Writing from the real world
Title: All the World’s a Stage
Author: Victor
D. Infante
To paraphrase Milton, in Paradise
Lost, the mind is it’s own place, and can make a Heaven of Hell or a Hell of
Heaven. But in filmmaking, or any genre of fiction, a sense of place can evoke a
litany of reactions in the viewer or reader. When used correctly, the setting
for a story can do more than add texture and vivacity to a story. It can be a
character in and of itself.
To take an example from
recent fiction, in his brilliant novel, Prague, Arthur Phillips invokes a
barely post-Soviet Budapest to counterpoint his American protagonists. The
shallow, self-absorbed Americans who wander the city are overshadowed by the
sheer weight of the city’s age and of the misery it’s seen. The characters whom
we meet in passing, who seem more part of the setting than real people, seem
somewhat more real than the characters we spend most of the book
with.
Often, perhaps too often, settings are chosen
for convenience more than for any metaphoric richness. How many TV shows are set
in New York or LA for no better reason than, well, they’re shot in New York or
LA. Some shows, X-Files comes to mind, have done a fabulous job of
digging into the nooks and crannies of America (all while being shot in
Vancouver or L.A.) while shows like Friends could just as easily have
been set in Kalamazoo or Walla Walla without missing a
beat.
Indeed, NYC and LA have become so ubiquitous
that it’s difficult to milk any metaphoric symbolism out of them, or,
conversely, any metaphoric symbolism that less comments upon the viewers own
life, but rather, reinforces its audiences world view. A cop show such as the
Shield may be brilliant, but to Middle America, who watches the most TV, it
reinforces the idea that “bad things happen in Los Angeles.” Anybody who’s spent
any time in the Midwest or the deep South can tell you that, in all honesty, bad
things happen there, too.
Often, when a show does manage to step
outside the big two urban areas, the effect is staggering. The Drew Carrie
Show, for instance, is set in Cleveland, and is an hilarious commentary on
Middle American culture, both it’s blessings and shortcomings.
And even LA
and NYC can be used to great effect: in the vampire drama Angel, a
character notes: “You know where I belong? L.A. You know why? Nobody
belongs there, it's the perfect place for guys like us.”
It’s a nice
line, and one that utters a fundamental truth about Los Angeles it’s a city of
immigrants, a place where the lost go to find themselves or disappear
completely, whether they be Latinos escaping hard conditions in search of a
better life, or star-struck kids from Kansas looking to be “discovered,” or
junkies destroying themselves on Hollywood Blvd. as the tourists seek out Walt
Disney’s star. What better place to set a story about a vampire displaced in the
world because he has a human soul?
Every place has a story. Every place has a
tone that resonates through its inhabitants. My own screenplays are set in
Orange County, California, because I’m endlessly fascinated by the inherent
balance between its ueber-rich and its growing underclass, its Conservative
politics and near obsessive future-mindedness. Someday I want to write a story
about Worcester, MA, a town where people are bear-blindingly real, but seem also
stuck in a past-mindedness and insecurity. There are many places I’d love to see
films set: Albuquerque, NM; Santa Fe, NM; Boulder, CO; Washington County, VA;
Asheville, NC. The list goes on.
Perhaps there’s a shortage of filmmakers
today who are comfortable taking such an active role as cultural critic by
looking at location in such terms, but honestly, there’s so much of the country
wasted these days in film, that it seems honestly criminal to not look to them
for inspiration. America is a staggering, lumbering beast of a country, full of
horror and glory, with every corner of it echoing to be heard, if only someone
would listen.
(Victor D. Infante is a regular contributor to the OC Weekly
and the Worcester InCityTimes, and is seeking representation for his two
screenplays, “the List” and “Nihilist Chic”. Visit him on the web at
http://www.quantumredhead.com/victor.) (c)
Victor D. Infante 2002
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