Friday, November 12, 2010

TODAY'S NUGGET: #19 WGA Script of All Time - To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

[Quick Summary: Scout, a 6 y.o. tomboy, observes her attorney father Atticus defend a black man in a 1932 racially charged Alabama town.]

Horton Foote wrote an incredibly fast read (it's 136 pgs.!)

I liked that it's told from a child's point of view because the situation is filtered much differently than an adult. 

These children are very observant, & so much of the real meaning comes out in subtext.

ex. Who knifed bad Mr. Ewell?  Jem? Boo Radley?  Does it matter?  Atticus tells Scout that Ewell fell on his knife & asks if she understands.  She tells him yes & repeats the story he told earlier about shooting a mockingbird.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: As the children struggle to learn about very serious subjects, the audience also grapples with them.

I liked that there was a message wrapped in a story (not a story wrapped in a message).

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
by Horton Foote

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