Writing Subtext. Linda Seger

bothers him.

      Sometimes one friend says to another, “It’s really fine for you to go out with my former boyfriend. No problem!” Well, maybe, maybe not. If there’s subtext, this action will have repercussions.

      We might think subtext more often occurs in professional relationships or new love relationships – places where not everything can be expressed outright. But even friends don’t always tell us the truth. When you ask, “Does this dress make me look fat?” there are many ways to answer the question – some with subtext, some without. The friend might answer with straight text: “Yes, but only around the waist, and just a bit around the hips. And your butt does stick out a bit more than it does with your other clothes. Otherwise, it’s a nice color.”

      Or, the friend might answer, “No, it’s fine. It’s a pretty dress!” And you might think, “What does that mean?” Now you’re unsure whether to buy the dress or not. You notice that the friend didn’t say,”You look stunning in it. It becomes you. Wow – they’ll be lining up around the block if you wear something so smashing!” But, maybe your friend is telling the truth, and it is pretty so you decide to buy the dress. The answer seems very straight, without subtext. And maybe it is. But you do worry about that word “fine.”

      Or, you might try to guess the subtext. Perhaps the friend is secretly thinking, “I wish I could look that good. Great taste. I wish I had some of that!” And jealousy has now reared its green-eyed head. Or, the attractive platonic friend whom you always thought was “just a friend” suddenly seems to be looking at you in a funny and unfamiliar way. The friend might really think, “You are a feast to the eyes. I’ve never seen you look so attractive. Actually, you’re gorgeous and I’m very interested!” The friend might suggest you shouldn’t buy the dress after all, because you’re far too much of a babe magnet in it and the friend doesn’t want you attracting anyone else. If this interpretation is the subtext, the friend might say, “It’s too expensive,” or “Well, maybe it’s not as becoming as this other one.” Now you’re really confused.

      When you’re confused, you are probably experiencing subtext. Something is going on underneath the surface. You don’t know what, for sure. You don’t know where it will lead. You don’t know what else will bubble up and what will remain hidden. But something is nagging at you and you think there might be some conflict here, perhaps a bit of trouble in this relationship, or maybe a turn in some new and wonderful direction. Perhaps something that’s been percolating in your hidden thoughts will come out as you find there’s a mutual attraction. Maybe you were implying subtext also.

      Perhaps you put on the dress to test the friend and see if something else could go on between the two of you. Or maybe you put on the dress to let the friend know you now are interested in someone else and you’re getting ready to go to a fancy restaurant – with the cute guy you met last week.

      Either way, the characters are becoming layered. Now there’s subtext.

      CONSCIOUS SUBTEXT

      In some instances, people are aware of their own subtext but choose not to share it with others. This discretion can take place in an attraction between people, when one chooses not to let the other know his or her true feelings. This might happen because the one person feels it’s too soon to express true feelings, or that it’s inappropriate to express feelings because the other person is married, is the boss, is too old, too young, too rich, too poor, too educated, or not educated enough, or from an undesirable culture, whatever that might mean to close friends or relatives. So the subtext comes out in other ways – looks between the two, comments like, “Your hair looks pretty,” or “Cool car,” when the person really means “You’re pretty, I like you,” or “You’re cool, even cooler than your car!”

      The Romeos and Juliets can’t publicly say what they really feel. They know what they think and feel, but they direct their words and actions so others won’t understand them.

      UNCONSCIOUS SUBTEXT

      Sometimes subtext is unknown to a person because it’s too painful, too shameful, too dishonorable, or too difficult to admit. People who have suffered from abuse as small children, perhaps incest, battering, or neglect, often do not remember the very incidents that inform much of their lives. The woman might not know why she is afraid of the uncle or why she pushes her boyfriend away when he becomes romantic. The man might not know that he’s uncomfortable with the affections of a woman because he has repressed childhood abuse that occurred with a female relative. After years of therapy, perhaps the unconscious becomes conscious and the hidden layers of life become known well enough to make clear pronouncements and decisions.

      Of course we all have flaws, insecurities, some problems, but for some, these problems have left deep wounds, some of them unconscious. Traumatic incidents from childhood might cause a character to speak, act, and react in ways that seem abnormal, or that imply the character is hiding something. In the film Sybil (1976), based on the book about a woman with multiple personalities, the backstory eventually emerges, as we learn that Sybil’s mother abused her as a child and her father ignored all the signs. Throughout the film, Sybil’s fears often erupt, causing her to have strong reactions to simple stimuli, such as being on the street. Simple stimuli provoke strange behavior, such as climbing to the top of a bookcase when she gets scared. Likewise, simple affection from the sweet man next door causes her to recoil, yet, she has no idea why. Through work with a therapist, these underlying psychological traumas emerge. She learns that these extreme reactions are caused by traumas from early childhood.

      Other movies about multiple personalities, such as The Three Faces of Eve (1957), or films about mental illness or other psychological problems, such as I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977), David and Lisa, (1962), I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can, (1982), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), Frances (1982), Girl, Interrupted (1999), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Don’t Say a Word (2001), and The Soloist (2009), tell stories about rooting out unconscious problems, which are able to heal as they become conscious.

      A bad break-up, bad luck with relationships, or unresolved relational problems in the past can cause someone to be unable to love or to become averse to being involved with or committed to someone (Up in the Air [2009], Runaway Bride [1999], High Fidelity [2000], 500 Days of Summer [2009], My Fair Lady [1964]). The excuse might be “I’m too busy,” or “I don’t think we’re right for each other,” or “I just met someone else,” but the real truth may be under the surface. Perhaps the person is really trying to say: “I’m still not over my last relationship but I don’t want to talk about it with someone I’ve just met,” or “I don’t want to get close to anyone after the pain of the last break-up, but that makes me sound weak so I’m not going to allow myself to be vulnerable with you by discussing this.”

      Subtext can be expressed through the emotions of a character – either by displaying the emotion or by hiding it. Sometimes characters feel their emotional reactions are not appropriate and therefore have to be suppressed; but then the emotions come out in some other way. In the comedy Broadcast News (1987, by James Brooks), broadcast journalist Jane Craig (Holly Hunter) tries to keep her professional persona intact, but certain unconscious problems and motivations come through. Jane has a crying spell every morning in her apartment because a woman of her professional caliber is not supposed to cry at the office. At work, she keeps her “I’ve-got-it-all-together” persona in place, even though it’s clear to the audience that she doesn’t have it all together.

      Jane is jealous of a male colleague’s developing affections for another woman on their team. Because emotions such as jealousy are not considered appropriate between two professional women (so some say), Jane hides her emotions, but uses her authority to send her female colleague on an assignment to distant cold Alaska. Either way, the audience understands the motivations in the subtext.

      Desires, dreams, and wishes can also inform subtext. Some desires we do not dare share. You might want your script to get sold to Steven Spielberg and become a huge box office hit, but you feel that’s unrealistic and silly, so you don’t let anyone know how you’ve conspired to meet him. You have