Mastering Subtext: Unveiling Hidden Meanings in Screenwriting
Explore the art of subtext in screenwriting, revealing the unspoken truths beneath dialogue and actions. Learn techniques to craft layered, engaging narratives.
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Writing Subtext The Secret to Writing Whats Under the Surface
Added on 10/02/2024
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Speaker 1: Wade, I, it's Jerry, I... Wade, it's Jerry, I, we gotta talk.

Speaker 2: In movies, as in life, what we say can be very different than what we really mean.

Speaker 3: I love my job, I love my job, I love my job.

Speaker 2: This is called subtext, the hidden current flowing underneath our daily conversations and actions.

Speaker 4: But what's there tells a story if you read between the lines.

Speaker 2: It is also the key to writing nuanced character behavior and layered dialogue.

Speaker 5: And you will atone. Am I getting through to you, Mr. Beale?

Speaker 2: In this video, we'll uncover the strategies and mechanics of how to write it. Welcome to this episode of Page to Picture, writing subtext.

Speaker 5: And you better get started.

Speaker 2: We've covered screenwriting topics like the four types of endings and how to write a great villain. What topic should we cover next? Make sure to subscribe and enable notifications to get more videos like this. To really examine how subtext works on the page, we've imported these scripts into StudioBinder's screenwriting software. Pencil's out. Let's get started.

Speaker 1: One of the things that keeps popping up is this about subtext. Ways, novels, songs, they all have a subtext, which I take to mean a hidden message or import of some kind.

Speaker 2: Subtext refers to the motivations and truths beneath our words and actions. It is the unspoken meaning beneath the surface of everything we say and do. We can trace this idea back to one of the seminal figures in theater, Konstantin Stanislavski. Who said, keep in mind that a person says only 10% of what lies in his head. 90% remains unspoken. In other words, subtext is all about what's left unsaid. Stanislavski's lesson is for actors to understand what their character is thinking and feeling. But it also applies to writers. Writers who need to understand the inner workings of these characters just as much as the actors portraying them. So, how is subtext created? The easiest way to understand this concept is with this simple formula. Subtext is the sum of two things added together, text and context. Text is the words or actions in question. It is the spoken dialogue. They are coming. Or it is the action performed. By themselves, these words and actions have meaning. I really hate you. But there can also be a secondary meaning underneath it.

Speaker 6: The subtext.

Speaker 2: For example, in The Princess Bride, Wesley uses a specific phrase to hide his true feelings for Buttercup. He says, I love you. In The Princess Bride, Wesley uses a specific phrase to hide his true feelings for Buttercup.

Speaker 6: As you wish.

Speaker 2: As you wish. As you wish. The text is, as you wish. But the subtext is, I love you.

Speaker 3: You can die too for all I care.

Speaker 7: As you wish. Oh, my sweet Wesley.

Speaker 3: What have I done?

Speaker 2: Subtext is everything around the text. The external circumstances or situations that also inform the ultimate meaning of the subtext. For example, these scenes have the same text. Drinking tea. But since each scene has a different context, they have a different subtext. Like conformity. Romance. Danger. Or rebellion. Understanding this relationship between text and context is vital when writing subtext. But why is subtext so important? If everything is surface level, there is no depth to the material. Nothing to explore or discover. How much is it? It'll be $18. Here you go. Keep the change. Hi, doggie. You're my favorite customer. Thanks a lot. Bye. Bye-bye. Subtext creates layered and complicated characters and it gives the audience something to decode. The chance to read between the lines keeps them engaged with the characters. What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?

Speaker 7: Sir? The most you ever lost on a coin toss. I don't know. I couldn't say.

Speaker 2: Now, there are three main ways to create subtext in a screenplay. Let's start with the most direct. Dialogue. Perhaps the best way to illustrate subtext in dialogue is to start without it. How are you?

Speaker 4: A little frustrated at the moment. Also equally depressed and pessimistic about our date tonight. Sure.

Speaker 2: I'm Anna. Come on in. It's not a rule that all dialogue needs to be layered. You're such a dick.

Speaker 7: Every day I wake up and I'm like, every day I wake up and I hope you're dead. Dead like if I could guarantee Henry would be okay. I'd hope you'd get an illness and then get hit by a car and die.

Speaker 2: Being direct is an equally valid option. Something writer Martin McDonough knows quite well. Dixon, you got it.

Speaker 5: So I'm in the middle of my god-easter dinner. Sorry, kids.

Speaker 2: We can see this in his script for The Banshees of Inisharen. After a few minutes of Padraig guessing why his best friend is acting cold towards him...

Speaker 3: Have you been rowing?

Speaker 8: We haven't been rowing. I don't think we've been rowing. Have we been rowing?

Speaker 2: ...Colum just comes right out and says it. I just don't like you no more.

Speaker 6: You do like me. I don't.

Speaker 8: But you liked me yesterday.

Speaker 6: Or did I, yeah? I thought you did.

Speaker 2: Writers like Yorgos Lanthimos strip their dialogue of subtext to create a stylized effect.

Speaker 1: You look like a badger.

Speaker 3: Oh.

Speaker 2: In films like The Lobster, the dialogue is direct and simple.

Speaker 3: If I'm walking too slowly, just say, and I'll pick up my pace.

Speaker 4: This pace is fine.

Speaker 2: And the actor's stilted and emotionless delivery is perfectly suited to express the film's absurdist satire.

Speaker 3: You need to choose a companion that is a similar type of animal to you. A wolf and a penguin could never live together. Nor could a camel and a hippopotamus. That would be absurd. Think about it.

Speaker 2: This is dialogue with zero subtext. But for a vast majority of written dialogue, subtext is an essential ingredient.

Speaker 7: I drink your milkshake.

Speaker 2: Look at some of the most iconic lines ever written. When Don Corleone says this... I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse. The subtext is, if he doesn't do what I ask, I will kill him. Which line is more interesting? The one with subtext or the one without it? The ending of Chinatown includes this cryptic line. Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown. It's an ambiguous phrase that could mean a few things. But one common subtextual reading is, justice is futile in a corrupt world. It's the ambiguity here that makes us work for the meaning. And it becomes, perhaps, a more profound idea once we figure it out for ourselves. Writers can add subtext to the words in construction of the dialogue itself. You cannot start without me. See, I start the clock. But this can also be done by indicating a specific tone for the intended delivery using the scene description. I see dead people. Or with parentheticals.

Speaker 8: And if your answer is no, you'll still be the only thing I ever needed you to be. My son. You okay?

Speaker 2: Yeah. On page 49 of Damien Chazelle's Whiplash, a quick scene between father and son reveals an unspoken subtext. So how's it going with the studio band?

Speaker 6: Good. Yeah, I think he likes me more now. And his opinion means a lot to you, doesn't it?

Speaker 2: Then, a line of description hints at the subtext. Jim looks at Andrew. Almost accusatory. A moment. Yeah. Andrew responds with a single word, but the ellipsis tells us that there is more beneath it. Perhaps he noticed the underlying accusation behind the question. Jim then changes the subject. Want to grab the shakers? Which confirms our suspicions. He is jealous of his son's admiration for Fletcher. No. Like the scene description, parentheticals can help target a specific line for subtext.

Speaker 5: Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me.

Speaker 2: Aren't you? Writers Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman joined forces on the script for Booksmart. After a quick introduction to our two leads, Molly and Amy, their interaction with Principal Brown tells us a lot about their reputation at the school.

Speaker 7: That's it. Signing off. Go Crockett's. Boom.

Speaker 8: Principal Brown.

Speaker 2: Before his response, we get a quick, succinct parenthetical that simply says, Kill me. Let's see how this manifests in Principal Brown's dialogue. Oh.

Speaker 5: Hi, Molly, Amy. What's shaking?

Speaker 2: First, the exasperated groan, and then a shift into forced politeness. When writing subtext in dialogue, consider these tips. What's a bad miracle? Less is more. Remember, 90% of what we think and feel is left unsaid. Interesting, natural-sounding dialogue should do the same.

Speaker 5: Dialogue isn't the only outlet to explain what's under the surface.

Speaker 2: Use the scene description, or parentheticals, to give the actor subtextual clues to inform their tone and delivery. Hey, wait a minute. Let's just sit with what we heard.

Speaker 9: Are you serious? Well, we don't have to constantly be entertaining ourselves, do we? But subtext isn't confined to dialogue alone.

Speaker 2: A character's actions and behaviors allow writers to include nuance in their storytelling. As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. This is a fitting mantra when it comes to writing subtext. When words don't suffice, a character's actions will speak for them. Let us not resort to our baser instincts and handle this like civilized men to move

Speaker 5: This is yours here, right? When Jules takes a bite out of Brett's hamburger, the subtext is clear.

Speaker 2: It is a gesture of pure dominance. This is a tasty burger.

Speaker 7: Hans politely asks for the computer code.

Speaker 2: As he calmly removes the silencer, there is no doubt about the consequences of noncompliance. The combination of Hans' gentlemanly tone with his homicidal actions is what makes him such a compelling villain. It's a very nice suit, Mr. Takagi. To be ashamed to ruin it. At the end of The Godfather, Kate struggles to understand the man Michael has become. Don't ask me about my business, Kate. I'm just trying to help you. I don't know what you're talking about. And with a simple closing of the door, the subtext is that she never will.

Speaker 10: She is literally shut out of his new life.

Speaker 2: On page 11 of David Koepp's script for Panic Room, Sarah tries to pour herself some water. She's not sure how to do it, but she does it anyway. On page 11 of David Koepp's script for Panic Room, Sarah tries to pour herself some more soda, but Meg stops her. Hey.

Speaker 4: Enough.

Speaker 2: Sarah sees her mother struggling with her recent divorce and voices her support. Um.

Speaker 1: Don't. I heard you. I agree.

Speaker 2: Um. Enough. And then Meg herself pours the soda. It's a tiny gesture with subtext that speaks volumes. We are in this together. When writing subtext with actions, the old screenwriting adage says it all. Show, don't tell. Ask yourself, is there something a character can do that communicates their thoughts and feelings instead of dialogue? A similar option is to find actions that contradict their dialogue.

Speaker 7: You stop drinking right now, all right? Make a promise to yourself you're gonna stop drinking.

Speaker 2: This juxtaposition is the birthplace of rich subtext. Using a character's actions to communicate subtext is a fantastic option. If we go a level deeper, we can see how the actor's performance is also a common and useful opportunity. Good actors don't simply recite their lines. Their performance includes layers of meaning through their body language. As Robert McKee notes, actors are not marionettes to mime gestures and mouth words. They're artists who create with material from the subtext, not the text. Does the character make eye contact or do they avoid it? Do they fidget, slump in their chair, or stare into the distance? In all cases, there is subtext behind those performance choices. A rule of thumb in screenwriting is to avoid telling the director how to direct and telling the actor how to act.

Speaker 7: That being said, the writer, actor, and director should all be on the same page

Speaker 2: with what a character is thinking, doing, and saying. This starts with the screenwriter before being interpreted by the actor and director. Let's look at an example of how the screenwriter's text on the page can be turned into subtext in the performance. Consider this scene from Moonlight on page 87. Black and Kevin haven't seen each other in years, and underneath their reunion is tension and nervousness. What's up, Kev? Hell, man. What you doing down here? I mean it.

Speaker 10: The trauma of the scene is a key element of the performance.

Speaker 2: What you doing down here? I mean it. The trauma in Black's life has created a deep insecurity in him. Notice how screenwriter Barry Jenkins describes this internal conflict when all of his instincts tell Black to leave before he gets hurt again. Kevin is nowhere to be found. There's nothing between Black and the door. The door. That's the text, simply written but evocative. Writers like Jenkins understand how to give the actor just enough to allow their performances to shine. Now, let's see how the subtext manifests in the performance. So, this is just a tiny example in a script and film that is all about the emotions under the surface. As a writer, remember that an actor's performance will communicate much more than what is on the page. Give the actor clues in the scene description and watch how they bring that underlying material to life. Now, let's look at a scene that puts all these subtext techniques to work. The emotional climax in Sound of Metal, written by Darius and Abraham Marder. To understand the subtext of this scene, we need to understand the context. Reuben is in a band with his girlfriend, Lou. Lou has a history of self-harm and a habit of scratching, established on page three. Come on, stop that. We're going to get right to it from Grizzle, remember?

Speaker 10: Okay. This will become relevant later.

Speaker 2: Everything changes when Reuben loses his hearing. The hearing that you have lost is not the hearing that you have lost.

Speaker 10: It's not coming back. You have to understand your first responsibility is to preserve the hearing you have.

Speaker 2: Lou is worried that this will spark a drug relapse for Reuben, so he enters a rehab for the death. In the process, the band and the relationship dissolve, but they both grow and change while apart. Near the end, on page 82, they reunite, and Reuben notices the positive change in her. They look different.

Speaker 10: Whoa, no scratching, huh? Oh, yeah.

Speaker 9: That's good.

Speaker 2: Later, Reuben and Lou discuss getting themselves and the band back together. We got to get back into it. We got to get back on it.

Speaker 10: We got to get back in the groove, huh? Don't you think? Right, like with the tour stuff? Yeah, the tour, everything. Like, we just got to get back on it, everything, the album, the tour, you know? Yeah.

Speaker 2: In the description, Reuben notices her scratching her arm in the same spot she used to scratch. Here, the album is in the same spot she used to scratch it. The act of scratching is full of subtext. It represents everything negative from Lou's former life. Noticing this old, destructive habit returning, Reuben has an epiphany. Reuben's eyes take in the truth of Lou now. She can't go back with him, and he can't stay. The revelation is devastating. Reuben understands that getting back together would only set her back, ruining the progress she has made. And so, he lets her go. It's okay, Lou. What? What's the subtext of this phrase? It's okay could mean that Reuben is releasing her of responsibility for his well-being. It's okay could mean that he will be fine, and so will she. Or it could be both of those things, and more. The martyr's screenplay is full of rich subtext like this. And the dialogue?

Speaker 10: You don't need to fix anything here.

Speaker 2: And woven into the description to inform both character actions and performances.

Speaker 5: Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Speaker 2: Subtext is one of the greatest tools to make dialogue interesting. I do wish we could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner. It also allows the audience to see through the surface-level meaning of words and behaviors to get to the hidden truths underneath.

Speaker 4: You look like you're having a rough morning.

Speaker 7: Ding, ding, ding. What do we have for her, Johnny?

Speaker 2: Through this process, we can understand these characters on a deeper level, where empathy is born. If you're inspired to dive into the depths of subtext, start writing your screenplay with StudioBinder's screenwriting software. Until next week, remember to read between the lines.

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