Love on the Spectrum: Understanding Subtext
Love on the Spectrum: Understanding Subtext Subtext is one of those things that screenwriters get so freaked out about! Almost every screenwriter is scared that their dialogue isn’t good enough or that their dialogue isn’t real enough. We all have those words echoing in our ears from some screenwriting teacher: “It’s too on-the-nose! It’s too on-the-nose!” We’re all terrified of writing this “on-the-nose” dialogue. But sometimes we don’t even actually know what “on-the-nose” is. We know it’s this bad thing, and we know that subtext is supposed to be this good thing. We’re afraid that our dialogue is bad, and we want our dialogue to be good. So, this raises the question, “what is subtext?” What is on-the-nose dialogue? What’s good dialogue? How do you even do it? To talk about it, we’re going to discuss a really fabulous show. It’s a different show than most of the shows that I’ve talked about in that it’s a documentary format reality show on Netflix called Love on the Spectrum. This reality show is beautiful on so many different levels. What it does is take autistic adults, many of whom have struggled in relationships, many of whom have never even been on a date before and who long for love and for romance and connection, and it pairs them with other autistic adults. For many of them it is their first date ever. And the show tries to help them, through relationship training, to actually find love. The reason I thought Love on the Spectrum be such an interesting show to discuss writing subtext is because it features characters who seem incapable of subtext; characters whose dialogue seems to always be “on-the-nose.” These are characters who literally say exactly what they’re feeling. Because of this, Love on the Spectrum seems to do away with these layers of dialogue that we’re always expecting. (As I’ll discuss later in this podcast, there actually is a surprising amount of subtext happening in these scenes, but let’s start with what’s on the surface) One of my favorite interchanges takes place between a couple, Ronan and Katie. They are both on the first date of their lives. And that date actually ends up blossoming into a really beautiful love affair. And it features dialogue that kind of sounds like this (paraphrased): “How do you feel about me?” “I feel warm.” “I feel warm, too.” We wish we could be so honest on a date with someone we just met! We wish we could be so vulnerable! On our real dates we’re filled with wordplay and little games and showing how cool we are and hiding our true feelings. In Love on the Spectrum, these characters just come out and say it. In fact, they need to say it. They need to check in with each other and they need it reported because they struggle to pick up visual and subtextual cues. The result is the exact opposite of what you might expect. You’re not experiencing the scene as cheesy, “on-the-nose” dialogue. What you’re actually seeing is something beautiful and connected and special. Which leads us to our first lesson about understanding subtext in dialogue: Sometimes it’s better just to say it. There’s something actually really beautiful and powerful about letting a character come out and say what they feel. I’m reminded of a wonderful improv teacher I used to study with, one of my mentors. We’re placed in a scene and it’s obviously a seduction. Like most inexperienced improv actors, we’re kind of dancing around with subtext and trying to be funny as we try to seduce each other. And on the sideline, here is my mentor coaching me: “Just say it! Just say it!” So finally I say, “I want to sleep with you.” And everybody laughs. Suddenly, the scene takes off. And I realized at that moment that I was so busy trying to be a “good improv actor” – trying to fi...