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Representation and Endorsement
Every episode covering Representation and Endorsement.
"There’s a lot of noir says the power isn’t the cops, the power is the people who own the cops or pay the cops. And in this, there’s a very 70s representation of power. These guys are intellectuals. They’ve got their money from being a successful writer."
— Chas Fisher | DZ-123: Flawed Characters in Noir
KEY IDEAS
Noir's Sympathy For Victims
"Noir is sympathetic to the victims."
— Mel Killingsworth (01:02:05) · DZ-124: Making the Despicable Compelling
DZ-123: Flawed Characters in Noir
What can Film Noir teach us about character arcs and audience engagement?
AI✦The shownotes explicitly ask ‘How can you ensure representation isn’t endorsement?’ as Mel and Chas examine whether depicting morally compromised characters constitutes an endorsement of their actions.✦
Listen if you want to write morally compromised characters without endorsing their choices.
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In this two part series, Mel and Chas use Noir (the genre) as a lens to interrogate flawed characters. How can characters doing reprehensible things still engage audiences? How can you ensure representation isn’t endorsement? And whether these characters undergo transformative arcs, or simply reveal their true natures… →
DZ-48: One-Shot - Blade Runner 2049 - Agency vs Choice
Can your characters be given choices and yet still be deprived of agency?
AI✦Chas, Stu, and CS connect the film’s lack of agency–particularly the absence of choices with different outcomes–to troubling depictions of women and minorities in the narrative.✦
Listen to discover how characters can be dramatised through binary choices (and understand the difference between choice and agency).
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To kick off 2018, Chas and Stu take a deep dive into one of their favourite movies of 2017: Blade Runner 2049. However, they abstained from “Fox News-ing this shit” by being joined by the most accomplished screenwriter they know, C.S. McMullen (Blood List 2017, Black List 2017, also a lover of Blade Runner 2049)… →
Films:
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
DZ-124: Making the Despicable Compelling
How does Film Noir show us terrible people doing terrible things without endorsing it?
AI✦Devil in a Blue Dress and Woman of the Hour both interrogate how systems fail marginalized people–Black men in postwar LA, vulnerable women preyed on because society won’t believe them–and noir’s sympathy for victims means centering their experience alongside the perpetrators.✦
Listen if you need audiences to root for characters who do terrible things
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Mel and Chas continue to explore what Noir (the genre) can teach writers of all other genres. In particular:… →
Films:
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
, Woman of the Hour (2024)
, Double Indemnity (1944)
, The Long Goodbye (1973)
DZ-20: Writing Strong Secondary Characters - Trinity, Bechdel and a Bamboo Killer
How can the Trinity Syndrome help you write better secondary characters?
AI✦The episode applies critical lenses–the Bechdel Test and Trinity Syndrome–to interrogate how mainstream cinema represents and fails to represent female secondary characters with substantive narrative roles.✦
Listen when you're writing secondary female characters and need them to have more depth.
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Chas & Stu are joined by Bamboo Killer (aka Emily Blake) - one of the co-hosts of the Chicks Who Script podcast. They take a critical look at secondary female characters in mainstream movies through the lens of the oft-cited Bechdel test and the new, less-cited, Trinity Syndrome. The Trinity Syndrome berates movies for creating a “Strong Female Character With Nothing To Do” (like Trinity in the Matrix sequels) and raises a list of questions for filmmakers to ask themselves about their (female) characters… →
Films:
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
, Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
, How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
DZ-27: Competing views on Screenplay Competitions
Can screenplay competitions be worth it?
AI✦The episode gathers voices from judges, repeat competition attendees, and winners to present multiple perspectives on whether competitions accurately represent a writer’s work and potential to industry gatekeepers.✦
Listen if you're considering entering a screenplay competition and want to hear from writers and industry professionals about whether it's a worthwhile investment!
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After being repeatedly asked by listeners for thoughts on screenplay competitions, Stu and Chas go full back matter for this special episode. They tackle the question - do comps just feeding the hope machine or are they a valid investment? - in their typical detailed (i.e. long) style. With their differing perspectives, Stu (a director looking for material) and Chas (a writer keen for exposure), talk to an impressive roster of guests. We start with Gordy Hoffman, founder and judge of the Bluecat Screenplay Competition; repeat Austin Film Festival attendees - first for the screenplay and now for the finished web series of EX BEST - Diana Gettinger & Monica Hewes; Launchpad 2014 finalist Tony Pitman; and Insite Competition winner Blake Ashford, whose winning script CUT SNAKE hit cinemas in 2015… ten years after winning the competition… →