Sunday Picture Post 36 — The Oxymoron
We are way overdue for a Sunday Picture Post. Hope your creative minds have replenished.
If you haven’t participated in a Sunday Picture Post, this is how it works:
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUNDAY PICTURE POST
For The Sunday Picture Post, we flip upside-down the saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Thousands of words are great if you are writing a novel, but if you are writing a screenplay, you need to do the opposite and be as concise as possible.
For your screenwriting practice in brevity, in the comments section, using the image above, please post one or all of the following:
- A title for this movie
- 1 word describing the theme, mood, or scene
- 1 sentence to describe the scene
- A pitch to sell the entire movie
The more colorful and creative you are, the better! Use any genre.
Read the comments section for Sunday Picture Post 25 to see some hilarious examples.
A good screenwriter is laconic, using a few words to say a lot.
SCREENWRITING TIP OF THE DAY: THE OXYMORON
Oxymoron are two words juxtaposed against each other that normally have the opposite meaning, yet when put together somehow magically form a new and interesting meaning.
By juxtaposing two unlike things, you can easily come up with a compelling story.
Great stories rise out of contrast, conflict, and contradiction.
You make an oxymoron by putting contradictory terms in conjunction, like a name such as “Fatman Slim” or a description like “sweet stench” or a statement like “Call me when you go to sleep.”
In the case of the above photo of a highrise trailer, we have a visual contradiction, something that is specifically made to be on the road is high up in the sky. The word highrise is usually attributed to expensive penthouses and uptight offices, whereas trailers are usually attributed to lower income families and nomadic wanderers.
There could be a perfectly logical reason for this highrise mobile home: maybe there is flooding in this area?
You may either participate in the Sunday Picture Post as directed above or you may try coming up with an oxymoron of a story unrelated to this photo.
A good example of an oxymoronic story idea is the film comedy Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) starring Bette Midler, Nick Nolte, Richard Dreyfuss, and Little Richard,which is the story of a bum in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the world and the adventures that ensue as a result of that.
Good luck!
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3 Responses to “Sunday Picture Post 36 — The Oxymoron”
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“Noah’s Park”
Due to a problems at home, Chris, a pampered teenager leaves the city life to live with an eccentric Uncle Nathan convinced of an imending flood. Since Chris doesn’t have any other options or say in the matter and reluctantly agrees to live with Nathan in his trailer propped up in the tree. The neighbors that are around dismiss Nathan as crazy or even abducted and trying to return to his spaceship. But when Chris gets to know Nathan, Chris beleives there’s a flood coming and gets a whole new perspective on life.
As for my own oxymoron unrelated to the picture or story, I’m fond of the term “silent shouting/screaming” which is actually possible to do as long as you can’t be heard while you do it. It’s like dropping a brick on your foot, but only mouthing the expression of pain.
Castle’s Made of Sand
Safe?
Emergency alarm will sound.
Deep in werewolf country two men stand guard on a fruitless campaign to thin out their numbers. An older man sits visibly shaken the younger man replies, “sitting ducks or snakes in the grass?” Night spreads over the sky like flames over the ceiling. Cries can be heard in the distance. Moments later cans on a string rustle, a cheap and semi effective warning system. The young man grips his gun tighter, his fingers turn white. The old man pisses his pants, but readies his gun none the less.
Yeah I just watched Wolf with Jack and Pfeiffer
t.sterling — Excellent title and movie idea! Love it, would definitely want to see it.
Silent screaming… brings up so many ideas: the famous painting “the scream” and the silent scream during a nightmare… Great job!
Adam — Ooooh, sand castles are a very interesting oxymoronic thing. Good choice. You got deep into the brevity exercise — really good job. The ‘sitting ducks’ and ‘snakes in the grass’ are descriptive terms that apply well to the image and take on their own life and also would make great titles for this image’s movie.
Enjoyed those very much guys.