For the past decade, an unanswerable question has fueled heated debate not just in Hollywood but throughout literature and other creative disciplines: Is it okay to write stories about people and cultures you don’t belong to?
Many would counter that having this lived experience is crucial when representing other communities on screen, especially those that are not represented. Can non-black filmmakers make go outFor example? Jordan Peele brought a chilling cultural specificity to this critically acclaimed horror thriller, resulting in one of the most authentic portraits of racism in post-Obama America.
Others, however, are more flexible on the issue, saying that it is possible to write stories about other cultures as long as you do so with great sensitivity, responsibility, and a commitment to authenticity. 2017 cocoaOne of Pixar’s most beloved films is an example of how to get this done right.
Why Pixar’s First Draft cocoa mediocre performance
The film tells the story of a boy who visits the Land of the Dead during Mexico’s Day of the Dead, and was directed by Lee Unkrich (toy story 3) was co-written by Matthew Aldrich, who recently told me that the animation studio almost got the movie wrong in terms of acting.
“It was originally a story about an American kid whose mother was Mexican and then she died. And then he went with his father to his mother’s house in Mexico. The ending of that [version of the] “The movie is basically about a boy learning to let go of his mother,” Aldrich explained on Script Apart, my podcast about great first drafts of movies.
“But it’s a very American idea, right?” Aldrich pointed out. [believe] The end of grief in this country is letting go. But that’s not what this holiday is about [Dia De La Muertos] is about. It’s about remembering the people we’ve lost and holding on, rather than letting go. So, that really put the brakes on the story.
The problem, Aldrich continued, is that Pixar is using Mexican culture as “setting” for a story rooted in American ideas and beliefs.
A lengthy consultation process with Hispanic artists and collaborators followed Unkrich, Aldrich and co-writer Adrian Molina (who is indeed of Mexican descent) to recreate the cocoa Looking for something more authentic that celebrates the culture it celebrates.
The result was that Day of the Dead became a huge hit among Mexican youth for the film, in the United States, around the world, and especially in Mexico.
“That’s something we’re really proud of,” Aldrich said.
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How to write notation
What lessons does this hold for emerging screenwriters? If you have a story idea that involves a culture other than your own that you really love, go for it. Research diligently. Collaborate with those whose insights can help you do justice to the culture you’re portraying, and then praise and reward those collaborators’ work accordingly.
Try to step outside your Anglicized belief system and see the story through the values of the community you are depicting – like cocoa Things a team must do when they tear up a first draft.
Do all of these things and you’ll have a better chance of writing a screenplay that doesn’t use other cultures as “setup.” Who knows, you might write another one cocoa.
Read more: 5 ways screenwriters can (and should) incorporate diversity into their writing
Al Horner is a journalist, screenwriter and presenter based in London. His work has appeared in The Guardian, Empire, GQ, BBC, White Lies, Time and more.
