INCLUSIVE SCREENWRITING FOR FILM AND TELEVISION Breaking down the traditional structures of screenplays in an innovative and progressive way, while also investigating the ways in which screenplays have been traditionally told, this book interrogates how screenplays can be written to reflect the diverse life experiences of real people. Author Jess King explores how existing paradigms of screenplays often exclude the very people watching films and TV today. Taking aspects such as characterization, screenplay structure, and world- building, King offers ways to ensure your screenplays are inclusive and allow for every person’s story to be heard. In addition to examples ranging from Sorry to Bother You to Portrait of a Lady on Fire, four case studies on Killing Eve, Sense8, I May Destroy You, and Vida ground the theoretical work in practical application. The book highlights the ways in which screenplays can authentically represent and uplift the lived experiences of those so often left out of the narrative, such as the LGBTQIA+ community, women, and people of color. The book addresses a current demand for more inclusive and progressive representation in film and TV and equips screenwriters with the tools to ensure their screenplays tell authentic stories, offering innovative ways to reimagine current screenwriting practice towards radical equity and inclusion. This is a timely and necessary book that brings the critical lenses of gender studies, queer theory, and critical race studies to bear on the practice of screenwriting, ideal for students of screenwriting, aspiring screenwriters, and industry professionals alike. Jess King is an Instructor of Screenwriting and Cinema Production at DePaul University, USA. Jess is an educator, scholar, and interdisciplinary filmmaker, teaching courses in screenwriting, independent television, and film analysis. King’s creative scholarship revolves around frameworks for reimagining screenwriting for inclusion and social justice. INCLUSIVE SCREENWRITING FOR FILM AND TELEVISION Jess King Cover image: © Alamy First published 2022 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2022 Jess King The right of Jess King to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 77220- 8 (hbk) ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 77218- 5 (pbk) ISBN: 978- 1- 003- 17031- 0 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003170310 Typeset in Bembo by Apex CoVantage, LLC For Julie CONTENTS Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 PART I Towards a Critique of Screenwriting 13 1 Screenplay Manuals and the Homogenization of the Imagination 15 2 Reimagining Character 27 3 Rethinking the Role of Conflict 40 4 Changing the Narrative (Structure) 49 5 On World- Building 60 PART II Towards an Inclusive and Intersectional Practice of Screenwriting 71 6 From Killing Eve to an Eve Who Kills 73 7 Queer and Trans World- building in Sense8 85 viii Contents 8 The Generative Power of Paradigm Destruction in I May Destroy You 100 9 The Explicit and Specific Politics of Vida 114 Conclusion: A Way Forward 132 References 140 Index 147 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am immensely grateful for the thoughtful feedback, enthusiastic encouragement, and generous support of many of my colleagues at DePaul University, including David Gitomer, Dustin Goltz, Anna Hozian, Susan McGury, and Brad Riddell, all of whom read and gave feedback on early drafts of this book. I’d also like to thank Fatou Samba for our many generative conversations about problematic media rep- resentation and how screenwriters can do better to upend it. Throughout this process I’ve been consistently delighted by my students’ earnest engagement with and practical application of the ideas presented throughout this book in classes like The Female Gaze, Writing the Independent Television Series, and Queer(ing) Narratives. Thank you to Dominique Prince- Points and Karan Sunil for talking with me about writing characters who code- switch. And I’m overwhelmingly grateful to Liv Krusinski and Tessa Melvin, who, as undergraduate research assistants, provided limitless questions, additional relevant examples, and thoughtful suggestions from a student perspective. In addition to my colleagues and students, I’d like to thank Claire Margerison and Sarah Pickles at Routledge for being champions of this book and demystifying the publishing process with grace and kindness. And, finally, to Julie, my love. I could not have done this without you. You encouraged me every step of the way. You read and commented on so many drafts without ever acting like it was a chore. But I know it was. Thank you.