THE MENACE OF THE INVERSELY TOUTED UNIVERSAL DEPRIVATION

(continued from previous)

 

CHECK SHIRTED BUTCH (O.S.)

I love you laying claim to me.

 

LONG HAIRED GIRL (O.S.)

Thank you.

 

CHECK SHIRTED BUTCH (O.S.)

I love our mutual self destructiveness.

 

LONG HAIRED GIRL (O.S.)

Thank you.

 

CHECK SHIRTED BUTCH (O.S.)

I love you.

 

LONG HAIRED GIRL (O.S.)

Thank you.

 

CHECK SHIRTED BUTCH (O.S.)

I love you.

 

LONG HAIRED GIRL (O.S.)

Thank you.

 

23. SCREEN flickers to life. It is a television screen.

 

On the SCREEN, young men and women and trans people dance to hip-hoppy BOLLYWOOOD CLUB/DANCE NUMBERS. Some of the young men are flamboyantly gay. Some of the young women are flamboyantly androgynous.

 

We SEE explicit, dirty dancing and bumping and grinding. The dancers seem to be having fun.

 

The black shirted butch takes pictures.

PAN TO:

Lawn outside. Empty bottles and glasses strewn around. People sitting in groups, on the grass or on white plastic chairs. Talking or bopping to music or singing or giggling.

 

CHECK SHIRTED BUTCH

(to her group, hysterically)

Isn’t she the most beautiful girl in the world?

 

24. INT. DANCE FLOOR – NIGHT (film, special effects)

 

Young men and women and trans people dance to hip-hoppy BOLLYWOOOD CLUB/DANCE NUMBERS. Some of the young men are flamboyantly gay. Some of the young women are flamboyantly androgynous.

 

PAN TO:

 

Street, beyond the boundary wall, with cars parked. (This could be a posh residential street, the same one where we had encountered the Mahaut and the elephant.)

 

The watchman rubs khaini.

CHECK SHIRTED BUTCH

(drunk)

Do you want to be famous people?

 

LONG HAIRED GIRL

(sharply)

Books that will make me indestructible. Books that top my reading list.

 

CHECK SHIRTED BUTCH

(boisterously)

Do you want to be famous, people?

 

LONG HAIRED GIRL

(yelling)

You are a foible galore.

 

CHECK SHIRTED BUTCH

(riotously)

You are tragically unable to make me happy.

 

LONG HAIRED GIRL

(sobbing)

I am turning white as a sheet.

 

She gets into her car, SLAMS the door shut, and drives off.

The check shirted butch stands rooted to her spot, but her doppelganger steps out of her shoes and stands by her side, then another, then another, then another, then another. Together, in a row, they stand.

 

LONG SHOT – DOPPELGANGERS IN A ROW STARING STRAIGHT AHEAD

 

25. INSERT – MOVIE 5 - (split second) - (clip)

 

Doppelgangers emerge from the body of Amitabh Bachchan or Rajnikanth or Kamal Hassan or another appropriate movie star and stand next to each other in a row, eyes blazing.

 

26. FULL MOON IN THE SKY (film, special effects)

 

Inside the moon, we SEE an elephant lumbering across. Children ride on its back.

 

27. INT. ROOM – DAY (film)

 

Gandhari with her head on Dhritrashtra’s shoulder.

 

DHRITRASHTRA

It’s so quiet here.

 

GANDHARI

(whispers)

It’s insufficiently developed.

 

DISSOLVE TO:

 

28. BLINDING NOON SUN

 

29. INT. ROOM – DAY (film)

 

Gandhari with her head on Dhritrashtra’s shoulder.

 

GANDHARI

I was thinking of removing the blindfold.

 

DHRITRASHTRA

It’s very quiet here.

 

Silence.

GANDHARI

(raises her head)

I was thinking of removing my blindfold.

DHRITRASHTRA

(turns his head to the other side)

No. No, no. Please, no. No, no, no. No.

 

30. EXT. PARK – DAY (film)

 

TIGHT CLOSE-UP - FLOWERS

 

DOLLY-OUT

 

The black shirted butch is taking pictures of the flowers.

 

Behind her, a GUIDE is pointing the flowers to a GROUP OF TOURISTS 18-78 YEARS IN AGE.

 

GUIDE

And now you are looking at marigold flowers.

 

TOURISTS

(to each other)

 

31. EXT. BALCONY – YELLOW DAY (film)

 

The long haired girl stands looking out at the park. She croons:

LONG HAIRED GIRL

I flew between her legs. There was nothing there but cloying stillness.

Hmmmmmmm

 

Four flowers blossomed under my feet. I ran downhill.

 

Hmmmmmmm

 

Love: I burned my tongue into its fleeting pattern.

Hmmmmmmm

 

32. EXT. PARK – EARLY MORNING (film)

 

The guide, followed by the group of tourists, strides into the FRAME. Some tourists are looking bored and some, grumpy.

 

GUIDE

And now you are looking at morning walkers.

 

33. EXT. STREET – AFTERNOON (film)

 

GUIDE

(to tourists)

And now you are looking at a public rally.

 

34. EXT. STREET CORNER – LATE EVENING (film)

GUIDE

(to tourists)

And now you are looking at a paan shop.

 

35. INT. ROOM – NIGHT (film)

 

GUIDE

(to tourists)

And now you are looking at a fashion show.

 

36. INT. ROOM – DAY (film)

 

GUIDE

(to tourists)

And now you are looking at identical twins.

 

37. EXT. PARK – DAY (film)

 

GUIDE

(to tourists)

And now you are looking at marigold flowers.

 

The black shirted butch passes by. She and the guide nod at each other.

 

The girl in plaits rides by on a bicycle.

 

INSERT – SUBTITLES - The identical twin constitutes a subgroup of the general population. Is that relevant information? (text)

 

The black shirted butch returns, extends his hand to the guide, and hands him a photo. The guide’s eyes widen.

 

EXTREME CLOSE-UP – THE GUIDE’S EYES

 

The guide continues to stare transfixed at the photo. One by one, the tourists begin to wander off.

 

DOLLY-IN

 

The guide steps outside the FRAME before we can SEE the photo.

 

DOLLY-IN

 

Again the guide nimbly steps outside the FRAME before we can SEE the photo.

 

Abruptly, the CAMERA SWIVELS around:

Voice (V.O.)

(disgustedly, loudly)

Tchah!

[Continue Reading]

_________________________

5. (a) Put researcher on task to identify appropriate movie; (b) Schedule time to identify appropriate funding for researcher; (c) Decide an appropriate outcome for this project, or how to pronounce its proposals.

 

 




 


apocryphaltext Vol. 4

 

 

poem/filmtext by monica mody