How 9/11 Altered The Fictional Word
When you write murder mysteries... actually make that Comedy murder mysteries, your theme can tread a very fine line. As a writer, you are dealing with death, albeit in a humorous way. Death and/or murder is not a funny thing, however, at a young age, we have been conditioned or re-wired by slap-stick movies and cartoons, and we are allowed to accept severe injury and catastrophe in a section of our brain that classifies this particular trauma as non-reality.
For instance, when we see Moe poke Curly in the eyes on the Three Stooges, Wile E Coyote falls from a cliff or Elmer Fudd shoots himself in the face with his own twisted gun, we don't associate shock and horror in a normal tragic reaction. No. We know it's fiction.
Most fictionalized (non-reality) movies, books, and plays can deal with death in a humorous way - if from the onset - the plot, characters, and action are a bit over the top or portrayed in a non-realistic fashion, (that is Cartoon-ish). Our brain will (hopefully) understand that what we are seeing is not real. It will (hopefully) allow us to dismiss a traditional shocked reaction and laugh if we want to. We get it. Our brain gives us permission.
In the past few years, however, I have been realizing something new, something else, which is that real life can blur and/or taint the most innocent of art. Here is an example, when I was a young inspired actor, in 1981 I was an extra in the John Carpenter movie "Escape From New York
"
- which featured Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken. If you are familiar with the movie, (or even if you are not) it takes place in the future
(the future at that time was 1997). The US President's plane crashes in
Manhattan, which was now a maximum-security prison for criminals. Snake
Plissken is sent inside the island to rescue the President.
Plissken
flies a small glider over the wall and lands on top of one the Twin
Towers of the World Trade Center (which in 1981 were still a part of the
New York Skyline). Plissken makes his way down to the street and the adventure ensues - in a purely fictional (somewhat cartoonish) way. I
don't believe I need to tell you what happened to the Towers on
September 11, 2001.
Presently, in real life, it's disconcerting to watch that movie again. Yes, I know, 1997 came and went and Manhattan was not transformed into a maximum-security prison and in '97 - the Towers would have been there for Snake Plissken to land upon. I get it. It's not real. The fact is - that what happened, in real life, now infiltrates the fantasy narrative of that fictional world. That part of the brain that filters fact from fantasy incurs a slight hiccup when seeing the Towers in the movie.
In the past few years, I have noticed the sensitivity trend or blurring of fact/fantasy extending to others. Many of my murder mystery plays are produced by High Schools and tragedy has been rearing its ugly head in the hallways of many High Schools and the fallout takes many forms.
One of my more popular plays was titled "All Over But The Shooting". Note -was titled. I received an email from a drama teacher asking if would be all right to change the title of the play, since it was being performed by high school students and many people in the community were a bit sensitive to hearing the words "Shooting" and "High School" in the same sentence - even it was only referring to play. I completely understood. I knew this could be a potential issue with other Schools so I went ahead and re-titled the play "An Audition For A Murder".
But it didn't stop there. Just recently a small theatre group in Oregon purchased the rights for one of my other plays. A few days later, about 5 miles from where this group was located, a student walked in his high school and began shooting. I received an email from the group, no they did not have an issue with the title, but there is a comic scene at the end of the play where the narrator of the story gets fed up with a particular audience member who keeps interrupting the play, pulls out a gun and shoots. They felt that in the interest of the community, it may be a bit much right now to keep that ending and requested to alter it to a non-violent conclusion. Again, I completely understood and allowed an alternate ending.
I realize that we live in a violent society and tragedies will occur all the time. I also know, as I originally stated, that there is a fine line between fiction and real-life and sometimes an event may move that line slightly. Reality will cross over and forever alter it, so that no matter how cartoonish the idea, the brain will not grant permission to laugh it off. I do understand. It happened to me and I have been contacted by others who have also experienced the fallout. Since I do understand I am willing to adapt. It just seems lately, that area of the brain that separates or classifies the real and the cartoon is getting thinner. Also, it seems I've been asked to understand and adapt quite a lot lately.
For instance, when we see Moe poke Curly in the eyes on the Three Stooges, Wile E Coyote falls from a cliff or Elmer Fudd shoots himself in the face with his own twisted gun, we don't associate shock and horror in a normal tragic reaction. No. We know it's fiction.
Most fictionalized (non-reality) movies, books, and plays can deal with death in a humorous way - if from the onset - the plot, characters, and action are a bit over the top or portrayed in a non-realistic fashion, (that is Cartoon-ish). Our brain will (hopefully) understand that what we are seeing is not real. It will (hopefully) allow us to dismiss a traditional shocked reaction and laugh if we want to. We get it. Our brain gives us permission.
In the past few years, however, I have been realizing something new, something else, which is that real life can blur and/or taint the most innocent of art. Here is an example, when I was a young inspired actor, in 1981 I was an extra in the John Carpenter movie "Escape From New York
"
- which featured Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken. If you are familiar with the movie, (or even if you are not) it takes place in the future
(the future at that time was 1997). The US President's plane crashes in
Manhattan, which was now a maximum-security prison for criminals. Snake
Plissken is sent inside the island to rescue the President.Presently, in real life, it's disconcerting to watch that movie again. Yes, I know, 1997 came and went and Manhattan was not transformed into a maximum-security prison and in '97 - the Towers would have been there for Snake Plissken to land upon. I get it. It's not real. The fact is - that what happened, in real life, now infiltrates the fantasy narrative of that fictional world. That part of the brain that filters fact from fantasy incurs a slight hiccup when seeing the Towers in the movie.
In the past few years, I have noticed the sensitivity trend or blurring of fact/fantasy extending to others. Many of my murder mystery plays are produced by High Schools and tragedy has been rearing its ugly head in the hallways of many High Schools and the fallout takes many forms.
One of my more popular plays was titled "All Over But The Shooting". Note -was titled. I received an email from a drama teacher asking if would be all right to change the title of the play, since it was being performed by high school students and many people in the community were a bit sensitive to hearing the words "Shooting" and "High School" in the same sentence - even it was only referring to play. I completely understood. I knew this could be a potential issue with other Schools so I went ahead and re-titled the play "An Audition For A Murder".
But it didn't stop there. Just recently a small theatre group in Oregon purchased the rights for one of my other plays. A few days later, about 5 miles from where this group was located, a student walked in his high school and began shooting. I received an email from the group, no they did not have an issue with the title, but there is a comic scene at the end of the play where the narrator of the story gets fed up with a particular audience member who keeps interrupting the play, pulls out a gun and shoots. They felt that in the interest of the community, it may be a bit much right now to keep that ending and requested to alter it to a non-violent conclusion. Again, I completely understood and allowed an alternate ending.
I realize that we live in a violent society and tragedies will occur all the time. I also know, as I originally stated, that there is a fine line between fiction and real-life and sometimes an event may move that line slightly. Reality will cross over and forever alter it, so that no matter how cartoonish the idea, the brain will not grant permission to laugh it off. I do understand. It happened to me and I have been contacted by others who have also experienced the fallout. Since I do understand I am willing to adapt. It just seems lately, that area of the brain that separates or classifies the real and the cartoon is getting thinner. Also, it seems I've been asked to understand and adapt quite a lot lately.
