I know I complained a lot about my other classes, but there was one class I couldn't complain about - Basic Screenwriting.
I loved the class for several reasons. One, the subject interested me and two, the professor was amazing.
The aim of the class was to write the first act of a full length feature screenplay. We would be marked on this and we had to create a beat-sheet to show what happen in the rest of the film. Before I even went to KU I had some film ideas and was glad I had taken a note of them, as I ended up using one of them for the class.
The idea I had was based on a true story, although not knowing the people involved personally I had to recreate the characters and entire story. At the time I thought this was a good idea, but now - as the screenplay is still unfinished - I've realised that because I don't know enough about the experiences of the people I'm writing about, I can't really write the play until I'm free to take the time and do research.
My story revolved around a pupil-teacher relationship. These are often a subject of controvery in the western world and I was interesting in exploring the morals around this topic. In real life story (which happened in a school near the area where I went to school) the pupil was seventeen (which is over the age of consent in the UK) and the teacher was a lot older. However, the sex was consensual and I think the relationship continued after the pupil left. The teacher was male and the pupil was female. Like most of the general population, I was disgusted by this story. However, it wasn't until my sister, who knew the girl (very vaguely) through a friend at the time, told me that the paparrazi had been chasing her down and hassling her. My sister told me she felt sorry for her.
This is what made me think about it differently. It was the first time I had ever heard of someone being sympathetic towards the relationship...and although I didn't think that the relationship was ethical, this did make me consider the stigma attached to the people involved. These kind of stories are always a source of gossip and I think this makes us forget that the people involved are real people with feelings, just like you and me...they just happen to be in a relationship with each other which other people don't approve of. Of course, it's different if a teacher exploits a pupil - but if it's consented...does this make a pupil-teacher relationship acceptable??
It's a fine line and controversial topic to approach. People will have very different opinions about it but it got me thinking. What if a girl is sixteen or over (the age of consent in Britain) and a guy is in his early twenties, they meet in a club and they start going out/having sex etc. This is acceptable in terms of the law but is this socially acceptable?? Although I'm in my twenties and most guys I know who are my age wouldn't go out with a sixteen year old, there are some who do. So, what makes it different if it is a younger teacher and an older pupil? Well...their professional relationship certainly makes it different, but if they're in love - can they help it?? Does it matter?? I don't know the answer, but these were the issues I wanted my screenplay to explore.
But like I said, I don't have enough experience having never been sexually involved or sexually attracted to a teacher that I don't even know how such a relationship would actually begin. Then there's the question of who comes on to who?? If the teacher does it he's a straight-out pervert and if the girl does it then she's a full-on slut which is not the way I want the characters to be! So this screenplay is being forgotten about for the moment.
I think I've went on about Professor Willmott enough...but basically he had a combination of professional experience and a kind and caring manner which made him the best professor I've ever had. He took interest in all of us and every one of our idea. He never said an idea was bad, but would point us in the right direction or encourage us to look at it in a way we hadn't previously.
It was a bit weird bringing up the idea of the story, especially as we were in a classroom situation...I hope he didn't think I was getting at something lol. Especially the way I've went on about him on this, sounds like I well fancied him.
I just really liked him and his classes! The classes we had didn't even feel like classes: there was never any pressure and it didn't feel like we did any work. Although I still felt like I learned a lot (which is rare for me - I'm used to writing essays and taking notes furiously for exams). He explained a lot of concepts, such as creating character, narrative and writing naturalistic dialogue (appropriate to your story). Each class was spent, talking about our ideas and how we were developing them. We were encouraged to ask questions to help us along with our own screenplays and to help others...we often ended class with reading out a scene from another student's work. It was very interesting to see what the others came up with and very exciting - it was so much fun!
The best thing about the class is that it made me realise what it is with film I want to do - write! I've realised that as much as I hate writing sometimes, I'm good at it, I enjoy it when I can write what I want freely and I find it therapeutical. Sometimes writing down my problems helps me get over them. Then I rip it up and throw it away, never to be seen again. I sometimes use what I've written to inspire ideas. I didn't want to fully forget what it was like to be an emotional teenager because this is when I felt most inspired to write stories for films, different from the typical Hollywood standard. This is when most things in a person's life change and the stories of any teenager are relevant for most of the living human population...to write down what it was like helps me remember, and helps me to create relevant characters. I couldn't write now what it was like to be a child...so I hope I can recreate teenage moments which are relevant to an audience.
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