I think the intensity of a particular beat defines how true any particular movie will be to its genre.

AFI’s Top Films lists are full of stories with strong beats, everything from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Caddy shack and When Harry Met Sally to Saving Private Ryan.

I looked at the WGA list of the 100 Best Scripts, and it’s the same thing. What about comedies? The best one keep you laughing with really funny bits (strong beats).

Some of worst movies simply have very shallow beats, wither through bad writing, bad acting or bad directing.

I would think the way to increase the intensity of a particular beat would be to up the conflict, increase the suspense, exaggerate the outcome. That seems to be what happens.

I call those "slapbacks" -- the moments when one character's emotional change (a reaction to some external pressure) is made undeniably clear to another character through symbolic action.

One example is Luke rejecting Vader's offer in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. You can see Vader's stunned surprise as Luke lets go and falls through Bespin's air shafts, arms wide open and accepting of the decision he's made. It's a slap at his father and everything the twisted Sith holds dear.

(Okay, I'll confess -- I just made up that term, but it makes sense.)

What a terrific post. Scott, it would seem that you may be on to something of a LARGER CONCEPT here and perhaps you should expand it further... heck, Blake Snyder made a career outta' saving cats, right? Perhaps it's time for the Myers Slap in the Face technique to flourish and blossom.

Your SLAP theory seems wholly based on CONFLICT, the fulcrum that all great screenplays are balance upon.

Fascinating!

It is an interesting take, isn't it? Then I started thinking about all the 'slap' words and phrases:

slaphappy

slapstick

slapdash

And then I started to think about the derivation of the word 'slap'. Per Websters, the verb form is from low German, the word "slapp" meaning "blow".

I don't know what any of that means, but I'm definitely going to incorporate the 'slap in the face' idea in my teaching. Great way to get students to think more creatively about generating conflict.