Write better dialogue - WRITING IN THE SUBTEXT ft. Hannibal | Writing Tips (advanced)

hi everyone so today's video is going to be a craft video and that's going to be on my favorite dialogue technique and that is writing in the subtext a few times on my channel i've mentioned that i really enjoy this technique of writing in the subtext writing two conversations at once what is being said versus what's not being said and i guess i mentioned that in my q a video my most recent q a someone left a comment on there asking if i could make a video on this in that video i had mentioned that they do that a lot in hannibal so in today's video i'm going to be showing you an example of writing in the subtext using examples from nbc show hannibal which if you haven't watched it my examples are only from episode one and they're not spoilery i don't think this can be applied whether or not you're writing a script or if you're writing prose personally i use this technique a lot in my prose quick disclaimer i basically made everything up in this video so none of the terms necessarily really exist so if you google it you may not find anything because it's just stuff that i've thought of not only do you have to get a handle on writing what you are in the fictitive present you also have to create an alternate timeline that is a little bit buried and staggered behind it so it is difficult and the context necessary if you don't know what the show is so hannibal's a tv show following will graham an unorthodox profiler who's enlisted by the fbi to help profile and hopefully catch a serial killer that goes by the name of the minnesota shrike hannibal lecter is a psychiatrist and is brought in by will superior jack crawford to write up a profile of will himself so let's roll the clip it's about three minutes and after that we'll talk about the techniques that are going on in the dialogue good morning will may i come in where's crawford deposed and caught the adventure will be yours and mine today may i come in i'm very careful about what i put into my body which means i end up preparing most meals myself a little protein scramble to start the day some eggs some sausage that's delicious thank you my pleasure i would apologize for my analytical ambush but i know i will soon be apologizing again and you'll tire of that eventually so i have to consider using apologies sparingly just keep it professional oh we could socialize like adults god forbid we become friendly i don't find you that interesting you will agent crawford tells me i have a knack for the monsters i don't think the strike killed that girl on the field the devil is in the details what did your copycat do to the girl in the field what gave it away everything it's like he had to show me a negative so that i could see the positivity that crime scene was practically gift wrapped the mathematics of human behavior all those ugly variables some bad math with this shrek fellow are you reconstructing his fantasies what kind of problems does he have uh he has a few you ever have any problems well no of course you don't you and i just like problem-free nothing about us to feel horrible about you know will i think uncle jack sees you as a fragile liberty cup the finest china used for only special [Laughter] guests how do you see me the mongoose i went under the house when the snakes lit by finish your breakfast so what is subtext we can view subtext as what is not being said in a conversation or the narrative anything that basically has words so subtext is what is not being explored but what is being said at the same time so all conversations often have subtext even if we don't really notice it so the actual conversation would be the text versus the subtext which would be what is not actually being said so we can view the text as reality as close as possible to what we are currently experiencing versus subtext which is almost an alternate reality what is not being said but what contributes to what is occurring anyway so subtext is a bit of a tricky thing to understand i like to think of it as what is not being said but what is still just as important as what is being said so now let's jump into analyzing this script so note this is not literary analysis which is like a technique in english and that would be looking to analyze content for meaning i'm analyzing content for technique all right so let's look at how the script starts so as you can tell it starts pretty innocuously the first topic of conversation is and we'll take a look at my markup small talk so the dialogue starts on a pretty mundane note hannibal says good morning will says well will doesn't actually say anything nice in return he just kind of asks question then hannibal's like may i come in it's not really anything interesting it is just small talk so after this mundane interaction we get to this part in the script where hannibal starts setting up breakfast and this is a homemade breakfast because he's brought it in tupperware and so that detail is given to us so this is where our first subject change occurs as you can see we subject change to food which is prompted by the object so hannibal begins talking about the food which is i'm very careful about what i put into my body which is prompted by opening up these tupperware containers so his dialogue is really fascinating here because learning from the subtext us as viewers who have more information on who hannibal lecter is who's a cannibal in pop culture we recognize that that dialogue is a bit sinister so something i want you to notice in this dialogue is that there's no filler here so hannibal only speaks when actions necessitate that speaking so he uses action otherwise to fill the empty space so an example of filler might have been while he's setting up he could say will i brought you breakfast i made it myself these are the ingredients i hope you don't have allergies something that's filler but the writers are doing something really important here by reserving the dialogue for when it is absolutely necessary so a viewer is more inclined to pay attention and we also understand that this piece of dialogue holds a lot more weight because it's the first time that they're really saying anything of importance beyond the small talk that they started with after this part of the script we move to this part and we go back to small talk but this time the small talk is a little bit modified and the modification is in the highlighted line he is genuinely amused and successfully hides it so the modification here is hannibal's dialogue of my pleasure so that is actually genuine so the modification of my pleasure well it sounds like regular small talk on the outside the subtext is telling us my pleasure actually has a little bit of amusement hiding behind it so the dialogue of my pleasure is atypical of usually neutral small talks so this is just a subtle little beat of subtext of hannibal saying my pleasure what he isn't saying is it's my pleasure because i'm probably feeding you human now we're gonna move into probably the most difficult and heavily subtextual part of this conversation so this may be overwhelming to look at at first so this is the markup it is overwhelming let's break it down first with the blue so the subject has changed once again to hannibal's apology but this time there's more subtextual provoking to understand that subtextual provocation we need to first understand two terms so the terms i want to define for you right now are topical meaning and actual meaning so topical meaning is what the speaker means quote unquote it's usually a guise for something else which is oftentimes the subtext it's not fully honest it's a bit withholding on the page versus the actual meaning is what the speaker truly means so this could be viewed as the truth so as you can see the blue is the topical meaning hannibal's topical dialogue is i would apologize for my analytical ambush but i know i will soon be apologizing again this is kind of politeness it's not exactly what he means and you'll see when we get to another line of dialogue why i've come to that conclusion will's response naturally to hannibal's topical dialogue is just keep it professional so then we get to the yellow the yellow is the actual meaning so hannibal's next dialogue to respond to will is or we could socialize like adults god forbid we become friendly so here hannibal utilizes a charged phrase and that is like adults and that's almost how you can tell that it's his actual meaning so charged phrases often incite honesty will follows up with a response to the actual meaning by giving an actual response himself his response is i don't find you that interesting and that's what he actually means versus if we go back to the previous slide just keep it professional will is actually trying to say i don't find you that interesting so whatever you're trying to do by profiling me or getting in my head doesn't really matter to me because you are very boring to me versus what hannibal is saying i want to apologize for ambushing you you know i don't want to say sorry too many times because i know that i'm going to be saying sorry a lot in the future what hannibal actually means is i don't really know why we can't just talk like adults or even be friends and you see that actually unfold on the page so the next line is this orange line of you will this actually seems to be a nonsensical response that holds no current weight but may foreshadow the future that's why it's important because currently you will what does that have to do with the conversation you will find me interesting that doesn't really have anything to do with the conversation at hand until we realize as readers that might be projecting into the future which which it does it really does so now we're going to get into this purple area and so this purple line is particularly interesting because it links back with the previous yellow line from will so if we remove the line you will from the mix so just ignore that it's there hannibal's response of agent crawford tells me you have a knack for the monsters could be seen as a subtextual response to wills i don't find you that interesting so the dialogue almost works like a poetic line break in this section with hannibal's line building off of what will has said so this line is a subtextual response to will's true meaning that may hold thematic weight it seems like a random subject change but is actually thematically charged so with the context that hannibal lecter is a serial killer and cannibal which viewers are kind of led into very early on in this episode we can view this line of agent crawford tells me you have a knack for the monsters as a direct response to i don't find you that interesting because hannibal could be saying but you should find me interesting because i am one of the monsters that's what the subtext is telling us and obviously that's not what is being said to will so he doesn't know that us as viewers have that context so we're let in to what the subtext is trying to say so then we get to this part of the script which is pretty interesting because then we're deflecting to facts so previously in this slide we're seeing a bit more of a personal conversation and i think will is getting uncomfortable with having to talk about his opinion about hannibal lecter he doesn't really care about that right now so instead of actually addressing agent crawford tells me you have a knack for the monsters whatever that means will deflects to the facts will ignores all that hannibal has said and go straight to business they have a relatively normal conversation for a few lines so was like i don't think the strike killed that girl in the field hannibal's like the devils and the details what didn't your copycat do to the girl in the field what gave it away this is a pretty normal conversation there's nothing happening in the subtext here and we can tell because there are no strange lines that seem out of place it's just kind of a regular back and forth then we get to this part of the script and this is interesting because we move into this teal section which i've named double meaning so this is the seventh time we've changed the subject in this conversation here we introduce a double meaning so hannibal asks are you reconstructing his fantasies talking about shrike the serial killer what kind of problems does he have which is hannibal's topical meaning which is kind of what you're expecting so will says he has a few and then we get to hannibal's actual meaning which is ever have any problems will so hannibal is not actually caring to know the answer about the shrike and this is confirmed when he asks his actual meaning to will ever have any problems so when we get to this section we might be able to understand why this conversation is occurring in the first place and if you're not picking up on it i will get to it in just a second note the lines of the mirroring here asking what kinds of problems does the serial killer have and then asking will do you have any problems knowing that hannibal's job is to profile will for the fbi then we move to this section of the script which is the gray purple and pink section so in this one small section we cycle through three different subjects so gray is a short intermission from the previous conversation as hannibal likens himself to will so the previous thing will said was no and he responds by saying of course you don't you and i are just alike so he kind of diverges a little bit and this diverging could also be a subtextual trigger trying to tell the viewer this might hold thematic wait for later which i think it does if you've watched the show then hannibal brings up jack seemingly out of nowhere in a while with the dialogue i think uncle jack sees you as a fragile little teacup the finest china used for only special guests so this is kind of profiling jack while also profiling how maybe jack would profile will what's important about this purple dialogue is that it provokes the conversation's thesis with will asking how do you see me this question exposes will's textual interest slash why the conversation occurs in the first place as well as hannibal's motivations for starting the conversation hannibal is trying to profile will and will now wants to know what he thinks which is different from how he reacted in the past then we get into the final lines of the scene and so this is the green and red section so the green is actually the 11th time we've changed this subject in this conversation and that is the exposure of truth this is an exposure of truth where hannibal brings up the mongoose metaphor this is one of the most intense parts of the conversation because it's incredibly close to reality and whatever's closer to reality is farther away from the subtext because subtext is the reality but subtext isn't what is being projected into reality what we're saying is being projected into reality and so subtext is kind of alternate reality right because subtext has driven this conversation being sharply brought back into reality in hannibal's genuine opinion is nearly shocking so that makes sense as to why the end of this conversation mirrors the beginning and we go back to the small talk to let that intense moment settle upon us so the screenwriters are doing something really interesting here by making the second last lines the mongoose i want under the house when the snake slither by which is his opinion of will be immediately juxtaposed by this kind of boring mundane small talk and that's how the scene ends with finish your breakfast so there's nothing really that interesting about that line but what is interesting is what it's doing to give breathing room for that mongoose line to really fester in the minds of viewers now that we've gone over this scene i want to talk about a few things that subtextual conversations should have and you can pick and choose what you want to include in your own dialogue you definitely don't need to have all when you're having all it can get a little bit intense i will note that writing in the subtext is a really tricky thing and sometimes even people who are really great at it like the writers of hannibal can fall back a little bit because they get too buried in the subtext to the point where a conversation could be almost impossible to understand because talking in subtext is almost like talking in a love language between two different people who understand that subtext it can be polarizing for viewers or readers who don't understand that language i do it all the time when i'm writing my own book where my characters two of them will understand each other very well so they can talk in subtext to each other but a reader might not completely understand what is happening so keep that in mind i think that these are elements that subtextual conversations should include the first is rhythm so we constantly change ideas and subjects cross-directing the conversation's flow to reveal something about the relationship at hand so in this case the subtext reveals a few things about will and hannibal's relationship most notably hannibal's attractive curiosity of will so that's why at the end of this conversation we bounce back between like 12 different subjects sometimes you don't understand why somebody's changing a conversation to fit this direction but when we consider the subtext it all makes a little bit more sense and it all comes together so rhythm is a huge one the second is padding so padding is parts of a conversation that are not directly related to the speaker's calculated intent but that heard the conversation to the eventual end so the example here for me is the conversation starting on the breakfast which reveals something about hannibal he only eats food he cooks and we already know he's a cannibal so what does that mean the subtext here is that he does this because he's a cannibal and that adds texture to the narrative depth as his cannibalism becomes more relevant to the show padding is not unnecessary dialogue i should note that but rather calculated jabs that seem irrelevant but that actually hold incredible thematic weight so that also includes the line you will things that seem off at first but are actually calculated they have intent behind them so the next thing that subtextual conversations often include are subtle responses or conversations within conversations will says i don't find you that interesting and almost immediately after hannibal says agent crawford tells me you have a knack for the monsters so what's not being said here is so therefore you should have a knack for me because i am also a monster and that's why the line works so well both in the content and in the positioning it occurs in the conversation hannibal suddenly responds to will without him even realizing it so subtext can also be where you put the dialogue so the writers putting agent crawford tells me you have a knack for the monsters right after will says i don't find you that interesting has a lot of subtextual weight so the next thing that these conversations will include are charged phrases so these often reveal the truth so or we could socialize like adults like adults is a charged phrase and it suggests will is not acting like an adult so it reveals hannibal's true opinion of will charged phrases incite honesty even if this honesty is just in a two-word phrase charged phrases is not to say mean phrases so people going at each other and saying things they don't mean a charged phrase is what you do mean and it can be very subtle like like adults so subtext is like the subconscious conscious versus subconscious so hannibal saying like adults is triggering a viewer's subconscious to feel a certain way about will or at least how hannibal views will right now so the next thing that occurs in some textual conversations are misdirected questions so a great example of this is are you reconstructing his fantasies what kind of problems does he have and then we get the misdirected question of ever have any problems the are you reconstructing his fantasies what kind of problems does he have is misdirected so that is actually directed at the strike but we understand when we get to ever have any problems will that this is actually what hannibal has been trying to ask he doesn't care about the minnesota strike he's trying to ask about will you can't really trust questions and heavily subtextual conversations at first we're expecting hannibal's question to be directed toward the shrike but when we realize as viewers that he's actually asking will this question the state of the conversation is revealed it leads us to the next point which is thematic realizations so misdirected questions often lead to thematic realizations because they reveal something about the asked and the intentions of the asker and the intentions are where the subtext lies in this case a viewer may begin to understand that hannibal is attempting to finish the work he started the beginning of the episode where he tries to inadvertently profile will remember his whole job is that he's hired to profile will so that's what he's trying to do in this scene hannibal's conclusion about this profiling is that will is the mongoose he wants under the house when the snake slither by so this phrase holds thematic bearing because it reveals something about will's character for being described in this way and hannibal's character for coming to this conclusion and that is the subtext these realizations as hinted at previously also reveal the conversation's thesis which is the next point that we're going to be talking about the thesis is the sensual reason that a conversation occurs even if the characters themselves don't realize it how do you see me which will says toward the end of the conversation is the thesis here as the rest of the conversation's previous occurrence is contextualized by it we must now as viewers reassess everything that has been said because it may potentially have been subtextually about will and not the minnesota strike the final thing that all subtextual conversations will have is tension so all of these elements combine to create a bizarre almost indescribable unpinnable tension throughout a conversation when used correctly so it's often hard to understand why a conversation may make you feel uneasy and a lot of the techniques that i just mentioned are why and this is why some textual conversations like this can really cure two people in a room talking syndrome the scene that we just watched is literally two people talking in a room but why is it interesting people might ask there's so much subtextual excavation occurring that it just can't not be interesting it reveals so much about both characters that we don't need a whole bunch of stuff to be going on to still enjoy and take away something from the scene subtext is often how you can create subtle writing so if you've ever been trying to include more subtlety in your work subtext is how you can go about doing it what is not being said that is just as important as what is being said like i said it's really tricky i wouldn't expect beginner writers to try to do this because it can get clarity problems galore but if you are a little bit more of an intermediate writer who's trying to play around with timeline psychology and obviously subtext versus the text itself this is a really great way to do it like i said before subtext and text mirror subconscious and conscious so there's a lot more psychological weight when we're playing around with subtext and conversations so that's gonna be my video on how you can write in the subtext i hope that this makes sense i use this technique all the time in dialogue i will see you guys in another video bye you

Channel: rachel writes

Views: 1,608

Rating: 4.98 out of 5

Keywords: authortube

Id: wT8RyoQtMbI

Length: 24min 58sec (1498 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 04 2021