Ban
[Open with Musical Montage] [Fade into Tim getting in his car. Tim turns on the Radio (while he listens to news report, he pulls out his cell phone and begins to text on it.) Radio Speaker: Next week will mark the centennial anniversary of the United Global Government (UGG), the international regime established after the third world war. One of the first policies the UGG put into action stemmed from an international sentiment that music inspired anarchy among impressionable young citizens of the world. As part of a multi-pronged effort to restore order to a volatile international community, the UGG issued a worldwide ban on the creation, dissemination, and/or passive participation in music. Through this ban, the UGG was able to successfully rid society of all music and musical influences to maintain peace during a time of chaos and disorder. Today, 3 British youths were arrested for conspiring to overtake a radio station with the intent to broadcast a song that has been discovered and traded among an underground youth organization. These boys are currently being held at the supreme world court and are awaiting what promises to be a harsh punishment. These boys… (Tim looks up during announcement to see Mrs. Dawson approaching the car. He rolls down the window.)
Liz: Tim, I need to speak with you! Tim: Get in, it’s freezing out there! Liz: Thank you. Alright, Tim, I think you know why I’m here. Tim: It’s about my poem, right? Liz: (reading) “Your father’s generation turned a deaf ear But youthful syncopation will harmonize a nation It’s high time to hear” Tim: Isn’t it you who told us that honest writing is the only kind worth writing? Liz: Yes, and I appreciate your honesty, but I can’t say that I’m not alarmed by it. Is this really what you believe? I mean, this is screaming anarchy! You realize I’m risking my job by not turning this in to my department head?! Do you even comprehend the position you are putting me in when you submit a piece like this? Tim: So then turn it in – what’s stopping you? Liz: Forget about my career that you’re jeopardizing – think about yourself, Tim – this university has expelled students for much less than something like this! Tim: I don’t get it! You tell us to stand up for what we believe in, even if we’re the only ones standing. Can’t you recognize the irony?
(Tim rolling his eyes & shaking his head)
Liz: I need you to promise that this is not an idea you are seriously going to pursue. The UGG is taking a hard line on this – those British boys are going away for life, if they’re lucky. People are talking about the chair! Tim: And you support that?! Liz: Look, I don’t want to see any physical harm come to those boys any more than you do, but they conspired to disseminate music to the masses – do you have any idea what kind of hysteria would ensue from that?! The UGG has no choice but to set a strong example or kids would think that making music will be tolerated and it won’t – it can’t be. Liz: Have you heard music?! Tim: God, you say it like it’s such a crime! Liz: Tim, it is a crime! Listen to me; you are not thinking rationally! Tim: No, you listen! Listening to music is only a crime because somebody 100 years ago decided that it was a crime! Liz: It wasn’t somebody, Tim, it was a global population with an arsenal of legitimate reasons! Tim: Yeh: they were scared, they were shell shocked from a near apocalyptic war, they needed something to believe in, they were clinging to straws, they were desperate for a strong leader! They were not thinking rationally, and it’s taken nearly a century for us to come to terms with the mistake they made! Everybody is so brainwashed – Nobody even stops to think about the beauty or the artistic value of music. Everybody’s so focused on censorship and “protecting” people – music was a tool that brought people together for centuries- a common ground for all types of different people. Liz: Yes, but Tim it also brought together the very worst kinds of people, and elicited the very worst from human nature. Tim: You can’t blame music for human nature. What has changed? We’re still executing people. There’s still crime, poverty, civil unrest, disease, drugs, alcohol. The only thing that’s ended is people coming together, people feeling anything other than what they’re told to feel. Liz: The whole world is united under a single government – that’s an unprecedented accomplishment Tim: Yes, but that happened before the music ban even came about. We may be united, but no one’s together. Liz: We’ll talk about this tomorrow… [Tim sigh and turns on radio as Liz leans to exit the car.] Radio Speaker 1: This is Don Artik with a breaking news report. I am live outside the prison where the three terrorists have been held awaiting sentence (their names will not be released as they are minors). The UGG’s antiterrorism policy enabled authorities to swiftly and abruptly execute these anarchistic youths after a quick and unanimous vote. It is hoped that this execution will send a message of zero tolerance to any person looking to undermine what our global community has sacrificed so much to achieve. This is a day that will live in infamy where free men have stood in the face of terrorism and prevailed. Back to you, Katy. Radio Speaker 2: Thank you Don. In weather, the last hour and half of our sunshine today will be cut short due to a complete solar eclipse. This is the first solar eclipse we have seen since the last… Ending one. Liz: Oh, my God. Tim: This is what those kids died for. [Tim pulls out a CD. Liz Looks frightened, but doesn’t say anything. Tim plays Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley. Liz cries.] The End
Ending two. Liz: Oh, my God. Radio Speaker 3: If you can hear us, we’re interrupting the broadcast signal!!! This is for Pat Harmon, Josh Dierker, and Paul Callucio!! You guys didn’t survive, but your message will…play it now!!!
[Delusions by Modus plays. Liz cries. Fade out.] |