Thursday, May 31, 2012

Kill Your Self

The scene opens in a forest. The trees are all dead, their long branches reach out in every direction like boney fingers. It's winter, and daylight is fading.  A man appears dragging a body across the scene. We cut to a shot overlooking a pit. The man drops the body right next to it. Inside are 6 other bodies. The newest body has a black bag over its head, but a close up reveals that he's still breathing.
The first man slumps himself down on a stump and pulls a gun out of his coat. He looks as if he's been in a fight; there's blood on his shirt and he looks close to defeated. just then from under the bag comes a voice. "You don't want to kill me and you know it" he chuckles as he continues, "we've been playing this game for far too long. What do you think will happen next? Nothing changes, Nothing ever will". The tone in his voice is cynical, as if he's enjoying himself. The first man walks over to the body and sits him up, execution style, and as he puts the gun to the back of his head, he calmly says "goodbye old friend. don't hurry back." The scene goes black as a single gunshot rings out.

This is a concept I came up with years ago for a short film. I love movies and filmmaking so everything I think about is in movie form. No joke. I have a running soundtrack in my head.

This scene was inspired by the Bible (and maybe boondock saints). It's taken from the New Testament, particularly Pauls writings. Paul talks a lot about putting to death the deeds of the flesh. So-spoiler alert!- in my story, the assassin and the victim are...Dun Dun Dun! The same person!

This is how I imagine the daily struggle of killing the "old self" is. Oh yeah, those other bodies in the pit-same person as well. See, putting the flesh to death isn't a one time thing. It's a daily task, and some days it is a job that needs to be repeated over and over again. Some days the bad guy deals out a good thrashing before he's put down, and sadly,  some days he wins. The character in my story is a rugged, harsh, brutal assassin. He has to be. When it comes to killing your 'self', you have to be brutal. If you show any compassion, Self will bring you down. This is an all or nothing job, Paul makes that clear.

for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)
Thinking about things cinematically helps me understand things in a different way. Hopefully This little story has helped you think about what it really means to 'die to self. I would still like to complete this short film one day, If my good friend Reagan Rose is up for it. Until then, keep killing your self.

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