Landon

Christopher
Period 5
12-06-16
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History Of Screenwriting And Villains In Film

What are screenwriters? What are movie villains and what they both have to due with each other

and there complex history.Well Screenwriter is a writer who practices screenwriting.The history

of the screenplay is known to be difficult to trace, due to a problem of language.After 1901, as

films grew in length and narrative concerns grew,People started to piece film together to make

stories instead of filming whatever they found ineresting.Film had to be plan carefully but back

than there were nothing but lists of the scenes and shots for the the director which later would

evolve into a shot list They showed what scenes to be in the film and in what

order.(WritersStore.com)

When going the history of screenwriting, one cannot divorce the theories of

screenwriting from the evolution of film production. The earliest films were often solo projects,

from conception to completion. Referred to as the cameraman system this was the most primitive

of filmmaking. Soon, directors became central to the process, but most movies were filmed with

only a vague idea of what the director wanted to shoot. Often crews were kept waiting while the

director planned what to film next. So it was when one of the most important figures in the

advancement of the filmmaking process emerged.

Soon later scene headings emerge, that showed detailed scene text that showed the

action.Writing for film was a field that had gained prominence in 1909, and by 1912 the

compensation for stories was considerable. With that audiences had developed more

sophisticated taste for films.So writers wrote more complex films.Also with films that had more
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story were simply getting more attention.It was also in 1912 that Ince founded Inceville studios

on 18,000 acres in California.his studio revolutionized filmmaking. Known for his large-scale

and lengthy productions, the immense coordination involved meant, for one, that practicality was

a priority. Therefore, Ince required each film to have a script prior to production, which he used

to budget out the film.The widespread appearance of movie theaters lead to audiences having

more access to films.

So writers wrote more complex films but when sound got introduced that's when

screenwriting became what it is today.Today screenwriters create screenplays for films.They

provide the blueprint for the Producer, Director, Production Designer, Composer and Editor, cast

and crew.Screenplays should allow whoever is reading it to imagine how the film will work on

screen.It should feature characters, plot.Also fit the format and style expected in the industry

(Screenplayology.com).

Villain, which itself descends from the late latin word villanus, meaning

"farmhand",]in the sense of someone who is bound to the soul of a

villa.(Wikipedia.com)Throughout history there have been many different definitions of evil.

From the Bible with Adam and Eve, the first introduction of the concept of evil comes only with

reference to the tree of knowledge identified as the tree of knowledge of good and evilFrom

the time that there was people there was evil to serve as a trick and downfall; however, it

changes form quite often. Depending upon the context, evil can be a person or a personification;

it can be an action or thought, within or without. That being said, this can make the context of

defining a character as evil and therefore a villain difficult. William Everson has pointed out
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that the activities of the bad guys tell the audience far more about the changing mores and

morals of our times than a similar study of the good guys ever do.

From the beginning, the basic virtues have remained unchanged. But social, moral,

and legal behavior is forever changing.Typically, villainy is defined by a character doing

something that society would deem unacceptable, whether it be moralistically or legally at a

detriment to others. Evil, on the other hand, takes the idea of doing bad things to an entirely new,

more serious level.Villians been around since folk and fairy tales and roman times.Villains were

always used to challenge the hero throughout most stories to add suspense and drama to the

stories.(Wikipedia.com). They were in a lot of literature finally made there way to cinema.

The first movie villain was a robber His name was Justus D. Barnes.And was famous

for pointing a Colt revolver at the camera and fired six shots point-blank, audiences screamed.

He was in The Great Train Robbery which is often described as the first influential narrative

film, or the first modern film.It was about two bandits who rob a train it was the first

american action film and came out December 1,1903.9("The Great Train Robbery (1903).com)It

pioneered the action genre and inspired the generic villain in film.Writers would write more

complex villains across the decades.

The villain character had evolved greatly throughout American cinema.The evolution is

most striking by comparing films from the 1950s, 1970s, and 2000s. The villains identify any

similarities and differences across decades to determine if the political environment has an

impact on the way in which the villain character is portrayed.When it comes to the physical

characteristics of evil, the actors have run the gamut. There are many movies that use established
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stereotypes to make their point and easily define their villain. Usually this means a minority

becomes the scapegoat and personification of evil within society. To racial groups and countries

have been villians used for propaganda also.

Many do portrayal to eliminate friction through false serotypes that audience members

could be offended by.After World War II ended in the 1950s was a time filled with suspicion for

Americans. Many different groups, primarily those of foreign descent, were the target to this

new, hostile doubt to their character.

Categorizing individuals by the groups in which they belong and therefore the

stereotype that correlated to that particular collective became the norm both in daily life and in

film during this decade. The war in Korea, the testing of the nuclear bomb, and the rise of the

Soviet Union to global significance brought about the phrase cold war. Fear and paranoia were

associated with the perceived communist menace.So the group that got the mistrust were

Russians and Asians. villains reflect what writers looked at evil so, they instead applied themes

and scenarios to American society in a representative fashion, as is the case for On the

Waterfront.

On the Waterfront is a 1954 American crime drama film with elements of film noir.

The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. The villain is a

middle-aged, white male Italian American mob representation. He uses force to get his way and

manipulates people into doing his dirty work because he either does favors for them which

require repayment or instills fear so that they wont testify. The director of this film, Elia Kazan,

testified in the HUAC trials which is why this particular film is said to have so much more
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meaning than just insight into a mob run workers union. The films reverence for the church as

a pillar of Americanism and morality very much conformed to the religious tenor of 1950s

anti-communism.("On the Waterfront (1954).com)

Japan had there film Godzilla which had giant monster destroying tokyo which was

repetition of america dropping the bomb on hiroshima in WW2 praying on people recent fears

and suffering and expressing it in film.( The Telegraph.com)

Film is constantly evolving as art film reflecting the time and sometimes the change can

be jarring.During the 1970s, there was an ever increasing amount of turmoil within the United

States. Following race riots and protests about unfair treatment in the 1960s, tension was high.

the ten years of fighting with nothing gained in Vietnam decreased the nationalism people once

felt for America as well as increased their unhappiness with the government. The Watergate

scandal showed that even the President doesnt trust anyone and therefore the public shouldnt

either. Beyond the spying was the lying, and this also scarred the American psyche.People now

felt who could they trust.They are meant to have the viewer become distrusting of the person

next to them in the theater by the end.

Film always had to be evolving to keep people's interests.The Urban setting at the time in

particular seemed to breed these negative feelings even more so than other areas across the

country. There was more attention to urban vigilantism in the crime-conscious 1970s.

Hopelessness was extremely apparent especially in the cities where people were trying to get by

on low wages surrounded by crime. The world around them was the villian in this area.New

Yorks troubles seemed to mirror and magnify the anxiety of the nation as a whole at the time a
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period of economic distress, profound uncertainty, and a sense of existential despair about the

meaning of and future for America.

In the 2000s was a time of great complexity across the globe. September 11th, 2001

sparked an increase in terror attacks around the world.So once again reflected that but there's

other types villains who have more of a grey area that really made the audience quesition good

and evil.Taxi Driver is a film that came out February 8, 1976 about parnoid ex marine dealling

with adjusting back to his life.Travis Bickle is both the villain and hero in this film. While he

does free a young girl from prostitution, this does not cover up the fact that prior to this heroic

deed he intended to kill a Senator in front of a crowd of people to get back at a woman who

rejected him. He also bought many guns illegally. In his attempt to save the young girl, he also

killed her pimp and two of the guards in that whorehouse, before trying to kill himself, but he ran

out of bullets.Villains are complex and are always evolving to our fear and same with

screenwriting there never the same and still will continue to reflect our society and interests.

Works Cited

"1.1. History of Scripting and the Screenplay." Screenplayology. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.
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"The Great Train Robbery (1903)." The Great Train Robbery (1903). N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec.

2016.

"How to Write a Screenplay: Script Writing Example & Screenwriting Tips | WritersStore.com."

How to Write a Screenplay: Script Writing Example & Screenwriting Tips |

WritersStore.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

Martin, Tim. "Godzilla: Why the Japanese Original Is No Joke." The Telegraph. Telegraph

Media Group, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

"On the Waterfront (1954)." On the Waterfront (1954). N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

"Villain." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.