Classic 70s Movie: “Carrie”
September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Lyn Wheaton.
Movie Title: Carrie
Year: 1976
Writers: Screenplay: Lawrence D. Cohen, Novel by: Stephen King
Lead Actors: Carrie — Sissy Spacek, Margaret White — Piper Laurie, Sue Snell — Amy Irving, Tommy Ross — William Katt, Billy Nolan — John Travolta, Chris Hargensen — Nancy Allen
Director: Brian De Palma
IMDB Plot Summary: A young, abused and timid 17-year-old girl discovers she has telekinesis, and gets pushed to the limit on the night of her school’s prom by a humiliating prank.
Why I Think This Is A Classic 70s Movie: This movie provides a fascinating look into the cultural differences of the 70s, which now seem so long ago, as well as timeless similarities, common in today’s society. The all too familiar high school setting provides an expansive window for this comparison.
In my opinion, Carrie is more a psychological thriller than horror story. Regardless of how overblown in some aspects, this movie takes an honest look at bullying and groupthink, from both the victim and the bully’s perspective. The victim is granted a superpower, giving her the confidence one may not normally have, to shift that power dynamic.
When we meet the protagonist, she is showering after gym class and experiences her first period. This scene was unconventional for the 70s, a time where any talk of menstruation, in public, was vulgar. Despite the modesty of the times, Carrie is extremely sheltered and abused, by her fanatically religious mother, who goes door-to-door during the day, while Carrie is in school. Back then these zealots seemed aberrant nowadays they are making a comeback, in the form of mainstream movements.
The symbolism, so obvious, adds macabre humor to the movie while allowing the audience to speculate. The dinner table scene between Carrie and her mother, with a mural of the last supper as a backdrop, is an example of such imagery. Carrie tells her mother she wants to go to the prom, she wants be normal. The mother becomes more unhinged, perverting sex with views so severely skewed, we are left to wonder exactly what she had done that caused her to be so radically repentant and nutty. She calls her daughter the Devil’s child because of her powers, while the mother treads a fine line between dogmatism and being the Devil herself.
My Favorite Moment In The Movie: I have several favorite moments, based on the reasons highlighted above, that make this movie a 70s classic, for me:
>While Margaret White is ‘spreading the word’, she visits the Snell’s pleasant, “normal” suburban home, in a black cape. Mrs. Snell, a Doctor’s wife is watching the soap operas and having a midday cocktail.
>In true 70s fashion the gym teacher smokes while having a discussion with the principal. I’m sure this had no significance other than providing the ashtray, which falls victim to Carrie’s wrath. That was simply the way things were back then, and why I liked it so much now.
>Chris seeks revenge on Carrie, and in another of my favorite moments, because it is so true to the time period, we see Chris and her boyfriend, Billy (John Travolta) driving around, partying, in muscle cars. Billy’s friend tosses him a beer from the open window of his moving car and Billy catches it, while driving along side him. This depiction replicated things just as they were, at least for me, and I think for many of us that came of age in the 70s. The scene where Chris coerces Billy sexually, to get even with Carrie, is hilarious.
My Favorite Dialogue In the Movie: The stern lecture given by the Gym teacher to the popular girls for what they have done to Carrie, and the scene where the English teacher publicly ridicules Tommy’s poem, are moments so true to the decade and show how much times have changed. In this era, there was a clear delineation of power between adults and kids. The adults cared only about being respected and obeyed, which is in direct opposition to current day.
Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie: This script is a good study in hitting the formulaic beats of a 3-act screenplay. The beats to me, are easy to see and I have highlighted a few below. I also like the ‘Man in a hole’ gone wrong — at the risk of being a “spoiler” I will simply say, there are no tidy outcomes in this film. The symbolism, too, is considerable and hard to miss.
The inciting incident: The period, the blood, so religiously symbolic — causes Carrie to freak out and attract the attention, yet again, of the popular girls. They gang up on her and the gym teacher comes to her rescue. Here we first witness her telekinetic power as her anger builds. This moment sets the story in motion and in doing so, says so much.
Pacing: Carrie is dismissed from school. As she approaches the diabolically creepy house in which she resides, with her deranged bible-clinging mother, you can almost feel the cold air coming off the screen. The scene inside the house is high tension. Sissy Spacek plays the wounded child to perfection. The tension does not subside until we move to the next scene; a high school English class, where Tommy, the adorable football player, has written a poem and is being taunted by the teacher. The pacing in the film is consistent, moving in and out of extreme tension, to carefree, realistic, high school antics.
Character Arc: While the teacher is mocking Tommy’s poem, Carrie speaks up and says she really likes it. This begins Carrie’s transformation.
Up to this point we have seen Carrie deliberately exploring her superpower. When Tommy first asks Carrie to the prom, we see the broken character begin changing.
The major dramatic question: Will she or won’t she, say yes, to Tommy? At first, naturally distrusting, she flees. He persists and after much deliberation, she decides she wants to go.
The initial catharsis of the protagonist: Carrie, with her telekinesis starts feeling empowered and stands up to her mother. At this point a power shift takes place. This date with Tommy is the catalyst in which the character will never go back to being anyone’s victim again.
In or out of the hole, to what degree? The prom does not go as planned, but that is not the end. In my opinion, the end could have been better, I didn’t like it when I first saw the film in the 70s and still don’t, but I will let you decide for yourself. Good movie for Halloween viewing.
Thanks, Lyn! To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!
We already have a set of 80s Movies and 90s Movies. This month, we’re working on 70s Movies.
Thanks to all of you for your participation in this project, creating a resource for writers, movies we should all watch to help learn the craft of screenwriting!