Brave New World
by
Eveline Powell
7 Old Humphrey Avenue
Hastings, UK, TN34 3BT
tel. 01424 443 245 mob. 07905 435 745
[email protected]
INT. STUDIO. DAY
Two silhouetted
When the lights
readers looking
station logo of
figures sit side by side in a TV studio.
come up we see two tanned and groomed news
quizzically into the camera. Behind them is a
clasped hands with the letters NWTV.
DOUG
Good afternoon it's Tuesday, March
13, and I'm Doug Travis...
COURTNEY
...and I'm Courtney Baxter and this
is NWTV bringing you The Aquarius
Report, the global village, in your
living room. What's on today's
programme, Doug?
DOUG
(Suddenly more serious)
India, a land of holy men, a land
of incense, a land of mystery, but
now it seems, a land of rubble.
Courtney?
COURTNEY
Yes, Doug this week's devastating
earthquake in India has been a
terrible tragedy but as we can see
in this report from Harmony
Redwood, the human spirit burns
ever more brightly in the darkness
before dawn...
DOUG
(leaning forward on one
elbow)
...watch this...
EXT.
DEVASTATED STREET. DAY
We see a young earnest looking female reporter, large
microphone in hand. This is Harmony Redwood. She is standing
in the middle of a street, ruined buildings around her, a few
staring children behind her, fingers pulling at lower lips.
She starts to walk along the street as the camera tracks her.
HARMONY
Just three days ago, a massive
earthquake hit this small town of
Bhuj, 7.5 on the Richter scale, but
what about the human scale? How
did that register? I came here
expecting to find grief, to find
anger, to find helplessness, but I
didn't come expecting to find
this...
2.
She stops in front of a large pile of rubble with people
picking their way across it.
HARMONY
Hope. Yes thousands of people are
dead, thousands more lie buried.
But hope doesn't lie buried with
them - it's here, under fifty
tonnes of concrete...
In the background some rescue workers jump off a truck and
start to unload equipment. The camera pans round the scene of
devastation while Harmony talks on.
HARMONY
...in Ibrahim Mohammed and Sunil
Gupta, trapped but alive and unhurt
down there...
A woman rocks herself as a small child pulls at her arm.
HARMONY
...where they've been for two days,
no light, no food, no water, just
each other...
A group of men toss rocks off another pile of rubble and call
out occasionally.
HARMONY
...and we managed to get a
microphone through to them, and
now, for the first time on network
television, we can interview
someone actively involved in an
earthquake.
Several bodies lie under sheets. Finally the camera comes
back to rest on Harmony. A soundman hands her an ear piece
which she pushes into her ear.
HARMONY
Can you hear me Sunil and Ibrahim?
Harmony Redwood from NWTV...
The rescue workers consult each other in the background.
SUNIL
For God's sake, get us out of here!
HARMONY
Of course. We all doing just as
much as we possibly can.
RESCUE WORKER
Ask the Canadians. They might have
some.
3.
HARMONY
Can I just ask you Sunil, what I
have found extraordinary, is that
you are a Hindu and Ibrahim as I
understand it, is a Muslim and yet
you have helped each other
regardless.
IBRAHIM
What in God's name is the American
saying?
A rescue worker surveys the scene thoughtfully with a
colleague.
RESCUE WORKER
The whole lot could go any second.
HARMONY
I'm just saying that it seems to be
that the earthquake has buried not
just you but your religious
prejudices too. Is that the case?
SUNIL
Is my wife okay? Have you found
her? Her name's Anishaa, she'll be
worried about me...
HARMONY
Of course. We'll get onto that
just as soon as we can. Could you
just describe for us what you're
feeling right now?
RESCUE WORKER
Going to have to move you out miss.
HARMONY
Just a few more minutes...
RESCUE WORKER
Sorry miss. Can your clear this
area, everybody right back please.
Mike! Bring the 12" cutters up can
you? And Sam I'm going to need you
in here...
Harmony is hustled away from the building as the crews get to
work.
HARMONY
I'm sorry we're out of time there,
Ibrahim and Sunil. But remember.
Be extraordinary. You've touched
our hearts.
The crews move in and set to work.
4.
RESCUE WORKER
Gently, Mickey.
Harmony walks away, gesturing to the rescue workers, the
camera following her.
HARMONY
And so, the inspiration of this
friendship across the religious
divide keeps the crews going...
Behind her we see the feet of one on the rescuers sticking
out from the rubble.
RESCUE WORKER
I can see one on them. Sir?
you reach my hand?
Can
HARMONY
...but there are not just stories
here; there are questions too, and
earlier I went and asked them.
Here's what I found.
Harmony walks off camera and we cut to her edited report.
EXT.
WASTELAND.
DUSK
Throughout this sequence Harmony is followed by a destitute,
silent old woman, one hand permanently outstretched in a plea
for help. Her figure slips in and out of frame as the camera
keeps trying to cut her out. Harmony does her best to ignore
her, walking and talking at the same time.
HARMONY
These people are an inspiration to
us all and fill this reporter, at
least with a sense of what it is to
be human.
She draws level with a group of people squatting round a pot.
One of the men is trying to light the wood.
HARMONY
But how can we help them? What do
these people need most?
Stopping momentarily, Harmony brandishes a lighter, flicks it
open.
HARMONY
Are we actually doing more harm
than good?
(to the group)
See! Fire you can carry in you
pocket!
5.
She presses the lighter into the hand of a nonplussed Indian,
and resting her hand on the head of a young child, turns to
face the camera again.
HARMONY
What do they, the Indians, actually
teach us, especially about
ourselves? The answer, is perhaps
one we don't want to hear.
She walks out of shot. The old woman follows her.
EXT.
OUTSIDE HOSPITAL TENT. DAY
We see Harmony shaking hands and making the namaste gesture
to people outside the tent.
HARMONY (V.O.)
A hospital tent. One of many now
appearing in Bhuj. The familiar
cross on its side. A beacon of
hope to these people? Or an
outpost of the Western medical
establishment?
INT.
HOSPITAL TENT.
DAY
Harmony stands, microphone in hand with a young doctor in
surgical greens.
HARMONY
This is Fabien Chartier of the
charity MediAid, one of the first
charities into the area. Thank you
for speaking to us, Dr Chartier.
DR CHARITER
It's my pleasure.
HARMONY
Now doctor. There's a lack of
equipment here, a lack of many of
the basics even...
DR CHARTIER
Yes we are still having problems
getting supplies through but...
HARMONY
...so how are you, as a Western
doctor, integrating local healing
practices into you work, to help
things along?
6.
DR CHARTIER
Um, I'm sorry, I'm not sure what
you mean?
HARMONY
(smiling)
Well, for example, ayurvedic
medicine, aromatherapy, yoga;
alternative medicine was
practically born here in India.
How are you drawing on these
traditions?
DR CHARTIER
(incredulous)
I'm sorry?
HARMONY
I'm just saying, local...
DR CHARTIER
Many of these people have broken
limbs and internal injuries; they
won't be mobile for some time. We
need surgical equipment here,
antibiotics, not an exercise class.
HARMONY
That's as maybe, but...
DR CHARTIER
For god's sake. This is
ridiculous, I have work to do.
Dr Chartier walks off.
HARMONY
Thank you Dr Chartier.
HARMONY (V.O.)
So, then, drugs and technology.
Expensive solutions for a poor
country. And a wealth of tradition
ignored. But this wasn't the only
disturbing thing I came across in
Bhuj.
EXT. FEEDING STATION. DAY
We see Harmony walking past groups of people queuing for
food.
HARMONY (V.O.)
This is one of the feeding
stations. Approximately 5 000
people have come here, hoping for
some kind of relief.
(MORE)
7.
HARMONY (V.O.) (CONT'D)
But again, what kind of help is
reaching these people, and is it
doing more harm than good?
She stops by a pile of supplies. There is a hubbub of people
queuing for food, others gathered in groups eating and
chatting. Harmony turns from them to the camera.
HARMONY
What I am seeing here is not just
cases of malnutrition, but also of
wheat and lactose intolerance. And
this is the problem, right here.
She pats a pile of grain sacks.
HARMONY
...huge shipments of grain and milk
powder. This is what people are
eating here.
She stops a grinning boy and shows his bowl of mealy slop.
She carries on walking through the camp, occasionally pausing
to ruffle the hair of a child. Hand gestures underscore her
points.
HARMONY
I am just not seeing the fresh
fruit and vegetables, hi fibre
foods, that all nutritionists say
is absolutely necessary for a
healthy and balanced diet. And
quite frankly, these people could
do without more problems.
Harmony walks off camera.
CUT TO:
Harmony walks towards the camera.
HARMONY
So what can we learn from all this?
That sometimes we can do more harm
than good, that we don't always
have all the answers, that
sometimes we should just listen to
the sound that is the human spirit.
That is the true story of this
earthquake, that is the story of
the people of India. And this is
Harmony Redwood, reporting from
Bhuj, India.
She walks abruptly off camera, leaving us to look at the pile
of rubble and the old woman picking her way across it,
occasionally calling out.
8.
INT. STUDIO.
The two anchors look slightly stricken.
eyes.
Courtney wipes her
DOUG
That is beautiful.
COURTNEY
Yes, those people might not have
much, Doug, but they have a
beautiful spirit.
DOUG
That's right. And I think we can
actually go live now to Harmony on
video phone from Bhuj. Harmony, can
you hear me?
We cut between the studio and a smeary,jerky video phone of
Harmony standing in front of a large crowd of silent people.
HARMONY
Yes, Doug, loud and clear.
DOUG
It's good to see you, Harmony. Now,
watching your report, it seems
obvious to us that the more India
can rely on itself and its own
traditions, the better. Now we know
that India is renowned for its Holy
men...
HARMONY
That's right.
DOUG
...do you think they will be of
help in this crisis? Can you tell
us a little about that?
HARMONY
Undoubtedly such people would be of
help. Now, we have heard of
government plans to bus in Holy men
from Pushka, but as yet no sign of
them.
DOUG
And what would these Holy Men do?
HARMONY
Well such people would of course be
an important source of comfort to
these people and we would expect
them to provide counselling
services.
9.
COURTNEY
Is there much evidence of emotional
scarring?
HARMONY
Absolutely, and once the bones have
mended this will probably be the
biggest challenge from survivors of
this quake. Many will suffer from
flashbacks, an inability to
concentrate, bursts of anger,
perhaps relationships problems and
they will need psychological
support and this again I feel, is
one area that the aid organisations
are ignoring.
COURTNEY
We've seen it all before, haven't
we? Remember Diana? We never seem
to learn.
HARMONY
That's right, and what has saddened
me is the evidence of the
agribusiness and pharmaceutical
companies of the West using this
disaster as an opportunity to
increase the dependence of cereal
crops and antibiotics.
COURTNEY
Is there any word of what is behind
these devastating quakes?
HARMONY
Well, Courtney. there's talk here
of 'Plate Tectonics' as behind all
this. Now no one here is
absolutely sure who or what this
Plate Tectonics is, or at least are
not prepared to talk on camera - I
can tell you there is a lot of fear
here - Courtney, and the rumour is
it that it is a huge pharmaceutical
company operating out of Ohio. Now
that would link up with the
excessive use of drugs that I've
witnessed in the hospitals. If
that's true, then I think we've
stumbled onto something here.
COURTNEY
It's difficult to believe, isn't
it? Could people really be so
cynical?
10.
HARMONY
Right, Courtney, but these are the
times we live in. As a great
writer once said, "O brave new
world that has such people on it"
DOUG
Brave new world indeed.
Harmony.
Thank you
Harmony's picture disappears, and the anchors swing round to
face the camera.
DOUG
Harmony Redwood, there, reporting
from Bhuj, giving us all a lot to
think about.
COURTNEY
Now, for those people who have
found some aspects of that report
distressing, especially those
living near the San Andreas fault,
there's a toll free number coming
up at the bottom of your screens,
with trained counsellors ready to
deal with your queries. Doug?
DOUG
Thanks Courtney. On tomorrow's
programme, learn to love your
tumour, from our series on the joys
of cancer.
COURTNEY
So until then, be safe and goodbye.
DOUG
Goodbye.
FADE TO BLACK.