What follows is the result of an idea to connect the field of philosophy and thought with the world of drama. Let us choose sentences to ponder from the statements of the members of the philosophical group, which are archived in the “Chistiha Blog” (http://chistiha.blogfa.com); and after manipulating the concepts of those statements, and doing a brief exercise and editing, let us create a dramatic idea that will continue to form another dialogue, another concept, and another thought.
In the principles of drama writing, “ideation” and “drafting” have a specific method; but we tried to be one step before the idea and the plot. At the same stage of mental spark or, in our own words, the “study” stage, where the writer’s hand is open to writing down any image, concept, or point. Here, we have not limited ourselves to not mentioning the technical instructions, performance arrangements, dialogue, staging, and other matters, and left them for more detailed plans; on the contrary, we have completely written down whatever came to mind at the moment.
During our group meetings, we came to the conclusion that it was not necessary to obtain refined and precise plans from our conversations. It was only necessary to immediately edit and record everything that came to mind in an instant as a “study.”
And now we share the same with you. May these exercises and sketches be the beginning of a path to step on a bridge between philosophy and drama.
Ideas on the Bridge from Philosophy to Drama: Etude One Hundred and Seventeen
Note: These sketches have been registered with the Islamic Culture and Guidance Department. And the intellectual property belongs to the author.
These sketches are only allowed to be republished on the “Chistiha” site.
Etude Ninety-Two
Utopian Animation
Temporary Title: Butterfly Boy
Linear animation, black and white and red monochrome, wordless; with peripheral lines. People’s clothes almost represent the clothes of people of every era in civilized societies and of course later modern societies.
All objects, people, cities, are free from different angles. From the farthest point to the Earth to closer than a worm by the pond. It doesn’t matter. Everyone can come from the right and go to the left in a trajectory. And this is general. Of course, there are exceptions.
Opening credits; It’s moonlight and the big moon in the sky.
1) In a few shots, very quickly, we get acquainted with the life of cave people.
2) With the life of praying people
3) With the life of medieval people; and manual work for building houses and small cities, sometimes there is vandalism, people’s hearts fall and break. Hearts are the same red heart.
4) With the beginning of industrialization of societies, the age of the steam engine, a series of artificial hearts are also produced.
5) The beginning of orderly and pre-designed cities, people can buy red hearts from shops and exchange them for their previous red hearts; but no one is cheerful and happy anymore. Waltz dancing is even boring and its pointless turns are more annoying, so that the turns and dances are also carried out on the street, but it is normal for everyone. Everyone passes by each other. As if everyone is dancing or walking for themselves.
6) Now some soulless people have flashlights on their foreheads. These people with flashlights on their heads make plans. From plans for war between countries, to plans for beaches and sunbathing, plans that will all come true.
7) It is a plan similar to vaccination that these flashlights have. Children. Children are produced. The cycle of production of newborn children. Every child that is born has a red heart that must be replaced. The new hearts are numbered. Eight-digit numbers. Parents, with a satisfied smile and a silly face, hand their children over to the production cycle.
8) The Flashlight Institute decides the future position of the children and they think about each case. Their thoughts are visible on a cloud above their heads. Each child is assigned a specific task. One child is assigned to work in the mine, another to science, the laboratory, and the graduation cap, and the others are assigned to jobs such as cooking, sewing, construction, petrochemicals, and clerking, and in between there is “sexual slavery, alcoholism, and drunkenness, drug addiction, suicide operations, and massacres” which is shocking (at least for the parents), and…
The Flashlight Institute decides the future position of the children and they think about everything. Their thoughts are seen on a cloud above their heads. Each child is assigned to a specific job. One child is assigned to work in the mine, another to science, the laboratory, and the graduation cap, and the others are assigned to jobs such as cooking, sewing, construction, petrochemicals, and clerking, and…
) Children are placed in packages to be used in the production cycle. And at the exit of the factory, they are transported by trucks. And we see that as soon as the children leave, they do the same thing they were marked for in each batch they enter.
10) We see the earth from above, where the migration route of the children is also clear. So that when they reach their destination, they are already grown up. And in one corner of the earth, the Nazi SS is engaged in massacres, and in another corner, ISIS, and in short, there is no smoke that does not go to the galaxy from this earth.
11) The flashlight institute is still working and mothers with baskets in hand are waiting in line to enter. One of these mothers, who is standing in line and has placed her baby basket in front of her feet like the others, suddenly notices that a beautiful butterfly, which also happens to have two red spots on its wings, is sitting on her baby basket. She smiles and bends down to catch the butterfly. The butterfly has penetrated into the child’s red heart. The mother raises her head to see what is going on inside. In the child’s heart is a world of butterflies and a world of musical notes and a world of words that go back and forth like poetry. The mother puts her hand in that heart and the butterflies sit on the mother’s hand. She is happy like this for a while. The mothers on the other side of the line are not waiting for this mother, and each of them passes by her and goes on to the institution. It is night. The mother still holds her hand in the child’s heart like a statue and witnesses that in that beautiful world, butterflies are flying on her hand, notes are moving here and there, and lines of beautiful poems are flying.
12) It is night. The institute is closed. The mother returns home alone. At home, she tries to put her hand in the child’s heart again. But there is no way. She realizes that there is no way to the child’s heart. Maybe all that time was nothing more than an illusion. She sleeps next to her child with a smile of satisfaction. It is morning. The child has grown two wings like a butterfly. The child is growing bigger and bigger quickly. His two butterfly wings are sticking out of his clothes. The butterfly boy can fly. He jumps out of the window. He enters the street.
13) The first thing the butterfly boy does is enter the institution and pull the lever of the packaging factory and stop the packaging cycle. The men with flashlights are amazed. They want to catch him with nets. He doesn’t get caught in any of their nets. He goes to the line of mothers, giving each one a butterfly. With these little butterflies, the mothers can see inside their child’s heart. That beautiful world. One by one, the mothers give up.
14) The city is filled with butterfly children who fly over people’s heads.
15) Each butterfly child can give a gift to a person that will make them notice him. They have the greatest impact on people who are “sexual slavery, alcoholism and drunkenness, drug addiction, suicide operations, and massacres.” They show each one that they can take their numbered heart and erase the number. People learn that they can easily get rid of the numbers on their hearts and do something else.
15) Each butterfly child can give a gift to someone that will make them understand. They show each one that they can take their numbered heart and erase the number. People learn that they can easily get rid of the numbers on their hearts and do something else.
16) The others do the same. Now no one wants to have a numbered heart anymore.
17) The flashlight company is closed. And the flashlight men have to go. One of them throws his flashlight on the ground in anger and breaks it. As soon as he does this, a red heart without a number is created in him. He is amazed and shows his joy to others. Other men with flashlights do the same. They also find hearts in the same way and go. One of them has become a poet-singer. Another rides a bicycle and sells milk, delivering a bottle of milk to the homes of newborns. That one has become a postman and carries love letters here and there. And in short, everywhere is full of joy and goodness and benevolence.
18) The butterfly boy smiles. And his mother hugs him.
19) The earth has become beautiful. And from it hearts and butterflies and musical notes and beautiful words come out in every line and language. And they scatter and disappear in the galaxy.
20) The closing credits of the butterfly boy and his winged mother on the other side of the galaxy, next to the sun, look at the beautiful Earth and smile, and the credits continue and end with each of the characters we met during this animation.
Perhaps this poem could be considered for its credits:
Bigger Than Us
lyrics
Michael Rice
Hear these words that I sing to you
I will make it clear, it’s me and you
We can have this love that we never lose
It’s bigger than us, mm
Take my hand and I’ll lead you home
Can you understand?
You will never be alone
It’s bigger than us
It’s bigger than you and me
It’s bigger than us
It’s bigger than everything we see
‘Cause I can feel the universe
When I’m feeling you breathe?
It’s bigger than us
And it’s bigger than you and me
It’s bigger
I won’t give up and I won’t let go
‘Cause this kind of love is gonna be our only hope
It’s bigger than us
It’s bigger than you and me
It’s bigger than us
It’s bigger than everything we see
‘Cause I can feel the universe
When I’m feeling you breathe?
It’s bigger than us
And it’s bigger than you and me
It’s bigger
(Bigger!) Bigger…
Author: B. Khosravani
It is recalled that any copying and extraction of these ideas, from an ethical and legal perspective, is only possible by mentioning the address, and use for performance will only be possible if the author’s written consent is obtained.