Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting

by Robert McKee

satyriasis, nymphomania, fetishism, exhibitionism, frottage, transvestism, incest, rape, pedophilia, and sadomasochism, to name only a few acts that are unsanctioned and unnatural. Homosexuality and bisexuality are difficult to place. In some societies they’re thought natural, in others, unnatural. In many Western countries homosexuality is sanctioned; in some Third World countries it’s still a hanging offense. Many of these designations may seem arbitrary, for sex is relative to social and personal perception. But common perversions are not the end of the line. They’re singular and committed, even with violence, with another human being. When, however, the sexual object is from another species—bestiality—or dead—necrophilia—or when compounds of perversities pile up, the mind revolts.