Text, Subtext and Context
Contributed by Michael Bruce Adams
“Text means the sensory surface of a work of art. In film, it’s the images onscreen and the soundtrack of dialogue, music, and sound effects. What we see. What we hear. What people say. What people do. Subtext is the life under that surface – thoughts and feelings both known and unknown, hidden by behavior.” From Robert McKee’s Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting.
Text is the script, what is written on the page. Text implies subtext and delivers context.
Subtext is the underlying core themes of a story, the emotional foundations of the story. Subtext can be implied in the text through the suggestion of technical and artistic choices, but it is never overtly expressed. Elements of context can be used to express subtext, but never overtly.
Context is the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘how’ parameters of a story. Context elements can be found in the text.
From a writer’s perspective, subtext, or more specifically how we communicate subtext, is one of the most gratifying screenwriting processes, but very few people ever really perceive or comprehend what we’ve done when we do it well.
We use shorter sentences and tighter dialog to suggest faster edits and raise the heart-rate of the reader.
We describe patterns and shapes that speak of a historical design period to inspire nostalgia.
We describe color, light and textures to imply a soft welcoming atmosphere or a hard, cold tone.
Our characters gladly take out the garbage when we want to talk about devoted love.
If subtext is expressed well by a filmmaker through every department from props to sound the result is that rare thing; a story that can be perfectly understood and engaging without dialog.
And why, you ask, as a writer would I advocate such a thing?
When you don’t NEED dialogue, you are free to truly create transcendent spoken elements; simple conversations that illuminate deep emotion, wordplay between characters and when you need it… silence.
So how do we express subtext in our filmmaking?
One way to think about subtext is in relation to time:
Entire story – overall themes, super-objectives, internal and external goals, primary motivations… these are story elements that work within the context of the entire story. Overall subtext decisions work throughout the entire film to support these story elements, or subtext ideas can be used early in the story to pre-frame the audience to remember certain themes and ideas.
Scene sequences – each sequence is a mini story, with its own context, that drives the lead character into a new direction. Each sequence has a significant place within the story structure. Each sequence has its own objectives and motivational nuances. All this specific information within the context of the scene sequence can be supported by subtext.
The subtext elements can support the overall themes to remind the audience that this sequence is part of an entire story, or they can support the specific themes and objectives of only the scene sequence… or they can support both.
Moments in time – each frame of our film exists as a moment in time that is informed by everything that has come before and could be foreshadowed with all that will come after. Each frame can be viewed like a painting that can speak to the viewer on many levels.
Subtext helps to decode the vast number of motivations that are working on our characters at any given point in time. Subtext will also support the scene sequence that is the larger context for each image, and of course, the overall story themes.
Backstory – one of the most difficult things a filmmaker must do is to eliminate the need to spend valuable screen-story time on backstory exposition. Any screen time used in explaining backstory is time we have to take away from telling our main story.
While the events in the lives of our characters prior to the context of the story are incredibly important in developing character and motivation, these events are not part of the context of our story… but if they are relevant to our story they can and should be considered as subtext.
Subtext, in regards to backstory, means providing clues to the key events in our character’s past that have relevance and importance to the story we are telling. There is no need for anything else.
Unless the story demands a non-linear structure, flashbacks, voice over, and excessive exposition can all be eliminated with thoughtful use of subtext.
Foreshadowing – subtext elements that give clues towards events that will happen in the future of your story or after the context of your story are considered foreshadowing. Foreshadowing works best if used in a very restrained and subtle way. The last thing that we want to do as filmmakers is to give away too much of our story.
Remember that applying subtext in your writing and filmmaking is a series of choices… you are making choices about what clues or revelations you are providing your audience and what things you hold back.
