Another Plastic Thumb: THE MORAL PREMISE

 I like reading guru stuff. But one topic I never see practically explored is THEME.

Enter the Moral Premise (by Stan Williams, PHD). It was mentioned to me by the good-old managers over at ELEMENTS ENTERTAINMENT, who were turned onto it from those classy-cats at OVERBROOK entertainment. It's a book I've never heard any screenwriter recommend.

Until now!

I can describe the basics of the moral premise in a single blog entry, but the book goes more in depth with specific examples and how the premise is applied to different characters. The Blog is cool to. It's like a living addendum to the book.

A moral premise looks like this:

[psychological vice] leads to [physical detriment]; but [psychological virtue] leads to [physical betterment].

Some examples:
DARK KNIGHT: Revengeful, self-service(Vice) leads to nihilistic desperation(detriment); but Sacrificial public service(virtue) leads to purposeful hope(betterment).

AVATAR: Greed, abuse and disrespect for life and creation leads to dread and destruction; but generosity, kindness and respect for life leads to hope and progress.

300(or is it Foro?): Vain glory in service of self leads to enslavement; but Humility in service of others leads to freedom.

DIE HARD: Covetous Selfishness leads to death and destruction but sacrificial love leads to a life of celebration.

OFFICER AND A GENTLEMEN : Deceiving ourselves and others leads to death and destruction; but Truthfulness to ourselves and others leads to hope and life.


Tragedy's have a different sort of arc --  sometimes like this:

Lying leads to distrust;
but outright fraud leads to death and destruction.

A typical theme(like the kind Mckgee lays out) is only one half of this. "Lying leads to distrust"...this form gives you the starting point for the protag both psychologically and physically; and conversely gives you the end point...ie -- both sides of a character arc.

Anyway, me likey.I'm constantly getting hammered on character arcs and this gives me a simple tool to integrate theme/arc and character.

The other big insight is the 'moment of grace'. The MOG  is a beat, usually near the midpoint where the person starts to change toward the arc. A 'look in the mirror' moment(often literally a look in the mirror moment!).

The key thing about the MOG, is up to that point,  the character tries the 'vice' (before midpoint) and then tries the 'virtue' after the Moment.

I just watched JAWS for the blog(coming soon). There's a very obvious MOG when the woman who just lost her son steps up and slaps Brodie in the face for not closing down the beaches. From that point on, Brodie is a changed man and starts actively being the hero instead of the pushover.

A cool way to further inform my Blake Snyder beat sheet. Act 1 & Fun & Games is the protag trying the 'vice' but Bad Guys on is protag trying the 'virtue'.

Read the Moral Premise blog. Get the book.

That is all.