tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5121130217304877410.post6711131833467036754..comments2024-03-22T05:29:18.132-07:00Comments on Shawn James, Black Freelance Writer: What Transformers: The Movie Taught Me About WritingShawn Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712216572467743626noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5121130217304877410.post-88343783269436719552012-12-01T20:15:14.628-08:002012-12-01T20:15:14.628-08:00Great post, Shawn. I was 9 back when Transformers...Great post, Shawn. I was 9 back when Transformers: The Movie came out and I have to say traumatizing doesn't do it justice.<br /><br />I still remember sitting there in the movie theatre with my grandmother watching this disaster unfold. It was like being on board the Titanic. You know everyone is going to die, you just don't know when or how, but it's going to be painful.<br /><br />Starscream and Optimus Prime were my favorites on the TV show, and literally within 20 minutes they were both dead. Killed by the same character, just different names.<br /><br />To add insult to injury, I don't think the creators of this film understood the other problem they created. For a big part of that movie, the bad guys won. When you watched the TV show you knew Optimus and the other autobots would ultimately prevail. Good always triumphs over evil, and in the world of television it should since sometimes the world doesn't work that way. But within the space of ten minutes Optimus was killed by Megatron in a fist fight, Megatron was rejuvinated to Galvitron, and then killed Starscream almost immediately. I remember sitting there thinking, "What??? So Megatron wins??? This sucks!"<br /><br />Then to top it off, my grandmother took me to this film because it was a cartoon show I loved watching. She knew that, I knew that. She thought maybe it was PG rated because of all the violence in the film. Until Spike dropped the S-word. Then it was clear why the movie was rated PG. Then came Ultra Magnus GDing it up. At that point I was lucky she didn't escort me out. <br /><br />Then yes, the Autobots prevailed, but the damage was already done. Junkeons were perfect in this film because that's what you felt was left after viewing the movie, a whole bunch of junk. Why couldn't Optimus have just died saving the day and defeating Unicron, instead of dying in a bar fight essentially? Wouldn't that have been a better way to end his run as a Transformer? Just a completely pointless movie, even for a child. Someone obviously thought anyone under the age of 18 that might go see this film were complete idiots and wouldn't figure out what they were doing. My only hope is that the guy that made the movie got fired and never worked in Hollywood again.<br /><br />There have only been a few stories that have succeeded at killing off major characters and not completely ruining the vibe of the film or story. Lost comes to mind, although some felt cheated at the end. The Walking Dead is another that does death well. But neither show broke the cardinal rule--You don't kill off your main character(s) until the story has been told, if ever.<br /><br />Even Michael Bay wasn't crazy enough to kill off Optimus Prime and leave him dead in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. He died, but he came back immediately. You can kill off lots of characters along the way, but you never ever kill off the main ones until all is said and done. Or like you said, if you do, fashion a way to bring them back that makes sense, just like Bay did.<br /><br />Even when Optimus Prime was brought back on the cartoon following Transformers: The Movie, it felt hokie. It felt hokie to me watching years later in reruns, having not seen it in first run because, like many, I stopped watching the cartoon immediately following the movie. There was nothing left to see for me. And parents and grandparents cringed just as much because they knew new toys were going to be sold. Fortunately for them, they didn't have to buy much.<br /><br />However, there was one killing Hasbro did that I wished they had left that way. Duke in G.I.Joe: The Movie the next year. Never liked him, thought his brother was cooler. Too much of a boy scout for me. So sometimes, maybe the rules can be broken?TheLooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01654446986939783563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5121130217304877410.post-6844536068600861332012-08-21T15:37:26.993-07:002012-08-21T15:37:26.993-07:00This is a very interesting blog, Shawn, and I susp...This is a very interesting blog, Shawn, and I suspect you give far more useful information than you intended to. Frankly, I would like to see every writer read this, for depth of perception about what readers want, and as a writing tool to keep writers reminded that they write for readers and not the other way around.<br /><br />Keep the good blogs coming!Francine Crafthttp://www.francinecraft.comnoreply@blogger.com