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Some movies are politically and socially relevant (Erin Brockovitch, A Civil Action, Mississippi Burning, Traffic come to mind). They're about something. Many are based on real events. Others take a real event and build a fictional story around it (Love Field, The Long Walk Home).
There aren't a lot of movies released each year that tackle social issues. Guess why. The typical moviegoing audiences don't go to see them. And studios tend not to touch them for fear of lack of interest.
The vast majority of the screenplays I've read as a professor and script consultant don't deal with important social issues. Maybe it's because most screenwriters know that they'll have an even longer shot at getting a deal.
But what do you do if you get an idea for something important? Should you automatically say "Why bother?" because of the odds against it getting read, let alone sold or made?
I say no. I say write it. But only if you're passionate about it. Investing time and energy into anything you're not passionate about is a waste of time. And I have to believe that if you're tackling a serious issue that will probably be a drama without a lot of bells and whistles, you'll need all the passion you can muster.
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