What is the context?
This
episode aired on March 1, 2006. Within the last year two school shootings had
occurred—one in Minnesota and one in Tennessee. Although in today’s world that
does not seem like many, both were very shocking to America. In addition, it is
rumored that Mark Schwahn, the show’s creator and writer of this episode,
overheard someone talking about Columbine and they whispered the name. Schwahn
heard this and wanted to “say something loudly” about the tragedy. He wanted to
let the world know about the tragedy that is a school shooting without
glorifying it.
What is the artist trying to
communicate and how?
| Jimmy Edwards, portrayed by Colin Fickes, comes to Tree Hill High with a handgun. |
Throughout
the episode, Schwahn tries to communicate the severe problem that is bullying.
Jimmy Edwards was bullied to the point that he brought a handgun to school.
Through the episode, Schwahn conveys Edwards’s pain without making it overly
dramatic. Schwahn is also trying to depict the tragedy that is a school
shooting. He does not want to glorify the tragedy but rather inform the public
about it. He conveys both these points by being completely sincere with the
episode. One Tree Hill is a teen soap
opera but none of the ridiculous teen drama is seen in this episode. It is a
very heavy and serious episode that conveys the tragedy without being overly
dramatic. In addition, Schwahn was very concerned for the score of the episode.
He had specific music created just so he could get the emotions and feeling
just right.
In
this scene in particular, Schwahn is trying to communicate how the media
responds to tragedy. News outlets cover tragedies and often approach it the
wrong way. They take the pain and suffering of real people and plaster it all
over the front page of a newspaper. Schwahn communicates his thoughts on the
media through the script. Sophia Bush says “It's not a news bite to boost your
ratings because tomorrow or the next day or the next week when we go back to
school changed forever by a day that will never leave us, where are you gonna
be? At the next tragedy thrusting your microphone in the face of the next
fractured person asking them how they fell? Lady that is not journalism. You
are not contributing anything to society. You are buzzards circling the carnage
but you prey on the living.” All of this rings true with the media. They circle
any news story they can just to boost their ratings and attract attention. In
addition, Bush’s acting conveys how painful it is to be involved in a tragedy
of this regard. She is so sincere and emotional that you can hardly tell she is
acting. It feels as if this really did happen to her. The camera angle adds to
the dramatics. This scene is a oner, which is one sustained take. They could
not edit it because Bush gave her monologue all at one time without breaks. The
camera does not move from Bush once she begins her monologue. The lack of
background movement and score help the words become the sole focus of the shot.
All you hear is Bush’s voice reprimanding the reporter and all you see is the
pain in her face.
Why do you find it beautiful?
I
find this episode beautiful because it is so sincere and emotional. It is one
of the most serious episodes One Tree
Hill has ever done and everyone took it very seriously. Some of the actors
did not want to do a school shooting episode because they did not want to
glorify these tragedies and they did not want to use it to gain ratings.
However, in the end, the episode did occur and the sincerity behind the episode
can be seen. No one is overly dramatic or has petty problems like the usual One
Tree Hill episode. In addition, the acting is impeccable. Because no one wanted
to ruin this episode, every actor did their best work. Everyone is incredibly
emotional and raw in this episode that it literally brings me to tears every
time I watch it.
This
scene is particularly heart wrenching. As I mentioned before, Sophia Bush is an
incredible actress. Besides that, the camera angle helps the scene. This scene
is a one-er which means that it was one sustained take. They could not edit it
to make it shorter because of the way it was filmed. That is why it was cut
from the episode. The acting, script, and filming all come together to create a
beautiful, emotional, and heartfelt scene.
Watch the scene here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DKkIYr4X7s (first
deleted scene)
