I want to coin the term scene genre as a shorthand for any conversation using, “It’s that type of scene where…” The formula is so established that by describing one or two facets of the scene the average person can conjure multiple examples of similar scenes in movies, TV, books, etc. Just by this setup: A guy buys a gun. It’s ubiquitous. There’re training montages, enterprise building montages, inspiring halftime speeches. For me there’s something that’s always stuck about gun buying scenes particularly in movies and TV. They aren’t just abundant but draw outsized fascination even if the moral is anti-violence. “Dude that scene where he’s buying those guns is the best man!” Well, I was once young and that was me at a point. Maybe that’s what spurred this exploration.
It could be a simple thing in a story for a character to hand over money and receive that item in a brown paper bag. But these scenes typically slow down to focus intently on the subject extoling every detail in lingering glamour shots. Why is so much time dedicated to this?
From a storytelling perspective there’s a lot to extract. With the choice of tools available we get to see an active character. Rather than being handed their narrative tool it is up to them to pick out what they find best. Between one item and the next the salesman will offer information to compare and contrast what’s the best for which uses. As a further reflection of the buyer, the item becomes an extension of themselves. The intimidating Dirty Harry carries an intimidatingly large revolver. Futuristic terminator Schwarzenegger carries a silver-gray piece with a long laser sight. It’s the ultimate extent of consumerism that the buyer selects the product that best matches their truest self (if I can find a way to make this as unmasculine as possible I’ll enjoy the lone echoes of my own laughter). This can also characterize by the extent the buyer needs that specific model versus how much they want it. With any choice there is psychology.
Of course the most obvious and direct storytelling device there is Chekov’s gun. Doesn’t get more literal than that. Telling the audience this will be used in a future scene. Need more be said? Yes once you delve into the nuance of execution. Sometimes the character walks in having elaborated on how they intend to use those weapons, but if they haven’t then the type and volume of armaments clues in as to what’ll happen next. The adjacent scene genre of the gun selection carries much of the same energy with the character describing exactly what they intend to do creating a foreboding sense of dread or excitement given the tone. If the buyer selects four guns it’s likely there’s going to be a shootout using all four at the climax. If three guns are emptied, damaged, or knocked away in the course of that climactic scene the audience knows only the snub nose revolver is left. With but six shots and a close range weapon we know where the character stands a chance and how they could be easily be put at a disadvantage.
The biggest mistake in these scenes is a misdirected focus on the weapons themselves. The point isn’t to show off the guns to every last exhaustive detail. People can watch a plane explode anytime they wish and forget about it with the next click. A story is made when people care about the hero jumping out of the exploding plane at the last second and wondering if they’ll be okay. Yes guns have a great reach of general interest but if any particular audience member doesn’t care for the subject they’ll fall asleep. If you don’t care about bourbon, you probably don’t want to hear me talk about the increased guaiacol oxidation present in double barreled distillate as opposed to the stricter flavoring imparted by finishing barrels. Did that make any sense to you? If it didn’t would you like me to carry on for five minutes? If it’s your interest just realize you’re likely in the top one percent of knowledgeable people on the subject matter. That on its own doesn’t make you an expert. How few people can do a backflip? Are they all suddenly Olympic gymnasts? If you don’t restrain yourself from fanboying you can alienate nearly your entire audience. Are you there to entertain them or showoff how much you know?
Remember there are characters present in the scene. If the salesman is flatly detailing their wares and the buyer simply moves onto the next it’s a slog. Likewise the salesman isn’t always an overhyping used car salesman. They are putting on a façade to establish a report and get the buyer buying to support their business. The buyer is looking to bring out their inner them (I’ll take as many swings at that as I want). To make it real some digging needs to be done with the characters. Does the buyer not wholly trust who he’s dealing with? How much money did he bring? Can he come back at a later date? How badly does the seller need this one? Is he willing to haggle? The buyer isn’t behaving in a way to make themselves look like a cool action star (or maybe they are just that conceited) and the seller isn’t attempting to entertain beyond the fourth wall. There’s a dance happening between them, you have to find it.
But you can’t just copy or make minor alterations to those examples you conjure up. Unless this is an inoffensive here and it’s gone part of your story, make it you own. You don’t have to follow the same beats of a standard three item Goldilocks approach. Have the buyer be competent and the seller a novice. Try something other than guns. The aforementioned car salesman works just as well and there’s equal value in glamour shots and bells and whistles for expensive cars. Try a laptop. Whatever you’re interested in. I might stick with bourbon. Go burlesque and keep the same beats but have the characters be children buying candy. I’ve been brainstorming one where two kids listen to a clerk describe the candy only to bicker about one another’s preferences until the clerk needs to wrap their attention back around to the next item just to realize in the end they only have enough for the cheapest sweets. Maybe the goal of the story from there is to find enough funds to get some of that real good stuff. Who knows? There’re infinite possibilities. I just don’t want to write another scene only to hear “Yeah that scene where he’s buying those guns was alright.”
Colin Klawans 