LOUD AS LIONS is a touching sports drama. The plotline is extremely engaging and one can visualize the story as a film.
The goal is clear and the stakes are personal. The tone is consistently dramatic. There are several solid themes that are well interwoven throughout the script. The script explores the theme of grieving, healing, forgiveness, learning to move on, never giving up, and hope. It’s a classic story of the underdog overcoming adversity against all odds.
The script offers likable characters and at the end there’s an inspirational spirit.
There’s a lot to really admire about this script and as mentioned, one can envision this as a movie, however, with that said there’s also room to enhance the storytelling. The areas to re-examine
…show more content…
This involves recruiting the team members and the coach, Alan. The script does this, but it takes too long. On page 43 Daniel recruits Alan, but consider moving this up to the beginning of act two. Once the team is assembled, focus on the training and coaching. Develop more of the personalities of the players and their relationship with each other. This part feels missing.
Consider eliminating, or at least streaming, the flashbacks/dreams. Right now there are several flashbacks and dreams, as well as a fantasy sequence. These disrupt the pace and the plot.
It should be noted that the idea of PTSD and the war is workable, but it’s been done before and it doesn’t really contribute to the overall storytelling. In other words, the backstory has to somehow affect the protagonist’s current ability to achieve his goal. It’s clear that Daniel has inner conflict about the war and he has to learn to forgive himself, but the story about war and PTSD really has no connection to his brother or football. Consider creating a backstory that is more connected to Daniel’s brother, Billy, and the reason for their estrangement.
The idea that Daniel and Chris have bonding issues works well. However, once they connect, consider that Chris learns something about Daniel that pulls them apart again. Then they find their way back to each
…show more content…
In other words, to create more tension, maybe one of the players is hurt during practice or the game. Maybe Daniel has to raise funds for the team. Try to find ways to elevate the stakes for Daniel. Maybe if the team fails, he’ll have to move back home or something like that.
Another way to create tension is to balance the football games throughout the structure versus presenting them mainly near the end. The idea is to build the anticipation towards the finals. Right now, there’s very little tension building towards the finals. They seem to win easily.
The character of Daniel is definitely likable. It’s clear he has PTSD, but that may not be the best choice. He also drinks but this doesn’t feel original or resolved. Don’t make things easy for him like getting the job. Currently, he does learn to forgive himself, but as mentioned, his inner conflict really should be more connected to his brother. He shares sweet chemistry with Sophie and nice chemistry with Chris. His feelings for Becca are not entirely
...gs. One of these things is that no matter what happens, there is always a positive outcome available, even if we need to work to find it. Remembering this theme will remind me that no matter how bleak things look, there is always a way for things to get better. It will also encourage me to work harder to discover this way, which will encourage me to work harder even in normal situations.
Criticisms (Favourable): Very original, intelligent plot. Well-written characters that aren’t two dimensional and who make human decisions (David’s father, who may seem like a cruel man but who is really just doing what he was brought up to believe is right).
Sydney: This script has everything! Exceptional dialogue! Intricate plotlines! Dynamic characters! It´s sure to be a hit!
But that is not just the only theme that is presented; there is love, heroes and inspiration in which all the characters encounter. Urrea has had other novel in where he
The universal themes that are used in the story are racism and better the young.”And mothers and fathers, if it is too late for you, think of your children. Make it safe so they don't have to run away, for I want for you and your children what I had.”( Baker, 83) These themes are universal because both talk about things that has happened multiple times. Like better the young. We want the young to be the greatest generation and not make the mistakes we had made. The children of each generation need to be better than the last generations. The other theme racism. Racism was back then and it is now. The theme talks about the racism in the past and in the present and in the future. Racism will be the theme for lots of things in the present but also
Many individuals look at soldiers for hope and therefore, add load to them. Those that cannot rationally overcome these difficulties may create Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Tragically, some resort to suicide to get away from their insecurities. Troops, notwithstanding, are not by any means the only ones influenced by wars; relatives likewise encounter mental hardships when their friends and family are sent to war. Timothy Findley precisely depicts the critical impact wars have on people in his novel by showing how after-war characters are not what they were at the beginning.
Chris is able to implementing certain events from the present and past to explain his problems. He was able to identify the origin of his behavioral problems, by working through his current story to re-author a new story (Murdock 2013).
The reality of war changed many soldiers' lives because of nightmares from firefights and small skirmishes to bombings and atrocities. Many places from Saigon to Khe Sanh are filled with stories from many veterans. A letter from a marine fighting in Khe Sanh said to his Parents "Since we began, we have lost 14 KIA and 44 men WIA. Our company is cut down to half strength, and I think we will be going to Okinawa to regroup. I hope so anyway because I have seen enough of war and its destruction." From the death of close friends any person's emotions would crumble. A normal everyday business person in the shoes of this soldier wouldn't last a day. The experience a soldier goes through will change his view on life forever. This is just showing how it affects people. Seeing death and killing on a daily basis. The random occurrence of death would truly disturb any person. Seeing the death of friends and mangled bodies of South Vietnamese villagers left by Vietcong guerillas, the soldiers were left with the vivid visions of the bodies.
...ng the underlying theme that drives the story and the movie, propels the reader and viewer to rekindle the desire to hope above all else because hope is all one has in devastating as well as dire needs. Hope overcomes despair, permits others to see your “inner light” to develop integrity which connects with honesty and trust. Hope is the inspiration to continue to live regardless of the circumstances. Red may have narrated; “Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.” But, Andy Dufresne states it best: “Get busy living, or get busy dying.”
...often times tragic and can ruin the lives of those who fight. The effects of war can last for years, possibly even for the rest of the soldiers life and can also have an effect on those in the lives of the soldier as well. Soldiers carry the memories of things they saw and did during war with them as they try and regain their former lives once the war is over, which is often a difficult task. O’Brien gives his readers some insight into what goes on in the mind of a soldier during combat and long after coming home.
The theme of this book is that the human capacity to adapt to and find happiness in the most difficult circumstances. Each character in the novel shows this in their way. For instance, their family is randomly taken from their home and forced to work but they still remain a close nit family. In addition, they even manage to stick together after being separated for one of their own. These show how even in the darkest time they still manage to find a glimmer of hope and they pursued on.
“‘Athletics last for such a short period of time. It ends for people. But while it lasts, it creates this make-believe world where normal rules don’t apply. We build this false atmosphere. When it’s over and the harsh reality sets in, that’s the real joke we play on people’” (Bissinger xiv). “Friday Night Lights” shows the darker side of high school football. Players are taught to play games to win, and thats all that matters. Football players are put under a tremendous amount of pressure, almost enough to be considered unfair. Even though football is a “team sport”, pressure on individual players is unnecessary. Some players have the burden of the team, the city, their family, and their future, resting on their shoulders. These players are put under pressure that is physically and emotionally damaging, not to mention future ruining.
...ust deal with similar pains. Through the authors of these stories, we gain a better sense of what soldiers go through and the connection war has on the psyche of these men. While it is true, and known, that the Vietnam War was bloody and many soldiers died in vain, it is often forgotten what occurred to those who returned home. We overlook what became of those men and of the pain they, and their families, were left coping with. Some were left with physical scars, a constant reminder of a horrible time in their lives, while some were left with emotional, and mental, scarring. The universal fact found in all soldiers is the dramatic transformation they all undergo. No longer do any of these men have a chance to create their own identity, or continue with the aspirations they once held as young men. They become, and will forever be, soldiers of the Vietnam War.
There are many themes that occur and can be interpreted differently throughout the novel. The three main themes that stand out most are healing, communication, and relationships.