In Progress
Have I mentioned that I’ve been writing a television program?
No?
Well I am. And I must say that writing in the format for television is even more fun than watching television.
Although I’m not ready to unveil my project (even in its raw script form) I have completed solid drafts for three episodes, rough drafts for three episodes, and very nearly completed final drafts for two episodes. It’s thrilling to see such an absurd amount of progress in something that’s happenstance - this is not my main focus, but rather a side effect of the other things that are going on.
Unlike my visual arts endeavors, I have realized that building a narrative mythology does not require focusing on any single particular theme, but rather layers of themes. I’ve crafted a homosexual relationship between two of the main characters, for instance. One of the characters is pretty much me: nerdy, guarded, an unlikely candidate for romance. He is cynical and scared of commitment for fear of being rejected. The boyfriend is a conglomeration of several of my own past infatuations - athletic, confident, popular, alpha in every way. As I was until age twenty, the boyfriend is not in touch with the reality of his sexual interest even as it’s playing itself out right under his nose. Like me, he knows my fantasies and my crushes but hasn’t quite realized that they’re “gay.”
Delightfully this sort of storytelling also lets me work beyond the issues of gender/sexuality to which I am content to limit my focus in my art practice. One of my characters visits Albania. Another tends to assume that everyone wants to sleep with her, whether it’s true or not. Another one is transformed by witnessing a few different traumatic events. One is an artist - not just any kind of artist, but a graffiti artist (go figure) and over the course of time I plan to develop his perspective in the same way my own was developed through my time in art school… I don’t see realistic artist-development in the fiction media, only the mystified art-star. I want to present a more realistic (albeit romanticised) idea of how an artist learns and enters the art world - some of the choices he/she has to make, aspire to, sacrifices, etc.
There’s more. Lots of sci-fi elements. Issues of power and privilege. Cold-war fall-out and government conspiracy. Dealing with some of the issues that lay beneath the human psyche, like death and friendship and hate and obsession. I’m making it sound a lot more intellectual than it really is. It is a goofy sci-fi teen drama.
I’m perplexed as to what to do with these scripts. I want to do something with them independently. I would love to animate them myself, but have begun to realize how unrealistic that really is. Maybe graphic novel - story panels - is the way to go. Maybe they need to exist as books rather than scripts, so that I can include more visual description. They’re heavily inspired by stories I drew as a high school student, so I cannot envision them being live-action or super-realistic. They have to embody a sketchy, graphic, comic-ish aesthetic that my original sketches had over seventeen years ago when I was trying to make sense of teenage angst and social awkwardness.
I will keep you posted as they continue to develop!
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:46 am
I had something to say about this, but to be honest, I’m at a loss of words that would seem supportive. I liked your original intent of animating them, which isn’t unrealistic. It’s just time consuming. Drop me an e-mail about this project.
Also, if you are seriously thinking about television, you’ll have to research the gay TV programings and see how they depict gay culture and to which demographic they were often shown to. “It’s All Relative” as well as “Queer as Folk” are better launching points than “Will & Grace.”
Wow, I’m starting to sound like you now.
Hey Jon,
“At a loss for words that would seem supportive” Don’t be silly man, constructive criticism is always supportive. If I have spinach in my teeth it’s supportive for my friends to tell me about it. It’s NOT supportive if they keep it a secret.
I keep going back and forth on the animation idea - that is also my favorite option, but as you point out it is time-consuming and I’m afraid I haven’t figured out an efficient way to make it happen. I haven’t thrown the idea out the window yet, but I’m starting to consider that maybe this story can exist in a different format from what I originally envisioned.
I’m using the format of television script because it’s the easiest way for me to structure and build the story that I want to tell. I’m not interested in actually broadcasting it through the media of television. Quite the opposite, really. As Robert points out in the comment below, I have referenced YouTube on more than one occasion as the perfect vehicle for broadcasting new art, new ideas, new forms of entertainment. It is my intention of presenting whatever format I come up with through the vehicle of the internet. This allows me total control over the content, keeps me from having to abide by “standards & practices,” offers the option for interactive components, and opens my audience up beyond the notion of “demographics,” rather to anyone with a decent Internet connection. Unlike the television industry, online publication does not put me at the mercy of corporate sponsorship, like so many shows that get cancelled before they have the opportunity to shine. It allows me to adhere to as much of the established format as I want to (because as viewers we are conditioned to 22, 44, or 90 minutes of screentime) or it allows me to depart/alter/reinvent the format when I want. Indeed, these are amazing times in which we live.
I am encouraged that you consider animation to still be a possibility.
As far as cultural references go I totally agree. Fortunately I find myself somewhat immersed in television programming (despite the fact that I have no television) and like to keep up-to-date on the way gay/lesbian relationships are depicted, not only in gay-themed shows, but also as a matter-of-fact in hetero-themed shows. For instance the lesbian relationship that popped up on “Buffy,” or the gay brother on “Brothers and Sisters.” I’ve also been impressed with the treatment of sexuality on the BBC show “Torchwood,” one of the few sci-fi themed shows I’ve seen that doesn’t constantly resort to female objectification and the ONLY show of any genre that I’ve seen that takes bisexuality for granted. I’m always turned off by the programs that address issues of homosexuality as one of their weekly themes.
But as you point out, it’s important to keep an eye on how the media treats this topic. They are redefining how our culture sees non-traditional expressions of sexuality, and I do not necessarily want to rehash old ideas. I also don’t want to be limited to the same guidelines that television programs follow to keep from offending their audience. Working with the Internet I don’t have to care about that. Has NBC featured two guys kissing yet? The self-imposed lines that network television refuses to cross are not the lines by which I want to abide, even subconsciously. As you suggest, I need to be aware of how the format I’ve chosen (television script) might be enhanced by occasional deviations from industry standards.
And you said you didn’t have anything supportive to say. Bah!
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:41 am
Didn’t I read a short TV script that you wrote? Yes I did but it wasn’t a whole new world as you describe above.
Now, just as you reminded me about youtube, I will tell you that obviously that best way to get your story out to the world is in a blog. You can continually add images as they occur to you and as you have time.
Later, your blog might become a “real, printed” book.
Robert
Hi Robert,
I agree with this and now that I have a scanner, hope to use my blog as tool for in-progress reflection, a testing area, a sounding board… I have a lot of work to do, and documenting it here will make it much more fun.
And you are right, who knows if at some point this documentation might find its way into a more formal publication? I can only dream so big.
Jason