Lesson #1 Conflict as A

Process of Alchemy
#screenplay #conflict #psychology #Bergman #Spielberg

An idea, a situation or a character should all be based on

a conflict in order to be suitable material for a
screenplay. Conflict lies in between opposite emotional
stands and it is basically the heart of dramaturgy,
something you have to have in mind at the very
beginning when creating a story.
Los Angeles, Downtown

As you may have already noticed, one of the main purposes

of this blog is to examine every screenwriting truth, which we
have read or heard in theory repeatedly, with the goal of
answering the question – why? I believe that this is the right
way to integrate knowledge, not only as an imposed rule but
also as a lived law. I also believe that this is the way to turn
off rational mind (control) and turn on an intuitive mind (play)
in any process of creation.

So, therefore, we ask not just how to incorporate conflict

into a film, but why is conflict the basis of every story,
every character, and every situation?
At the very beginning it’s important to say that when we talk
about conflict, we are not talking about a quarrel, although a
dispute is often a result of a conflict. Conflict is expressed in
a story or a film as duality, paradox, tension, opposition,
incompatibility, moral dilemma, fear, etc.

ONE

Conflict is the basis of the architecture of the Universe.

We live in a four-dimensional Universe which functions on

the principle of opposite forces. If we didn’t know what ‘soft’
is, we would not know what ‘hard’ is. If we don’t know how to
define ‘white’ or ‘pure’ or ‘light,’ it's hard to define ‘black’ or
‘dark.’ If we didn’t feel satisfied with love or happiness,
suffering, pain, and dissatisfaction would not be such a
problem.

Living on the spectrum between the two opposites on

every level of existence is the basis of human life and
thus an integral part of our knowledge of everything that
surrounds us. Birth/death, inhale/exhale,
contraction/expansion.

TWO

Conflict is the basis of creation.

Do opposites attract or repel each other? I would say, they

are complementary, they complement each other in
dramaturgy. Take ‘male’ and ‘female’: The archetype of male
energy and archetype of female energy, Yin and Yang. (We
all have one and the other within us, and one or the other
prevails in certain periods of our lives or in certain
situations).

Male energy is assertive, penetrating, deciding, creating in

action, outside of self, giving - female energy surrenders,
protects, creates in peace, inside of self, receives.

Both energies are necessary for the creation of life and only
in the process of merging is there possibility for new life.

THREE

Conflict emerges between those who are different but

close.

For conflict to appear it is important to start from a common

ground, on the same thematic axis. You can’t really have a
passionate conflict with someone who thinks the sky is gray
or blue or pink while you think people are honest.

That's why conflict is most powerful with those who are

closest to us, with parents, children, lovers, friends, business
partners, neighbors. What is near and incompatible is even
more important than what is distant and common.
FOUR

Conflict is an integral part of the human psyche and the

basis of psychological transformation.

“True psychoanalysis is not a science… it is an art. In this

sense, psychoanalysis and screenwriting are two sides of the
same coin. They are both creative arts aimed at the
investigation and understanding of the human character,
mind, and soul. They are both intrinsically engaged in the
personality and personal development of their subject. They
are both immersed in the world of archetypal symbols and
mythological figures. And they both are rooted firmly in the
unconscious realm of human experience. - Psychology for
Screenwriters by William Indick

UNCONSCIOUS – FREUDIAN ANALYSIS

According to Freud's theory, our lives are primarily

dependent on what we are not aware of. All our problems
and struggles, repressed feelings, hidden memories, habits,
thoughts, desires, and reactions come out of the
unconscious.

The internal, neurotic dynamics of conflict occurs on three

levels of the psyche: the primordial level of libido, ego (self),
and superego (the part of us that represents the outside
authority).
Theorists claim that the two most exploited motifs in film
both come from the Oedipus complex (myth), which was the
central psychological model of exploration for Freud. The
first motif is the integration of moral wisdom/integrity (a
neurotic conflict that occurs between what we desire and
the rigid limitations of society) and the second is the
formation of an adult romantic relationship (a neurotic
conflict that happens through the psycho-sexual stages of
ego development). Both of these motifs are taken from the
childhood libidinal conflict, in fact, from the
father/mother/child relationship.

In films, this internal conflict is always portrayed as an

external one: obstacles on the way to desire. And even
though our character will “fight” with the external world,
the main question will always be if he or she is going to
defeat his/her own ego defense mechanisms or not. The
end of the conflict is either fulfillment of desire (comedy)
or the discovery that the desire was false (tragedy and
drama), leading to the development of the ego and the
resolution of the tension.

Metaphysics of alienation

In his film, The Silence (1963), Ingmar Bergman explores the

position of a lonely woman in a society that is just starting to
open itself to freely expressed sexuality.
Ester and Anna are sisters. Ester, who is ill, hides behind cold
intellectualism, while Anna, who has a son, lets herself off
the hook, exploring her wildest desires. While both are
controlling, the question really becomes who is being
emotionally blackmailed by whom?

With this story, Bergman suggests that the main conflict is

actually an internal one: both Ester and Anna are
representations of the split woman’s psyche. Ester is the
super ego (also their father died) while Anna is the id. There
aren’t two women, just one. For the ego to rise above
suffering, the super ego has to die.

COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS – JUNGIAN ANALYSIS

In Jungian psychology, we can use conflict in a slightly

different way. Jung claims that our personal unconscious is
in correlation with the collective unconscious and that
through psychological images and themes that we can all
connect to (which are archetypes), we share the same
experiences. Thus, one of the basic archetypes is ‘Persona,’
the face we present to the world, and the other is ‘Shadow,’
the dark, hidden part of our consciousness, which is
somewhat suppressed. Our ‘Shadow’ wants to be seen,
recognized, and integrated, and this is exactly the story of a
vast number of movies. Only at the moment of discovering
what has been hidden, do we come to know ourselves and
only then is change possible.
 The change of a character lies at the heart of every story.
In addition, conflict is both a call for growth and an
emotional transition incorporated into the
individualization of each person.

David and Goliath

In Duel (TV movie, 1972) by Steven Spielberg, the car driver,

David Mann, a salesman, is driving on a highway when he
encounters an old oil tanker. It seems that unseen driver, a
Goliath is actually haunting him, wanting to kill him. The
psychology here is rudimentary.

David actually feels small in his marriage. What’s haunting

him is archetypal fear that he is not enough, so Shadow
escalates. In an open fight he has to prove that he is the
Man.

If you want to discover these two basic models (Freudian

and Jungian) in depth and for alternative psychological
models (Eriksonian, Adlerian, Existential Analyses etc.) I
highly recommend, Psychology for Screenwriters by William
Indick, Ph.D.

FIVE

Conflict comes in layers.

Even though every story is built around a central conflict, you

can always use many opposing forces to help build up more
tension around that conflict.

Films are enriched by the amount of opposites they have,

and it is these opposites that open up new levels of
meaning.

Here is the list of some of the archetypal opposites

Ingmar Bergman used in his film The Silence (1963) to
build the conflict between two sisters Esther and Anna:

Movement / Stillness

Silence / Words

Control / Fear, Helplessness

Strong/ Weak

Family / Loneliness

Male / Female (give / receive)

Young / Old

Close / Far

Alive / Dead, Inanimate

Parent, Mother / Child, Son

Boredom / Play

Innocence / Sinful

Intellect / Passion

Heart (Emotional) / Brain (Rational)

Subordinate / Authoritarian

Peace / War

Freedom / Captivity

Health (Sexuality) / Illness

Success / Failure

Integrity / Moral collapse

Loyalty / Deception

Love / Fear

Homework #1

Define the main conflict in your story.

Think of opposite forces that can help this conflict come to

life.

Think about how this conflict can be the essential part of

your character’s psyche.

Just meditate on this for a while. Let the images come to

you. If you can see some conflicted situations, write them
down… and let them be, for now.

Next on Intuitive Screenwriting:

Conflict is born out of desire, characters are born out of

conflict. Our heart pulls us to one side (emotions), our brain
often to the other (ratio). The difference between a
(mythical) hero and a (psychological) character, who is an
antagonist, and what is the difference between the
need/objective reality and desire/subjective reality?

#screenplay #conflict #psychology #Bergman #Spielberg

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