REFLECTION
When writing my script, I knew I wanted most of it filmed at RMIT. By locating the story within the university, I ensured that production is not burdened by location scouting and the organisational struggles of shooting elsewhere. Despite this I had no firm idea of the story itself. I did know that I didn’t want it to look and feel like it was shot at RMIT so I had to get creative. To kickstart my creative process I went for a stroll around campus and remembered about the news studio the media department has. This was where I decided my short film should be shot. Furthermore, a trip to the bathroom during class gave me the idea for where Sarah will first be visited by the ghost of her attacker. I was inspired by the space and new it would be a strong addition to my screenplay.
The initial idea consisted of a teleprompter gone wild, from there I started building my story around it. I began by mind mapping in a notebook, getting suggestions from my housemates. I had my general idea but couldn’t figure out what the main conflict would be. I knew that my protagonist would be haunted by guilt with it all building up to that on-air moment. I played around with various controversies; war-crimes, affairs perhaps even murder. Although none of them seemed right. I didn’t want my protagonist to be a villain, but I struggled to find a motive that would fit.
It wasn’t until my screenwriting began that I figured out what it would be. It was as if the story was already formed and was waiting for me to find out. I settled on my main character being attacked by a man, an overarching theme of victim-blaming and gaslighting in the script. Once I figured this out, the story became clearer and started coming together.
RESEARCH
In line with the definition of post-horror, my short film speaks on a deeper thematic level than that of typical jump-scare horrors. Unlike other genres of film, ‘horror is the genre that magnifies … cultural anxieties’ (O’Brien, 2019). Post-horror narratives have the ability to speak on the scariest elements of human society freely and with minimal censorship. Similar to recent films such as Get Out (2017) or The Babadook (2014),The News Room explores everyday horrors. By understanding this, the writing of my screenplay had to focus on themes first rather than aesthetics.
Black Swan (2010) and The News Room both depict a woman’s descent into madness. Their protagonists are driven to self-destruction, exacerbated by their work and the patriarchy. The character of Thomas Leroy in Black Swan was a blueprint for the male characters of The News Room. Mark fisher debated that Leroy ‘embodies patriarchy [and] … Nina’s relationship with other women shows the damage that patriarchy has done’. Similarly, the male characters in my short film depict the worst parts of men and misogyny. The blurred lines between reality and delusion are a key factor in both my film and Aronofsky’s. Taking inspiration from this, I created my own unreliable narrator in the hopes of having a similar effect. Furthermore, Aronofsky’s horror has been a useful influence for the style of my short film. Particularly the lighting and cinematography.
Another key film that speaks on the struggles of women is Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980). Yet another film that depicts the power and rage of white men (Fahey, 2010). I appreciate the symbolism in Kubrick’s famous work and its oftentimes subtlety in its messaging. Whilst horror allows the creator to speak on social issues, I understood that I must be careful on my representation of these issues. Especially the depiction of women. The horror genre, past and present can be argued to be broadly misogynistic (O’brien, 2019). A first step to avoid this could be having female writers and directors. Men (2022), directed by Alex Garland is a shining example of what happens when men direct a film about women’s issues. Whilst both my short film and Garland’s Men explore themes of guilt and misogyny, I will endeavour to show this in a more tasteful way.
O’Brien (2019) ‘Surviving Nightmares: Women in Horror’, Australian Teachers of Media
