As a screenwriter, you have a contract with your audience. Did you know that? I didn’t until I watched Andy Guerdat's interview on Film Courage on YouTube.
Here is the interview between Andy Guerdat and Film Courage.
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The Contract: The Audience Pays; The Screenwriter Makes Them Feel
Andy Guerdat sums it up perfectly: “The contract we make with the audience is: they pay us money, and in return, we make them feel something.” It's clear and simple: They pay; you evoke emotions.
While this is true, it misses a crucial element: having a point, a reason to tell the story. Let me explain why.
Making the Audience Feel Is Not Enough
Stories are about emotions. However, without a point, the story doesn’t matter. You can watch the worst horror movie and still feel afraid, see a bad comedy and laugh, or watch poor-quality porn and feel aroused. It’s possible, but that’s not why people watch movies.
You can feel emotions from a bad story, but a good story will always make you feel something significant.
Emotions in Greek Theater (1200 - 323 BCE)
"Ancient Greek civilization, the period between the end of the Mycenaean civilization (1200 BCE) and the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE), significantly influenced later Western culture in politics, philosophy, and art." - Britannica
According to Aristotle, Greek tragedy aimed to create an emotional release, called catharsis, by making the audience feel pity and fear. These tragedies focused on human suffering, showing characters facing hardships, loss, and tough moral decisions, which made the audience deeply empathize with them.
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The Revised Contract: It's Not Only About Emotion, It's Also About Having a Point
In short, storytelling is about emotions. Our job as screenwriters? Make the audience feel. That’s the deal we strike with every script. But we should not forget why people go to see movies: for a story with a meaningful conclusion. Therefore, I would adjust Andy Guerdat's contract.
Revised Contract: The audience pays money; the screenwriter makes them feel by telling a story with a meaningful point.
Note: This article was assisted by ChatGPT for spellchecking, shortening, and rephrasing sentences.
