Russian Roulette
March 18, 2021 1:27 am Leave your thoughts
There is a Russian Roulette scene in Red Cowboys. Technically this isn’t a spoiler…it probably would have been a snippet in a trailer if this was a film. I think. I knew when I put it in the first drafts nearly two decades ago that it was already kind of cliched, that a lot of movies and television shows have used it. I’ve seen some brilliant takes on it in the last few years, and I never tire of how a different director or an author sets it up. They are always interesting scenes. The films/TV that come to mind right now: an old episode of the (original) X files, and a movie called “13.”
It’s mesmerising as a scene, even when it’s not artistically presented. There are so many questions and potential storylines in the lead-up and the comedown after someone wins or loses or escapes. How did the character get into that situation? Why are they doing this? What if they are the unlucky participant who ? The narrative possibilities make me salivate. It’s such a great scene to play with because of the variables and reasons.
There are many emotions and thought processes shunted together in way that juxtaposes all the importance of a human life into a scenario that doesn’t fit(if you hold traditional values on the importance of a life.) It’s a short game involving chance, fear and abandon-either wanton or forced-for the one thing that people think is the most important thing. Oh, the drama! I don’t think I’ve ever watched a scene where the character is participating in a game like this because they wanted to be.
Which is something that also adds to the Red Cowboys situation…
Technicalities in a story: If I know how to choke you unconscious in seconds. I’m not going to give you an instruction manual on how to do this. Often, I hear people talk about unrealistic scenes in a movie where there is fighting or gunplay/swordplay, surgery/operating procedures etc. Your friend is sitting beside you, the resident guru on said subject, and pfffting and sighing at the miserable attempt to be realistic. I get it, you get it. But you aren’t watching a documentary…it’s a fictional piece.
This requires discernment that seems to only come with experience in writing many types of things. Some books get a little crazy with what a small character is capable of physically for eg. You are allowed some artistic license but if it doesn’t fit the genre it doesn’t help the story. I also wouldn’t expect a fictional film to depict an overly-accurate way to kill someone (some do though and they’re quite graphic.) Usually because;
1. A fictional book is about things that happen to some fictional people, not a technical guide on how to break people/yourself. Sounds like you need to download TOR for your journey 😉
2. I’m here to tell a story, not teach you how to load a particular weapon, unless that is the (fictional) RavenEye. 😛
3. Time constraints/flow. I know that I have begrudgingly read technicalities of some sci-fi contraption and wished it didn’t run longer than the full page I’ve already had to read. I’ve done this for a section or two of my own books. It happens. We get caught up trying to make someone understand things we think are important but are things that would end up on a cutroom floor.
4. They just don’t know what actually happens and are relying on the first version that came to mind.
SO, as mentioned here and here, research is intense. Then out of that wealth of information…you use only about three lines and keep moving. I forget the majority of what I learned about snipers, even though I was exceptionally proud to have busted my ass learning. What’s needed is what ended up in the pages of Red Cowboys and the story rolls on.
There isn’t too much to go on with Russian Roulette unless you want to go deep…and doing that sometimes leads to things you wish you didn’t see. There is a lot of speculation and some mathematical minds trying to work out the odds and whether or not it’s better to spin or leave the bullet where it is but aside from that. The scene in Red Cowboys, like every other Russian Roulette scenes I’ve seen, is more about what happens either side of the game and the revelations during. The emotion and apprehension is very intense and if it’s done correctly and really makes for an involving experience with the audience/reader. I intend to write more about the scene when the book has been released to save people from spoilers but it’s a very interesting part in the story.
TLDR:
*Red Cowboys has a Russian Roulette scene
*I like to see different directors and authors do this scene in all their different ways
*This scene is cliched and arguably used too much but it’s always intense and generates a lot of storylines before and after.
Some links:
https://www.rbth.com/history/332732-history-russian-roulette-game-origins
https://www.bestcasinosites.net/blog/russian-roulette-history.php
www.facebook.com/everedenauthor