Literary Techniques and Ethnicity Role in Screenwriting

 

Abstract
Screenwriting is a long, winding process, the submerged part of the iceberg, whereas the screen version of the film represents its tip. Screenwriting stands on a crossing between art and science, which means that it can be analyzed and broken down into smaller categories. This paper provides an overview of the most powerful literary techniques used in screenwriting. In addition to that, the paper explores the role of ethnicity in modern screenwriting, particularly whether screenwriter’s creative freedom should be limited by ethnicity factor.

While ethnic diversity is an important part of the contemporary social and political agenda, the study supports an argument that ethnicity-related limitations are harmful for the promotion of diversity. Instead, the screenwriters should be provided with unlimited creative freedom, which would allow them to write powerful, memorable roles for non-white actors. The positive examples of such works can be found in filmographies of renowned screenwriters and directors. Finally, the author provides a short screenplay draft of a psychological thriller written for an ethnically diverse cast without any ethnicity-related restrictions.

Introduction
When viewers go to the cinema, they may have different expectations. Some of them may be searching for ethical and philosophical messages; others may look only for pure thrill and entertainment. Regardless of goals in the director’s mind, none of those is possible to offer without a good quality script. As such, screenwriting is a long and unglamorous work that requires a significant investment of time, skill, and effort.

During the preparation of a screenplay, the screenwriters use various literary techniques to keep the viewer interested. As a result, a script serves as an invisible foundation, whereas the picture on the screen represents only the end product. All other elements of the future film depend on the script. A script can be compared to a skeleton, while the work of the director and actors represents flesh and organs backed by that skeletal structure. In other words, the lack of a good script creates a strong possibility for making a boring, meaningless, and lackluster film.

While screenwriting is not considered a literary art, the screenwriter still has to turn their ideas into enjoyable reading. Therefore, literature and script creators should strive to create an engaging narrative with well-developed characters whose presence in the plot is logical and justified. This task can even be considered academic rather than artistic. ?erník (2021) conducted research among several Eastern European screenwriters, who follow academic research on screenwriting themselves and encourage their students to participate in workshops and training sessions. Overall, modern screenwriting has turned into a discipline that stands on the crossroad between pure art and fine arts such as ethics and philosophy.

In that regard, it is essential to explore the role and impact of ethnicity and racial diversity in the modern age of cinema. World trends and movements against racial discrimination have made these concepts extremely relevant. Conveying values of diversity and equality is commendable; however, a screenwriter should seek to find the right balance of literary techniques to achieve that noble goal. A simple replacement of white characters with characters of other ethnicities is a lazy approach that can potentially harm the cause of diversity. A mindless, mechanical inclusion of empty, bland characters for diversity is disrespectful to non-white actors.