Who says exposition is boring and hard to weave into a script? In The Trial of the Chicago 7, Aaron Sorkin gets us up to speed in the first 12 pages, courtesy of a fast-paced prologue sequence which introduces us to the main characters and sums up the key events leading to the violence which occurred at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago…

Script sources: Deadline / Script Slug

Writer/director: Aaron Sorkin

[Scroll to the end of the article for a summary of the historical context]

The prologue

Page 1…

The script opens with an excerpt from an actual speech from 1968 by US President Lyndon Johnson announcing an increase of US troop numbers in Vietnam and doubling the monthly draft quota. This sets up the prologue, which has the stated aim of showing a nation “coming off the rails”. The prologue then launches us into a cacophony of sounds and images – starting with draft cards landing in mailboxes (personalising the draft), as the monthly quote of draftees creeps ever higher.

Note that the action is immediately focused on the war, the scale of the draft, and, by implication, the burgeoning anti-war movement at the heart of the story. It also brings in the spectre of violence (1968 was the bloodiest year of the Vietnam War).

Pages 2-12:

The prologue continues with an audiovisual tapestry of events – assassinations and the draft lottery, etc. – intercut with key character introductions, starting with Tom Hayden and Rennie Davis from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). At this point, we learn that SDS plans to organise busloads of protestors to attend the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

We then cut from the serious, politically minded Hayden to irreverent agitator Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin of the counterculture Youth International Party (YIPPIES), who are also planning to organise a group to go to Chicago. We then cut to David Dellinger of the Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam (MOBE). Dellinger is older than the others, a family man, and committed to peace. We then cut to Bobby Seale of the Black Panther Party, which advocated for a more confrontational approach.

Next, we learn that the FBI is keeping tabs on the activists, intercut with Rubin showing a classroom of kids how to make Molotov cocktails, and with Chicago’s Mayor Daley confirming a “shoot to kill” order for anyone seen with such a device. We then see the national guard arrive in the city.

Note how much information is being communicated throughout, from the historical context to the seeds of conflict between Hayden and Hoffman, deriving from their differing personalities, approaches and agendas. Also note the different ways in which this information is communicated – visually, in sound, in speeches, in direct dialogue and dialogue about other characters (Dellinger’s wife expressing concern about the unpredictable Hoffman and Rubin), and words being banged out on a typewriter. This is complemented by Sorkin’s quick-fire dialogue style, which is perfect for the offbeat Hoffman (such as the Brandeis comment on page 10).

As well as setting the context for the story, it is important that the relationships between the characters are established. This is a crucial aspect of the drama – they all clash and evolve as the trial progresses. It is also important we understand the groups’ differing approaches to violence, as this forms the main thread of the trial. Indeed, a further function of the prologue is to get the violence simmering under the surface – we know that trouble of some kind is going to go down in Chicago, we just don’t know how. Finally, note how many different points-of-view are expressed during this opening sequence. The chaotic nature of the trial to come and of this period in US history, more generally, are reflected in the energetic prologue, in both tone and content.

On page 12, the prologue ends with another piece of real-life footage – respected newscaster Walter Cronkite telling America that the convention will be held in a “police state”. FADE TO BLACK and a title card let us know that the prologue has ended and The Trial of the Chicago 7 has begun.

Page 12/13…

The main story starts with the government prosecutors, Schulz and Foran, meeting with Attorney General John Mitchell at the US Department of Justice. As they wait outside the office, note the great piece of visual exposition as the secretary alerts them to a workman removing the large portrait of Democratic President Lyndon Johnson and replacing it with one of incoming Republican President Richard Nixon. This is a simple way to alert us to the outcome of the election following the Convention and also to remind us that times have changed.

In the next scene, we meet Mitchell, which sets out the government’s charges against Hoffman and Hayden, et al, as well as highlighting Mitchell’s grudge against his predecessor, Ramsey Clark, which comes back later in the story.

Final thoughts…

Overall, in a 160-page screenplay, much is accomplished in the first 12/13 pages (translating to less than 10 minutes of screen time in the produced film). We’re taken on a whistle-stop tour of the highlights and tragedies of the 1960s, so even viewers unaware of the period go into the main story knowing all they need to about the various anti-war factions, the social and political context, and the main characters.

Rather than being dry and dull, the prologue sequence is dynamic, interesting and humorous, hooking us into the action even before the main action starts and effectively setting up what is to come (much of which is taken from actual court transcripts).

Finally, note what the prologue sequence leaves out – the actual violence which is the subject of the trial. This does three things: a) heightens our interest; b) prevents the trial portion of the story becoming static as we flash back to events at the convention; and c) allows for conflicting viewpoints to be presented during the testimony.

As with The Social Network (2010), Sorkin takes the bare bones of the historical story and melds it into something unique, drawing from known facts and real-life characters but never forgetting that it is a screen story, which needs momentum, structure and colour. This starts with the prologue sequence, which shows that while exposition might be necessary, it doesn’t have to bog down the story.

Go further…

Take a look at the trailer:

Historical background

The real-life trial of the “Chicago 7” resulted from violence which occurred at the 1968 Democratic National Convention held in Chicago, where the Democrats chose Vice President Hubert Humphrey to run in the presidential election against Republican nominee Richard Nixon. The convention was held during a turbulent period, with the Vietnam War raging, the ongoing draft, civil rights movement, and the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr and Robert Kennedy.

Amid all this, a significant anti-war movement had developed. While united in a desire to end the war, the movement had various factions, including the politically-minded National Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam (MOBE) and the counterculture Youth International Party (YIPPIES). Both groups planned to protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Other groups in attendance included the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Black Panther Party and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Determined his city would not be overrun with protestors during the high-profile convention, Mayor Richard Daley planned a crackdown on “agitators” by denying permits, imposing a curfew, and ramping up the police presence, as well as bringing in the army and national guard.

Several thousand protestors gathered in Chicago, leading to clashes with law enforcement, though there was confusion over which side precipitated the violence – the heavy-handed “police state” or the “hippie troublemakers”.

In 1969 (following the election of Nixon), the “7” were put on trial for their involvement – Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin (YIPPIES); Tom Hayden and Rennie Davis (SDS), David Dellinger (MOBE); and John Froines and Lee Weiner. The group is often referred to as the “Chicago 8”, including in the group Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale, whose case – spoiler alert – was eventually severed from the other defendants.

Learn more about the real-life trial: https://famous-trials.com/chicago8/1366-home