanticide.
14. Rivalry of Kinsmen
A. Malicious rivalry of a brother. Malicious rivalry of two brothers. Rivalry of two brothers, with adultery on the part of one. Rivalry of sisters.
B. Rivalry of father and son, for an unmarried woman. Rivalry of father and son, for a married woman. Case similar to the two foregoing, but in which the object is already the wife of the father. Rivalry of mother and daughter.
C. Rivalry of cousins.
D. Rivalry of friends.
15. Murderous Adultery
A. The slaying of a husband by, or for, a paramour. The slaying of a trusting lover.
B. Slaying of a wife for a paramour, and in self-interest.
16. Madness
A. Kinsmen slain in madness. Lover slain in madness. Slaying or injuring of a person not hated.
B. Disgrace brought upon oneself through madness.
C. Loss of loved ones brought about by madness.
D. Madness brought on by fear of hereditary insanity.
17. Fatal Imprudence
A. Imprudence the cause of one’s own misfortune. Imprudence the cause of one’s own dishonor.
B. Curiosity the cause of one’s own misfortune. Loss of the possession of a loved one, through curiosity.
C. Curiosity the cause of death or misfortune to others. Imprudence the cause of a relative’s death. Imprudence the cause of a lover’s death. Credulity the cause of kinsmen’s deaths.
18. Involuntary Crimes of Love
A. Discovery that one has married one’s mother. Discovery that one has had a sister as mistress.
B. Discovery that one has married one’s sister. The same case, in which the crime has been villainously planned by a third person. Being upon the point of taking a sister, unknowingly, as mistress.
C. Being upon the point of violating, unknowingly, a daughter.
D. Being upon the point of committing an adultery unknowingly. Adultery committed unknowingly.
19. Slaying of a Kinsman Unrecognized
A. Being upon the point of slaying a daughter unknowingly, by command of a divinity or an oracle. The same case through political necessity. The same case through a rivalry in love. The same case through hatred of the lover of the unrecognized daughter.
B. Being upon the point of killing a son unknowingly. The same case, strengthened by Machiavellian instigations.
C. Being upon the point of slaying a brother unknowingly.
D. Slaying of a mother unrecognized.
E. A father slain unknowingly, through Machiavellian advice.
F. A grandfather slain unknowingly, in vengeance and through instigation.
G. Involuntary killing of a loved woman. Being upon the point of killing a lover unrecognized. Failure to rescue an unrecognized son.
20. Self-sacrifice for an Ideal
A. Sacrifice of life for the sake of one’s word. Life sacrificed for the success of one’s people. Life sacrificed in filial piety. Life sacrificed for the sake of one’s faith.
B. Both love and life sacrificed for one’s faith, or a cause. Love sacrificed to the interests of state.
C. Sacrifice of well-being to duty.
D. The ideal of “honor” sacrificed to the ideal of “faith.”
21. Self-sacrifice for Kindred
A. Life sacrificed for that of a relative or a loved one. Life sacrificed for the happiness of a relative or a loved one.
B. Ambition sacrificed for the happiness of a parent. Ambition sacrificed for the life of a parent.
C. Love sacrificed for the sake of a parent’s life. Love sacrificed for the happiness of one’s child. The same sacrifice as above, but caused by unjust laws.
D. Life and honor sacrificed for the life of a parent or loved one. Modesty sacrificed for the life of a relative or a loved one.
22. All Sacrificed for a Passion
A. Religious vows of chastity broken for a passion. Respect for a priest destroyed. A future ruined by passion. Power ruined by passion. Ruin of mind, health, and life. Ruin of fortunes, lives, and honors.
B. Temptations destroying the sense of duty, of pity, etc.
C. Destruction of honor, fortune, and life by erotic vice. The same effect produced by any other vice.
23. Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones
A. Necessity for sacrificing a daughter in the public interest. Duty of sacrificing her in fulfillment of a vow to God. Duty of sacrificing benefactors or loved ones to one’s faith.
B. Duty of sacrificing one’s child, unknown to others, under the pressure of necessity. Duty of sacrificing, under the same circumstances, one’s father
or husband. Duty of sacrificing a son-in-law for the public good. Duty of contending with a brother-in-law for the public good. Duty of contending with a fri
end.
24. Rivalry of Superior and Inferior
A. Masculine rivalries; of a mortal and an immortal. Rivalry of a magician and an ordinary man. Rivalry of conqueror and conquered. Rivalry of a king and a noble. Rivalry of a powerful person and an upstart. Rivalry of rich and poor. Rivalry of an honored man and a suspected one. Rivalry of two who are almost equal. Rivalry of the two successive husbands of a divorcée.
B. Feminine rivalries; of a sorceress and an ordinary woman. Rivalry of victor and prisoner. Rivalry of queen and subject. Rivalry of lady and servant. Rivalry between memory or an ideal (that of a superior woman) and a vassal of her own.
C. Double rivalry (A loves B, who loves C, who loves D).
25. Adultery
A. A mistress betrayed, for a young woman. A mistress betrayed, for a young wife.
B. A wife betrayed, for a slave who does not love in return. A wife betrayed, for debauchery. A wife betrayed, for a married woman. A wife betrayed, with the intention of bigamy. A wife betrayed for a young girl who does not love in return. A wife envied by a young girl who is in love with her husband. A wife envied by a courtesan who is in love with her husband.
C. An antagonistic husband sacrificed for a congenial lover. A husband, believed to be lost, forgotten for a rival. A commonplace husband sacrificed for a sympathetic lover. A good husband betrayed for an inferior rival. A good husband betrayed for a grotesque rival. A good husband betrayed for a commonplace rival, by a perverse wife. A good husband betrayed for a rival less handsome, but useful.
D. Vengeance of a deceived husband. Jealousy sacrificed for the sake of a cause. Husband persecuted by a rejected rival.
26. Crimes of Love
A. A mother in love with her son. A daughter in love with her father. Violation of a daughter by a father.
B. A woman enamored of her stepson. A woman and her stepson enamored of each other. A woman being the mistress, at the same time, of a father and son, both of whom accept the situation.
C. A man becomes the lover of his sister-in-law. A brother and sister in love with each other.