Top Gun: Maverick - All Writing Is Political Write Your Screenplay Podcast

Top Gun: Maverick - All Writing Is Political

This week, we're doing something special. I'm actually sharing a video from my latest Thursday Night Writes Class. This is the free class that I do every Thursday night.  But this particular lecture, I felt was so timely and so important that I wanted to share it with everyone on the podcast. You'll notice we had some sound issues. The sound is not as good as you would normally expect from the podcast. But I think you will get a lot of value out of this content. And hopefully, it will affect your writing for the better. 



If you do the exercise, and you'd like to share your results, feel free to join the JKS Writers Collective Group on Facebook, and you can share your results there and get feedback from our community. Thank you so much. And enjoy.



I went to see Top Gun: Maverick a couple of days ago. And I had an amazing time. And then I got really angry. And it's not a popular thing to say that Top Gun: Maverick got me angry. Everybody loves this movie.



But I got angry. 





I got angry because I think Top Gun: Maverick is such a missed opportunity. Because the film has dumbed down war to a place where we can all feel so good about it. 

It’s dumbed down war to a point where there are no consequences, there is no death– there's not even a moment like Goose's death in the first movie. There are no consequences to being a maverick and refusing to follow any rule. And anybody in charge is a total idiot, so there’s no risk in being a Maverick, because you’re so obviously right and everyone else is so obviously wrong. And the girl that you've wronged, again and again, and again, is still going to be there waiting for you forever– apparently for the last 30 years. And, nothing we do is going to have any frickin’ consequences. 



I think part of the reason Top Gun is doing well is for exactly that reason. All of us want to escape right now. Who doesn't want to escape? 



I’m not arguing that Top Gun: Maverick is anything other than a successful screenplay.



Sure, we can get into the formulaic aspects of the film’s structure. And if we wanted to get really specific about its applicability as a model for new writers. It’s not. You can't sell Top Gun: Maverick as a new writer. You can't follow a formula that is predictable and succeed unless you happen to own a franchise that everyone in the world is nostalgic for. 



But outside of those issues, the screenplay for Top Gun: Maverick is tight as hell. And it’s doing everything the writers want it to do. It's a joy ride. It gives you the fun you're looking for. It’s got well-built characters that all have really clear wants and go on really clear journeys. And it’s got some of the most incredible stunts ever filmed. 



And no one could argue that it’s been anything but totally financially and critically successful. 



But it's still a missed opportunity.



 

Top Gun: Maverick wants to be a piece about drones. It wants to script who we're becoming as America. 





It wants to be a film about the difference between being the pilot in the pilot seat and making decisions based on what you know is right and wrong. And being a drone, following a plan without conscience or connection, where there is no feeling in war, where you are playing a video game. 



The script starts out with that promise.



It starts out like this: Maverick you're the old guard. We're getting rid of you. We don't need pilots anymore. We’ve got drones. (in fact, we have a mission that probably should be flown by drones considering the pilots keep blacking out from the G forces as they try to prac...