Cracking Concepts #2: Juxtaposition
Some of the most successful film and TV series have been based on juxtaposition – putting characters in places where they don’t belong (Fish out of water) or with a person who is their complete opposite in every way (Chalk and Cheese).
Fish out of water
What if a big city cop was forced to hide out in an Amish community? (Witness)
What if a bunch of gentrified zoo animals were suddenly thrown back into the wild? (Madagascar)
What if a man fell in love with another man, in the American Mid-west, in the 60s? (Brokeback Mountain)
What if a woman, trying to reconnect with her husband after WW2, went through a time portal and found herself two hundred years in the past where her antagonist was her husband’s ancestor?
What if a timid and over-protective father fish was forced to traverse the Pacific Ocean to find his lost son? (Finding Nemo)
What if an assassin went back to his High School Reunion? (Grosse Point Blank)
What if a mafia boss went into therapy? (The Sopranos, Analyze This)
What if, in trying to escape the mob, two male musicians join a girls’ band? (Some Like It Hot)
What if a neurotic New York Jewish doctor is forced to practice in a remote Alaskan outpost? (Northern Exposure)
What if a Yorkshire lad took up ballet? (Billy Elliot)
Chalk and Cheese
What if a big freeze on Thanksgiving eve forced an uptight ad executive to travel from New York to Chicago with a lonely shower accessory salesman?
What if a humble postman on a remote Italian island enlisted the help of the visiting Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, to win the heart of the girl of his dreams? (Il Postino)
What if an arrogant phonetics expert tries to pass off a working class London flower girl as European royalty at a society ball? (My Fair Lady)
What if a humble bookseller began dating one of the biggest female stars in the world? (Notting Hill)
What if an upwardly mobile career girl has a one-night stand with a slacker and falls pregnant? (Knocked up)
Idea Starters:
Think of a character who is very set in their ways, very well adapted to their environment, and very resistant to change in a way that limits them in some capacity …
… now think of a time, or a place, or a person, or an event, that would make them feel uncomfortable in the extreme?
Alternatively think of a place or a society or an institution or a household that operates in a certain way – either highly rigid or extremely lax – and lob in the character or the event that would shake it to its foundations.