Film / Screenplay
Philosophical Movie / Film Documentary on Truth and Reality

Hi Everyone,

Below you will find a summary and some details of our proposed film (any thoughts appreciated).
And I am in the process of creating a number of pages that cover various aspects of filmmaking with digital video cameras which I hope people will find useful - there are links to these articles after the film ideas.
Hope you find it engaging!
Cheers,
Geoff and Karene

Possible Titles

Last Days - My Life The Universe - Truth and Madness

Story

Premise / Summary

Set about 20 years in the future and filmed where we live (650 acres of natural bush which has great locations to film - big forests, rivers, sandy beaches and coastal cliffs).
The story is about the collapse of Nature and the end of humanity as we know it. Most (99%) of humanity has died due to a variety of interconnected factors. i.e. Pollution (electromagnetic and chemical), genetic modification, destruction of Nature, use of pesticides and herbicides in agricultural food production, etc. This caused rapid changes in the earth's atmosphere and climate, starvation, war and disease (anarchy basically, by 2020).
Finally, due to changes in the chemical structure of the atmosphere the region of the earth between latitudes 60 North and 30 South was subject to massive amounts of gamma radiation which killed most living things (in the year 2020).

See;
http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/politicsphilosophyandsociety/0,,1390552,00.html (Collapse! Jared Diamond's and our destructive instincts)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,23114-2008072,00.html (Lovelock on Gaia and collapse of Nature)
http://www.amazon.com/Revenge-Gaia-Earths-Climate-Humanity/dp/046504168X
http://www.amazon.ca/Gaia-Project-Earths-Coming-Changes/dp/0738710423

These quotes are central to the theme;
'Hell is truth seen too late.' (Thomas Hobbes)
'The road to hell is paved with good intentions.'
'All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing.' (Edmund Burke)

However, by 2025 Nature and the earth's atmosphere and climate have started to regenerate to previously normal / healthy levels as there is now virtually no pollution and no human impact on Nature. This is suggestive of the potential humanity has to learn from its past errors and finally develop a civilisation that lives in harmony with Nature.

From 2015 to 2025 the internet has not been working (it comes back online near the end of the film, as a symbol of hope and renewal)

The Philosopher

The philosopher lives alone on the property (a small island on the south west coast of Australia, separated from the mainland by a river). He has a horse and a dog which will both be strong characters in the film (and contrary to their true rascally nature will be very well behaved, such is the deceptive power of filmmaking!).
He is self sufficient (which is easy to film as it is largely true, we generate our own power, pump our own water, grow some of our own food, catch fish and I have just bought a gun to shoot rabbits for meat).
However, he is traumatized / melancholy due to the fact that he had not only predicted the collapse, but had also discovered a new foundation for the sciences (the wave structure of matter, dating back to 1997) that had the potential to save humanity.
This quote from David Bohm summarizes this new foundation of the underlying dynamic unity of reality - its importance to humanity.

The notion that all these fragments is separately existent is evidently an illusion, and this illusion cannot do other than lead to endless conflict and confusion. Indeed, the attempt to live according to the notion that the fragments are really separate is, in essence, what has led to the growing series of extremely urgent crises that is confronting us today. Thus, as is now well known, this way of life has brought about pollution, destruction of the balance of nature, over-population, world-wide economic and political disorder and the creation of an overall environment that is neither physically nor mentally healthy for most of the people who live in it. Individually there has developed a widespread feeling of helplessness and despair, in the face of what seems to be an overwhelming mass of disparate social forces, going beyond the control and even the comprehension of the human beings who are caught up in it. (David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order, 1980)

The cruel irony of this discovery was that no one was really interested in it. By the end of the 20th century humanity had formed its postmodern belief that there are no absolute truths, all knowledge is just cultural constructions. This had led to a decay in the sciences and a resurgence of religious fundamentalism and conflict. These incorrect beliefs maintained a human arrogance of thinking that we could do as we wanted. So the destruction and collapse of Nature represents the failure of postmodernism.

Thus the central theme of the film is philosophical, that truth (true knowledge of physical reality as represented by Nature) is necessary if we are to think and act wisely. (Nature / life on earth really does exist, humans really do depend on Nature for their future survival.)

The philosopher should be seen as smart, sensible and pragmatic in how he lives (good at building / fixing machines, working with electronics). He is aware that most humans have died, but that those who have survived are desperate and brutal.
To help protect himself he always carries a gun (a 22 rifle). And he has built a series of solar powered cameras with radio transmitters that send him a warning and image if any strangers arrive on the island (there are only a handful of places where people can land which are covered by his camera surveillance - and he wears a 'blipper' which is similar to a mobile phone, that alerts him to intruders and sends a picture).
This adds to the suspense, the sense of impending danger!

The Arrival of the Woman

Prior to the collapse a young woman who had studied filmmaking (and a little philosophy) had inadvertently heard of the philosopher (through his website), was aware that he had predicted the collapse, and most importantly that he was proposing a new foundation for the sciences that would save humanity from disaster. At the time (due to her postmodern upbringing) she had been skeptical, but given the collapse, the need for humanity to rebuild from better foundations, she decided to find the philosopher with the aim of making a documentary about his ideas.

She knows roughly where he lives (from having read his biography on the internet perhaps) and that it requires a boat (maybe she is from Perth and sails several hundred miles down the west coast of Australia to find him - it is not really important other than it must make sense / be realistic.)

She arrives early in the morning (first light) when the river is still and covered in mist (should be nice to film). Of course the philosopher is alerted by his blipper of her arrival and he rides his horse to meet her. He is quiet / thoughtful and threatening (carrying a gun).
We are still deciding where we will film this scene of them meeting - but basically she explains herself (as above) and asks to be allowed to stay so she can make a documentary of his ideas.
He responds that before she can do this she must study philosophy and understand why the wave structure of matter is true and important.

This leads into the first half of the movie where the two main characters are developed, along with the central knowledge of the wave structure of matter. The knowledge can be presented through daily activities and conversation, combined with reading books and discussing quotes (we have a large collection of philosophy books and posters to work with). And reality is all around us! We just rarely think about how all this matter exists in space, interacts with other matter around it.
To begin the philosopher is abrupt, possibly intellectually cruel / brutal with his arguments. But slowly the woman's charms soften his manner (yes, it is also a love story of course!)

The woman represents the postmodern view of no absolute truths Vs his absolute truth that Space exists, all matter is formed from waves in space (metaphysics of Space and Motion). She slowly realises why he is correct as she learns more from the history of physics, philosophy and metaphysics.
Note: possibly he could have failed in the past because he had no absolute proof - and now ten years later he has finally worked out how to prove this is true. See:
Deducing the Most Simple Science Theory of Reality

The 1st Attack

One day the woman goes for a swim at the beach (about 2km from house). She leaves her blipper and gun on the shore so does not hear that an intruder has arrived on the next bay (about 500 meters away). However, the philosopher also gets the blipper signal and sees that a boat has arrived near where the woman is so he whistles for his horse and gallops down to the beach (with dog running alongside) only to find her gone, and signs of a struggle in the sand, that her blipper has been smashed, and footprints leading to the next bay (where he saw the blipper signal come from).

He quickly runs there and looking down from a high ridge sees that she has been tied up, and that the intruder (a brutal / wild looking man) appears to be intent on raping her. He sights the man's head through the scope of his gun (nice cross hair close up of man's head) then slowly squeezes the trigger. The man falls to the ground dead, a trickle of blood marks the entry point of the bullet wound in his temple.

He is quite shaken by this and though resolved, is somewhat surprised at his actions. He unties woman and defends his actions. "If I didn't shoot him, but confronted him he would have shot you."

This scene leads to a discussion of morality, and that when law and justice break down then humans can be very brutal (just look at our human history!)

'During the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man against every man. ....
Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man, the same consequent to the time wherein men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them withal. In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.' (Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan)

At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst. (Aristotle)

The 2nd Attack

Unknown to the woman and philosopher there was actually a second man that arrived on the boat, but he had gone exploring in the opposite direction along the coast (the two men had split up to explore the coastline). He returns to find his friend dead, footsteps in the sand of the woman and philosopher leaving the area

I think it is important that there is a further / enduring sense of danger, that the audience is aware that there is another 'evil person' on the island that the main characters are unaware of (suspense is very important).

To be completed ....

Bad man #2 is watching them in the bush (up on a hill). How can he be on the island without being picked up on radar?
Possible scenarios - lightning storm (or some different atmospheric storm!) has scared off horse and made surveillance system go on the blink.
Bad man #2 has discovered how to sabotage radars.
Chase scene - Early evening / night (twilight). Philosopher and woman being chased through the bush by bad man #2.
High suspense. The bush looks very spooky. What happens? Does bad man #2 have a gun?
Resolution (possible endings) - # Philosopher kills bad man #2. By saving the woman he is shot and dies. She lives and rebuilds society founded on his knowledge. Last shot (after time has passed) shows the woman holding their child.

General Comments

This is ultimately a film of us making a documentary describing how civilization collapsed, the mistakes we made that caused this, and the tragic irony that we discovered reality (and thus knowledge to evolve a wiser society after 3 thousand years of failure), only to find it was too late (humanity had been corrupted by postmodernism of no absolute truths). So the film is about us passing on this knowledge to the future - so they do not repeat our mistakes.

We plan on using Nature / animals a lot in the film. I am currently training our horse 'Princess Sapphire' so I can ride her well - she is a nice pet, along with our dog Ruby (Rubius Maximus is her full name)! Princess gets to roam over the whole property which is mainly bush, but she likes to come and say hello each day, and get a free carrot and some peanuts from us!

I have a gun license (22 rifle with telescopic site - to shoot rabbits for food). I think the use of guns in films adds to the suspense!
Here is a nice article about getting suspense (about Alfred Hitchcock)
http://www.borgus.com/think/hitch.htm

I expect that about half the film will be about us and our daily lives, try and make it interesting, funny, sad, scary, and sexy in parts!
The other half of the film will be the documentary film the woman is making about the philosopher, explaining the errors of knowledge and how WSM corrects them.
So we would use a lot of quotes and nice portraits of the philosophers along with me explaining things (as a teacher to the young woman).

Some Possible Scenes

Cottage. Philosopher explains surveillance / radar system. Gives woman a gun and blipper (which is like a mobile phone shows a video clip of the different cameras on the island). Could make a funny scene of her learning to shoot a gun.

Dinner - simple food. Could have first scare with the radar system going off (caused by kangaroos).

Morning, birds. Library. Books and wonderful minds. He is reading. Philosophical discussion.

Work together over a period of time - philosopher teaches / shows the woman things and they discuss philosophical ideas:

# explaining WSM using waves on pond to represent spherical waves flowing in and out from a wave center to explain particle / wave duality of matter (use circular hoop on pond).

# dropping a ball / gravity. This is a great experiment because it makes the obvious point that we do not see the causal connection of things (we just give it a name, gravity, and then we forget about it!). This is the limitation of science (it studies observable things) and how metaphysics is required as the study of the hidden causal connection.

# interconnection. How you can see the stars at night. Motion of throwing a ball, becomes motion of waves on water (the importance of motion, that reality is ultimately founded on the wave motion of space, time and matter are both caused by this wave motion).

# Waves on the ocean. chaos / structure. de broglie wave (combination of waves).

'I was like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.' (Sir Isaac Newton)

# illusion of our sense vs reality. Moon reflected in the pond - the crescent moon is a beautiful illusion - only through use of reason can we understand the truth that the crescent is caused by the reflection of light of the spherical surface.

'I think that matter must have a separate reality independent of the measurements. That is an electron has spin, location and so forth even when it is not being measured. I like to think that the moon is there even if I am not looking at it.' (Albert Einstein)

Philosopher is standing or walking along with moon over his shoulder.

# history of physics / philosophy / metaphysics. Why wasn't it worked out? Philosopher shows woman a projected lecture.

# idealism and free will. Top of mountain - philosopher runs and jumps off ledge crying "It's all in my mind. I am an idealist!" or "It is my fate, my destiny". The woman peers over ledge (her POV) and the philosopher jumps up laughing from a lower ledge, scaring her.

# fishing. chaotic sea of many thoughts and ideas. sometimes you can catch on to something really big. you are caught, hook line and sinker. you need the right bait to catch the right fish. analogy of long line fishing and religion (people being caught every day) compared with the single line of philosophy.

# vege patch and orchard. planting seeds analogy - planting seeds of truth which grows into the tree of knowledge. pulling out weeds (bad habits of thinking, myths, viral memes) and working with nature.

# show the unity of nature / reality.

All things come out of the One and the One out of all things. ... I see nothing but Becoming. Be not deceived! It is the fault of your limited outlook and not the fault of the essence of things if you believe that you see firm land anywhere in the ocean of Becoming and Passing. You need names for things, just as if they had a rigid permanence, but the very river in which you bathe a second time is no longer the same one which you entered before. (Heraclitus, 500 B.C.)

# yoga - meaning union (interconnection of her body and mind with one space). The woman's enlightenment is a culmination of events and ideas. Could have scene of her sitting meditatively in nature. doing yoga. peaceful, mindful, aware. Could talk to the philosopher about her change in yoga practice (akasa prana yoga). In and out breath (waves) sustaining life.

Woman films the philosopher - documentary style. He speaks directly to camera about his work, rebuilding society founded on WSM.

Sex Scene

An erotic sexual encounter between the philosopher and woman. Sexual tension has been building through out the story (through looks, body language, rapport, growing intimacy).

A dinner - the philosopher has prepared a simple feast for the woman. Music, wine, meat, candle light. Lush rich colors. This could be a formal dinner on a secluded beach. Full moon. Or in his cottage. Philosophical conversation turns provocative. They kiss, embrace, fall to the ground (bed) and make love. The camera would show mostly the woman (partial nudity) and capture beautiful, raw sensuality. No talking, no fakeness.

Character Development

Protagonist - The Philosopher.

He is the anti-hero (goodness buried beneath his rough exterior).

Philosopher is despondent, suffering, feels the futility and stupidity of the world. He has fun with the woman and he enjoys her company. By falling in love he finds renewed strength, vigor and enthusiasm to fight on and rebuild humanity. Yet he remains bittersweet, melancholy at times. There is such beauty in the world, yet we continue to destroy everything.

After the experience of the story the protagonist is changed.

Create empathy. Audience should bond with protagonist straight away. They want what the philosopher wants (humans to live simply and peacefully guided by truth about physical reality).

Humanizing traits? His deep care of the world. Feels he is a failure. Brave, obsessive, smart with technology and simple way of living. He falls in love. Has a child.

'My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities. I am truly a 'lone traveler' and have never belonged to my country, my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart; in the face of all these ties, I have never lost a sense of distance and a need for solitude - feelings which increase with the years. One becomes sharply aware, but without regret, of the limits of mutual understanding and consonance with other people. No doubt, such a person loses some of his innocence and unconcern; on the other hand, he is largely independent of the opinions, habits, and judgments of his fellows and avoids the temptation to build his inner equilibrium upon such insecure foundations.' (Albert Einstein - Ideas and Opinions, 1954)

The Pivotal Character - The Woman.

She is a documentary Film maker - she has come to find the philosopher to film him / document his work to help rebuild the world. Student of Philosophy (studied at University). Holds the current postmodern view of no absolute truths / we can never know reality. It is up to us to freely decide what is real, what is truth.

Through the actions of the pivotal character, the protagonist is prompted to change the status quo by taking action (e.g. kills evil man to rescue woman, works with woman to make documentary film on truth and reality to help save humanity).

Does she have a child with the philosopher?

Antagonists! 'Bad / Evil People'

Since the collapse of civilisation the remaining humans (60 million) have become more like wild animals. They are desperate for food and water to survive. They are brutes, without moral sense. They possess all the bad aspects of being human.

They attack the philosopher's sanctuary for food, water, chance of survival. But cannot live harmoniously - they are greedy and desperate, want everything now (they are poor at thinking ahead / considering the consequences of their actions).

The bad people look wild - long crazy hair, mad eyes, dirty, strange faces, posture and way of walking (they will be males).

Other Central Characters

Horse & Dog: Obedient, intelligent, brave, useful, friendship, their own personalities. Create charm / empathy with audience.

Nature: Most scenes will be filmed with Nature as the substantial background - ocean, coastal heath, tall forests, vegetable garden / orchard, mountains, rivers, sky / clouds. We aim to capture the profound beauty of Nature, her fragility and destruction, and ultimately our dependence upon Nature for our survival (we evolved from nature).

The Universe: Use the night sky, the beautiful moon and the stars. Make viewer more aware that we are a part of the universe (not discrete animals living on the surface of the earth).

Other Film Ideas to Think About

Point of View (POV) - Is the story told from the philosopher's or woman's POV?

The Hook - Will he succeed or won't he? Want the audience to stick around to find out.

Rising Action - things get bad, worse, then are bad as possible!

The Goal - To rebuild and unite humanity founded upon truth of physical reality. Humans are dependent upon Nature for survival. Therefore dependent upon physical reality.

Location - The location should support the view of the world the story is supporting. e.g. filmed in nature on the south west coast of Western Australia. The philosopher lives self sufficiently on an island (separated from the mainland by a river).

Implicit controlling idea - How do we communicate our controlling idea (true knowledge of reality / WSM)? Through action and dialogue. Audience must be thinking, active participants rather being spoon fed. As the woman begins to understand WSM, the audience should be participating in this enlightenment, awakening of truth.

The Back Story - When the present story needs justification. The state of the world could be told to the audience through flashbacks, dialogue between philosopher and woman, internet or DVD news reports, headlines, radio.

# Possible flashback - The woman could be watching a video of the philosopher on the Internet in which he predicts the global collapse through a combination of factors / tipping points / changes in the atmosphere. This then gives her motivation to find this man and document / promote his work as she thinks he could help rebuild humanity.

Themes

The immense beauty (and destruction) of Nature / humans / the world.

Transient nature of life - all things are in (wave) motion (flux, change, time)

Truth vs ignorance. Illusion vs reality. Freedom of humans making their own laws vs laws determined by truth and reality.

Fundamentalism - Absolutism about opinions, rather than absolute truth from physical reality.

Good and bad in humans. Philosopher and woman embody the good attributes of being human. The bad people - the dark side (ignorance, lack of morality).

The irony that Religion was meant to liberate us from hell but in reality ended up creating hell on earth.

'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.' (Edmund Burke)

'Hell is truth seen to late'. (Thomas Hobbes)

'The road to hell is paved with good intentions'

'In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.' (George Orwell)

'We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive.' (Albert Einstein)

'We are part of Nature as a whole whose order we follow.' (Spinoza)

Related Filmmaking Pages

I should finish these pages over the next few days. Geoff (March 19th, 2008)