The screenplay as text: academic scriptwriting as creative research

Article

Baker, Dallas J.. 2016. "The screenplay as text: academic scriptwriting as creative research." New Writing: the international journal for the practice and theory of creative writing. 13 (1), pp. 71-84. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790726.2015.1133654
Article Title

The screenplay as text: academic scriptwriting as creative research

ERA Journal ID9269
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorBaker, Dallas J.
Journal TitleNew Writing: the international journal for the practice and theory of creative writing
Journal Citation13 (1), pp. 71-84
Number of Pages14
Year2016
Place of PublicationUnited Kingdom
ISSN1479-0726
1943-3107
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/14790726.2015.1133654
Web Address (URL)http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14790726.2015.1133654
Abstract

Screenwriting in the academy is an emerging research area. To date, it has been difficult to study screenwriting activity in higher education settings, not least because few academic journals publish screenplays. This is largely because scripts written in the academy have not been seen as research or as fully-fledged creative works worthy of publication. There has been a persistent idea that scripts are not stand-alone works but merely 'blueprints' for the films or television programs based on them. This situation is now changing, with a number of academic journals publishing screenplays as creative research and treating scripts as texts in themselves, irrespective of production. This article explores the reasons behind the marginal position of screenwriting in the academy, which includes discipline bias, and argues for the repositioning of screenwriting as a valid and valuable creative and research practice. The article argues that the outcomes of this creative research, the screenplays themselves, should be treated as creative research texts in their own right that are deserving of publication irrespective of any staging or production. The article also discusses future directions of Screenwriting Studies as a scholarly discipline.

Keywordsscreenwriting; academic scriptwriting; creative writing; creative research
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020360201. Creative writing (incl. scriptwriting)
470599. Literary studies not elsewhere classified
Public Notes

Second place winner for the USQ School-Specific 2016 Publication Excellence Awards for Journal Articles - School of Arts and Communication.
Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.

Byline AffiliationsSchool of Arts and Communication
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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