1. Lecture 8: The Controlling Idea
Harold and Maude (1971)
Screenplay by Colin Higgins
Professor Christopher Bradley

2. Screenplay by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg
Previous Lesson
Avoiding Clichés
Research
Biographical and psychological
Physical and Political
Historical
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Screenplay by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg 2

3. Previous Lesson (Continued)
Imagination
The big “What if…?”
4 Dimensions of Setting
Period
Duration
Location
Level of Conflict
Jurassic Park (1998)
Screenplay by Jonathan Hensleigh and J.J. Abrams 3

4. Screenplay by Richard Kelly
This Lesson
Finding Meaning
Aesthetic Emotion
Finding (or creating) meaning out of life’s random events
Premise
And the “What if” question
Other inspirations
Donnie Darko (2001)
Screenplay by Richard Kelly 4

5. This Lesson (Continued)
The “Controlling Idea”
What is it?
What will you prove?
Avoiding didacticism!
How do you find it?
The Counter-Idea
Progressions
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Screenplay by Hubert Selby 5

6. This Lesson (Cont.) Identifying Your Story Type
What kind of story is your story?
Idealistic
Pessimistic
Ironic
Assignments
The Bicycle Thief (1948)
Screenplay by Cesare Zavattini & Suso Cecci D’Amico & Vittorio De Sica & Oreste Biancoli & Adolfo Franci & Gerardo Guerrireri 6

7. Written by Nora Ephron & Alice Arlen
Finding Meaning
Silkwood (1983)
Written by Nora Ephron & Alice Arlen
Lesson 8: Part I

8. Aesthetic Emotion Events have no inherent meaning. They just are.
While an interpreted meaning of an event may be widespread in a given society, meaning is not true. A minority of people might glean a very different meaning from the same event than the majority.
That isn’t to say creating meaning is useless! Created meaning is the most powerful tool a society has. The question is, “Into what tool are we going to fashion the meaning of this event?”

9. Screenplay by David Webb Peoples
Premise
The Premise might be The Big “What If…” question, but it can come from many sources of inspiration.
A Premise might well disappear once you’ve gotten into actually writing the story.
What do you hope to prove with your story?
Unforgiven (1998)
Screenplay by David Webb Peoples

10. Premise (2) Storytelling is nonintellectual, but not
anti-intellectual.
Yes, you are asserting something— you’re making an argument— but not in the dry form of an essay.
You don’t have to explain, you demonstrate. The entire story is the ultimate “Show, Don’t Tell.”
BE BOLD! You don’t have to baby your audience. Challenge them. Say something outrageous if that’s what the story calls for!

11. The Controlling Idea Lesson 8: Part II What’s Up, Doc? (1972)
Screenplay by Buck Henry and David Newman & Robert Bendon, based on a story by Peter Bogdanovich
Lesson 8: Part II

12. The Controlling Idea
All great films have a broader subject matter, a theme or, as McKee calls it, a Controlling Idea. It extends beyond the particular story a screenwriter tells.
A Controlling Idea is the unifying idea of a story. It is concerned with a universal concept such as love, honor, identity, ambition, greed, etc. (but “Love” is not a theme. You’re saying something about it.)
The universality of themes ensures that the audience will relate to a story on a deeper level.

13. The Controlling Idea (2)
Without a Controlling Idea, there is no purpose or meaning to a work of creation.
Examples of Controlling Ideas:
Good triumphs over evil (or vice/versa)
Love conquers all
Violence doesn’t pay
Every human being deserves freedom
The universe is a place of benign indifference

14. The Controlling Idea (3)
“The most personal stories are, conversely, the most universal.” --Bob Rosen
“If you’re moved, the audience will be moved.” --Aristotle
Into the Wild (1998)
Screenplay by Sean Penn, based on the book by Jon Krakauer 14

15. Avoiding Didacticism
Subtlety! Your Controlling Idea will lose impact if you hammer it home.
Both sides should be presented fairly. Remember, it’s not good idea/bad idea. It’s good idea/better idea!
Let the audience discover the theme for themselves through what you show them. 15

16. Screenplay by Tom Schulman
Dead Poets Society
Please pause the lecture and watch the clip from Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Screenplay by Tom Schulman 16

17. Dead Poets Society (2) The theme is “Seize the Day”.
It’s a little heavy handed while it’s still a good movie, but we could have gotten the theme without help, without the writer actually telling us…over and over!
Think in terms of the rule about exposition. Conflict first, information second! Give us your theme through conflict. No one is in conflict here. There’s no opposition. 17

18. Screenplay by Colin Higgins
Harold and Maude
Now, please pause the lecture and watch the clip from Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude (1971)
Screenplay by Colin Higgins 18

19. Screenplay by Colin Higgins
Harold and Maude (2)
Why does this scene work so much better?
Opposition. Conflict. She enjoys being alive, he enjoys being “dead”.
Information about the theme is secondary.
Harold and Maude (1971)
Screenplay by Colin Higgins 19

20. Discovering Your Controlling Idea
You may discover your theme as you write, and it may surprise you.
Themes grow out of what you believe to be true. They grow out of your experiences and discoveries.
You might change your mind as you research or explore your own thoughts. 20

21. Discovering Your Controlling Idea (2)
A few questions can help you define and clarify your theme.
Do I believe that what my Protagonist does in the climactic moment is right or wrong?
What parts of my story do I consider to be universal or archetypical?
Who loses in my story? Why?
Who survives or triumphs? Who changes and grows? Why? 21

22. Discovering Your Controlling Idea (3)
Start from the end and move backwards.
Look at your climax and the resolution.
Ask, “How did we get here? What caused this?”
Put it into a sentence: “This cause brings about this result.”
“Hubris in the wild leads to violent death.” 22

23. Discovering Your Controlling Idea (4)
Once you have identified your Controlling Idea, you should be able to state it in one sentence.
“Animals have demonstrably human emotions and they need to be protected in the same way.”
“American jobs are more important than the extinction of endangered species.”
“Yes, money does buy happiness.” 23

24. The Counter-Idea
You should also hold the Counter-Idea in your mind and be sure to give it equal time.
“Animals do not have souls. Animals are food.”
“Unemployment is temporary. Species extinction is permanent.”
“Happiness is an emotion created by what we tell ourselves about our own lives. It is free. It is not a function of winning the lottery.” 24

25. Progressions
Switch the upper hand between the Controlling Idea and the Counter-Idea, with each argument’s “voice” getting louder, each argument growing in the certainty of its argument until the climax (when your idea wins).
Remember— Didacticism is boring! Tell both sides convincingly. 25

26. Identifying Your Story Type
What’s Up, Doc? (1972)
Screenplay by Buck Henry and David Newman & Robert Bendon, based on a story by Peter Bogdanovich
Lesson 8: Part III 26

27. What Kind of Story is This?
Idealist Controlling Ideas (“Up” ending)
It’s a Wonderful Life
What’s Up, Doc?
Wall-E
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Screenplay by Phillip Van Doren Stern
and Frances Goodrich & Frank Capra 27

28. What Kind of Story is This?
Ironic Controlling Ideas (Up/Down Ending)
Harold and Maude
Gone with the Wind
Donnie Darko
Choose Me
Choose Me (1984)
Screenplay by Alan Rudolph 28

29. What Kind of Story is This?
Pessimistic Controlling Ideas (Down ending)
Unforgiven
A Streetcar Named
Desire
Bonnie and Clyde
Into the Wild
Splendor in the
Grass
The Bicycle Thief
Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
Screenplay by David Newman & Robert Benton 29

30. Screenplay by Roman Polanski, based on the novel by Ira Levin
Assignments
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Screenplay by Roman Polanski, based on the novel by Ira Levin
Lesson 8: Part IV

31. Reading Read Chapter 6 in Story, “Structure and Meaning”.
Do the Reading Review to be sure you’re clear on what you’ve read!

32. E-Board Post Post what you see as the theme of your favorite film.
Describe whether it has an Optimistic, Pessimistic or Ironic Controlling Idea.
Maybe you see the theme of another student’s favorite film differently? Or you see it as ironic and they see it as pessimistic? If so, discuss! 32 32

33. End of Lecture 8 Next Lecture: Building the Tension Psycho (1971)
Screenplay by Joseph Stefano, based on the novel by Robert Bloch
Next Lecture: Building the Tension