Chapter 398: Stepmother and Stepson Fight 1 Stepmother and Stepson Fight...
Although both novels and movies are narrative arts, there are still great differences between them.
In short, novels only contain words. Even if some publishing houses will provide illustrations for certain scenes, its main form of carrier is still text.
The characteristics of written narration are very clear - it can be subjective or objective, from the first person perspective, the second or third person perspective, from a God's perspective, or a psychological monologue. It can even be interspersed with memories, reverse chronological order, and all kinds of techniques can be used.
But movies are different. They must externalize what the author wants to express, and the so-called externalization is presented through actions, dialogues and pictures.
For example, the author wants to write about a timid woman who is suffering from domestic violence. For the sake of her child, she endures it to the utmost, until the man's fist swings at the child. Only then does this cowardly and forbearing mother choose to resist after struggling.
This process from forbearance to explosion must be accompanied by the collapse of the old order in the mother's inner world and the establishment of a new order. It is a complex, struggling, fearful process, and ultimately a desperate one for the sake of the child.
Such a process can be expressed in the novel like this:
She closed her eyes in agony, her calf, broken by the man last time, aching faintly, but the child's cries were deafening. This cruel man had unleashed his violence and cruelty on their innocent child. She couldn't retreat, she couldn't! She clenched her fists, opened her eyes, and tremblingly stood up from the corner. Her breathing was rapid, her heartbeat was panicked, but the child's cries were like a cruel torture, slowly scraping away the cowardice in her eyes. Under the cold blade, flesh and blood grew back, called courage. She clenched her fists, grabbed the fruit knife from the coffee table, and rushed forward.
How about expressing this inner struggle through film?
The final result of the script is this:
Scene 1: Dilapidated tube building, living room, night
The dim light flickered, and Xia Xue (twenty-seven years old, thin, with dark circles under her eyes and yellow hair) was curled up in the corner.
She squeezed her eyes shut, breathing rapidly, her fingers digging deep into her palms.
A drunk cursed from the bedroom, and suddenly—
The child's sharp cries erupted in the bedroom, mixed with the man's rough slaps and kicks, and the dull thud of the child falling after being kicked (OS).
Xia Xue suddenly opened her eyes, her pupils trembling. She subconsciously touched her left leg, and a hideous surgical scar was exposed from under her trouser leg.
The crying continued, the child begging for mercy, mixed with the man's roar and kicking (OS).
Xia Xue trembled all over, her nails digging into the wall, plaster powder falling off, nails breaking, tearing the flesh at her fingertips. She suddenly lowered her head -
(Close-up) The fruit knife on the coffee table gleams coldly under the light.
(Close-up) Her veins popped out and she threw herself over to the coffee table, grabbing the fruit knife with her bloody hands.
(Camera shakes) She staggered towards the bedroom, and in the backlight, the tip of the knife drew a silver line.
Xia Xue rushed into the bedroom
(Roaring, broken voice)
Let her go!!!
The screen went black and the child's crying stopped abruptly.
The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh, the sound of a man screaming in pain (OS)
This passage was adapted from the novel into a screenplay in the following way:
First, externalization of psychological description: the original text's "hidden pain" is replaced by the action of touching the scar; the original text's "growth of courage" is expressed by a close-up of grabbing the knife and a silhouette against the light;
Second, audiovisual language replaces textual narration: the child's cries and the man's curses and beatings are voiced over to create a sense of oppression; the tense family conflict is expressed through the reflection of a knife blade and shaking shots;
Third, retaining literary tension: The original text's metaphor of "lingchi" (slicing a line of pain) embodies an extremely complex emotion, representing the transformation from a sufferer of pain to a brave rebel and defender. The script uses visual symbols like "nail digging into the wall, knife blade drawing a silver line" to depict this, creating a strong visual impact and resonating deeply with the audience without sacrificing literary tension.
Fourth, standardization of industrial formats: (OS) = voice-over, (close-up) = camera indication, while the description of the environment is concise, precise and direct.
This transition from text to script was exactly what Yao Zhizhi lacked. She naturally looked for theoretical books to learn, but theory alone was superficial; only by learning from others could she gain a deeper understanding.
At this time, Yao Zhizhi looked at the script rewritten by Xia Mantang, and then looked at her own script. She couldn't help but sigh that there was indeed no industry where one could become a big fat man in one bite.
Even though she was a well-known writer, even though she was a junior in the literature department, even though she had done her homework in advance, even though she had an unyielding ambition, even though...
In short, she still has a lot to learn, so naturally she has no time to be a class leader.
Fortunately, the class has become much calmer since Zhou Xiaoxiao and Lu Yihong took a leave of absence from school, and this peace lasted until the end of the semester.
After the exams, Yao Zhizhi had her summer vacation. She had planned to stay here and continue to work with the crew to learn the skills of writing scripts. Unfortunately, after Xia Mantang noticed her progress, he became a little wary of her and kept making excuses to prevent her from going. She was too lazy to play tricks with such a petty old man, so she just let it go.
After packing up, Yao Zhizhi prepared to go back for summer vacation.
After being away from home for half a year, we couldn't go back empty-handed, so the day after the exam, three generations of grandparents and grandchildren went to the state-owned shopping mall together.
Although the country has begun to implement the policy of reform and opening up, and emphasized that the individual economy is an important supplement to the national economy, the government has not yet completely liberalized individual business licenses, so large commercial institutions such as shopping malls are still state-owned.
However, although the mall is still state-owned, it has more counters selling imported products.
For example, the MSI Superman from Japan could only be purchased from Hong Kong through Singapore before, but now it has sales channels in state-owned shopping malls, but the quantity of goods purchased is very small, so the products are very expensive, even more expensive than buying them from Hong Kong.
Although Yao Zhizhi is rich, she doesn't want to be a sucker. After thinking about it, she gave up. She decided to let her third brother buy some in bulk from Japan, which would be enough for the children at home to play with.
So she went around the mall and ended up buying only some clothes and shoes for her elders and children, to take back by train tomorrow.
In addition, she also specially brought a set of Hero pens and ink for Li Xue, because Li Xue finally got into university this year, and a set of stationery was the most appropriate gift.
After returning to Yicheng, Yao Zhizhi found out that Li Xue had moved to Zhang Wang's house. The two confirmed their relationship after the college entrance examination results were announced. Because Zhang Wang was not young anymore and Li Xue could not stand the loneliness of being alone, they simply lived together.
Yao Zhizhi looked at Li Xue, who had come to report her test scores, and asked, "Have you thought it through? His sister is still young, and she'll be close to whoever takes care of her. If the child develops feelings for you, it won't be so easy to let go."
Li Xue understood that Yao Zhizhi was afraid that if she had a conflict with Zhang Wang and broke up, his sister would definitely be hurt.
She smiled and took Yao Zhizhi's arm, and went to the lake to chat: "Don't worry, I've thought it through. You said my parents died so early, and I'm alone, so I don't have anything to lose. Now I have a little kid waiting for me at the door with a kitten every day. I'm really happy. As long as Zhang Wang doesn't cheat and doesn't make mistakes of principle, I can make do with everything else."
Yao Zhizhi was actually quite worried. After all, Li Xue was about to become a college student, while Zhang Wang was only a junior high school student.
However, seeing Li Xue's excitement, she couldn't help but remind her, "Just think it through. Remember to take precautions. You've finally been admitted to university, don't let pregnancy delay your studies."
Li Xue understood. She smiled and sat down on a rock, gazing at the lotus-filled Jade Lake. She sighed, "I never expected to pass the exam this time. Actually, when I left the exam room, I thought I was done. My essay was off, so I estimated my score to be very low. When the results came out, I didn't do well in Chinese, but my other subjects were good, so my overall score was pulled up. I was also lucky; I missed out by just one point."
"One extra point is a sign of your ability. Make the most of this opportunity." Yao Zhizhi thought for a moment and then asked indirectly, "How is Zhang Wang doing lately? Does he plan to go to university?"
"He won't take the exam." Li Xue didn't force it. Everyone has their own aspirations. Besides, Qi Changxiao took the money, bought a shop, and let Zhang Wang open a small store. Zhang Wang was quite content.
In fact, Zhang Wang originally planned to open a detective agency, but unfortunately there was no business, so he had to switch to a convenience store.
According to Li Xue's idea, the detective agency will have to wait at least another four or five years before it can have customers. The economy has not been fully liberalized yet and is dead. There are no big bosses, so naturally no one has spare money to keep a lover or have an affair.
In short, the economy has not reached that level yet, so let's make some adjustments and sell daily necessities first.
Yao Zhizhi patted her shoulder and said, "Take care of it yourself. If you need anything, tell me. Zhang Wang and my wife are good friends. If we round it up, we are family."
"Don't worry, Editor-in-Chief Yao, I won't be polite with you." Li Xue smiled and rested her head on Yao Zhizhi's shoulder. "I don't know if the major I chose will be easy to find a job in the future."
"I heard you studied philosophy?"
"Well, there were few applicants for the philosophy department this year, so my score just barely passed."
"It's actually not that bad. The liberal arts majors at Yida are all pretty good. But now with the reform and opening up, many people are turning their attention to engineering majors, so the literature majors have naturally become less popular. In short, study hard; a diploma is better than anything else."
"I know. Right now, I just want to finish my studies smoothly, get a decent job after graduation, get married, have kids, and live my own life. By the way, Editor-in-Chief Yao, I heard you sold the copyright? Are you going to make a movie?"
"Well, remember to come and watch it when it's released."
"Haha, of course!"
The two chatted for a while and then Li Xue went back.
Yao Zhizhi had lunch and was about to take a nap, but when she was about to fall asleep, she heard the sounds of ghosts howling in the alley.
When Yao Zhizhi heard that it was Maodan howling, she was so annoyed that she quickly put on her slippers and went out to see what was going on.
When we arrived at Aunt Mao's house, we found that there were a lot of people surrounding it.
Yao Zhizhi didn't need to say anything, she could already hear the system chattering. There was nothing new, it was just a fight between the stepmother and stepson. Maodan was just a child after all, how could he beat an adult? So, this unfortunate child came home to complain to his grandmother.
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