Link to screenplay
Artist's Statement
Writing a script surrounding a historical event can be a
tricky process. What we take for granted today - commonplace gadgets,
vocal nuances, and such - could be completely out of place or even
nonexistent in the world of a couple decades ago. However historically
incorrect that may be, in some instances old and new have been
interwoven successfully, like Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet (1996).
For our screenplay surrounding the history and possible controversy
over the invention of the ballpoint pen, we were happy to keep the
setting in the postwar 1940's. The time period isn't only correct for
the emergence of the ballpoint pen, but it provides an interesting era
of Caponesque mobsters and hitmen. Since the 1940's is saturated with
the hatred and despair of war, it can be argued that the method of
killing for sometimes little to no purpose had become more brutal. Think
of Bonnie and Clyde's notorious run as criminals and killers, and
multiply that by at least 10, because their number was up in the
mid-30's, and by then they had done a lot of damage.
The reason we felt justified in collaborating on a violent script
surrounding the invention of the ballpoint pen was because we wanted to
show how senseless conflict can be and how ridiculous our reasons can be for
starting a conflict that will result in the loss of innocent lives. Just
like Laszlo - our inventor - says, "But it is just a pen, it is no
master weapon!"
The graphic novel, After the Deluge, addresses a
question similar to this when the refugees of the flooded "bowl" were
treated with neglect and even hostility from military groups who should
have been passing out water and food instead of training their gun
barrels at them - the cycle repeats itself.
Over all, we hope that our script doesn't gratify and entertain
more than it makes a valuable point, because this is an important
topic to address: What justifies violence? And who really has the right
to decide when or if it's okay to disregard and even threaten innocent
people's lives?
By Daniel Tu and Gina Thompson
