The Dictator (Part 1): Difference between revisions

Line 24:

== Synopsis ==

Joe (a child) tells of the great drought afflicting his village;

people, including his sister, explode and burst into flame.

6:50: It rains for 3 months, drowning everybody and thing, except Joe,

who grabs an uprooted tree trunk, floats to a new village, where a

family adopts him.

7:50: The new village is farmers. A cruel neighboring tribe kills

all, except Joe, who buries himself, breathes through a reed during

the raid.

9:40: Joe, now the dictator, describes his ultra-safe bunker, his

dozens of doubles, goes to the surface to encourage his troops.

19:40: Joe tells the story of an oil seller who had 4 bottles of

especially-valuable oil. He gave 1 to a neighbor who burnt his house

down, the second to another neighbor who has an affair with his wife,

who bears quadruplets dedicated to assassinating him, the third to a

holy man who cursed him.

22:30: 'Freedom... is so exhilarating...' Joe, the dictator, has to be

careful about whom he trusts.

28:00: Joe played a game when a child, putting as much dirt as

possible in ears, nose, mouth; Joe always won. Then he began burying

himself, had to have dirt cooked into all his meals. Eventually he

became his own garden, ate what grew on him.<ref>This was adapted for

a short film, [[Dirt]].</ref>

30:40: 'Moral conscience is a hall of mirrors...' what is good

behavior changes over time and place, is relative; Joe expatiates on

this.

35:00: Joe says power is better than morality, delivers a paean to

power.

39:10: Circus comes to town when Joe is 15. Magda, the beautiful

contortionist, mesmerizes Joe. One evening she can't untie herself.

Joe runs down to untie her. Circus master adds Joe untying Magda to

the act.<ref>This was adapted for a short film, [[Magda]].</ref>

41:40: Joe the dictator: the attacking army is winning against

him, but Joe is defiant.

46:30: Joe repeats, 'Help me unravel this knot and find my way

back to the town where I first saw you, where all this started, this

thirst.', with different put-on voices.

48:50: Music, cannon fire, explosions.

<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Legacy Synopsis</div>

A great drought decimates a village and is followed by flood. A band of raiders attacks a village and cuts off the thumbs of the villagers. Joe is a dictator in a fortified underground bunker. He delivers a speech on the battlefield. Rooting out enemies. Sounds of battle. Eating dirt. Moral relativism. Is there a moral imperative to cause suffering in others? Meditation on power. Joe falls for a contortionist in a circus. Joe claims his is on the verge of victory as his forces are decimated, taunts the enemy. "help me unravel this knot and find my way back to the town where I first saw you, where all this started, this thirst."

</div></div>

== Music ==

Line 39:

Line 95:

The original broadcast credits state: "Written by Joe Frank, and created in collaboration with [[Arthur Miller]] and [[David Rapkin]]. Mixed by Theo Mondle. War bed created by Jerry Summers. Special thanks to Sheila Bjornlie and Ariana Morgenstern."

== Footnotes ==

[[Category:Absurd_Monologue]]

The Dictator (Part 1): Difference between revisions

Navigation menu

Search