Playing Soldier
GENRE
MEMOIR BIOGRAPHICAL ACTION ADVENTURE DRAMA WAR FUNNY
Core Theme
REBIRTH
TIME PERIOD
1960s & '70s,1980s & '90s,2000s
COMPARABLE TITLES
JARHEAD
CHARACTER LIST
SCOTT - 5 TO 40. A DREAMER WHO BECOMES DISILLUSIONED AFTER BEING DEPLOYED TO IRAQ WITH NATIONAL GUARD.
RITA - THE LOVE OF SCOTT'S 20S. THEY MARRY BEFORE HE ENLISTS AND DIVORCE DURING HIS TOUR.
DAD - SCOTT'S FATHER, A KOREAN WAR VET WHO TRIES TO DISSUADE HIS SON'S ROMANTIC IDEAS OF THE MILITARY.
MOM – SCOTT'S MOTHER, AN ANTI-WAR VEGAN WHO HAS A TROUBLED MARRIAGE AND OCCASIONALLY LEAVES HOME.
GARY – A FELLOW GUARD MEMBER WITH WHOM SCOTT SHARES LOW MOMENTS AND DARK THOUGHTS.
SERGEANT MACKENZIE – A SMILING RECRUITER WHO ENTICES SCOTT WITH ALL THE THINGS THE GUARD CAN DO FOR HIM.
Logline
When a young, imaginative dreamer is deployed to Iraq, he soon realizes the stark difference between reality and fantasy when he is forced to reexamine his entire belief system while his domestic life falls apart and he resolves to become a conscientious objector.
Target Audiences
Age: 18-34,35-54,55+
Target Gender: Universal
Setting
Montana, Iraq, Connecticut
Based on a True Story
Yes
Publishing Details
Status: Yes: self-published
Publisher: MindStir Media, LLC
Year Published: 2020
Starting Description
A hot, mid-summer day in New England, the main character finds himself at a crossroad, both on the road and in life. Something is growing within him, yearning, thirsting. Something he can't identify yet, but as he steps on the gas, heading toward his hometown levee, he feels the answers will come.
Ending Description
Passing the same crossroad from the beginning of the story, after a walk on the levee, the main character has discovered what was yearning within him and is ready to embark on a new journey in life.
Group Specific
Information not completed
Hard Copy Available
Yes
ISBN
978-1735818634
Mature Audience Themes
Language/Profanity,Substance Abuse
Plot - Other Elements
Coming of Age,Philosophical Questions,Meaningful Message
Plot - Premise
Internal Journey/Rebirth,Voyage and Return
Main Character Details
Name: Scott... or Scotty
Age: 5 to 40
Gender: Male
Role: Emotional
Key Traits: Adventurous,Aspiring,Complex,Engaging,Modest,Outspoken,Visionary,Romantic,Sarcastic,Educated,Honorable,Insecure,Naive,Strong Moral Code
Additional Character Details
Name: Rita
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Role: Emotional
Key Traits: Aspiring,Aggressive,Complex,Confident,Decisive,Greedy,Blunt,Outspoken,Unapologetic,Educated
Additional Character Details
Name: Gary
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Role: sidekick
Key Traits: Masculine,Charming,Complex,Confident,Crazy,Religious,Blunt,Empathetic,Engaging,Outspoken,Funny,Unapologetic,Lone Wolf,Sarcastic
Additional Character Details
Name: Fred
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Role: mentor
Key Traits: Modest,Complex,Uneducated,Religious,Faithful,Honorable
Genre
DRAMA, WAR
Brief
A young boy is forced to grow up in a cold New England family so he finds solace in his imagination. He is forced to face the harsh realities of war and must find his way back to his true self after deployment. After a lot of work on himself and solitude he is able to form new bonds and a happier life with a more well-rounded perspective.
Overall Rating
FAIR
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: FAIR
Characterization: FAIR
Commerciality: FAIR
Franchise Potential: GOOD
Pace: FAIR
Premise: GOOD
Structure: FAIR
Theme: GOOD
Accuracy of Book Profile
The book profile does a good job summarizing the story especially explaining the themes which are not as apparent so spread out within the sprawling narrative. The character details list the characters as "emotional" or "sidekick" but it might be better to also define the protagonist and other relationships differently so it is clear who is the focus.
Draw of Story
The themes about learning to let go of expectations is relatable and intriguing. The introspective nature of the protagonist makes the story feel familiar and inviting.
Possible Drawbacks
The characters outside of the protagonist can feel somewhat static or sometimes flat as there are so many most are not able to consistently be in Scott's life enough to show transformations of their own. The plot is quite sprawling with different themes so defining a singular main message is more difficult with such vast space in between.
Use of Special Effects
THE STORY DOES NOT RELY ON SPECIAL EFFECTS
Primary Hook of Story
The hook is that Scott lives life one way but must learn to adapt his way of thinking in order to survive the harsh realities of his life falling apart and being deployed in Iraq. There is a strong emotional investment in his resilience.
Fanbase Potential
This could potentially have a decent fanbase for an audience already interested in soldier psychology and war films about the aftermath rather than just focus on the actual fighting.
Awards Potential
If the themes are more defined this could potentially some awards potential given the range of experiences of the protagonist and the fresh take on what it means to be a soldier in the modern era.
Envisioned Budget
MEDIUM BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
AMERICAN SNIPER, LONE SURVIVOR, JACK AND BOBBY, BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK, HELL OR HIGH WATER
What’s New About the Story
The originality of the story stems from the transformation of Scott to a soldier and then back to a civilian.
Lead Characters
Scott is hopeful, open to new experiences and introspective. His mother is somewhat selfish but well-meaning. Fred is wise and helpful.
Uniqueness of Story
This has some nice themes with more development. The pacing for such a large spanning timeline with intricate details lulls a bit at times and certain side characters are missing transformations.
Possible Formats
Film: Streaming, Indie, Studio TV Series: Streaming, Cable, Network
Analyst Recommendation
WORK IN PROGRESS
Justification
While the story has many positive points, it has room for improvement (see possible paths below). If you can't change the story at this point, my suggestion is using your notes as a guide to highlight the best aspects of it when taking the next steps, either putting a pitch page together, a treatment, or a presentation.
Tips for Improvement
Either showcasing and focusing on either transformation solely the theme might have a greater depth and clearer message rather than trying to discern all of the lessons from such a large epic story. Adding inner conflicts to all side characters will also help them feel more dynamic to match the complex protagonist.
Brief
Seeking direction and advancement Scott finds a better version of himself after training with the National Guard. However, deployment to Iraq upends his world and worldview. He eventually finds the will to live by choosing to honor someone he lost along the way.
What We Liked
Playing Soldier is dramatic and opinionated while remaining realistic and relatable. It uses visual language and experiences to show the internal struggle to remain alive in a warzone and after returning home. This story isn't an easy one but it's vivid seen through a fresh pair of eyes.
Film: A film based on Playing Soldier would show Scott's world in both it's gritty hardship and colorful dreams. Comparing and contrasting the expectations and the reality of his experience. This is a story that can illustrate the decisions he made and the consequences he faced in a way that will give audiences a view into a part of America's history it no longer gives much attention to. There's a tough life to look at through these eyes but an ending that makes the journey worthwhile.
TV: A television series based on Playing Soldier would explore the many facets of Scott's experience as he experienced them, gradually and with no clear picture of where he's headed. This is a story about one person's evolution, both within himself and in relation to the world. This evolution takes time and television has the potential to show that change in detail, giving audiences a longer look at the reality of a soldier's life than they get at the cinema.
Key points: Tactile and visceral storytelling. Realistic drama. Character driven. Character maturation. Make a foreign experience relatable.
Synopsis
Scott grows up a dreamer in a small New England town. He idolizes his dad's time in the military and wants to be an adventurer like Tintin. He finds himself in Montana eventually working through college with the help of Rita, his partner, his best friend and shortly after graduating, his wife. Everything is great but one day near the end of college when he walks past the national guard recruiter on his way to the student union an old curiosity causes him to turn around and start a conversation. With ideas of how the money and experience can improve their prospects and no fear of foreign deployment they agree he should enlist and he's soon on a plane to Missouri. Basic training is tough mentally and physically but he comes out of it feeling like a new improved version of himself and he's enjoying playing soldier.
When he's called to deploy to Iraq in 2003 he fills out an application as a conscientious objector but does not submit it out of a sense of duty and obligation to his comrades. Deployment brings death, disillusionment, divorce and drinking. It also brings fear about what war does to people, including him. Doing maintenance on helicopters among mortar blasts he has time to ask many questions about the his life but finds few answers. The brutal conversations with his comrades matched only by the one inside his head.
One morning he has an out of body experience that momentarily leaves him unsure if he's alive or dead. He returns from his tour to find an ex-wife he both doesn't recognize and is seeing clearly for the first time. He looks at his country the same way. He's not going back. He fills out the conscientious objector application again full of the knowledge he's obtained in the war. He is honorably discharged.
He drifts around staying with friends and searching for a job. Visiting his parents he feels a distance from them and his childhood but understands them and the way they care about him better. PSTD robs him of his first full time job. He is dull, uninterested in doing anything but wallowing and drinking. He puts a loaded gun in his mouth but takes it out to pet his cat. Cops come for him, one a gulf war veteran, after he sends a suicidal text to an ex.
He moves back to the small New England town where he grew up and reconnects with his parents. He remembers a magical night with a girl who said she'd follow him to Denver just after high school and wonders what would happen if she'd actually come. He learned about her death from a heroin overdose while in Iraq. He thinks that dreaming child within him is the thing that has kept him alive. To honor her he must live, he must create and that's what he's going to do.