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breakinglight11I’ve mentioned before that I like attempting to do kind of a tricky thing in my writing— slant a character or circumstance to an audience to a certain problematic point of view, and then call to their attention how easy it was to fall into that unfair or inaccurate perspective. My hope is, not necessarily to shame or mock the viewer, but to encourage them to some self-reflection as to why they are vulnerable to seeing things in that flawed way, and maybe try to address it going forward. It’s a hard thing to pull off.
It’s been important to my work in two other places up to this point— Adonis, and Mrs. Hawking part IV: Gilded Cages. In Adonis, I want the viewer complicit in Aidan’s objectification, then make clear how it has hurt him, and have to challenge themselves to acknowledge the human tendency to reduce people to things. In Gilded Cages, I wanted the audience to like and sympathize with Reginald Hawking due to his charming, romance-novel-hero bearing, and then make them have to confront that we often want women to give such men a chance because we feel like they “deserve it”, but it doesn’t change the fact that his entire romantic relationship with Victoria violated her consent.
I’d like to attempt that same temptation to an unfair viewpoint, then point out the contradictory reality, with Veronica Dresden in Dream Machine episode 6. I’d love to have her come in and have the audience dislike her, stereotyping her as the nasty ex-wife being so, so hard on poor Ryan. But then point out that she spent years having to deal with him when he was not a good husband, father, or even person really, and that he’s not entitled to endless forgiveness from her. She has a RIGHT to her anger, and it’s unfair to cast her as the bad guy here. That can also force Ryan to confront his own responsibility and own more of what he needs to do going forward to make up for the person he used to be.
I think that could be some strong character stuff— if I can pull it off. This would be a later scene of episode 6, occurring after #2 - Sit Up and Beg and #1 - Nefarious Plan but before #10 - Come to Grovel. Leah won’t be in episode 6 too much— I like the idea that characters enter and recede from the spotlight from episode to episode —but I thought she might be the right person to engage with Veronica in this scene.
Day #14 - “Carrying Water”
From Dream Machine:
“1.06 – Dresden’s Dolls”
By Phoebe Roberts
~~~
LEAH LUCCHESI, showrunner of Offcomer at Dream Machine, mid thirties
VERONICA DRESDEN, lifestyle brand CEO and Ryan’s ex-wife, late forties
Los Angeles, 2020
~~~
LEAH: Why you gotta do this?
VERONICA: I beg your pardon? Oh, I know you. You’re the little writer imp that sent all those glamor selfies to my number one underwear model.
LEAH: Aw, did he get my fan mail? Whatever, not important right now. Look, I know you’re having a ton of fun playing the Wicked Witch and kicking Ryan around. I completely get the appeal. But there’s more at stake than just his dignity here— a lot of us have worked very hard to make something definitely worth your advertiser dollars, and we’re all tied to that albatross. So if you shoot him, we all go down with him.
VERONICA: So I’m responsible for that?
LEAH: No. But you have to give him credit… he knows his stuff, and he’s working really hard.
VERONICA: I have to, now? You seem to think you know Ryan pretty well, after, what? A year? Six months?
LEAH: Look, I’m here vouching for him— working woman to working woman —can’t you just do him a favor?
VERONICA: A favor. Can I just do him a favor. Hmm, maybe you can clarify something for me— what exactly counts as a favor? Let me see, could it be… cutting a check in to that preschool when he commandeered their spray park as helipad? Smoothing things over with the Vatican when he went home in the wrong red Prada shoes? Telling Marlon that Daddy was just sick when he missed a Little League game to go bet on kangaroo boxing in international waters?
LEAH: Did you really have to do all those things?
VERONICA: Oh, no. Ryan was a considerate and responsible heroin addict. But let me ask you— in all that time, how many times do you think he helped me out? By, I don’t know, getting his shit together once in a while, just when it was important, so I didn’t have to lose so much of my time to helping him?
LEAH: By your tone I guess not many.
VERONICA: Aw, and here I was wondering why they let you run the show. But you’re pretty and smart. At least, I thought you were— until you proved Ryan had you snowed.
LEAH: Look— people can change, okay—
VERONICA: We’ll, he’s still up to his old tricks of relying on some woman to make up for his mistakes for him. Wasn’t he the one to cancel your old show?
LEAH: Yeah.
VERONICA: He ruined stuff for me too. But at least I had a couple kids with him I had to worry about. How he get you to carry water?
(Pause.)
VERONICA: So tell me… do you still think I should do him a favor?
It’s been important to my work in two other places up to this point— Adonis, and Mrs. Hawking part IV: Gilded Cages. In Adonis, I want the viewer complicit in Aidan’s objectification, then make clear how it has hurt him, and have to challenge themselves to acknowledge the human tendency to reduce people to things. In Gilded Cages, I wanted the audience to like and sympathize with Reginald Hawking due to his charming, romance-novel-hero bearing, and then make them have to confront that we often want women to give such men a chance because we feel like they “deserve it”, but it doesn’t change the fact that his entire romantic relationship with Victoria violated her consent.
I’d like to attempt that same temptation to an unfair viewpoint, then point out the contradictory reality, with Veronica Dresden in Dream Machine episode 6. I’d love to have her come in and have the audience dislike her, stereotyping her as the nasty ex-wife being so, so hard on poor Ryan. But then point out that she spent years having to deal with him when he was not a good husband, father, or even person really, and that he’s not entitled to endless forgiveness from her. She has a RIGHT to her anger, and it’s unfair to cast her as the bad guy here. That can also force Ryan to confront his own responsibility and own more of what he needs to do going forward to make up for the person he used to be.
I think that could be some strong character stuff— if I can pull it off. This would be a later scene of episode 6, occurring after #2 - Sit Up and Beg and #1 - Nefarious Plan but before #10 - Come to Grovel. Leah won’t be in episode 6 too much— I like the idea that characters enter and recede from the spotlight from episode to episode —but I thought she might be the right person to engage with Veronica in this scene.
Day #14 - “Carrying Water”
From Dream Machine:
“1.06 – Dresden’s Dolls”
By Phoebe Roberts
~~~
LEAH LUCCHESI, showrunner of Offcomer at Dream Machine, mid thirties
VERONICA DRESDEN, lifestyle brand CEO and Ryan’s ex-wife, late forties
Los Angeles, 2020
~~~
LEAH: Why you gotta do this?
VERONICA: I beg your pardon? Oh, I know you. You’re the little writer imp that sent all those glamor selfies to my number one underwear model.
LEAH: Aw, did he get my fan mail? Whatever, not important right now. Look, I know you’re having a ton of fun playing the Wicked Witch and kicking Ryan around. I completely get the appeal. But there’s more at stake than just his dignity here— a lot of us have worked very hard to make something definitely worth your advertiser dollars, and we’re all tied to that albatross. So if you shoot him, we all go down with him.
VERONICA: So I’m responsible for that?
LEAH: No. But you have to give him credit… he knows his stuff, and he’s working really hard.
VERONICA: I have to, now? You seem to think you know Ryan pretty well, after, what? A year? Six months?
LEAH: Look, I’m here vouching for him— working woman to working woman —can’t you just do him a favor?
VERONICA: A favor. Can I just do him a favor. Hmm, maybe you can clarify something for me— what exactly counts as a favor? Let me see, could it be… cutting a check in to that preschool when he commandeered their spray park as helipad? Smoothing things over with the Vatican when he went home in the wrong red Prada shoes? Telling Marlon that Daddy was just sick when he missed a Little League game to go bet on kangaroo boxing in international waters?
LEAH: Did you really have to do all those things?
VERONICA: Oh, no. Ryan was a considerate and responsible heroin addict. But let me ask you— in all that time, how many times do you think he helped me out? By, I don’t know, getting his shit together once in a while, just when it was important, so I didn’t have to lose so much of my time to helping him?
LEAH: By your tone I guess not many.
VERONICA: Aw, and here I was wondering why they let you run the show. But you’re pretty and smart. At least, I thought you were— until you proved Ryan had you snowed.
LEAH: Look— people can change, okay—
VERONICA: We’ll, he’s still up to his old tricks of relying on some woman to make up for his mistakes for him. Wasn’t he the one to cancel your old show?
LEAH: Yeah.
VERONICA: He ruined stuff for me too. But at least I had a couple kids with him I had to worry about. How he get you to carry water?
(Pause.)
VERONICA: So tell me… do you still think I should do him a favor?
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