I’ve been really struggling to come up with a plausible story for Assignment 3. It is clear to me that the ‘implied meaning’ aspect of the assignment is where my stumbling block is. For each attempt at a credible story (visual and spoken), I was simply not satisfied that the viewer would understand what was behind the scene.
I decided to have a look further at implied meaning. Most internet searches on implied meaning threw up links to sites that discussed subliminal meaning, which isn’t quite what I was looking for. Eventually, I settled for searching ‘subtext’ as the dialogue between characters can drive the implied meaning of a scene. I felt that if I understood enough about subtext, I could write the assignment story and then consider the more visual and auditory aspects of the scene.
According to the Gotham Writers online, ‘subtext is the meaning beneath the dialogue; what the speaker really means, even though he’s not saying it directly. As humans, we often don’t articulate our thoughts exactly. We’re thinking on our feet as we talk, processing other stimuli, like body language, and struggling with our own concerns and emotions as well as those of the listener. In fiction, this kind of miscommunication can add authenticity, create dramatic tension, and even reveal deeper truths.’
Once I got my head around the idea that I was looking to create a dialogue where the ‘thing’ that the conversation is about, is never mentioned, then I started to see examples of this everywhere. At the end of The Godfather 2, Tom Hagen has a conversation with Frank Pentangelli where they talk about how in Roman times if a plot against an Emperor failed, the plotters could save their families by going home and slitting their wrists. What this conversation is really about is Tom telling Frank that if he wants to save his own family, he will have to commit suicide. In the next scene, that is exactly what Frankie has does.
In Crazy Stupid Love, there is a bizarre scene where Cal is busy working in the garden at night (because he doesn’t want is wife, from whom he is separated, to know he is there) when she calls him on his mobile. He can see his wife through the window as he answers the phone. She tells him that she is in the basement (!) and asks him for instructions on how to re-light the gas. Clearly she is not but Cal plays along and gives the instructions and she makes out that she is following his instructions. They end the call and both are crying. Although neither of them have said anything about love, the viewer and Cal can see that his wife still loves him and just wanted to hear his voice. This is a discussion about love between two people, even though the dialogue is about re-lighting the gas.
On the No Film School website, there is an article that quotes some advice from David Mamet on subtext and meaning in film
- It’s not what they say, it’s what they do: “A character can swear up and down that they’re ‘an honest man,’ but it’s their actions that define them.”
- Never forget the audience:“And the way you make it easier is by following those tenets: cutting, building to a climax, leaving out exposition, and always progressing toward the single goal of the protagonist.”
- Let the dialogue speak for itself:“When you write stage directions — unless they’re absolutely essential for the understanding of the action of the play (He leaves. She shoots him.) — something else is going to happen when the actors and directors get them [on the set].”
There is an unusual scene in Woody Allen’s film Annie Hall, where the characters are speaking with each other but subtitled below is what they are really thinking. It’s quite difficult to follow the dialogue while also reading a completely different set of sub-titles but it makes for a humorous exchange (for the viewer at least). I think this is an example of subtext made explicit (I’m not if it then can continue to be called subtext?).
One of the conclusions that I am coming to, is that implied meaning is conveyed through the dialogue, but it is more than that; it includes the actions of the characters, the atmosphere that is set up and the implied meaning that may come through the type of shot you choose.
Bibliography:
https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/ask-writer/in-dialogue-what-is-subtext accessed 09/07/2016.
http://nofilmschool.com/2015/12/what-can-you-learn-david-mamet-adding-subtext-script accessed 09/07/2016.