The Kilted Writer

The Giver , by Lois Lowry, contains a lot of mind, body, and spirit symbolism on a variety of levels. First is Jonas and his two friends, Asher and Fiona. Jonas is the mind, Asher the body, and Fiona the spirit. Second is Jonas's family. His father is the spirit, his mother is the mind, and the children in the household collectively make up a body character. When examined individually, however, Jonas is the mind, Lily (his sister) is the spirit, and Gabriel (the child from the nursery they are nurturing during the night) is the body. I just glossed over this without giving any real reasons as to why this is true because I want to get into a slightly different topic. In my workshops, I often talk about occupations and their relation to the mind, body, and spirit symbolism. The Giver is a great example of the use of occupations to help strengthen your character symbolism. Spirit characters have a lot of compassion and tend to put their "cause" ahead of themselves. In...

I just sat down to watch Pacific Rim, and within five minutes the mind, body, and spirit symbolism leaped off the screen and right into my lap. I am still watching the movie as I write this, so I have not identified the characters who represents each personality. This observation is more of a world building example. In the movie, creatures called "kaiju" are wreaking havoc on mankind. To fight them, giant machines called "jaegers" are built. The jaegers (body) turn out to be too difficult for one pilot to control, so an additional pilot is needed. In order for the pilots to operate the jaeger in unison, designers create a process that links the two pilots minds. And this is where it gets interesting. The process takes the logical and analytical left brain (mind) from one pilot and links if with the creative and imaginative right brain (spirit) of the other. The link between the two pilots is called "the drift." In order to be effective, pi...

There are two versions of the movie True Grit , both based on the novel by Charles Portis of the same title. While the remake is every bit as good as the original, in a lot of respects, it lacks one key element. In the climactic scene where Rooster Cogburn charges down four members of the outlaw gang led by Lucky Ned Pepper over an open field, the original movie starring John Wayne had a wall of aspen trees as the backdrop. The remake has no such majesty in this key scene. As for the plot, we have three main characters who are all out to find an outlaw, each for their own reasons. Mattie Ross wants justice for her father's murder. LaBoeuf (pronounced "LaBeef") wants a big reward being offered in Texas, and Rooster Cogburn wants to rid the country of one more malcontent while helping the young Mattie find her justice. The Mind Character: Mattie Ross Mattie is introduced meeting with the town's undertaker about her father's body. He has been brut...

Mind, body, and spirit characters are often used in " based on a true story " movies and stories. Apollo 13 is no different. In fact, this movie includes two sets of mind, body, and spirit characters - one set in space and one on the ground.  I've covered why mind, body, and spirit characters show up in "true story" movies in previous posts (see above). In this post, I want to focus on "motivation." On the surface, each character seems like a mind character. They all have knowledge and share information freely and they all react to conflict, especially the explosion, with knowledge, information, and procedure. Even when the procedures no longer apply because of the disaster, they start to build new procedures. All of this is mind-related behavior. In order to see the character's true natures, you have to look a little bit deeper at the characters' motivations. For this analysis, I will focus on one key motivation for each cha...

A common question in my workshop is "Is all this mind, body, and spirit stuff an accident?" In other words, do writers intentionally include it in their work, or is it something so inherent in a good story that writers include it without even knowing they are doing so? Personally, I think some writers do it intentionally. When you read some books or series, the mind, body, and spirit symbolism is so tightly woven into the story it is hard to believe it is accidental. In other stories, though, the symbolism comes across as almost an afterthought, like in the movie Rush Hour , starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. The body and spirit characters are dominant throughout the film, but when needed to push the story forward, a mind character appears.  I don't know if the mind, body, and spirit symbolism in  Rush Hour was intentional or accidental. I would like to believe it was intentional, but it doesn't have to be. It's there because it works, accide...

Like others films based on true stories I have analyzed , The Great Debaters focuses on three main characters with mind, body, and spirit characteristics. This illustrates how prominent these characteristics are in storytelling, whether the story is purely fiction or based in fact. In my workshops, I emphasize three things when it comes to using mind, body, and spirit symbolism in character development. First is the character's introduction. I had one attendee ask if she was being too 'obvious' as to her character's type in her introductory description. I referred her back to the initial character descriptions in The Three Musketeers to show that it is better to be 'obvious' when it comes to describing your mind, body, or spirit characters. The second thing I emphasize is characters reactions to conflict. Each character type has their own unique way of dealing with conflict. Finally, I emphasize character's interactions with each other. Th...

In previous posts, I've taken a look at the mind and body characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby . In this final post in the series, I will look at the presentation of the spirit character. The Spirit Character: Jay Gatsby Introductions are important and set the stage for the type of character a writer intends to present. Jay Gatsby is first shown emerging from the shadows to examine the stars. ...a figure had emerged from the shadow of my neighbor's mansion... Something in his leisurely movements and the secure position of his feet upon the lawn suggested that it was Mr. Gatsby himself, come out to determine what share was his of our local heavens. Gatsby reaches out toward a green light across the water, which we discover later is the direction of Daisy's house. He then disappears as mysteriously as he arrived on the scene. When I looked once more for Gatsby, he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness. An a...

Like Nick Carraway, Tom Buchanan is the quintessential embodiment of his character type, and this is clear from the moment he is introduced in the book. The Body Character: Tom Buchanan Tom's introduction firmly defines him as a body character. He is standing on the front porch of his home as Nick approaches and describes him as a: sturdy straw-haired man of thirty...hard mouth...two shining arrogant eyes...appearance of always leaning aggressively forward. Nick summarizes Tom's character by saying: "Now don't think my opinion on these matters is final," he seemed to say, "just because I am stronger and more of a man than you are." Tom is given to alcohol more than any other of the main characters in the book and is having an affair. He even admits to "making a fool of himself," but is jealous that Daisy and Gatsby might be having an affair. In fact, he is very much a hypocrite on the matter of extramarital relationshi...

(Note: This post was originally written in July 2013) With the recent movie release, I thought I would reread The Great Gatsby . In doing so, I discovered yet another fine example of mind, body, and spirit in literature, which I will show you in this series of posts. The Mind Character: Nick Carraway The book is written in first person, past tense, with Nick Carraway as the narrator. He introduces himself like this: In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since, After explaining what the advice was, he writes: ...I understand he meant a great deal more than that After introducing himself and several other characters, Nick ends up in an apartment in NY with Tom Buchanan, Tom's mistress, and a group of merrymakers, but he doesn't quite fit in with this crowd. He isn't a big drinker and doesn't have a girl of his own, so he sits in a chair reading a book. ...either it w...

When I was a kid, I had a skateboard, but I was never good at skating, mostly because I didn't put in the work to master the necessary skills. I wanted to be like the "Z-Boys" - the Zephyr skate team who were constantly highlighted in the skating magazines of that time. Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva, and Jay Adams were gods (and still are, in some ways) of the skating world. In previous posts , I've shown how mind, body, and spirit characters are used in stories based on real people and events. Lords of Dogtown continues that illustration. The examples given in this post are from the movie, and not necessarily on actual events. The Mind Character: Stacy Peralta (John Robinson) Stacy is a character study in practicality. Early in the movie, he is watching some of the older guys surfing when one of then wipes out and gets cut. Stacy suggests he should get out of the water because of the injury, a suggestion that is not taken kindly. Stacy is the only one ...

I recently got into a discussion with a fellow writer about stories with multiple layers, subplots, etc. One of the movies we discussed was Independence Day . It had been a while since I'd seen the movie, so I could only make general observations. I couldn't even remember the characters' names - just the actors'. After the discussion, I decided to watch the movie again and do a mind/body/spirit analysis. One of the things I realized in re-watching the movie was how wrong I had been about the main plot - specifically, the "main character." Cinematically, the main character is Capt. Steve Hiller, played by Will Smith. He has all the great lines, is involved in all the action, and has a dominating presence on the screen. The main character of the story, however, is not Capt Steve Hiller. The story is really about David Levinson, played by Jeff Goldblum. David Levinson is a part of every major plot point and is the character who undergoes the great...

In case you haven't picked up on it, I like romantic comedies with Drew Barrymore ( Music & Lyrics , 50 First Dates , The Wedding Singer , Fever Pitch , etc.). For this post, though, I will not be focusing on her character. Instead, I will be focused on the male lead, Ben, played by Jimmy Fallon. Usually, I look at all three character types, but Ben is such a strong spirit character, I thought I would devote the entire post to him. Drew Barrymore plays Lindsey, a mind character with three friends. Two of her friends are spirit characters and one is a body character, creating the 'Lindsey' set of mind, body, and spirit. Ben is a spirit character with three friends. One of his friends does not interact enough to really nail down his character type, another is a mind character, and the third is a body character, making up the 'Ben' set of mind, body, and spirit. If you haven't seen the movie, beware of spoilers. As is my usual advice, see the mov...

In the last post , I took a look at Lucy Whitmore, her father, Marlin, and brother, Doug. They make up one mind-body-spirit triad in the movie 50 First Dates . Today, I will look at the male lead, Henry Roth (Adam Sandler) and the characters who surround him. It's been a while since I explained this, so I will review it here - I do not intend for these posts to be a review of the film or book about which I am writing. I will not, generally, go deep into the plot of the story, except where it helps in the character analysis. I will assume the reader has some familiarity with the book or film being analyzed. If you feel like you need a little more info, then please leave a comment. I'll be glad to fill in any gaps I might leave in my effort to keep these posts relatively short. The Spirit Character: Henry (Adam Sandler) Henry is a veterinarian at a local aquarium, but he has a dream to sail to Alaska where he plans to study the underwater habits of walruses. H...

50 First Dates is a romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. In a previous post , I talked about two types of mind, body, and spirit use when it comes to romantic comedies. This one is the type with two sets of mind, body, and spirit characters - one on the side of the male lead and the other on the side of the female lead characters. For this portion of the analysis, I will focus on the female lead's side of the mirror. The Spirit Character: Lucy (Drew Barrymore) Lucy is an artist, a fact that should already have you thinking 'spirit character.' She comes into the same cafe every day and has waffles for breakfast. Instead of eating the waffles right away, though, she makes little cabins or tepees with them. When she meets Henry (Adam Sandler), who is a veterinarian at a local aquarium, one of the first things she notices is that is hands smell like fish. Normally this would be off-putting (Henry even says, 'Fish don't even like...

One story plot you see many times in the movies is the bad (insert authority figure) who is transformed into a good (insert authority figure), usually through his or her interactions with mind, body, and spirit characters. In Real Steel , Hugh Jackman plays Charlie Benton, a bad father who is transformed into a good father through his interactions with mind, body, and spirit characters. The Mind Character: Max Benton (Dakota Goyo) Max is Charlie Benton's son, but has been living with his mother his entire life. When Max's mother dies, he goes to spend the summer with Charlie. When he discovers Charlie is a robot boxer, Max is excited and starts talking about various robot fights he's seen or read about. When Charlie's new robot seems to be malfunctioning, Max speaks to it in Japanese and the robot responds. When Charlie takes his new robot to fight, Max argues they should play it safe, take an undercard, and win a little money rather than taking the ...

In a previous post , I talked about using pilots as spirit characters. 'Sky Captain' Joe Sullivan is yet another example. In fact, all the characters in this film are in roles that fit their character types. This film also includes a very limited use of the body character. She only shows up when 'muscle' is needed to break into the antagonist's lair. The Body Character: Francesca/Franky (Angelina Jolie) Franky gets very little screen time, but the time she has is all about military might. She is the commander of a floating outpost providing squadrons of fighting vessels that ultimately allow Sky Captain to break into the island fortress of the antagonist, 'Totenkopf.' Military leaders are often depicted as body characters. Franky was also the object of an affair Joe had at some point in the past. This affair, which Joe denies through most of the movie, happened while he was  dating a reporter named Polly Perkins. The Mind Character: P...

Steven Spelberg's 1985 movie, The Goonies , is full of mind, body, and spirit symbolism. I will only address the three main characters here, but I recommend you watch the film and see the various layers of mind, body, and spirit at play. Even if you are not into that kind of analysis, you should watch it, anyway, just to see the on-screen debut of Josh Brolin. The Body Character: Chunk (Jeff Cohen) The movie opens with a police chase through town. Various characters are shown reacting (or not reacting) to the scene as it passes them by. Chunk is in a pizza joint/arcade and sprints to the window to see what's happening. He presses his hands to the window, forgetting he has a slice of pizza in one hand and a milkshake in the other. Chunk is very distracted by food. As the group approaches the bad guys' hideout, he frets over the danger until he sees an old soft drink cooler. All of the danger he might be feeling is wiped away by, 'Soda Pop!' Later,...

Here's another romantic comedy that relies heavily on mind, body, and spirit interactions. This movie actually has three layers of mind, body, and spirit - the main characters, Peter Colt's family, and...well, see if you can find the third. The Mind Character: Peter Colt (Paul Bettany) Peter Colt introduces himself as the 119th-ranked tennis player in the world. To him, this only means there are 118 players who are younger, stronger, and faster. As a result, he doesn't dream about being better. Instead, he plans on a happy retirement and a cushy job as a pro at a tennis club. As he prepares for his first match at Wimbledon, he goes over everything that got him there: 1000 balls/day, 365 days/year - 6 million balls and "it all comes done to this." After he serves an ace, he says, "Another 71 like it and you've got it in the bag." In a later round, when he is injured, he doesn't dig deep into his soul to find the will to win. He...

Here is another case of a true story being told using mind, body, and spirit characters . In this case, a fourth character is transformed by the other three. You can look back at my post about ' We Are Marshall ' and ' Rudy ' for more information about real-life stories and mind, body, and spirit characters. In this film, a number of different names are used for each character. For example, King George VI (Colin Firth) is also called 'Albert,' 'Bertie,' or 'the Duke of York.' For this analysis, I will use the royal names George (for King George VI), Edward (for King Edward VIII, George's brother), and Elizabeth (for George's wife - not his daughter, who became Queen Elizabeth II). The Spirit Character: Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) Elizabeth is depicted in this film as the perfect supportive spouse. At one point in the film, she describes how she refused George's first two marriage proposals because she didn't...

When it comes to mind, body, and spirit, the theme of the fourth character, the transformed character, is fairly common. The Three Musketeers , Mona Lisa Smile , and Rudy are posts I've done showing how the mind, body, and spirit works to transform a fourth character . Bull Durham is yet another example, with Ebby LaLoosh being the transformed fourth character. The Mind Character: Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) Crash is an aging catcher who is brought to the Durham Bulls ball club for a single purpose - teach the young new pitcher, Ebby LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), how to be a major leaguer. He uses every moment he has with the Ebby, including bar fights, as a teaching moment. One time, after goading Ebby into punching him, Crash tells Ebby, when you get in a fight with a drunk you don't hit with your pitching hand. When Crash goes to bat, he talks to himself, trying to reason out what the next pitch will be and then reasoning out what he will do with it. Baseball, to ...