Show, Dont Tell!

Peak midwit film criticism.

I’ve never heard a respectable director ever say this.

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  1. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    I think telling can be effective if you need to establish certain things to the audience in a short amount of time

    • 1 week ago
      Anonymous

      You're an idiot.

  2. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    gokubro ftw

  3. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    Both are valid tools and their usage depends on overall style and context.

  4. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    So you prefer hamfisted exposition?

    • 1 week ago
      Anonymous

      The OP is what you might consider an "enfant terrible".

    • 1 week ago
      Anonymous

      Midwit is not a word

      Kids with meme folders don't have valid opinions.

      Bad writing won't suddenly be good if you "show" it.
      That's why it's midwit criticism.

      • 1 week ago
        Anonymous

        Kids with meme folders don't have valid opinions.

        • 1 week ago
          Anonymous

          >oldgay hates [new thing]
          check yourself into a retirement home already.
          Cinemaphile belongs to my generation now

      • 1 week ago
        Anonymous

        "Show, don't tell" is meant to be a general rule of thumb and not something that writers should follow to a tee, there are instances where exposition is necessary. Writing being good or bad is irrelevant.

        • 1 week ago
          Anonymous

          >Writing being good or bad is irrelevant.
          Writing is literally the most relevant thing in this discussion.

          I blame RLM for popularizing the phase. It's not as profound as people think it sounds.

      • 1 week ago
        Anonymous

        >op outs himself as an "ermmm acktually" homosexual

  5. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    Visual exposition can be very good when done correctly, you just need to avoid using text or other cop-outs when doing it and think about what each character knows versus what the audience knows, use dramatic irony, subtext, have characters lie a lot etc.

    “Show, Don’t Tell!” is a pretty vague platitude like "write what you know", there's a lot more to both but it fits screenwriting and writing in general very well to cut out the kind of stuff that people don't watch movies for.

  6. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    I look like that.

  7. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    >I’ve never heard a respectable director ever say this.

    They tried to show you, not tell you.

    • 1 week ago
      Anonymous

      Gottem

  8. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    Midwit is not a word

  9. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    > “Show, Don’t Tell!”
    >I’ve never heard a respectable director ever say this.
    Makes sense if you think about it

  10. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    OP is an anime watching homosexual

  11. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    Kids with meme folders don't have valid opinions.

  12. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    "Midwit" is unironically the #1 indicator of a midwit, nothing screams midwit more than being hopelessly reliant on repeating the same /tvpol/ buzzword to make your point.

    • 1 week ago
      Anonymous

      takes a midwit to detect a midwit

  13. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    filter -> image md5

  14. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    What if you show text? Technically Star Wars did that "show not tell" as they show you text crawl without voice over.

    • 1 week ago
      Anonymous

      Text is telling

  15. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    it's akin to "if you have to explain the joke it isn't funny"

  16. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    TELL ME THE MONEY

  17. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    >respectable director

  18. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    I'm a respectable director and I think "show, don't tell!" is intelligent criticism.

  19. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    Some of the best films have written narration either as an intro or as an epilogue. Also, I am very smart for misinterpreting the point because I've heard this from people I don't agree with politically.

  20. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    My interpretation of it is that showing just means that a particular plotpoint or character development has been properly integrated into the preceding material. telling is the writer pulling something out of their ass.

  21. 1 week ago
    Anonymous

    It's a teaching phrase for aspiring creators but not an absolute. Like when in school teachers tell students to write small sentences in their essays. Long sentences aren't necessarily bad but they require a certain finesse that students haven't yet acquires.

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