Absolutes
In film and screenwriting, speaking in absolutes is dangerous territory. Once you wander in you’re soon trapped and it’s really hard to get out. Kinda like the fire swamp.
It’s all in who you know.
It takes money to make money.
It takes 10,000 hours to become successful.
No. It doesn’t.
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The big problem with absolutes is that they can be disproved by a single example.
Good movies follow a strict, 3 act structure.
Except for Quentin Tarrantino’s films. And The Dark Night. And Ironman. And…and…and…
All good action films follow th
Except for Die Hard, all the James Bond franchise except for Casino Royale, the dark night…and…and…and…
The protagonist has to have a mentor.
Again: Die hard. Deadpool. The list goes on.
As soon as you’ve anchored yourself to an absolute belief, you’ve made it infinitely more difficult to change your opinion because now your pride is at stake — you’d have to admit that you were wrong.
The risk you run with using absolutes is being wrong. And if you’re not 100% right, you’re wrong…
Absolutely.
So, spare yourself the embarrassment and stop using absolutes in your work. As Neil Gaiman said, make good art, and as you do, prove some absolutes wrong.
