writing the heart of your story (15 page)

It’s Not about Prot Either

What’s the theme in
K-Pax
? It’s not about whether Prot comes from another planet or not—that’s just the background of the real story. The protagonist of this film is Dr. Mark Powell, and his problem is his disconnect to his family. Throughout the movie, we witness the dynamics of his family—his alienation from his son, his distance from his wife, even his disconnect from his “family” of patients. As he uncovers the truth about Prot and the story behind Robert Porter and the horrific loss of family Porter underwent, we watch Mark come to the shocking realization that family is more precious than anything. He knows that Prot chose him, and wonders why. But we, the audience, know exactly why. He has an important life lesson to learn.

Dr. Powell undergoes a tremendous transformation, and we cheer him on. Of course, there are other beautiful themes in the movie. My heart aches thinking about Bess and how Prot notices this invisible woman in the nut ward. There is so much messianic theme in this movie in metaphor. Prot tells Ernie to watch for the bluebird of happiness—that is his task—which Dr. Powell scoffs at. Yet, the actual physical bluebird shows up outside the window. To Howie, this is all he needs. It may only be a bird to Dr. Powell, but to Howie it is a confirmation of his faith and a gift to his integrity. Big themes.

Themes That Recur throughout the Story

Despite the variety of genre, style, writing, and tone, these movies I’ve picked to look at have a recurring universal theme that drives and weaves through the story. Authors can learn a lot from movies, but it’s important to look beyond the spoken word—the dialog presented—to see what’s really going on. And that’s what happens in a great book. The universal themes waver just below the surface, occasionally rearing their heads when a character voices a question or makes a choice.

Admittedly,
The Three Amigos
falls short when it comes to building and weaving a theme, as the “El Guapo” speech given by Steve Martin at the end of the movie really serves as a rallying cry to embrace a theme in a last moment’s spark of inspiration. But it deserves mention. How can you easily forget his brilliant words?

“In a way, all of us have an El Guapo to face someday. For some, shyness might be their El Guapo. For others, a lack of education might be their El Guapo. For us . . . El Guapo is a big dangerous guy who wants to kill us. But as sure as my name is Lucky Day, the people of Santa Poco can conquer their own personal El Guapo . . . who also happens to be the actual El Guapo.”

You could get expansive and talk about how, throughout the movie, the three amigos really did have to face their “various” El Guapos—literal and emotional, since they lost their nice gig at the Hollywood studio. Hey, they did get to make off with their dazzling costumes. But enough of our friendly amigos.

Another Movie Rich in Theme:
Strictly Ballroom

I can’t resist talking about my favorite movie—well, my entire family’s favorite movie. We have to get our fix, watching
Strictly Ballroom
, nearly every time we’re all home for a weekend. Although we can mouth and act out every line (can’t quite master all the dance steps yet!), we never tire of this movie. We sit, absolutely transfixed, as we watch Francesca and Scott dance the Paso Doble. There are a few movies that hold the same fascination for me—and they all have one thing in common—great themes.

I often ponder why
Strictly Ballroom
holds so much sway over our hearts and attention. Why can’t we get enough of this movie, even after having seen it dozens of times? Back to the Future is like that too. If I walk by the TV and it’s on, it drags me over and forces me to sit down, and I’m mesmerized by every word. It’s not just fun entertainment and snappy dialog.
Strictly Ballroom
has the same effect on me. It’s rife with theme. Sure, it’s a fairy tale—the ugly duckling makes off with the handsome prince, despite all odds. But it’s so much more than that.

A Theme That Is Presented by the Characters Themselves

Francesca, in a fit of frustration, mouths off a string of Spanish words, leaving Scott Hastings befuddled. She wants to dance with him in the Pan-Pacific competition, breaking the rules and dancing their own original steps, which is blatantly sacrilegious in the world of professional ballroom dancing. She translates the phrase: “A life lived in fear is a life half-lived.”

It is no accident she utters this phrase. This “truth” is at the heart of every scene in this movie. This theme becomes Scott’s awakening, his challenge, and ultimately his victory. It is the nectar the two drink, and the hope they embrace. It is the magical phrase that frees Scott’s father from his “prison” and mends his parents’ long-damaged relationship.

Nearly every character in this movie experiences both what it’s like to live a life in fear and how empowered they are when they take a stand and face down that fear—which many do at the climax of the movie. This movie’s brilliance is perhaps lost under all the makeup, costumes, and the histrionics of Shirley Hastings, but it’s more than just the riveting music played during the Latin dance final that makes you want to jump to your feet and stomp your way around the living room. Your heart is soaring because the movie’s theme successfully reached its target. By the end of the movie, you swear you will never live a half-lived life. You will not live in fear. Those are powerful themes conveyed in a comedic story—which should tell you that every genre can benefit from theme.

The Deep Themes in the Movie
Nell

Here’s an amazing movie. Brilliant on so many levels. The plot itself is wonderful and enough to drive the story. But we see again another story in which there is a theme underlying the plot.
Nell
is not just about a girl who has spent most of her life in isolation. In
Nell
, we are put face-to-face with the question about our place in the world—what is considered normal and sane in the way we live our lives.

Two forces fight over Nell—those who want to let her keep her freedom, intent on proving that she cannot just survive but thrive without society. And the others, those in “authority,” who insist Nell cannot care for herself, that she has to have others tell her what to think, eat, and wear; how to act; and how to live in a way that is not only acceptable but healthy.

If you haven’t seen the movie, Nell is a young woman raised in the back country, who had never encountered or interacted with any people other than her family (don’t want to do a spoiler here). A delivery boy discovers her right after her mother has died, and that tragedy has left Nell bereaved and alone. A doctor is asked to go talk with her, and thus begins the story of how Jerry, and then Paula, live on the property and study Nell, trying to communicate with her and assess her mental and emotional state. Does Nell need to be put in a state home? Or can she live on her own? Who has the right to decide?

Small Things Are Big—and Not Just in
Nell

Nell threatens the established norms, and as Jerry and Paula take her to court to try to protect her rights, in despair over her fate, Nell actually speaks up—in her strange manner of talking (because her mother, who had a stroke that impaired her speech, raised her with a warped version of English). To everyone’s shock, Nell presents herself, with the help of Jerry’s translating, as an intelligent, intuitive person. But most importantly, she understands the heart of life—what scares us, what moves us.

Nell tells us that she knows small things—her world is small. And that her listeners know big things, there in the city, in the big world. Yet, she sees how no one will look each other in the eye. She sees everyone’s hunger for connection, for love, and asks why their world hasn’t given them hope, love, or answers. She tells them she knows what it’s like to love and to lose those she loves. She makes it clear she is no different from anyone else. But she can accept that those things are part and parcel of life. If that scene doesn’t move you to tears, I would be shocked.

In this beautiful, haunting speech, she reveals she knows far more than most of her listeners. She has a wisdom that comes from reflection and true living. She doesn’t just live in her world, she embodies it. She puts her opposers to shame with her honesty and compassion—something starkly lacking in those seeking to constrain her “for her own good.”

One of the minor characters, a deputy, has a troubled, depressed wife. He is racked with despair, unable to find a way to help her, to show her how to find joy and peace in her life. Yet, when this woman meets Nell, she finds the help she seeks. Just watching Nell, talking to her, and being comforted by this young woman is the cure the deputy’s wife needs. And there’s a poignant moment in the movie in which this woman looks at Paula, the state psychologist sent to assess Nell, and she says, “You were the first one to need her.”

Nell brings out many things in the people around her. They think they’re there to help her, but the opposite is true. They each need to learn something about their fears and hang-ups, and Nell mirrors them innocently back to them. Everyone who gets around Nell is changed, just by virtue of her genuineness.

Deep Themes below the Drama

So, what theme is going on here? I see it as this: Nell is considered helpless and unfit. Society is needed to tell us how to live and function, and we must be a compliant participant in order to not just survive, but to enjoy life. Life has rules and we’re meant to follow them. Rules=happiness. The theme is that these are falsehoods. That sanity, happiness, functionality have nothing to do with society but have to do with your heart. That you can throw out every rule that doesn’t speak to your heart because, in the end, those rules will not serve you or anyone else. That you have to face your fear and your pain to get to the raw truth of who you are. And that’s too scary for most people, yet Nell, of all people, is there. She embraces her pain and loss in a beautiful acknowledgment that this is life—in all its beauty and despair. She challenges each one of us—can we live so honestly? How’s that for a big theme?

Think about
. . . watching one or all of these movies. If you have seen them before, try to watch them with new sight. Pay attention to the themes as they come out, and see how they are presented in the dialog and actions of the characters.

Think about the movies you love and why they touch you. Pick one, and see if you can find a universal theme that has been silently guiding the movie along. Then see how you can uncover the themes of what you are writing, and find ways to thread them through your story. You just might make someone jump out of their chair and dance around the room!

Chapter 22: Lessons from a Pig and Some Guys Going through Midlife Crisis

“The whole visible universe is but a storehouse of images and signs to which the imagination will give a relative place and value.”

~poet Charles Baudelaire

Before I start talking about a cool pig and the themes inherent in
Babe
, I want to add a little aside about symbols. Tying symbols in with a theme is very powerful, and the movie
Babe
does a great job with the gate as a symbol throughout the movie. I imagine few people ever really notice the bit about the gate other than the way it adds a bit of plot and humor, but it serves as another theme by way of symbolism.

Symbols as Theme

Symbols are generally a visual object, but they can also be a thought, idea, phrase, or gesture. These can also be considered as motifs (chapter to follow), which are a terrific way to enrich your story and touch the reader’s heart. But the great thing about symbols is they pack a lot of meaning in a simple way. When you use a symbol as a thematic element, you want it to reappear numerous times throughout your novel.
Babe
is a wonderful movie that wraps around a symbol.

Come On-—Who Cares about a Pig?

Who would have thought such a simple, short children’s book would have become such a blockbuster movie? A lot of children’s movies are entertaining and funny for all ages, but
Babe
excels in a number of ways—not just in the quality of the animation and acting but because there are some great themes going on here. The most obvious one has to do with one’s “purpose” in life.

Babe, spared by fate, finds himself confused and alone at Farmer Hoggett’s farm. But he soon learns that every animal on the farm has a purpose—and so he goes about trying to discover what his might be. The theme is woven throughout the many characters—Rex the dog is in charge and has a noble purpose, but he feels ashamed that, because of a tragic occurrence, he cannot fulfill his purpose as well as he used to. The duck, on the other hand, is desperately seeking purpose, because—as the mean old cat cruelly informs Babe—those without a purpose end up like Roxanne: a duck cooked and steaming hot on the Thanksgiving table. But by the time Babe learns he has “a purpose,” he has already demonstrated to Farmer Hoggett his wonderful “sheepdoggie” skills.

Mind the Gate

Babe experiences a saving twist of fate, for Farmer Hoggett is a keen believer in divine purpose. His character is concerned with everything having a place, everything functioning efficiently. The symbol that ties in with this theme of purpose is “the gate.” Using this subtle but powerful element, the writer of this script keeps us coming back to Hoggett tweaking his gate. Hoggett’s aim is to have the gate close with a gentle touch and lock with the least amount of extra effort.