As I'm sure you're sick of hearing, my name is Odessa Taylor. You remember where I got my name? If you don't, I'm not reminding you. Odessa is a Latin name that means "wandering; quest" and a Greek name meaning "wrathful." Taylor is an English surname meaning "cut." So, my name is particularly violent.
And then my ancestors. I have a great-great-great-great grandmother from Norway. Most came from England, some from Scotland. But for a few generations now, it's just been Americans.
How have I come here? Good question. My ancestors from England wanted to come to America for some reason (probably freedom), and they steadily moseyed on over to the West, and then decided they kind of liked it, and they stayed where they were, had kids, and eventually ended up in Utah.
Sorry if that's not as detailed as you were expecting it to be, but let's face it: I'd rather write about something else.
So. Hello, everyone. How are we all today? Excellent. I have a story to tell you.
Last year, I took an AP World History class, which I really only took for college credit. I know it sounds horrible, but I don't exactly care about history. There are aspects that are really interesting, but history in general is just not my favorite, especially when I have to take notes on it.
Being me, I decided to brighten up my notes, but I wasn't sure how until about halfway through the year. Then, the light bulb of inspiration flashed with such brilliance that I was mentally blinded by the sheer wonder of it. What was this utterly fantastic stroke? I thought to myself, "Why not write it like a movie script?"
Now, let it be known that I did not write it exactly like a movie script. That would have been more effort than it was worth. Really how it went was I'd take what the textbook said, write it in a more descriptive way with added effects, add dialogue here and there, make a title, write when musical numbers are needed, and make little director's notes (such as "Still need to find an actor for him" or "That lighting is going to be difficult").
It was so much fun. I did it here and there over the last half of the school year, and it was amazing. One of my friends thought it was the greatest thing she'd ever seen in her life. But the absolute best one was the first one I did. The original. My masterpiece. I called it Martin Luther and the Enlightenment. Here is the introduction (just so you're aware, it talks about religion, so proceed carefully):
"Our tale begins in the early sixteenth century, with the Protestant Reformation shattering the unity of Roman Catholic Christianity...Two different beliefs, clashing in a spectacle of Martin Luther and Wittenberg in 1517, a story truly not worthy of this mechanical pencil. Martin Luther, the protagonist of the Protestants and the catharsis of the Catholics, protested in a perfectly theological way. A troubled man turned hero and villain, and anxious about his relationship with God, Luther...made a bold, life-changing move by coming to a realization that would change the course of Europe and alter the world's history...
"It was a dark and stormy night, or so we assume, once upon a time (for it only happened once) and Martin Luther became aware of his suddenly precarious relationship with God. He eventually came to recognize that the Catholic church was not teaching the correct way to get salvation. [cue lightning and thunder] Standing firmly wherever he was, he abruptly understood that neither the yellow value of the sinner nor the sacraments of the Church had any bearing on the destiny of eternity of the soul...Pacing excitedly, Luther's thoughts continued: the source of these beliefs, and of religious authority in general...was not the teaching of the Church, but the Bible alone, interpreted according to the individual's conscience. [at this point, Luther picks up the Bible and sings a song reminiscent of Les Misérables]...
"Reformation thinking diffused quickly both within and beyond Germany, thanks in large measure to the recent invention of the printing press. [cue montage] Luther's many pamphlets and his translation of the New Testament in German were soon widely available. [cue upbeat music; Reformation leader speaks with it] 'God has appointed the [printing] Press to preach, whose voice the pope is never able to stop.'
"Now, to France. [zoom out of a map and zoom into France on peasants singing a song reminiscent of Les Misérables]...On August 24, 1572, Catholic mobs in Paris [cue intense musical score] massacred some 3,000 Huguenots, and thousands more perished in provincial towns in the weeks that followed. Finally, a war-weary monarch, Henry IV [still need to cast him], issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598...[cut to King Henry IV looking sadly out his window]"
You get the idea.
Throughout the rest of the year, I would even reference back to this with some sort of remark about the five-star sensation, Martin Luther and the Enlightenment.
Now, it's a new year. I'm now in AP U.S. History, which actually is a little more interesting to me. Last week, there I was, minding my own business as I was doing the reading from the textbook when all of a sudden...Martin Luther was mentioned.
After a moment of giddy flashbacks, I wrote in parentheses "see the feature film by acclaimed director and writer Odessa Taylor". Look, nobody said I was humble.
So, that's my story for today. I just had fun looking back on my awesome movie scripts. They were all pretty good, but this one was by far the best. Besides, it was the first. I couldn't ask for anything more.
I hope your day is as awesome as you.
Sorry if that's not as detailed as you were expecting it to be, but let's face it: I'd rather write about something else.
So. Hello, everyone. How are we all today? Excellent. I have a story to tell you.
Last year, I took an AP World History class, which I really only took for college credit. I know it sounds horrible, but I don't exactly care about history. There are aspects that are really interesting, but history in general is just not my favorite, especially when I have to take notes on it.
Being me, I decided to brighten up my notes, but I wasn't sure how until about halfway through the year. Then, the light bulb of inspiration flashed with such brilliance that I was mentally blinded by the sheer wonder of it. What was this utterly fantastic stroke? I thought to myself, "Why not write it like a movie script?"
Now, let it be known that I did not write it exactly like a movie script. That would have been more effort than it was worth. Really how it went was I'd take what the textbook said, write it in a more descriptive way with added effects, add dialogue here and there, make a title, write when musical numbers are needed, and make little director's notes (such as "Still need to find an actor for him" or "That lighting is going to be difficult").
It was so much fun. I did it here and there over the last half of the school year, and it was amazing. One of my friends thought it was the greatest thing she'd ever seen in her life. But the absolute best one was the first one I did. The original. My masterpiece. I called it Martin Luther and the Enlightenment. Here is the introduction (just so you're aware, it talks about religion, so proceed carefully):
"Our tale begins in the early sixteenth century, with the Protestant Reformation shattering the unity of Roman Catholic Christianity...Two different beliefs, clashing in a spectacle of Martin Luther and Wittenberg in 1517, a story truly not worthy of this mechanical pencil. Martin Luther, the protagonist of the Protestants and the catharsis of the Catholics, protested in a perfectly theological way. A troubled man turned hero and villain, and anxious about his relationship with God, Luther...made a bold, life-changing move by coming to a realization that would change the course of Europe and alter the world's history...
"It was a dark and stormy night, or so we assume, once upon a time (for it only happened once) and Martin Luther became aware of his suddenly precarious relationship with God. He eventually came to recognize that the Catholic church was not teaching the correct way to get salvation. [cue lightning and thunder] Standing firmly wherever he was, he abruptly understood that neither the yellow value of the sinner nor the sacraments of the Church had any bearing on the destiny of eternity of the soul...Pacing excitedly, Luther's thoughts continued: the source of these beliefs, and of religious authority in general...was not the teaching of the Church, but the Bible alone, interpreted according to the individual's conscience. [at this point, Luther picks up the Bible and sings a song reminiscent of Les Misérables]...
"Reformation thinking diffused quickly both within and beyond Germany, thanks in large measure to the recent invention of the printing press. [cue montage] Luther's many pamphlets and his translation of the New Testament in German were soon widely available. [cue upbeat music; Reformation leader speaks with it] 'God has appointed the [printing] Press to preach, whose voice the pope is never able to stop.'
"Now, to France. [zoom out of a map and zoom into France on peasants singing a song reminiscent of Les Misérables]...On August 24, 1572, Catholic mobs in Paris [cue intense musical score] massacred some 3,000 Huguenots, and thousands more perished in provincial towns in the weeks that followed. Finally, a war-weary monarch, Henry IV [still need to cast him], issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598...[cut to King Henry IV looking sadly out his window]"
You get the idea.
Throughout the rest of the year, I would even reference back to this with some sort of remark about the five-star sensation, Martin Luther and the Enlightenment.
Now, it's a new year. I'm now in AP U.S. History, which actually is a little more interesting to me. Last week, there I was, minding my own business as I was doing the reading from the textbook when all of a sudden...Martin Luther was mentioned.
After a moment of giddy flashbacks, I wrote in parentheses "see the feature film by acclaimed director and writer Odessa Taylor". Look, nobody said I was humble.
So, that's my story for today. I just had fun looking back on my awesome movie scripts. They were all pretty good, but this one was by far the best. Besides, it was the first. I couldn't ask for anything more.
I hope your day is as awesome as you.
I think someone needs to make this into a "You're friend the rat" type movie short.
ReplyDeleteSeriously! ;)
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