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. LIKE THIS EPISODE? Watch and comment on YouTube. Send us feedback. Thanks to our Patrons, especially Lily, Alexandre, Casimir, Jennifer, Thomas, Garrett, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis and Khrob. → Read the transcript for this episode. ——— "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 ——— 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 ——— More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser. 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/