Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Something is Missing

I am intrigued by the direction that Screen Drama has gone with regard to the use of greater openness and adult language. I always felt that writers could go further into sexuality than traditionally allowed and in my lifetime have seen the line shift towards revealing more about this aspect of the human experience.

At WDC there are forums where writers can experiment with how graphic a love scene can be portrayed and I have seen some good examples of how the physicality transitions into an amazing sensual experience. Most would agree that Porn is too graphic and closing the bedroom door altogether is not enough.

On the Hollywood screen and on television the line is moving towards showing more. As it moves what is often revealed is how naive and unprepared writers and directors are for this greater openness.

Often what we see in TV Dramas such as Deadwood, The Americans and Game of Thrones is a more graphic rendering and dialog about aspects of human sensuality that defy the belief of even the most traditional of practitioners.

So when a director tells a writer to, “Amp up a love scene,” what we see are many of the misconceptions and mistaken stereotypes that have been around forever. I could provide examples but they would exceed the classification of this blog. There is more than the physical dimension and porn movies show that aspect is easy enough to render. However, portraying the emotions and how the experience can be taken from the carnal to the sublime is either not well understood or too hard to demonstrate.

The more a reader has to suspend their disbelief and roll their eyes, the more it detracts from the story. I am all for opening the door a little wider but get real, making the most from an intimate human experience requires some emotional and spiritual grease not to mention some practice and experience. A graduate level of performance should not be portrayed as an expectation for the first night of class. Is it just me or am I missing something?