Help for script: How would you actively seek out Conflict?

Started by Raikus, August 07, 2003, 11:51:37 AM

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Raikus

August 07, 2003, 11:51:37 AM
Say, hypothetically, you had a great life where everything fell into place and you've never experienced any type of conflict. If you were to educate yourself on conflict, what would you proceed to do?

I'm looking mainly for a person vs. person conflict, but all suggestions would be helpful. How would you go about insulting someone? What would you do to create conflict with those around you?
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands, with all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves, let me forget about today until tomorrow.

mindfuck

#1
August 07, 2003, 01:11:17 PM
Are we talking conciously making the decision to seek out conflict or something you'd do subconciously because of your sheltered life?

Raikus

#2
August 07, 2003, 01:15:26 PM
Actively seeking it out. Trying to define "conflict" or capture the feeling of it in the shortest amount of time possible.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands, with all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves, let me forget about today until tomorrow.

Ghostboy

#3
August 07, 2003, 01:25:02 PM
It could be done with a simple sentence. Even if someone is very subdued, if they think about it they'll realize they have plenty of buttons to push. The first thing that pops into my head is the scene in Your Friends And Neighbors where the guys are asking each other who their best lay was, and Ben Stiller very deliberately says "Gee, well that would have been your wife." Instant conflict!

Raikus

#4
August 07, 2003, 01:32:55 PM
The character himself is trying to define conflict. He needs to get to know it in order to write it. I'm looking more for a progression of him trying to create conflict with people (either complete strangers or family members). Therefore I'm trying to get ideas of how someone would go about that.

For instance, taking someone's parking space at the mall or insulting someone to their face. Those are things he's never done before but knows that people get angry when it happens.

If you were in that circumstance what would be the first thing you would try to create conflict? What would be the ultimate thing you would do? That's kind of what I'm going for.

(Sorry for being so confusing.)
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands, with all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves, let me forget about today until tomorrow.

Sal

#5
August 07, 2003, 02:21:20 PM
How progressive do you want it to be?  Do you want your character to incite something quickly, or slowly, with time, until it damn near explodes?

Raikus

#6
August 07, 2003, 02:25:31 PM
He's, at heart, a really nice guy. Therefore he'll start off with small things (fighting his need to understand conflict at depth and still retain his nature). As those don't get the desired reaction he'll continue getting more inflammitory. Still he'll have a hard time succeeding. Finally he'll do something just downright terrible, something so out of character he'll regret it for a while, and on just the wrong person.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands, with all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves, let me forget about today until tomorrow.

SoNowThen

#7
August 07, 2003, 02:55:42 PM
You want some conflict? Go find a hot girl. Fall in love with her. Then tell her. There, conflict and pain up the ying-yang.
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

ono

#8
August 07, 2003, 04:14:31 PM
Quote from: RaikusThe character himself is trying to define conflict. He needs to get to know it in order to write it. I'm looking more for a progression of him trying to create conflict with people (either complete strangers or family members). Therefore I'm trying to get ideas of how someone would go about that.

For instance, taking someone's parking space at the mall or insulting someone to their face. Those are things he's never done before but knows that people get angry when it happens.

If you were in that circumstance what would be the first thing you would try to create conflict? What would be the ultimate thing you would do? That's kind of what I'm going for.

(Sorry for being so confusing.)
I'm reminded of Fight Club, really, where Tyler tells the group to all go pick a fight with someone ... and lose.  Very cool stuff there, if a bit extreme.

But you seem to want to take things slowly, which makes more sense.  So think in terms of the gradual.  It's really easy.  Just start by putting two characters together, and allow their personalities to clash.  Then, small annoyances.  They build up, your character starts to see how things work, and he keeps going, just figuring out how to push your buttons.

Basically, it's acting the opposite of what's appropriate.  At the most extreme, have your character say things no civilized character would say.  Like Peter, in Family Guy:
Quote(paraphrased)
Bryan: "Ok Peter, lets try to have a civilized conversation. Nice day today ins't it Peter?"
Peter: "Yes it is. After Hogan's Heroes, Bob Crane had his skull bashed in by his friend who was videotaping him having rough sex."

The Perineum Falcon

#9
August 07, 2003, 06:14:40 PM
Quote from: GhostboyIt could be done with a simple sentence.

A single word could start a conflict too. "Fag" is sure to offend/piss off anyone, straight or homogay.
We often went to the cinema, the screen would light up and we would tremble, but also, increasingly often, Madeleine and I were disappointed. The images had dated, they jittered, and Marilyn Monroe had gotten terribly old. We were sad, this wasn't the film we had dreamed of, this wasn't the total film that we all carried around inside us, this film that we would have wanted to make, or, more secretly, no doubt, that we would have wanted to live.

mindfuck

#10
August 07, 2003, 10:12:27 PM
Send him somewhere where he would be obviously out of place such as a club frequented by a certain ethnicity that he does not share or a type of demographic that he wouldn't belong to. If he's a sheltered suburban white-boy, have him go to a Wu Tang concert wearing khakis and a buttonup shirt. The kind of thing where he is put in a natural situation where he is more likely to attract conflict would be a good midpoint between starting small and going all out to find conflict.

metroshane

#11
August 11, 2003, 02:40:39 PM
Get into the express lane with more than 10 items.  Park in handicapped space.  door ding someone.
We live in an age that reads too much to be intelligent and thinks too much to be beautiful.

SoNowThen

#12
August 11, 2003, 02:44:36 PM
walk up to a really hot chick, look her boyfriend right in the eyes, flash a shit eating grin, and ask him if you can smell his fingers.
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

Raikus

#13
August 11, 2003, 03:32:03 PM
Good ideas all. That's what I was thinking, starting with things like what metroshane mentioned and working up to something like SoNowThen said (although not that bad.)  :yabbse-thumbup:
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands, with all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves, let me forget about today until tomorrow.

Jake_82

#14
August 19, 2003, 12:26:58 PM
another thing is, he could just be walking by some sort of tough looking person, or just anyone who'd likely have a short temper, maybe he sees some white trash guy or something, but he could just walk by and say "Fuck you." With the right person, this is all you need to say to start conflict, even if you have nothing to say it about. They just instinctively say "Fuck you too" or whatever, and you have instant conflict.
your reality is at the end of your dream
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