In her shoes: Flipped-realities and female perspectives in comedy screenwriting

This article proposes that the 'flipped-reality' is a narrative device uninterrogated in screenwriting scholarship, despite being frequently employed by writers of produced screenplays. The author suggests this device is a useful strategy for fore fronting marginalised perspectives - which, as this paper will argue, the funny, female perspective is one. Interested in the ways in which writers invite us to consider alternate perspectives on gender - especially 'flipped-reality' texts that reverse expected gender hierarchies and behaviours to create a new norm - the paper reviews the strategic application of 'flipped-realities' over various forms and contemporary media, before focusing on its use in comedy screenwriting in particular. Drawing from popular, mainstream screenwriting discourse - for instance, such suggestions that "The audience needs to walk each step with [the] protagonist, in their shoes" (Aronson 2010) - the discussion extends to the technique of writing perspective into screenplays (especially comedies), suggesting 'perspective' may be an element of screenwriting practice worthy of further exploration. Drawing from existing scholarship around female perspectives on screen and in comedies, and briefly considering the 'flipped-reality' device in conjunction with notions of carnival and the grotesque, this article discusses the benefits and limitations of this narrative approach through the lenses of gender and screenwriting practice.