Bill Conrad's Blog - Posts Tagged "narrating"
Reagan: The Movie
The ‘80s was a fantastic time to be a teenager; music, clothes, and the future was truly here. At the center of it all was Reagan, the great leader. Yet everyone knew he was mentally struggling. Every press event made the news with all his nonsense. A crazy time in history.
That sounds like a fun topic for a movie, and somebody made one. I watched Reagan a few weeks ago. Dennis Quaid did a good job of portraying him, but the filmmakers significantly downplayed the controversies. This is understandable because the intent was to show Reagan in the best light. I rate the film as a B, but that is not the topic of this article.
I wanted to discuss is how the filmmaker presented the story. Biographies have many formats, such as an organized timeline (pure documentary), jumping around (in time), third party (like a family member telling the story), interviews with the people who were there, upping the drama/changing facts to spice up the story or only showing key elements to force a narrative.
The filmmaker presented the story through the eyes of a KGB agent assigned to study Reagan. This choice focused the movie on the battle between communism and democracy.
To make his (the KGB agent) point, he highlighted events in Reagan’s life, including his time as a lifeguard. Reagan sat for hours looking at the river, which allowed him to predict when a person would be in trouble. Reagan applied this technique to analyze a political situation and predict the future. I do not know if it is true, but it is undoubtedly a unique way of presenting a film.
I would have never considered using this method to tell Reagan’s story. I prefer linear timelines that give the reader/viewer a clear picture of well-defined events. Yet, there is no denying that the filmmakers created something special.
It is a life philosophy of mine to look for valuable information, techniques, locations, and people to improve my life. Plus, I go to great lengths to learn from other people’s mistakes. So, how can I incorporate this excellent method of telling a story? Err… Umm… I have never written a story with a narrator because I do not visualize a plot in the third person. Sally does A, while Bob does B. There is no C. In your life, is there a KGB agent walking behind you, commenting on everything you do? Me, neither.
Well, I could do a thought experiment by re-telling the Reagan movie. I tried this out loud, and the result sounded like I was reading a letter. “My name is Bill, and I have been Ronald Reagan’s best friend since I sat next to him in grade school. His father was a drunk and…” Wow, that was awful. Take two.
I decided to go with what I knew. “I have never met Reagan, nor do I know any of his early history, but I grew up in the ‘80s, and here is what I witnessed. (Insert ‘80s history) As for the rest? Here is what I read on Wikipedia. (Insert more details) Well, that’s Reagan.” Still lousy. I can do better.
Alright, I loved the movie The Princess Bride. In the first scene, the grandfather enters his sick grandson’s room and reads a book. Then, his voice narrated the film. What a fantastic technique. “So, grandson, I’m going to tell you something about our former president.” (Insert early history.) (Switch back to room with grandfather.) “That’s when he got into acting. This was a pivotal moment.” (Talks about Reagan’s early career.) (Insert clips from his films.)
I suppose that is the classical way to have a third person narrate a film while exploring history. The problem is that while The Princess Bride was a superb film, I do not think this technique works for a person who is bigger than life like Reagan. Why? The person would have to be even bigger than Reagan, and only a super-secret KGB agent could fulfill that role.
So, I took a walk to think about the problem. In the process, I eliminated two possibilities. I do not believe a first-person approach would work. This would involve an actor directly portraying Reagan without a narrator. The story was too big, and the film lasted hours. Another option I do not think would work is the AMC biography format. This narrator discusses a character’s life with photos and short film clips. While a fantastic AMC documentary, it would be a boring film.
How about a first-first-person meaning that the actor portraying Reagan would narrate his own story? This would also take forever. It appears I hit idea bedrock. Bummer.
Well, not all is lost. The Reagan movie provided another tool for my writing toolbox, plus the effort to write this article allowed me to understand what it is like to create a narrated story. Not how I intended to conclude this article, but I enjoyed writing it.
You’re the best -Bill
September 25, 2024
That sounds like a fun topic for a movie, and somebody made one. I watched Reagan a few weeks ago. Dennis Quaid did a good job of portraying him, but the filmmakers significantly downplayed the controversies. This is understandable because the intent was to show Reagan in the best light. I rate the film as a B, but that is not the topic of this article.
I wanted to discuss is how the filmmaker presented the story. Biographies have many formats, such as an organized timeline (pure documentary), jumping around (in time), third party (like a family member telling the story), interviews with the people who were there, upping the drama/changing facts to spice up the story or only showing key elements to force a narrative.
The filmmaker presented the story through the eyes of a KGB agent assigned to study Reagan. This choice focused the movie on the battle between communism and democracy.
To make his (the KGB agent) point, he highlighted events in Reagan’s life, including his time as a lifeguard. Reagan sat for hours looking at the river, which allowed him to predict when a person would be in trouble. Reagan applied this technique to analyze a political situation and predict the future. I do not know if it is true, but it is undoubtedly a unique way of presenting a film.
I would have never considered using this method to tell Reagan’s story. I prefer linear timelines that give the reader/viewer a clear picture of well-defined events. Yet, there is no denying that the filmmakers created something special.
It is a life philosophy of mine to look for valuable information, techniques, locations, and people to improve my life. Plus, I go to great lengths to learn from other people’s mistakes. So, how can I incorporate this excellent method of telling a story? Err… Umm… I have never written a story with a narrator because I do not visualize a plot in the third person. Sally does A, while Bob does B. There is no C. In your life, is there a KGB agent walking behind you, commenting on everything you do? Me, neither.
Well, I could do a thought experiment by re-telling the Reagan movie. I tried this out loud, and the result sounded like I was reading a letter. “My name is Bill, and I have been Ronald Reagan’s best friend since I sat next to him in grade school. His father was a drunk and…” Wow, that was awful. Take two.
I decided to go with what I knew. “I have never met Reagan, nor do I know any of his early history, but I grew up in the ‘80s, and here is what I witnessed. (Insert ‘80s history) As for the rest? Here is what I read on Wikipedia. (Insert more details) Well, that’s Reagan.” Still lousy. I can do better.
Alright, I loved the movie The Princess Bride. In the first scene, the grandfather enters his sick grandson’s room and reads a book. Then, his voice narrated the film. What a fantastic technique. “So, grandson, I’m going to tell you something about our former president.” (Insert early history.) (Switch back to room with grandfather.) “That’s when he got into acting. This was a pivotal moment.” (Talks about Reagan’s early career.) (Insert clips from his films.)
I suppose that is the classical way to have a third person narrate a film while exploring history. The problem is that while The Princess Bride was a superb film, I do not think this technique works for a person who is bigger than life like Reagan. Why? The person would have to be even bigger than Reagan, and only a super-secret KGB agent could fulfill that role.
So, I took a walk to think about the problem. In the process, I eliminated two possibilities. I do not believe a first-person approach would work. This would involve an actor directly portraying Reagan without a narrator. The story was too big, and the film lasted hours. Another option I do not think would work is the AMC biography format. This narrator discusses a character’s life with photos and short film clips. While a fantastic AMC documentary, it would be a boring film.
How about a first-first-person meaning that the actor portraying Reagan would narrate his own story? This would also take forever. It appears I hit idea bedrock. Bummer.
Well, not all is lost. The Reagan movie provided another tool for my writing toolbox, plus the effort to write this article allowed me to understand what it is like to create a narrated story. Not how I intended to conclude this article, but I enjoyed writing it.
You’re the best -Bill
September 25, 2024
