Subplots: Part 4

Back to the Future is a master class in subplots.

In the Prep: From Concept to Outline class I teach, we spend a lot of time talking about and developing subplots. In fact, as part of each writer’s learning experience in the online workshop, I direct them to a set of Go Into The Story posts I’ve written over the years on the subject.

The other day, I read through each of those posts, some of them stretching back to 2008, and it’s interesting to see the evolution in my thinking. Over time, I’ve come to adopt another screenwriting principle:

Subplot = Relationship.

What I propose to do each day this week is re-post my original articles, taking the opportunity to clean them up a bit, and as we go through each one, consider the deeper implications of the above principle.

Back to the Future, written by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale, is a script which makes great use of subplots. The Plotline: Marty McFly accidentally travels back in time, then desperately tries to get back home. The subplots include:

MARTY’S FATHER (GEORGE): Man with no backbone.

MARTY’S MOTHER (LORRAINE): Sexually repressed woman — supposedly.

GEORGE AND LORRAINE’S ROMANCE: How Marty’s parents hooked up.

MARTY’S FADING FAMILY: The fate of Marty and his siblings.

DR. BROWN AND THE LIBYAN TERRORISTS: The fate of Dr. Brown.

Let’s examine each of these subplots, looking for specific examples of the four-beat pattern.

MARTY’S FATHER (GEORGE)

Beginning: George doesn’t stand up to the bull, BIFF, when Biff has wrecked George’s car (“Son, I know it’s hard for you to understand, but the fact is, I’m just not a fighter.”
Middle I: George bullied by Biff (in the past)
Middle II: When George tries to ask Lorraine out for a date, Biff humiliates George by extorting money from him
Ending: George saves Lorraine from Biff by knocking him out

MARTY’S MOTHER (LORRAINE)

Beginning: Lorraine weighs in on contemporary social values (“I think it’s terrible, girls chasing boys. I never chased a boy when I was your age.”)
Middle I: Young Lorraine excited by Marty (“I’ve never seen red underwear before.”)
Middle II: Lorraine asks Marty out to the “Enchantment Under the Sea” dance
Ending: Smoking cigarettes and knocking back booze, Lorraine puts the moves on Marty

THE ROMANCE OF GEORGE AND LORRAINE

Beginning: Lorraine tells the kids (for the millionth time) how she and George met (he was struck by Lorraine’s father’s car), and their ensuing romance (“Your father kissed me for the very first time on the dance floor… and that was when I realized I was going to spend the rest of my life with him.” — At the Enchantment Under the Sea” school dance)
Middle I: Marty knocks George out of the way of Lorraine’s father’s car, disrupting the past
Middle II: Marty agrees to be Lorraine’s date to the dance, but only to set up a scenario in which George will act like a hero and win Lorraine’s affection
Ending: At the dance, George shoves a rival into the punch bowl, grabs Lorraine, and kisses her

MARTY’S FADING FAMILY

Beginning: Marty’s siblings, Dave and Linda, introduced
Middle I: Dave’s photo fading, letting Marty and Brown know that Marty’s siblings are being “erased from existence” — if Marty can’t orchestrate Lorraine and George together, his siblings and Marty will never come to be
Middle II: Dave is gone from the photo, and now Linda’s image starts to fade
Ending: Marty’s photo starts to fade as well, but when George and Lorraine end up dancing together, his image, along with his brother’s and sister’s, returns to normal

DR. BROWN AND THE LIBYAN TERRORISTS

Beginning: As Brown is about to do his time travel test, the Libyans appear and gun down the scientist
Middle I: Marty stops short telling Brown about how he was killed by Libyan terrorists
Middle II: Marty writes a letter to Brown, letting him know that he must take precautions to avoid getting shot by the terrorists in the future
Ending: Although shot by the terrorists, it turns out Brown read Marty’s letter and wore a bullet proof vest to survive the attack

Each of these subplots has at least three beats…
Each of them has a Beginning, Middle, and End…
Each of them intersects with the Plotline…
Each of the subplots tie into the Themeline.

And important to note: Each of the subplots involves character relationships.

There are others: Marty and Biff, Marty and Jennifer, Mary and his musical aspirations, Goldie the Mayor, etc.

In sum, they all serve and dimensionalize the story, making it more fun, dramatic, and full of action.

Tomorrow, analysis of subplots in the Pixar movie Up.