tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post302291644921969799..comments2024-03-07T20:15:45.996-08:00Comments on The Bitter Script Reader: Psych 101 with scriptsThe Bitter Script Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-35982857911853013672009-09-21T16:05:17.516-07:002009-09-21T16:05:17.516-07:00I wrote a horror script last yr that was very dark...I wrote a horror script last yr that was very dark & extreme. There's a rape and one char is sliced open & skinned, etc... I thought long & hard about the violence and it's effect-- and what I was trying to say thematically.<br /><br />I worried about what people might think of me-- that a was unstable or that i hated men (several are killed in gory ways).<br /><br />But in the end, I thought, this is a horror story, so there's going to be some blood spilled. It's to be expected. I trustd the reader would figure out my intent, & conclude the violence wasn't gratuitous, but there to serve a purpose.<br /><br />No one that's read the script has told me I went too far or that it's torture porn or whatever. But that could change if it ever gets a wider audience.Team Brindlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11617273530412639059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-13872765813342835992009-09-16T17:53:32.766-07:002009-09-16T17:53:32.766-07:00At the same time, such over the top and past the l...At the same time, such over the top and past the line writing needs to be taken seriously because desensitization is a natural human phenomenon and we are always looking for something more to push us farther than before.<br /><br />If you think that some material is too gonzo, reality is often far worse. Just keep tabs on dailyrotten.com to see what I mean and if you need something more visual, cycle through images over at stilemedia.com until you want to scream an anguished cry that last until you go hoarse and your eyes are red and your face wet with tears. You can reach a point where you cannot believe people do things like that to others and themselves.<br /><br />Sure some stuff if not most is self-gratuitous, just there to excite the writer much like Eddie Izzard improvising ideas that make him laugh first and the audience second, but I guess you have to take it case by case.Wojciehowiczhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06962614928769270439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-42121223189161781132009-09-04T10:56:59.896-07:002009-09-04T10:56:59.896-07:00Wow, I feel like I've "made it." Al...Wow, I feel like I've "made it." Alex Epstein has commented on my blog! Welcome!<br /><br />and kgmadman - YIKES! I've read crap like that, where the writer was clearly taking too much glee in putting (or inventing) new racial and/or sexual slurs. (And what do you know... that aforementioned script I read was loaded with instances of an invented mysogynistic insult.) Usually it's a read flag that you're dealling with a racist or a pervert.<br /><br />(And yes, you can use those slurs in context... we're talking about when it's more than clear that the writer LOVES using those insults for reasons unrelated to the story.)The Bitter Script Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-68691788633961404102009-09-04T09:48:45.958-07:002009-09-04T09:48:45.958-07:00I think I know the script the author is writing ab...I think I know the script the author is writing about. It was a Zahler draft, I think, and I found it well-written but irredeemably nihilistic.anthuswilliamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07331424275788593543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-71258774132965530052009-09-04T06:36:33.650-07:002009-09-04T06:36:33.650-07:00It's not considered recycling. It's *promo...It's not considered recycling. It's *promoting* comments.Alex Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15907202981846590399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-70828488514661228182009-09-04T02:03:49.244-07:002009-09-04T02:03:49.244-07:00I read an action/comedy script once where the writ...I read an action/comedy script once where the writer, who clearly wasn't from 'round these parts, assigned racial slurs as names for each of the script's minority characters, as well as sight-gags such as sombreros and over-sized watermelons. His protagonist, a brawny white male driving a muscle car, would end nearly every scene by blowing half of these characters away with a shotgun while screaming "stupid ----'s" or "fucking -----'s".<br /><br />To your question, "Am I being too harsh?" Hell no. Stephen King wrote an interesting column about this issue following Virginia Tech:<br /><br />http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20036014,00.html<br /><br />tl;dr<br /><br />"I don't think you can pick these guys out based on their work, unless you look for violence unenlivened by any real talent."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com