Senior Thesis- Part Two

Like I said in my last journal entry, it looks like my screenplay is heading in the direction of a sci-fi. So far though, I've decided to focus more on the “sci” than on the “fi”. The reason I’m doing this is because I find a lot of Sci-fi movies in recent years choose to create worlds which bear no resemblance to ours, which is ok if you’ve decided you're movie isn’t sci-fi. For example, Star Wars is a film that has nothing at all to do with science. It completely disregards the laws of physics. How you ask? Well, for starters, in the final installment of the series, Return of the Jedi, the film depicts a TIE Fighter craft exploding in outer space. This would be ok, aside from the fact that there are no such thing as a “Ka-boom” in outer space. If something exploded in outer space, it would make no sound. That's because there is no air in outer space to transmit sound.

Sound is a pressure wave which requires matter of some sort to propagate it. Light, on the other hand, is an electromagnetic wave which doesn’t require matter in order to be transmitted.

Why do I know this? Because I started reading books and journals having to do with real science. I figure, if I’m going to write something sci-fi (something that takes place on planet earth, nonetheless) I should have a foundation built in reality and that stems into the fictional world. It should aggravate viewers when they see movies like I Am Legend simply set aside the laws of physics and biology even though they know better. No one is going to think less of a movie that agrees to play by the rules. I am a believer in creative license, but only to a certain extent. It should come with some rules depending on the genre. I care because I find it insulting to the viewer's intelligence.

On that note, since I cant really take part in any field work for my senior exploration, I've chosen to take it upon myself to add a few more books to my reading list. So I paid a visit to the school library and picked up a book called The Living Cosmos, by astrobiologist Chris Impey. His book doesn’t bother with the super natural at all. In fact, it steers clear from it. Instead, he chronicles the complete history of life in the universe, from the first microbes (which predate all other living things), all the way to the first humans. Luckily for me, he doesn’t assume his reader has a degree in biochemistry. He talks a lot about the elements required to build cells, and the likelihood that other planets out there host life.

The most important thing for me is that, he also has an entire chapter discussing the creation of artificial life. He states that we cant yet create life in a Petri dish by simply adding all the necessary elements. We can, however, take life that already exists and multiply it. Funny enough, he also mentions one of the other books I read for my senior exploration, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Philip K. Dick. He also mentions author Isaac Asimov, and asks, “Does life really need carbon or water? Could we have all of the functional processes of biology without organic chemistry?” He goes on to talk about potentially having computer algorithms replace the functions of DNA, and if androids could ever qualify as life. He says that in order for a robot to qualify as “living”, it would need to be self aware. It would need a conscious, which is exactly the point I make in my screen play.

He also talks about the likelihood of existing life on Mars, and its ability to host life, but he only covers it from an organic stand point. I am looking to combine the two and ask if Mars can host artificial life.

The Living Cosmos By Chris Impey

Movie Science:
http://www.intuitor.com/moviephysics/

Senior Thesis- Part One

There are several reasons I chose to do the topic I’m working on. Screenwriting has been a passion of mine for a while. Movies, to me, are the most powerful form of art. In almost every situation I’ve ever been in throughout my life, I’ve been able to relate that situation to a movie or TV show. It’s not as strange as it sounds though. After all, any screenwriter will tell you that they get their best stuff from everyday life. But as far as movies go, there are literally hundreds of jobs that are responsible for making the movie. What attracted me to screenwriting specifically was the role of the screenwriter. The screenwriter is the god of the particular universe that everything takes place in. He controls who lives and dies, who falls in love, and who delivers the best lines. Essentially he’s the puppet master. He’s the one with all the answers; he’s the only one who fully understands the logic behind every character. On a certain level, if a screenwriter is unsatisfied with the “real” world around him, he can just grab a pen and create a new one. Unlike a regular author however, a screenwriter gets to see that world come to fruition, to unfold in reality and take shape beyond the words on the paper.

The way we view fiction is unclear though. What is fiction? The ability to assign it definitions is a creative task on its own. Traditionally, fiction is viewed as something fake, not fact. According to the dictionary, fiction is “An imaginative creation or a pretense that does not represent actuality but has been invented; A lie”. But imagine if we had it all wrong. There are billions of stars out there spread throughout our galaxy, and billions of galaxies containing them. Each star is like a solar system of its own, which would mean that life may not be unique to earth, to say the least. Whose to say that those galaxies aren’t inhabited by creatures just like us, and that every story ever written hasn’t already taken place on those planets already. That would mean that there is a planet out there where “Alice in Wonderland” was fact; as real as gravity is to us! This would mean that we are able to tune in to these stories, much like an antenna to a radio. Or that there is some sort of cosmic memory that everyone in the universe shares; that anyone can tap into.

Crazy, eh?

As far as my research, I’ve already started looking to big names in the field, particularly focusing on the Sci-fi genre. I’ve looked to authors, particularly Phillip K. Dick, for an idea of the type of story I want to construct. Aside from that, I’ve supplemented my reading with a few “how to” books on screenwriting as a craft. And finally, as far as the screenplay/story I’m constructing, I’ve done a lot of specific research dealing with anatomical characteristics dealing with the players in my story (I am writing about clones).

P.S.

On a more external level, I chose this senior exploration because screenwriting is a field that I have a passion for, and I doubt I’ll ever get to study it in its entirety and spend quality time working on a screenplay. In a way, for me, this senior exploration is sort of a last hoorah.

More about my actual story in the next post!

Intro to Senior Thesis

Ok, as I mentioned in the opening segment, I will be dedicating a large part of this blog to my senior thesis. For my thesis question, I wanted to figure out what it takes to write a successful screenplay. I want to find out whether its a technique that can be taught and applied, a formula you can simply plug in to any old story, or a talent you are born with. I'm going to be pulling info from literally ANY source I can find, including books, Internet links, Podcasts, television etc.

As far as specific sources, so far, I can recommend Podcasts like "The Business" by KCRW, a radio show that talks about the business and marketing aspect of the show business. Overall the host is pretty solid and has a great sense of humor. The guests are usually pretty top notch, and you really feel like you get an inside look into Hollywood. The Business recently had an interesting episode, where they discussed how the divide between movies that make money and movies that win awards, has been growing steadily in the past few years.

I would also like to recommend watching the Science Channel and Discovery Channel. Trust me, it is NOT nerdy at all. Both of those offer the best programming thats on TV nowadays, and both feature visually overwhelming documentaries. They explain the science in layman's terms, yet they allow you to walk away with very captivating, easy-to-remember statistics.

Welcome!

I'm about as new to this as anyone. Basically, I'm starting this blog as part of my senior thesis at my highschool. I'm already writing a journal chronicling how my research is going, so i figure, why not Share my research for the world to see. I'm probably also going to use this blog to focus on screenwriting, science fiction, music, books and more. Feel free to email me anything. This is as much a suggestion box as it is a blogospheric work in progress. If you have any ideas you'de like to share, I'd definitely love to hear them. I can even publish them here, if you want me to be your own virtual megaphone. Not sure how this little experiment is going to go, but it has all the makings of a classic.