The Theology of Screenwriting, Part 19: Evil | Go Into The Story

This week I continue to explore theological themes in relation to screenwriting, considering them metaphorically because in my view, we see these themes in movies all the time. By understanding them, we can use these theological themes to enhance the meaning and depth of our stories.

For background on the general subject, you may read my introductory comments in Part 1 here.

Today in Part 19: Evil.

It is perhaps the single most problematic issue in theology: If one believes that God is all-powerful? and if one believes that God is all-good? and bad things happen in the world? how to reconcile all of those propositions.

In other words, how to explain the presence of evil.

There is a term for it in theological circles: Theodicy: theos = God, dike = justice. What it boils down to is the defense of God in the face of evil?s existence.

Broadly speaking, there are two major strands in Christian theology in dealing with the issue of theodicy.

One is that because God is all-good, God could not have created evil. Rather it entered into the world through the original sin of Adam and Eve. In this view, God is blameless and humans have an evil aspect to our nature dating back to our very origins.

The other perspective is this: The goal of existence is to achieve moral perfection. In order to do that, humans need free will, but for that to mean anything, humans must face the presence of evil, therefore evil is a necessary presence in the redemptive process, a legitimate presence in the created universe.

If we look at these metaphorically in terms of writing, we see we have an interesting way of viewing two character archetypes: Nemesis and Protagonist.

Nemesis characters may have all sorts of causes, influences and events in their personal history explaining at least some aspects of their behavior, but fundamentally they have an evil nature, skewing their world view in a deep dark way.

From the other perspective, the central theme of the Hero?s Journey is metamorphosis? toward ?moral perfection? and for that process to be meaningful ? and entertaining ? the Protagonist must not only face evil from without, but also evil from within. They have to be tempted and torn, twisted and turned by events that cause them again and again to make a choice: To turn away from their Authentic Self and toward evil, or turn inward to embrace their Core Essence and away from evil.

The presence of evil in the world is an ongoing challenge for theologians and philosophers. From the standpoint of writers, however, the question of theodicy provides us a starting point for a conversation about our stories: The innate nature of evil as embodied in a Nemesis versus the challenge of confronting evil, both from without and within, the fundamental drama of a Protagonist and their character arc.

Tomorrow: Kingdom of God.

Source: http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2012/12/the-theology-of-screenwriting-part-19-evil.html

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