Situations 19&20
ABDUCTION AND REUNION

“People wish to be settled: Only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them.”

–RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Abduction

Abduction means to carry off by force or to kidnap.

This situation requires a Guardian, a Victim, and an Abductor. In rare cases the Guardian and Abductor are the same person, as in romance novels where the hero kidnaps the heroine in order to save her life.

Abduction is a loss for the Guardian. It’s personal to her whether she knows the Victim or not because it was her duty to protect the Victim. If the Victim is harmed, she has failed.

There are three types of Abduction:

1. Victim is taken by force.

2. Victim is tricked into captivity.

3. Victim is willing to go.

In the first type, the Victim is completely innocent of the events leading up to his capture. He may have the ability to fight back, but he doesn’t know he has to. He is oblivious to what is happening and is completely shocked when the Abduction comes. He may fight back if things do not happen too quickly for him to ascertain the situation. The shock of what is happening may paralyze him. Usually someone close to him has betrayed him, thus allowing for the element of surprise.

In the second type, the Victim is tricked into being captured. He may be totally engrossed in something else and not see the danger signs as a man approaches to ask him questions. Or he may think he is just helping a little old lady cross the street when in reality a van full of thugs are waiting on the other side. Or he may be under orders to perform a task and doesn’t realize he’s walking into a trap.

In the third type, the Victim wants to get away or escape. He may welcome the kidnappers and help them if he has to. For him, it is a way out of a bad situation, and he welcomes the surprise attack. If his situation is dire enough he may even fake his own abduction. Perhaps he wants a ransom paid so he can get some quick cash or he wants to flee the country and needs some help to do it.

The Guardian is usually not privy to this information. She just knows the Victim was kidnapped, and she assumes he was taken by force until something tells her otherwise. The Victim’s personality and age will dictate how readily she will consider other scenarios. After all, abducted children are always assumed innocent of involvement in the act.

There are four possible reasons why this particular victim was selected, regardless of type:

1. The Victim was in the wrong place at the wrong time. In a foreign country, he may just have been the wrong nationality.

2. The Victim is worth a lot of money, and it is assumed a large ransom will be paid.

3. The Abductor has a mental illness and is obsessed with the Victim or what the Victim represents.

4. The Abductor perceives, however rightly, that the Victim or someone close to him has “wronged” him and he wants revenge.

THE GUARDIAN

The Guardian is someone who takes her job seriously because her job is her identity. Messing up and getting someone hurt is not an option. She may be a parent who sees herself as guardian to her children, a teacher, a policeman, bodyguard, or just a friend who feels responsible for the Victim.

She is used to being in control and having to watch out for others. To her, life would stop if she dropped the ball, so she keeps on juggling.

She usually has a mean streak, something that allows her to be tough when necessary. She has given up a lot to care for others, and when they are gone she’s not sure what to do with herself.

THE ABDUCTOR

The Abductor is someone who only cares about himself or his cause. Nothing else matters to him—period. He can’t be reasoned with or manipulated.

There are three types of Abductors—the Regretful, the Indifferent, and the Pawn.

The Regretful Abductor may realize what he has done is wrong—especially if the Victim comes to harm in the end. If he was obsessed with the Victim, he probably had feelings for her and just wanted her all to himself.

The Indifferent Abductor doesn’t care who lives or dies; he just wants to reach his goal—money, fame, revenge. Even if he knows the Victim, he may not care what happens to her. She may be an acceptable casualty for his cause.

The Pawn Abductor is being used by a willing Victim to meet her goal—that of faking her Abduction or faking the Abduction of someone she knows. He may not be of much use at all and may not have a goal of his own. He is a follower, not a leader, and winds up getting himself into a lot of trouble as the Victim will usually set him up to take the fall for her.

Whether Abduction is used as plot, subplot, or incident, the elements of the beginning, middle, and end are the same:

BEGINNING: The Abductor selects a Victim and kidnaps her.

• Where is the Guardian during the event? Is she right there?

• What type of Victim and Abductor are they?

• Are there any witnesses to the Abduction?

• What type of relationship do the Guardian and Victim have? The Guardian and Abductor? How will you show this?

• Does it take place in a foreign country, thereby creating more conflict due to differing legal systems?

• What does the Abductor stand to gain?

MIDDLE: The Guardian moves full force to rescue the Victim. She faces many obstacles and surprises.

• What approach does the Guardian take when dealing with the Abductor? Do they ever talk?

• What skills and resources does the Guardian have to help her? (Foreshadow them if necessary.)

• How is the Victim holding up?

• What’s at stake for the Guardian on a personal level?

• What surprises can you throw in to spice it up?

• Is the Guardian putting too much pressure on the Abductor?

END: The Guardian finds the Victim and Abductor.

• Is the Victim still alive in the end?

• Does the Abductor have a change of heart?

• How does the rescue take place? Does it show the Guardian’s character growth? Did she not accept help in the first two acts but must learn to accept help now?

• Has the Victim changed forever? Will he ever be the same again?

• Does the Abductor survive the final confrontation?

• What will the Victim and Guardian do differently now? What have they learned?

“Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven.”

–TYRON EDWARDS

Reunion

Reunion is the act of being reunited or the coming together of those who have been separated.

In this situation the Guardian becomes the Facilitator who helps the Victim reunite with someone dear to him. (This corresponds to Polti’s Recovery of Lost One.)

There are two different ways that reunions can occur. Both parties could be searching for the other, which will be a happy Reunion, or one party will not be interested in the Reunion at all, which will make it a difficult one.

There are many reasons why someone would not want to be reunited:

• A person may feel inadequate and unable to handle a Reunion and all the emotions that come with it.

• Sometimes a person may think they haven’t accomplished enough and they don’t want those from their past to find them.

• A person may not want to face all the memories that come up from seeing someone they haven’t seen in many years.

Reunions can consist of:

• old friends coming together

• co-workers

• team members

• soul mates across lifetimes (like Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve)

• a long-lost biological parent and child

• siblings separated at birth

• a beloved teacher and student

• many family members coming together for a Reunion

Whether Reunion is used as plot, subplot, or incident, the elements of the beginning, middle, and end are the same:

BEGINNING: A Victim is missing someone, and she wants to be reunited.

• Why does the Victim want to be reunited with this person?

• What does the Victim hope to achieve with this Reunion? If she wants to find a long-lost parent, does she think she will be able to start a life with that parent?

• How does the Victim come to decide to be reunited? What prompts this search? Does something bad happen?

• Does anyone oppose this Reunion?

• Will anyone support her search?

MIDDLE: A Victim goes to a Facilitator to help her find the person she is looking for.

• How does she find the Facilitator?

• Will the Facilitator be eager to help? Or does he think it’s a hard case?

• Does the Facilitator need to get permission from the Victim’s guardian if she is under eighteen?

• Is the Facilitator genuine? Or a scam artist?

• Does the Victim have a lot of clues to give the Facilitator?

• Does the Victim want to be involved in the search?

END: The Victim finds the person she is looking for and it is either a happy or sorrowful Reunion.

• Will this be a happy Reunion? Why?

• What does the Victim learn from this experience? That the parents who raised her are all she really needs? Or her long-lost friend was never really a friend at all?

• Does the Victim feel betrayed? Why?

• Is the person found happy or upset about this? (In Crossroads, the chgaracter’s birth mother wants nothing to do with her when she finds her.)

• Does the Facilitator stay to help the Victim with the news?

• How has the Victim’s life changed?

EXAMPLES

Ransom, RON HOWARD

ABDUCTION AS PLOT— Tom, a rich airline owner, is shocked when his son is kidnapped. He pays the two million dollar ransom, but something goes wrong. So Tom turns the tide against the kidnappers.

Overboard, GARRY MARSHALL

ABDUCTION AS PLOT— Rich snob Joanna hires country carpenter Dean to build a closet on her yacht. When the two don’t see eye to eye, Dean is left unpaid while Joanna sets sail. The following day, Joanna is fished out of the sea after falling overboard, suffering from amnesia. Dean finds her and tells her she’s his wife so he can get a free housekeeper for a while as she works off the money she owes him.

Somewhere in Time, RICHARD MATHESON

REUNION AS PLOT— A Chicago playwright uses self-hypnosis to find the actress whose vintage portrait hangs in a grand hotel.

The Big Chill, LAWRENCE KASDAN

REUNION AS PLOT— A group of college friends reunite at the funeral of one of their friends.