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Tag: Holiday

Published on Leave a comment on Story Grid Micro: Scrooged

Greetings and happy holidays to all! Last week, I did a macro analysis of the 1988 movie Scrooged, applying the 5 Commandments to the entire story arc. This time, I'm applying them to a single five minute scene: the Turning Point of the Ending Payoff.

In this scene, the Ebenezer Scrooge character known as Frank Cross is visited by the last of three ghosts who are attempting to show him the error of his selfish ways. One, in the form of an insolent cab driver, has shown him incidents from his own past that have shaped who he is today. A second ghost, an impudent and slightly deranged fairy, showed him situations from his present that he is unaware of, and that are the direct result of his thoughtless actions.

But this third ghost, yikes.

The Ghost of Christmas Future looms menacingly, garbed in a wardrobe from Grim Reapers R Us. Anguished souls are held captive beneath the folds of his flowing black robes. He has some less-than-glad tidings for our boy Frank. First, he shows Frank the fate of Frank's assistant's disabled young son, locked in a padded room presumably because Frank's demands on the boy's mother have reduced the amount of time she is able to spend with him. Frank is strangely silent, but appears taken aback.

Next, the ghost shows him a ladies lunch event that includes his old flame, Claire. In their youth, when they were young and in love, Claire was the soul of kindness and generosity. But in this vision, she has become callous; hardened. Frank is dismayed by the change in her, especially when she quotes Frank to her lunch friends and attributes her change in attitude to some advice he gave her long ago.

As an aside, whoever did Karen Allen's makeup in this scene did an excellent job of communicating 'harsh' with her look, especially as it contrasts with her fresh-faced earnestness in the rest of the film.

As hurtful as Claire's confession seems, it's the final vision that in my opinion is the turning point in this scene. The ghost brings Frank to a room we soon learn is a crematorium. The coffin about to enter the flames has Frank's name on it. Only two mourners are in attendance: Frank's brother James and James' wife. He soon finds himself trapped inside the coffin. As the flames lick at his expensive shoes, Frank has a realization that he doesn't want to die just yet; that he wants time to repent and do right. This realization leads Frank to his Crisis, Climax, and Resolution in fairly short order.

Coming up with a micro analysis for this movie was a challenge for me for a couple of reasons. One was more about logistics. I needed a scene that aligned with the 5 Commandments scenes I had identified in last week's post that was also available in a video snippet so I could post it for you here. As a last resort I would've just described the scene to you, but I like it better if you can have something to watch. Another challenge was more about the process of applying the 5 C's in micro in these scenes. For some reason, I have more trouble with the micro, or beats, I suppose, than with analyzing the big picture - especially when the components pile on to each other relatively quickly, as I feel they do in this scene.

Do you agree about these 5 C's? Is there another scene that illustrates them more clearly in micro? I look forward to your input.

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Published on Leave a comment on Story Grid Macro: Scrooged

Previously I blogged about the Story Grid method of analyzing and understanding story structure. I plan on applying this method to some of my favorite books and films and posting them here about once a month. I'll do a macro first, and follow up by applying the same method to a single scene.

Frank Cross and the Ghost of Christmas Past

'Tis the season, so it should come as no surprise that I chose a holiday theme this month. My taste in holiday movies runs a little dark, so don't expect any Hallmark films here. It says a lot about me that last Christmas the hubs and I treated ourselves to a holiday screening of Die Hard at the fabulous Nickelodeon Theater in Columbia, SC. But that one's been done by the Story Grid folks. I've chosen another favorite: Scrooged, the 1988 remake of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, starring Bill Murray.

If you don't feel like clicking away to my previous post to see what this Story Grid 5 Commandments stuff is all about, you can get the gist by reading the infographic on the 5 Commandments below.

Gentle reminder there are no right or wrong answers in this process. I encourage you to join the discussion by leaving your opinions in the comments - especially if you disagree! Heck, I even disagree with myself sometimes when I'm poring over this stuff.

To recap the film: since it's one of many remakes of the beloved classic, you are probably familiar with the basics, even if you haven't seen the film. We have the Scrooge character in the form of modern-day television bigwig Frank Cross, played by Murray. We have the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. We have the failed relationship of his youth, and the deceased business partner, and the charming Tiny Tim-esque young boy.

Frank Cross is a selfish, competitive jerk fighting tooth and nail to claw his way to the top of the corporate ladder. He has insisted on airing a live production of A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve, even though this means many will have to work on the holiday to get it done.

During this hectic evening, Cross runs into his boss. Nothing unusual about that, except the boss had recently died of a heart attack. The ghost boss warns Frank the job is not worth sacrificing the chance for meaningful relationships. He also says three more ghosts will visit him that evening. Frank assumes he is hallucinating due to stress about the job and the show, and ignores this bizarre event - until the next ghost shows up.

The classic Christmas Carol plot unfolds. Frank is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, who reminds him of a vaguely unhappy childhood; Christmas Present, who gives him insight into the lives of those close to him and how his actions affect them, and about which he has no clue until now; and Christmas Future, who scares the daylights out of him with the possibility of an unhappy end to a life filled with despair.

This final visitation convinces Frank he better get his act together. He does a complete 180 and to cement the deal, confesses his regrets to a viewing audience of thousands during the live production he has insisted occur on this night. No takebacks!

His heartfelt apologies help reunite him with his long lost love; initiate a closer relationship with his estranged brother; and even benefit the Tiny Tim character by inspiring him to speak aloud for the first time.

The cool thing about doing a remake of a classic is that you have a time-tested story structure with which to work. In this case, you even have three ghosts to align with the three act structure. I didn't have much trouble choosing my 5 C scenes this time. But I would love to hear if you have any alternatives, or if you think I've missed something.

Next time we'll do a micro of one of the scenes from Scrooged. In the meantime, if you haven't seen Scrooged, check it out. It's usually on TV somewhere this time of year.

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Published on 4 Comments on February Has A Little Something For Everyone
Februarius panel from mosaic calendar, Roman Africa (Tunisia)

Ah, February - one of my favorite months for many reasons. It's my birthday month. It's my mom's, my former dog's (may she RIP), two cousins, and my paternal grandmother's as well. It's Super Bowl time, and Groundhog Day, and Mardi Gras. And of course Valentine's Day which happens to be my wedding anniversary (yeah, my husband's wallet gets slammed in February). It signals the end of winter (I live in the South) which in and of itself is a reason to celebrate. History nerds rejoice - February is Black History Month which I have blogged about previously, and also features a three day weekend thanks to the fairly recent national holiday known most places as Presidents' Day.

I say most places, as according to the federal government, it is still known as Washington's Birthday, even though his actual birthday is on February 22 and 'his' holiday has been celebrated a week early for more than 40 years. Why the change? Back in the 1960s, legislators (likely with help from labor union lobbyists) decided to shift certain holidays away from specific dates, in favor of moving them to a specific Monday. This created a nice three day weekend that would fall on the same day (not date) each year to make it easier to plan vacations. Retailers loved the idea - an extra day off to shop! And once the holiday was no longer tied to February 22, it could be expanded to include other notable leaders whose birthdays fell in February - like Abraham Lincoln (Feb 12). Indeed, the holiday is now meant to honor all presidents, not just the February babies.

True history nerds may want to take issue with my statement that Washington's 'actual' birthday is on Feb. 22. You got me! Washington was 'actually' born on February 11, 1731. But when the British empire converted from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in September of 1752, his birth date got bumped to Feb 22 due to the 11 day adjustment. If you are a little math-challenged like me, you may be wondering why he didn't just keep his birthday on Feb 11. But if he did that, he would always be 11 days off from his true solar age. That would bug me almost as much as having to switch birth dates. Washington was not exactly an early adopter, but had switched to celebrating on Feb. 22 before he died in 1799. I envision an elderly Washington doddering around Mt. Vernon every February, asking Martha, 'is it today?'.

The Gregorian calendar - get out your cheaters

There was some initial resistance to using Washington's birthday as an excuse to take the day off and tie one on. Thomas Jefferson, of all people, thought celebrating an individual's birthday was uncomfortably close to the British custom of feting King George on his special day. Jefferson's suggestion to substitute the birth of our nation on July 4 was warmly received. But it wasn't long before Washington's birthday was back on the holiday calendar. Parades, elegant 'Birthnight' (not birthday) balls, and cannon fire marked the February occasion throughout the new country.

This weekend the tradition continues. Folks somewhere are standing on a downtown sidewalk six deep in the bitter cold, waving cheap but cheerful flags at the passing high school marching band. However, I'm guessing even more folks will be waving debit cards at newly lowered prices on holiday clearance items in the comfort of their centrally heated local mall. Whether you prefer celebrating your day off with patriotism or conspicuous consumption, you have that guy on our money to thank.

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Published on 4 Comments on Do You ‘Christmas Eve Gift’?

A version of this post originally appeared in 2012.

My grandmother Winona Louise Miller Nichols 1915-2004. She was a delightful little scamp (just like in this picture).

My grandmother Winona was a pistol. Born in 1915 in Marietta, OK, Winona was part Chickasaw. It was a little bitty part, but her Native American heritage shone through powerfully in her jet-black hair and tan-friendly complexion. If tanning had been popular in her youth - which it wasn't - she would never have burned or freckled. Granny Winona was a sprout compared to the long, lanky type she married and the six offspring they produced. She topped out at around five foot two, the Mighty Mite of the Nichols family. I was fortunate to be able to spend a lot of time with her in my youth and have many fond memories of her.

One of her more memorable legacies to her descendants is resurrected every year around Christmas (not Easter!): the 'Christmas Eve Gift' greeting competition.

Have you heard of this? It's one of these traditions lots of people practice but sort of on the QT - everyone thinks their family is the only group of weirdos on the planet that does it, so they don't talk about it much outside family to avoid appearing, well, weird.

Here's how it works, in our family anyway: the goal is to be the first in the family on Christmas Eve to greet other members of the family with the phrase 'Christmas Eve Gift'. My mother remembers when she was very young, her grandmother Tina would play the game in person with Winona and family when she was at their home visiting for the holidays. Each of the six kids was greeted this way as soon as they woke up on that special day. Tina's mother Cinderella lived with Tina in her final years, and she also participated and enjoyed the game.

My great-grandmother Launa 'Tina' Wolfenberger Miller 1893-1971

In my era this has mostly been done by telephone, often at irritatingly early times in the morning. I have had more than a few of these disconcertingly early calls, especially in the days before cell phones and caller ID, when we all jumped to answer the phone rather than let it go to message. Shoot, there was no 'message' to go to! A pathological sleepyhead, I was one of the slow ones to catch on - I never remembered to get up and call, I never remembered it was Christmas Eve until the caller 'got' me. Suffice to say I was easy prey, the Biggest Loser in this game.

All these years I honestly thought it was a Granny Winona thing and had no idea other people did it, until one year when my brother's attempt at CEG was foiled by cell phone technology and his failure to keep up with current events. He awoke early and made a CEG call, excitedly shouting 'Christmas Eve Gift!' into the ear of the person who answered. Who was a complete stranger currently in possession of a recycled cell phone number. My brother was mortified and apologized profusely for the pre-dawn interruption. The groggy recipient said, 'don't worry about it - my girlfriend's family does it, too'.

Great-great Gran with the fabulous name Cinderella Arnold Wolfenbarger 1867-1943

Now this was news! Like learning there is life on other planets! Turns out this is not exactly a widespread tradition like champagne on New Year's Eve, but plenty of families do partake. Origins appear tied to the days of slavery, when the master often gave a small gift to the servants or slaves first to greet him thusly. This explains why it is more of a southern tradition.

This has been going on in my mom's side of the family for 70+ years. I will admit I have not exactly been a staunch supporter of this game as I always thought it was a little silly and I was always too lazy to get up and make the calls. It's funny how things change when you get older. What once seemed goofy now is now charming and sentimental, especially when I remember the joy my grandmother got from playing this game.

I am honored to perpetuate her family-oriented tradition, especially one that is so light-heartedly cheerful. My cousins will be getting a shock on Christmas Eve. I am the last person they will expect to 'get' them on that early morning call. But not too early . . .

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