Parables and Screenplays

Parables

The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them." 
Matthew 13:10-17

Jesus spoke to people in parables because that was how he could get his message across.  Basically he was teaching people something they didn't understand yet.  The way he did that was by telling people stories they could relate to with the meaning he was trying to get across to them.

This is a great lesson for Christian screenwriters who want to get a message out in their screenplays.  One mistake screenwriters can fall into when trying to write a screenplay with a strong message in it is to make the message obvious and preachy.  Within a few minutes of watching the movie, it'll be obvious that the story is teaching a lesson.  It kills the art of the screenplay because it might as well be a sermon not a screenplay.

Just like Jesus taught people in parables, so should Christian screenwriters hide their messages in the story of the screenplay.    If a screenplay is for Christians with a Christian message, it's preaching to the choir.  The audience already knows the message.  There's no reason to tell the story.  If there is a message you want your audience to grasp, it needs to be something they don't know yet.  If they don't know it yet, then do what Jesus did and tell it in a parable.  As a screenwriter, the job is to tell the story in a unique way that plays out and adds up to message you are trying to get across.

Sometimes talking directly to people about the message doesn't work because maybe they don't want to hear it or don't understand it.  A story or screenplay can get through that without the audience even realizing it.  This is one of the reasons stories are so powerful.  Jesus knew what he was doing.  Try being like him and write your screenplay as a parable.