Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

1999

Thesis Director

David Radavich

Abstract

The critical essay that introduces this thesis pays homage to three people in the movie business who have most influenced my original screenplay, I Was a Teenage Necrophiliac. Also included is a section that briefly explains the impetus for this project, and a closing argument that examines the intentional use of cliche as a creative tool.

The zany style of writer/director John Waters is the first major creative influence described. Although my story is not as graphically extreme as some of Waters' earlier work (it would be easy to make a comedy about necrophilia a vile exploitation film), it does emulate the somewhat more accessible approach he took with later pictures like Hairspray, Cry-Baby, and Serial Mom.

The work of director Tim Burton and screenwriter Caroline Thompson, who collaborated on the 1990 film Edward Scissorhands, has also made a large impact on my creative pursuits. Besides Burton's striking backdrop of bleak suburban conformity in Edward Scissorhands, the thematic nature of Thompson's story has influenced several of the satiric shots I've aimed at domestic life in the 1950's. Burton is mentioned by name in some of my screenplay's visual direction, and the flavor of Thompson's witty, "Cleaveresque" dialogue permeates many lines in the script.

The creative body of my thesis focuses on the turbulent life of popular teenager Lance Goodrich, the main character, protagonist, and necrophile in question. Lance faces numerous problems being a necrophile in the conservative 1950's. First is the obvious societal frown on having a sexual attraction to corpses. Second is Lance's popularity. His character ironically functions not as a creepy pervert, but as a polite, down-to-earth guy with great grades, good looks, and a starting position on the school football team. Naturally, these "big man on campus" attributes make him a real catch, and he frequently has to fight off girls from school who dream of going out on a date with him.

Besides feeling pressure at school to keep his obsession secret, Lance must deal with the Donna Reed-like advice of his mother, who would love nothing more than for him to meet a nice girl, get married, and eventually have her grandchildren. He is also forced to lie to Abigail, his nosey kid sister. Abigail is at that tender, pre-adolescent age when sex and relationships are still a big mystery; this fuels her tendency to pry into her big brother's secret affairs. Lance's biggest adversary, however, comes in the form of head cheerleader Kalene Casner, his female equivalent in terms of the high school social hierarchy. Kalene, more than anyone, would like to be Lance's steady girl, but purely for the added social power this pairing would give her.

The bizarre subject matter of this script offers a unique social satire of the way many people (particularly adolescents) harshly treat those they consider different or unique. Lance's character provides an interesting looking-glass for this concept, because although he is popular, almost everyone is suspicious of the fact that he doesn't date--(as far as they know). The social phenomenon recently recognized as the "closet" creates the underlying backbone of tension in my story, as Lance nervously goes through life in this metaphorical haven for deviants. By updating an old formula (the teenage monster movie), I Was a Teenage Necrophiliac provides a campy, non-offensive look at a fundamental issue that has always burdened young people: the need to be accepted.

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