A Character Has 2 Pivotal Moments To Change In A Movie - Jen Grisanti 

A dilemma is a hard choice with no good options. Originally from Greek myth, a two horned animal. If you avoided one horn, the other would get you, hence "on the horns of a dilemma." You want the protagonist to be faced with a dilemma, to make a hard choice, so we can see what he really believes (honor or duty?). If has to choose between a good and bad option, of course he will choose the good option (save wife or bad guy?).

Best definition for dilemma and problem is given by alan watt who was in this channel. He says Problem: problem is something that can be solved and Dileema is something that can be solved only by creating another problem. I loved this. Please bring him back.

Alan Watt made an obvious distinction between a problem/obstacle and dilemma; a problem or obstacle has a solution, so once the solution is found the problem is over (requiring more episodic problems or the end of the story), whereas a dilemma doesn't have a clear solution. And Truby talks about how a flaw should be a moral flaw hurting not only the protagonist, but someone/something else. I think nailing a moral flaw and dilemma, and making sure the audience understand the stakes is all you need for a great 'change arc' story.

These comments are wild. Jen is one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry and has mentored so many writers in their careers.

I've followed this idea by accident with a couple of my books, but totally not followed this philosophy in other books - wish I'd looked into this more, like, five years ago! Ha ha. I love the idea that a character might not change entirely but to some degree they will, must, change; or, change the world around them. Life is change and transformation - so, we feel we've transformed by simply following the protagonist. Basically everything she just said! Great instructional tutorial. Fantastic channel - love it! Johnny David; sci-fi.

FC: What is Dilemma? JG: Dilemma is something that I can't believe I didn't know the value of dilemma when I was an executive. ME: Thanks for clearing that up. Got it.

This was encouraging b/c I'm nailing both these dilemmas without even realizing it. Sweet! Keep writing, you will see breakthroughs.

I have a feeling this guest is talking in circles and hasn't got it all figured out for herself. She's overcomplicating a simple idea. A dilemma enhances audience engagement because they identify with the protagonist and the choice to be made. If the hero makes the "right" choice the audience will clap and cheer. If it's the "wrong" choice, the audience will gasp in horror. If it's a third (unexpected) choice, they will be shocked, thrilled and/or amused. A good dilemma provides suspense (I.e., dramatic tension) and that alone can move the story from the beginning to the end.

Epic channel.

Pure gold.

Not everyone becomes conscious of their flaws. 7:39

I don't think a character changing through the script is _necessarily_ a good thing. I like stories where the characters change the world around them far more than changing themselves and "growing". I know that character change is, like, a trope in the industry, but far too many filmmakers and scriptwriters seem to think it's _necessary._ Kinda like how nearly every movie has to have a love story somewhere, even if the writers have to shoehorn it in. Or how there are really only three plots for children's movies, all hitting similar beats. After a while, after watching enough movies and TV, you start to notice juuuuust how much Hollywood repeats itself...over and over. So when a character "grows" or "changes" in a Hollywood movie, it's usually the same ham-fisted tropes as the _last_ movie I watched.

What do you like about this video?

I love this channel and this is a great clip

Check out Lisa Cronn’s Story Genius if you want to learn more about the dilemma stemming from backstory and so forth.

❤ in real life too! Awsome interview/discussion. Merry Christmas guys.

Go Film Courage- Thank you.-- Thank you- Jen.. This video is awesome. Yes I'm writing a project right now. Dilemma is what's been missing..

Brings the question of Ally Sheedy's character ( Allison ) in 'The breakfast club' final part. Should've she have changed so much in the end ? Or she was always that pretty clean face girl from the beggining and was just asking for that momment/opportunity to pop?. I don't know. I think was very ambiguous but at the same the characters were very complex and was the perfect time as a pivotal point for her character. A lot of people say was a character's sell out and the change was unnecessary and totally uncalled to satisfy the male pretender, i understand that and I rather she gothic as she was but worked just fine for script purposes...but talking about character change , she was the first who came to mind...anyways...just letting registered a great example of character change/use of pivotal point

Dilemma is the need to choose between two or more ways to solve the problem. Simple

Damn 12 years as an executive and now she gets it. No wonder theirs so many bad stories green lit

I love this Video

Dilemma reveals the selfishness of the main character.

I don’t necessarily believe that a protagonist must be flawed; though I do believe that a protagonist must face a dilemma, or better yet, dilemmas. Let’s take a “bodice ripper” romance tale like Starz/Sony Pictures Television’s OUTLANDER. Jamie Fraser’s perfect over six seasons and the viewers want it that way. Though he is confronted each episode with several dilemmas. The lead character and equal protagonist, Claire, has both flaws and dilemmas. Jamie’s a good man in a morality play AND he needs to remain an upright character while the complexity of Claire moves the plot along. If stories need a bad guy to hate, they need a paragon of virtue to love.

At the risk of seeming pedantic, I'm going to politely disagree with the wording of the definitions given. It's close, but we speak WAY TOO MUCH to "Character driven plot" on this channel for me to overlook it. A problem IS an obstacle. It's always got a solution. The ages old adage, "You can unlock any door if you only have the key." Problems, no matter the semantics are exactly that... AND over-all, it's a great insight, so this is NOT a lengthy rant... I'm trying to precisely explain WHY I must point this detail out. Honestly, I hope to help others.. not piss all over anyone's knowledge, skill, or perspective... A Dilemma, is not so simple. It has NO good solution. The choice made through the dilemma, also doesn't define the new pursuit. It defines THE CHARACTER making that choice in that moment. From M. Night Shamalan's (I can't spell... late... no spell check)... "Signs"... "It comes down to what kind of person are you? Are you the kind who believes in signs... in a power greater than your own? OR are you just sure that we're nothing more than random chance, some roll of cosmic dice that happened to be?" It's not always just that, but it HAS to attack a core value, and the stakes HAVE to force the confrontation. Then and only then do you really define who you are. Any of us can easily say, "Well, I'd just..." and fill in a blank. We have it easy to make a choice when we don't actually have to do anything or suffer consequences. In the story, however, where there's REAL skin in the game, and when your life is on the line.. Knowing that it's thoroughly and despicably illegal to fire an automatic weapon rated for vehicles at personnel... say a Browning M2HB .50 cal machine gun, as has been mounted on vehicles all the way back through WWII... SO you're there on your hillside, with such a gun sitting idle on a jeep, and a full box of ammunition, belt-fed, already attached and ready to fire... AND an ARMY of angry people are marching on your position... If you get on that jeep and fire on them, it's a crime against humanity. If you don't you're DEAD where you stand. There's no running. No gas in the jeep. You are on your own, and they're not taking prisoners... That is a dilemma. Do you believe in the rules of engagement? Laws even in war? Do you really believe that's the way to valor, honor... By the letter of the law, you're SUPPOSED to surrender. White rag and accept being taken prisoner... BUT you also have it on excellent authority, that on sight, you're GOING to be shot... BUT if we lower ourselves to the level of the bad guys, we no longer get to call ourselves "valiant" or "heroes". We're murdering bastards the same as them... right? What you do in those moments DEFINES who you REALLY ARE... and that may or may not way VERY heavily on you. Even if you're never prosecuted... You may be awarded medals and parades, and applauded for whatever lives you saved for stepping on that jeep and gunning down a few hundred people at the cost of around a thousand rounds of ammunition, a few wounds... whatever... but the smoke cleared and you were still alive when the choppers came and pulled you out... alive. Families will thank YOU for bringing back their babies, their brothers and sisters. Your president and generals will hoorah this and cheer you on as "a god damn hero"... ...but somewhere... in the back of your mind... for the rest of your life... EVERY time you're alone and it gets a little quiet. Every time you're in bed staring at the ceiling. YOU WILL KNOW that you committed a war crime. You'll justify it to the press and anyone who asks as "I had no choice"... BUT didn't you??? THAT is a dilemma. Obviously, the interesting choice is to get on the damn jeep and kill everybody... That's how writing and adventure works. It's also a VERY REAL way that the Hell of war weighs so heavily on those who've been out to fight in it. It's WHY veterans of war don't much care to talk about it. Deep down, they've ALL committed some form or other of MURDER, plain and simple, and there's no getting around it... even with the best intentions and the noblest of causes. BUT the choice only EFFECTS the pursuit of the future BY defining the Character who makes it. THAT is what makes dilemma truly valuable in writing... and facing them with a similar dilemma at some point later, we (audience AND writer) get to see how they've grown, not always just whether or how much they've grown since the inciting incident. Hope this helps. ;o)

yo she just said story people.....

She spent years critiquing scripts without considering dilemma….wtf

Hot mess... then... well...