Anything Goes

The Pitch (المنشور التفصيلي):

Hello Stage 32 community! I am Hannah, an Algerian author and researcher. I am excited to share my latest novella, "RIHAB."

Imagine a mix between "A Beautiful Mind" and the Vincent." My story follows Rihab, a fine arts student who perceives her mental illness through the lens of surrealism. While her society tries to treat her with "incense and myths," she discovers that her only salvation is her paintbrush.This is a highly visual story, filled with "color explosions" and psychological depth. I am looking for connections with:

Screenwriters interested in adapting North African stories.

Producers looking for diverse, female-led psychological dramas.

Concept Artists who resonate with the "Art as Therapy" theme.

Hi

My name is Misheel. I’m an emerging writer developing a socially driven drama project,

I’m currently developing a concept set within an elite private school, exploring themes of power, nepotism, and silence through the perspective of an outsider. At this stage, the project exists as a developed concept and outline, and I’m continuing to shape it carefully.

I’m early in my career and working independently, and I’m currently seeking producers to collaborate with and learn from as I develop this project professionally. If the idea aligns with your interests, I would be grateful to explore the possibility of working together, or to receive any guidance you may be willing to share. If you’re interested to collaborate please messege a.misheel2022@gmail.com

Thank you

Over the past several decades, Western society has re-evaluated masculinity. Roles once assumed, provider, protector, decision-maker, are now routinely questioned or discouraged. The critique of toxic masculinity was necessary. Harmful behaviours needed naming. Yet in the process, society often failed to distinguish between destructive expressions of masculinity and the constructive traits that families and communities still rely on. During a recent dinner, my wife and I noticed a group of young adults celebrating a birthday. The young women were confident and socially fluent. The young men, raised in the same cultural moment, appeared more hesitant and unsure of themselves. The contrast raised an uncomfortable question: what has happened to our boys? The answer may lie in what we have chosen to cultivate, and what we have quietly abandoned. Empowering Girls, Forgetting Boys Over the last half century, cultural and institutional effort has focused on empowering girls and women. Education systems, media narratives, and public policy have encouraged ambition, independence, and self-belief. This shift was overdue and transformative. Female educational attainment has risen sharply. In most Western countries, women now outnumber men in university enrolments and completions. No equivalent project emerged for boys. Instead of offering updated frameworks for male adulthood, society dismantled the old ones and assumed something better would replace them. Traits once associated with masculinity, decisiveness, leadership, competitiveness, emotional restraint, were increasingly framed as suspect. What followed was not renewal, but a vacuum. Boys learned what not to be, but were rarely shown what to become. Gender Neutrality and the Role Model Gap Gender-neutral education and parenting promised freedom from rigid roles. In practice, it often produced asymmetry. Girls were encouraged to adopt traditionally masculine traits and were supported in doing so. Boys were offered the same aspirational language without any clear vision of healthy masculinity. The outcomes are visible. Across OECD countries, boys lag girls in literacy, school engagement, and behavioural outcomes. They are more likely to disengage from formal education and more likely to be disciplined or excluded. At the same time, strong female role models multiplied, while positive male archetypes quietly faded from cultural prominence. The implicit message was not that masculinity should evolve, but that it might be unnecessary, or worse, inherently problematic. From Assumed Roles to Compressed Lives This shift reshaped family life. In the mid twentieth century, one income could support a modest household. Men’s responsibility for provision and protection, however imperfect, offered predictability. Women’s domestic role was economically viable because the structure supported it. Today, housing, childcare, and living costs are priced on dual incomes. Time-use and household finance data show that single-income households have become increasingly unworkable for middle-income families. Stay-at-home motherhood is now rare and often socially questioned, not because it lacks value, but because it lacks economic feasibility. Women have gained independence, but also inherited a heavier load. The Dual Income Reality The modern economy assumes two working adults. Mortgages, tax structures, and lifestyle expectations reflect this. For many women, paid work is no longer optional. Yet time-use studies consistently show that even in dual-income households, women continue to perform the majority of unpaid labour: childcare coordination, household management, and emotional work. The result is not simple equality, but compression. Professional responsibility sits alongside primary domestic responsibility. Freedom has expanded, but so have stress, cognitive load, and time scarcity. This is not because men are absent, but because masculinity has been culturally narrowed. The Transfer of Responsibility Historically, men were expected to shoulder certain burdens: decision-making under pressure, boundary setting, risk management, and protective leadership. As these traits became discouraged or culturally ambiguous, the responsibilities did not disappear. They shifted. Women now disproportionately manage household organisation, emotional stability, conflict resolution, and long-term planning. Sociologists and family researchers increasingly describe this as “mental load”, a form of invisible labour that intensifies rather than eases with equality. When initiative and decisiveness are culturally discouraged in men, responsibility does not dissolve. It concentrates elsewhere. Relationships Without Polarity Relational dynamics have shifted as well. Traits once foundational to male adulthood are now often met with suspicion. The result is a cohort of men who are emotionally open and agreeable, yet hesitant to lead, commit, or take responsibility under uncertainty. The pastel men. The paradox is clear: greater equality alongside diminished relational clarity. Surveys consistently show women reporting higher autonomy, yet also higher exhaustion. Partnership becomes constant negotiation. Family formation is delayed. Fertility rates fall. Emotional labour increases. Have We Overcorrected? The question is not whether toxic masculinity needed confronting. It did. The question is whether we replaced it with anything coherent. Masculinity, like femininity, is not a flaw. It is a framework. When expressed well, masculine traits, resilience, courage, decisiveness, responsibility, serve families and communities. When suppressed without replacement, society gains politeness but loses reliability and resilience. Women gain independence, but absorb more work. Men lose direction, and society absorbs the cost. Rebuilding Constructive Masculinity Public discourse fixates on what men should not do. What is missing is a clear vision of what men should become. Language matters. Constructive masculinity frames strength as service rather than dominance. Role models matter. Celebrating men who lead responsibly, protect without controlling, and commit without entitlement restores legitimacy to masculine contribution. Mentorship matters. Boys need visible pathways to adulthood. Longitudinal studies consistently show that the presence of engaged male mentors improves behavioural, educational, and life outcomes for boys. Most importantly, society must distinguish between harmful behaviour and strength itself. Being decisive, protective, and resilient is not oppressive. It is often necessary. The Core Paradox The campaign against toxic masculinity sought to reduce harm and promote equality. Too often, positive masculine contributions were removed without replacement. The consequences are visible. Families struggle on a single income. Women carry heavier financial, domestic, and emotional loads. Stay-at-home parenting is marginalised. Men are less prepared, and less expected, to take responsibility under pressure. Masculinity, when cultivated well, is a public good. Suppressing it without offering alternatives does not liberate society. It redistributes the burden and weakens the foundations of family life. The task ahead is not to cancel masculinity, but to reimagine it. To mentor boys toward strength rather than shame. To cultivate resilience, responsibility, and purpose in men, not in opposition to women, but alongside them. If we do not, the outcome is predictable. Fewer toxic men. Fewer capable ones, and a growing generation unsure of what they are meant to become.

I have always been a fan of Disney; it's been one of my favorite things since I was a kid. So, I would like to contribute to them as a fan because I would like to give something back with ideas to help them and could benefit them.

Including original film ideas, and ideas for TV series. As well as ideas to revive some of their original programming, like the High School Musical Series. I had a dream based on that series and I think it could actually be a good storyline. That is why I would like to share it with them including Tim Federle and how it could work.

I even want to contribute to the Simpsons being a fan of the series.

Do you guys also want to contribute to your favorite media?

Guys, can you suggest e some movies so I can remake the artworks for future movie-posters?

I'd like to remake some movie posters with a different artwork

thanks ;)

I hired Candace Rich to produce a POC and Poster. She wrote out a contract and I paid her a deposit. It's going on 7 months now with nothing. No correspondence, no POC nor Poster. She has scammed me. Has anyone else had a problem with her? I will gladly delete this post if she refunds my deposit. Until then, I want to warn everyone of her little con game.

Anna Henry (independent producer through her company Idle Hour Entertainment) is having a free AMA today called "Everything You Want To Ask About Writing A Great Pilot Script."

Jump in with your questions! www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Ask-Me-Anything-AMA-1-7-to-1-8-Ever...

https://youtu.be/kDRJHj85ONI?si=FkGPr0oiNGdDeA-D

https://youtu.be/nYIvQdAvahU?si=uhG0gY-x8ErI1Jxm

For those that may be new to the site, when I post commentary about creative works, they reflect my personal tastes only - never intend to rank my tastes vs others or assume that my preferences should be anyone else's...all that being said, I have to make a ringing endorsement for The Plague.

If you love movies like It Follows, Carrie, The Shining, Lord Of The Flies (all of which are faves of mine and high on all-time categories and have all been passed on such lists as of tonight by The Plague) then this movie is a must for you.

The writing, directing, and soundscape/score all meld into a unified vision that is so overwhelmingly effective as to be almost magical. It has been rare for me to find a new release in theaters to have the type of impact this movie has had and for me (again I am not ranking my tastes vs others) this is they type of movie experience I was hoping to have with Weapons and The Sinner. The social commentary was searing but incredibly provocative and as usual Joel Edgerton finds the most interesting projects to be involved with. I am guessing it will not generate the same type of discussion that the Netflix hit Adolescence did, but the quality of the writing and the full message presented deserves to be discussed with the same level of respect.

Whoever made the casting decisions....PLEASE be involved in my Dixie Dynamite project hahaha....I have never seen any of the child actors in another work and each of them were superb to spectacular and brought such incredible presence to their roles.

The plot was well conceived, the dialogue and action all 100% believable and authentic and the homage the project provides to Full Metal Jacket is so pleasing to me as well. The final scene, again for me, is so much more effective than Weapons was and provides very effective insight and commentary in a way that I do not feel Weapons did.

One of the best movies I have seen at the theater in years and I can't wait to go see it again! GO SEE THIS MOVIE!