DZ-103: Game of the Scene 2 - Triangle of Sadness, The Favourite

Listen to understand how games force characters to interact and reveal themselves (through competency, decisions, and rule-breaking)

In part two of this two parter, Stu and Chas go further into the game (of the scene) and look at how games force characters other than the protagonist to interact. We deep dive into the wonderful social satires of TRIANGLE OF SADNESS and THE FAVOURITE.

We discuss how games reveal character through competency and decisions, how resources and skills impact the tactics that characters employ, and the difference between referees, rule lawyers, rule makers and rule breakers.

Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

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→ Read the transcript for this episode.

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"games are about a series of choices and relatedness is the way that they build interaction so you can see how that is actually really useful for characters because what you actually want to do is put your characters in a situation where they're competent enough to be challenged but you don't want them to be destroyed." — Stu Willis @ 00:09:50

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CHAPTERS

• 00:00:00 – Cold Open
• 00:00:19 – Sponsor: ScriptUp
• 00:01:45 – Why Games Force Every Character to Play: Competence, Tactics, and Interrelatedness
• 00:05:09 – › Listener examples: rule-switching in THE PRINCESS BRIDE
• 00:07:18 – › Games as a character engagement tool: competence, autonomy, and relatedness
• 00:10:50 – TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (Parts 1 and 2)
• 00:14:21 – › The captain and Dimitri: ideology as a drinking game
• 00:20:12 – › How the game escalates entitlement into catastrophe
• 00:24:11 – › Carl and Yaya: win conditions emerging across shifting arenas
• 00:31:13 – › How the game reveals mutual manipulation and honest compatibility
• 00:35:37 – Sponsor: Arc Studio Pro
• 00:38:25 – TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (Part 3)
• 00:40:34 – › Abigail distributes the octopus: resources rewrite the power hierarchy
• 00:44:54 – › Rule makers versus referees: who interprets the rules holds the power
• 00:49:13 – › Asymmetric games and why players with different resources can't see each other's path to victory
• 00:52:51 – THE FAVOURITE
• 00:57:10 – › The arena as playground, battleground, and prison across three acts
• 01:00:49 – › Abigail and Masham: literal chase reveals social and physical power inverted
• 01:06:05 – › Three shooting scenes: competence, escalation, and the blood-spatter declaration
• 01:13:26 – › The mud bath: Sarah's resources are shared history and the ability to make Anne laugh
• 01:19:29 – › Poisoning as a rule break only one player conceived as possible
• 01:25:28 – › Why Sarah loses: hubris and failing to recognise a different game was being played
• 01:30:34 – Wrap Up & Key Learnings
• 01:34:11 – › Games as a structural tool across a whole feature or series
• 01:37:51 – › Applying the game lens to macro story structure
• 01:40:30 – Thanks to our Patreons!

FILMS

• TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (2022) — (w) Ruben Ostlund
• THE FAVOURITE (2018) — (w) Tony Mcnamara, Deborah Davis (d) Yorgos Lanthimos

SCRIPTS

• Study the script: TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (2022) — Ruben Ostlund
• Study the script: THE FAVOURITE (2018) — Tony Mcnamara, Deborah Davis

LINKS

• IMDB: Molli and Max in the Future
• Read: Letterboxd - Molli and Max in the Future

EPISODES IN THE GAME OF THE SCENE SERIES

• DZ-102: Game of the Scene - Bluey, John Wick 4
• DZ-103: Game of the Scene 2 - Triangle of Sadness, The Favourite

RELATED EPISODES

• DZ-40: Tactics and Scenes
• DZ-99: Scene Questions
• DZ-102: Game of the Scene - Bluey, John Wick 4

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We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter.

Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2023/dz-103/