DZ-67: Writing “Passive” Protagonists & Melodrama

How do I tell a powerful story where the protagonist cannot drive the plot? Stu and Chas are joined by Stephen Cleary following his exploration into Melodrama, and together they try to reclaim the word from its pejorative meaning. By examining powerful Melodramas - like THE HANDMAID’S TALE, LADIES IN BLACK and STRANGER THINGS… with many a tangent on MARRIAGE STORY, PETE’S DRAGON, MILDRED PIERCE, GAME OF THRONES, LOST, THE JOKER, THE KILLING, THE WITCHER, war movies and survival films - the three hosts try to unpick what makes Melodrama an alternate story paradigm to the Hero’s Journey. They delve into how Melodramas centre on characters that don’t have agency; where the plot happens to characters (as opposed to being driven by them); how Melodramas don’t end so much as close; and how all of the above delves into character questions more deeply than the Hero’s Journey. And to wrap it all up, the kind of techniques you use on the page to write effective melodramas. CW: There is a lot of discussion in this episode about melodrama being associated with “women’s stories” vs the “hero’s journey” - which is biased towards a ‘masculine’ mode of storytelling - and we fully acknowledge in the show and here that we are three cismen talking about these things.   This episode was edited by Christopher Walker. Audio excerpts used for educational purposes only. RUNNING ORDER: 00:01:14 - Intro: Melodrama & Passive Protagonists 00:01:31 - What is Melodrama? 00:37:46 - The Handmaid's Tale Watch: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/69478-the-handmaid-s-tale 00:56:08 - Horror and Melodrama 01:00:23 - Marriage Story Watch: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/492188-marriage-story 01:14:58 - The Handmaid's Tale & Narrative Techniques 01:30:06 - Game of Thrones and Endings Watch: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/1399-game-of-thrones 01:33:07 - Melodrama & Endings 01:38:37 - Ladies in Black Watch: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/483411-ladies-in-black 02:13:12 - Stranger Things Watch: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/182026-stranger-things 02:31:34 - The Killing Watch: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/32368-forbrydelsen 02:38:07 - The Witcher Watch: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/71912-the-witcher 2:43:53 - Wrap Up: Passive & Still Characters Read: The Handmaid’s Tale - 101 Offred DZ RELATED EPISODES DZ-52: Antagonists! (Part 4) – vs Systems - http://draft-zero.com/2018/dz-52/  DZ-63: Tools for Better Dialogue (Part 2) – Hook and Eye - http://draft-zero.com/2019/dz-63/ DZ-60: Unfilmables and Unscriptables (Part 1) – Engaging imagination: http://draft-zero.com/2019/dz-60/ DZ-61: Unfilmables and Unscriptables (Part 2) – Moments of Awe: http://draft-zero.com/2019/dz-61/ Many thanks to all our patrons but particularly to Theis, Jesse, Jack, Chris, Khrob, Sandra, Nick, and Matteo. They’re good humans. Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts! or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners. We are @stuwillis and @chasffisher on twitter. And you can find @draft_zero on Instagram and Twitter. LINKS @ http://linktr.ee/draftzero BUY DRAFT ZERO MERCH via TeePublic