Social Commentary: The Correct Way?

Brian Parker

Brian Parker

Well-known member
Hey Guys (Gals),

I was wondering if anybody could give me any advice on how to add social commentary to a script without making it obnoxious or heavy-handed. I'm not talking about trying to make people switch political parties or anything, just observations about society and life within the context of like a dark comedy.

Any pointers or listing of movies that you think have done this well would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
Alot of dramas come to mind instantly but comedy is a little more elusive. Team America: World Police springs to mind but I will try and think of some darker comedies that you might be able to use for researching the subject.
 
Dr. Strangelove - but it hits you over the head with it. You could watch Election with Mathew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon but some people might consider that more of a Dramedy.

American Psycho with Christian Bale, Reese Witherspoon (again) Willem Dafoe & Jared Leto certainly has alot to say about capitalism and the Regan era and was a very, very dark comedy that managed to totally disguise its true message. Its genre is often miscatogorized as horror or thriller, but I think anyone who understood the movie would have trouble not calling it a dark comedy.
 
Champloo said:
Hey Guys (Gals),

I was wondering if anybody could give me any advice on how to add social commentary to a script without making it obnoxious or heavy-handed. I'm not talking about trying to make people switch political parties or anything, just observations about society and life within the context of like a dark comedy.

Any pointers or listing of movies that you think have done this well would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...

One approach might be to have one character who is very socially-conscious on a specific subject -- being a vegan, being opposed to capital punishment, or whatever. Their beliefs can occasionally come up in connection with dialogue or events, without it becoming the whole focus of the film. Of course, you'd want to make sure that dialogue isn't contrived just to give the character a platform for his/her speech. But it can be done.

That's only one possible approach. There are likely plenty of others.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for all of the feedback.

Guru, I haven't seen American Psycho so I'll check it out and I saw election a long time ago but it was late at night so I don't remember it that well. Might have to check it out again.

That sounds like a good start Chapel Grove. I might have to use that one.
 
I was really impressed with WALL*E - it never preached once, but made some very telling digs at our current society.
 
Man of the Year with Robin Williams also has some very interesting things to say on the american election-system.
 
I think some of the best social commentary involves the protagonist as an every-day man surrounded my a monolithic tide of what you want to voice against. The trick is to have the protagonist make the same sorts of decisions the audience would make in his/her situation to resonate and strengthen what we in the audience know is right.

For example, government schools in the US are terrible. You could put your protagonist at a pivot point of that problem, surrounded by status-quo bureaucrats.

Most Americans do not believe in late-term abortions, so drop someone into an localized environment that believes it to be OK.

Neighborhood community has been supplanted by cyberspace community, so drop an overly gregarious but technology ignorant person into a high tech neighborhood and show the difficulty he has with his neighbors.

We are becoming a coarse society, so drop them into an everyday American neighborhood where everyone else curses like sailors.

The point is for the audience to pick up on it they must relate to it. You truly have to find something in life that the vast majority of us think is one way while a few people are very loudly trying to convince us is the other (late term abortion, government schools, global warming, PETA, constitutional ignorance, etc. etc.).

These issues in life range from the sublime to right-up-in-your-stuff, but unless you want to be the next Michael Moore they must be sublime in your films. No one wants to go see a film to have their life changed; we go to be entertained. Social commentary shouldn't be the main plot line of the story; you could, for example, make it the backdrop to a love story (Dr. Zhivago, Casablanca).

How about a modern day love story where a son brings his first girlfriend home to meet his parents during a block party. During the story people sober, drinking, and drunk are all cursing and carrying on way too much. The girl gets uncomfortable and wants to leave. She can even hide this well, we in the audience will still relate to it if it's done properly. Various scenes strung together like this showing how we don't even think twice dropping the F-Bomb in front of children. Finally the girl breaks up with the guy because he comes from that world (even if he doesn't curse or carry on himself).

Good Luck,

Bob
 
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