What is Subtext — How to Use Subtext in Screenwriting

Subtext in Screenwriting

Let's define subtext

What we say is not always entirely what we mean. Likewise, our actions have a meaning of their own, indicating how we feel under the surface. In other words, subtext is part of our everyday lives. It follows, then, that to create dialogue and behavior that feels natural should also contain subtext.

Before we dive into how to use subtext in screenwriting, here's a definition

Subtext Meaning in Film

What is subtext used for?

Subtext can often play an integral role in the meaning of a film. For Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale, that subtext lies between the events of the story and the name of the film.

Walt Berkman is a young impressionable teenager. His parents divorce and he sides with his Dad. The set-up for the film has absolutely nothing to do with aquatic animals. Walt watches his parents fight and bicker and grow to hate one another. He believes that his Mother is to blame because of an affair, but his Father is abusive and controlling. 

Late into the story, Walt is forced to see a therapist after being caught plagiarizing. There he recounts his fondest childhood memory; not one with his Father but one with his Mother. It’s about how his Mother used to take him to the aquarium when he was a kid.

But there was one exhibit that always scared him; that of the squid and the whale, specifically a whale devouring a squid.

Herein lies the metaphor of the film’s title.

Walt realizes that he had displaced his frustration against his Father because he was afraid to confront it. In the end, he finally overcomes his Father by going back to the exhibit and looking at it with eyes wide-open.

Why is this subtext? As with most examples, it’s a little tricky to articulate. The squid and the whale is a metaphor for violence, devouring, and consumption. The subtext is the implied meaning that his Father is the whale and his Mother is the squid. His Father is an all encompassing devouring creature, who swallows all that crosses its path. While his Mother was the helpless squid ensnared within his Father’s clenched jaw.

As a child, the title character and the protagonist, Charles Foster Kane, lived in poverty. His Mother gave him up to live with a stranger so that he could be properly educated. Kane always resented the fact that he was abandoned by his family. This turns him into a rebellious, indignant man.

He turns this resentment into fuel though; one so strong that it propels him to the top of American business. As the years go by, Kane becomes increasingly unraveled. Up until his death, little is known about the man that became enraptured in the national spotlight.

Another Way To Use Subtext

How to use subtext thematically

Few films are more relevant when thinking about subtext than Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The script is adapted from Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize-winning stage play.

However, due to The Hays Code which prohibited representations of homosexuality in Hollywood, the subtext was transformed for the film.

In the play, the protagonist Brick becomes an alcoholic after being overwhelmed by the stresses of his relationships. His wife, Maggie, is upset that he rejects her sexual advances and her desire to one day bear a child.

We learn that Brick’s best friend Skipper recently committed suicide after admitting to an affair with Maggie.

Brick becomes depressed with feelings of confusion and inadequacy. He and Maggie visit his Father to celebrate his birthday; although Brick is made aware of the fact that his Father is dying from cancer. Over the course of one fateful night, all parties are forced to confront their desires and the truth behind them.

Brick’s Father Big Daddy (that’s really his name) expresses his want for a proper heir. He hopes Brick will produce an heir which only heightens Brick’s anxiety. Brick drinks and drinks and drinks some more; eventually admitting that Skipper told him he had homosexual feelings for him before his death. The subtext that had been building is revealed.

This is why Brick felt inadequate. This is the underlying, “in-between the lines” crux of the story.

In the film, this subtext is contorted. The narrative is changed so that Brick’s emotional guilt is far less complex. He feels that he wasn’t a good friend and therefore feels guilty about Skipper’s death.

So how does the subtext of the screenplay differ from that of the stage script? For starters, it’s less nuanced.

It also lowers the tension and stakes between the characters. 

Think about it this way. Let’s compare how this narrative difference applies to other characters. If Brick is struggling with guilt over his sexual identity, this changes the dynamic between him and his wife and him and his father. His wife wants a child and to be sexually wanted. His father wants an heir. If Brick is not attracted to his wife, then this creates obvious drama. 

Now let’s look at if the guilt stems from being a bad friend. That narrative has a solution. He can rely on the support of his wife and father and reconcile his past. Eventually, he will be able to comply with the things that those close to him want. This is a drama-reduced version of the same story.

Bring Subtext In

How to write subtext in a screenplay

Now that we’ve defined what subtext is with examples from cinema history, let’s look at how to use it.

As with most technical aspects of screenwriting, applying subtext is often easier said than done. But there’s a few simple ways to get started. The best way to start implementing subtext in a screenplay is to write out what every character wants. Then, give each character some reason why they can’t articulate it. 

So what’s the subtext behind this interaction? Clearly Jason and Violet have some issues to work out, but they don’t tell us exactly how they feel. Instead, their anger is displaced onto physical objects. This is an easy way to convey subtext to the audience.

Now what doesn’t work here? Well the subtext isn’t very nuanced. To create nuance with subtext, it’s very helpful to use foreshadowing, dramatic irony or other story-telling techniques. Try planting a seed for that subtext to grow elsewhere in the script. 

For example:

Now we see why the chair means something to Jason. It’s implied that this chair represents some complicated feelings he has for his father. The most important thing in writing subtext into scripts is making sure that your audience is able to deduce it. This ultimately becomes the responsibility of the screenwriter(s) to deliver enough contextual or thematic clues.

Are you ready to start working subtext into your scripts? Check out our free screenwriting software to get started today!