Sent Hollywood Safari out to a number of leading screenwriting teachers or screenwriters in the nation and got some great as well as helpful responses from them. Revised the structure of Hollywood Safari to the below. Coming out with a revised version soon showing in a structure similar to below. Will be pouring contents of current ms into a structure similar to the below. Feel it surveys the screenwriting landscape as well as anything today. How important a survey like this is a question that can only be answered in the future.
I discuss genres of stories in Hollywood Safari and Hollywood Safari is told in a particular genre of story itself. This genre might be termed a relatively “unbiased” survey (rather than a critical review) of theories from an entire literary genre? Or literary form? The modern narrative script of culture. The screenplay?
Comments on the outline appreciated. Attempting to establish a basic ecology surrounding the action of screenwriting today. Again, how important the literary genre of “survey” is today? The fact is, surveys are rare today. Especially surveys of information or theories in a particular field of knowledge like Hollywood Safari does for screenplays. Power comes from particular ideologies. Not surveys of ideologies. A focus on the one at the exclusion of the many. As in a survey, or map charting of a territory. The territory where the major theories and technology of our modern storytelling machine dwells. A work of survey rather than criticism. A view and structure of the ecology of the screenplay world of theory embodied in various schools of screenwriting identified in the outline. The modern theories of screenwriting (or modern storytelling) at war with each other to keep their differentiation from others in their brand identity. When this segmentation happens with Proctor & Gamble products. That’s one thing. When it happens in the basic way we tell stories in the world today. That’s another thing.
The book continues to evolve. Will send out an updated Hollywood Safari to all when changes made. But, it continues to evolve and hard to pin down. Like everything else today.
Best to all for a good holiday season and New Year.
John
John Fraim
Midnight Oil Studios
https://midnightoilstudios.org/about/
londonderryfarewell.wordpress.com 