4D II: Backstory and subtext

In-class assignment week 4, with Wilson Heng and Lau Yiwen

We’re all fans of the Hunger Games series, so we decided to dissect Katniss Everdeen’s character. After a brief discussion, we came up with a couple of personality traits: selfless, fiercely protective (of her loved ones), headstrong, desire to take good care of her family.

Family background: Katniss’s father died in a mine explosion when she was 11. From that moment, she had to provide for her mother and sister, using the hunting and gathering knowledge that she learned from her father. Over the years, she put herself in grave danger for the sake of her family’s safety.

Detail we chose to develop: her protective nature.

We decided to recreate this scene in the modern family context. The protagonist, Wilson, holds responsibility to take care of the father and sister after the passing of his mother. One day, Wilson returns home after a long day at work only to find out that his family have not eaten dinner. Frustrated, he rebuked his father for his incapability to take good care of the sister.

Here is a comparison of Hunger Games and our spin-off, Home:

Hunger Games Home
Death of Katniss’ father Death of Wilson’s mother
Mother is a reserved, withdrawn individual and ever since her husband died, she doesn’t seem strong enough to care for Katniss and Primrose Father slips into mild depression and sometimes believes that his wife is still alive. He becomes disconnected from his children
Katniss takes up the role to take care of her mother and sister Wilson steps up to become the sole breadwinner of the family
Katniss volunteers as tribute when her sister Primrose was chosen to represent District 12 in the Hunger Games, to protect her from being killed Wilson is very protective of his sister, and gets very upset at his father for failing to take care of her while he’s out at work

 

Scene = Goal + Conflict + Consequence

Wilson’s desire to protect + father’s inability to help out gets in the way of Wilson + relationship between Wilson and his father worsens/sours.

Past events that attributed to his protective nature:

  • Wilson’s mother has always been the core of the family that glues everyone together. She cooks and takes care of the house.
  • The death of the mother marks the turning point.
  • Father is traumatised and refuses to acknowledge the loss of his wife.

Present events that attribute to his protective nature:

  • Wilson is now the sole breadwinner of the family. He works long hours everyday to provide for his family, and make sure they’re safe and comfortable
  • He takes on the role of his mother to ensure the welfare of his family. He makes an effort to tidy up the house and ensure that they have eaten
  • He snaps at his father when he realises how the father has failed to do his part to rebuild the family

The story’s subtext and exposition is communicated mainly through the dialogue, followed by actions and props.

  1. The conversation between Wilson and father disclosed the death of mother.
  2. Will changes his tone in speech from concern to anger, displaying his strong will to protect and provide the best for the family.
  3. The messy table filled with newspapers reflects father’s weak mental state.
  4. Wilson is the only character moving about (and standing) within different scenes while others remain seated. It implies a contrast to how they are coping with the death of mother.

Script

script 2 script 1

We fleshed out a draft of our script to help us when we started filming. This screenshot shows our work in progress — we ended up changing the parent from Wilson’s mother to his father instead, because our male friend agreed to act for us.