Jacob and Michaela have started work on the script and story. We made big progress in class on Tuesday toward that story and it is exciting stuff. Here are the notes.
Basically, six childhood friends reach adolescence and each puts on his/her own "mask" to survive that transition. In so doing, the friendships dissolve. Only one friend stays true to herself but finds herself disconnected from everyone else. This causes her tremendous pain and she realizes the only way for her to be happy is to bring them together. She writes them a letter that suggests she's about to take her own life, but in reality, it is just a device to bring them all together again and to rekindle those friends. But to keep those five together, she must disappear, sacrificing herself for the happiness of the others.
Lots of specifics to work out still but there's the gist.
Each of the six has a correlation to one of the central figures of Watchmen. The Comedian's correlate is the girl who remains true, much as Eddie is the most honest and forthright of the Minutemen -- despite his other misgivings.
More today . . .
And remember, this week is also Empathy phase. Talk to potential viewers. Now that we have a story shaping up, find out what early adolescence was like for them. What sorts of masks have people had to wear? How might we integrate the stories and experiences of those around us into our film to demonstrate an understanding of our viewership? To give them a film to which they can relate and also that can challenge their thinking -- as Watchmen challenges our own.
