Re: [Leica] How would you photographically portray....

[Jerry Lehrer <jerryleh@pacbell.net>]

Jim

Expect a letter from the Screen Writers Guild!  TV special to follow.

Jerry

Jim Hemenway wrote:

> Phong wrote:
>
>  > Anyway, I think I will give up on this topic on the LUG.
>  > I tried a few times to have a meaningful discussion on
>  > how to photographically portray such things as sex, lust,
>  > temptation, desire, etc. in an artistic way, and failed.
>
> It's next to impossible Phong, but as an exercise, how would you
> photographically portray the following?
>
> --------------------------
>
> Let’s say a guy named Roger is attracted to a woman named Elaine.  He
> asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A
> few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy
> themselves They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while
> neither one of them is seeing anybody else.
>
> And then, one evening when they’re driving home, a thought occurs to
> Elaine, and, without really thinking, she  says it aloud:
> “Do you realize that, as of tonight, we’ve been seeing each other for
> exactly six months?”
>
> And then there is silence in the car. To Elaine, it seems like a very
> loud silence. She thinks to herself: Geez, I wonder if it bothers him
> that I said that. Maybe he’s been feeling confined by our relationship;
> maybe he thinks I’m trying to push him into some kind of obligation that
> he doesn’t want, or isn’t sure of.
>
> And Roger is thinking: Gosh. Six months.
>
> And Elaine is thinking: But, hey, I’m not so sure I want this kind of
> relationship, either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I’d
> have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way
> we are, moving steadily toward ... I mean, where are we going? Are we
> just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we
> heading toward marriage? Toward children?  Toward a lifetime together?
> Am I ready for that level of commitment?
> Do I really even know this person?
>
> And Roger is thinking: ... so that means it was... let’s see....
> February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car
> at the dealer’s, which means ... lemme check the odometer ...
> Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.
>
> And Elaine is thinking: He’s upset. I can see it on his face.  Maybe I’m
> reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our
> relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed— even
> before I sensed it—that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet
> that’s it. That’s why he’s so reluctant to say anything about his own
> feelings. He’s afraid of being rejected.
>
> And Roger is thinking: And I’m gonna have them look at the transmission
> again. I don’t care what those morons say, it’s still not shifting
> right.  And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this
> time.  What cold weather? It’s 87 degrees out, and this thing is
> shifting like a darn garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves
> $600.
>
> And Elaine is thinking: He’s angry. And I don’t blame him.  I’d be
> angry, too.  I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can’t
> help the way I feel. I’m just not sure.
>
> And Roger is thinking: They’ll probably say it’s only a 90-day warranty.
>   That’s exactly what they’re gonna say, the scumballs.
>
> And Elaine is thinking: Maybe I’m just too idealistic, waiting for a
> knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I’m sitting right next
> to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I
> truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person
> who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.
>
> And Roger is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty?  I’ll give them a
> darn warranty. I’ll take their warranty and stick it right up their ....
>
> “Roger,” Elaine says aloud.
>
> “What?” says Roger, startled.
>
> “Please don’t torture yourself like this,” she says, her eyes beginning
> to brim with tears. “Maybe I should never have ...
> Oh my, I feel so ...” (She breaks down, sobbing.)
>
> “What?” says Roger.
>
> “I’m such a fool,” Elaine sobs. “I mean, I know there’s no knight. I
> really know that. It’s silly. There’s no knight, and there’s no horse.”
>
> “There’s no horse?” says Roger.
>
> “You think I’m a fool, don’t you?” Elaine says.
>
> “No!” says Roger, glad to finally know the correct answer.
>
> “It’s just that ... It’s that I ... I need some time,” Elaine says.
> (There is a 15-second pause while Roger, thinking as fast as he can,
> tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that
> he thinks might work.)
>
> “Yes,” he says.
>
> (Elaine, deeply moved, touches his hand.)
>
> “Oh, Roger, do you really feel that way?” she says.
>
> “What way?” says Roger.
>
> “That way about time,” says Elaine.
>
> “Oh,” says Roger. “Yes.”
>
> (Elaine turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to
> become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it
> involves a horse. At last she speaks.)
>
> “Thank you, Roger,” she says.
>
> “Thank you,” says Roger.
>
> Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured
> soul, and weeps until dawn.
>
> Roger gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the
> TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a tennis match
> between two Czechoslovakians he never heard of.  A tiny voice in the far
> recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back
> there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever
> understand what, and so he figures it’s better if he doesn’t think about
> it. (This is also Roger’s policy regarding world hunger.)
>
> The next day Elaine will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of
> them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours.
> In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and
> everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every
> word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every
> possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject, off
> and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite
> conclusions, but never getting bored with it, either.
>
> Meanwhile, Roger, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend
> of his and Elaine’s, will pause just before serving, frown, and say:
>
> “Norm, did Elaine ever own a horse?”
>
> -----------------------------------
>
> Didn't Salome run in the same race as Sea Biscuit?
>
> Jim, "ask me anything about love and lust" Hemenway
>
> Phong wrote:
> >
> > I am not sure what you mean by transcending lust, as opposed
> > to love, joy, courage, etc.  Lust would make a fascinating
> > subject.  Salome, anyone ?  I bet one of the classical
> > painters have done Salome before.
> >
> > Anyway, I think I will give up on this topic on the LUG.
> > I tried a few times to have a meaningful discussion on
> > how to photographically portray such things as sex, lust,
> > temptation, desire, etc. in an artistic way, and failed.
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > - Phong
>
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