the story of malana

A remote primitive little village in the Himalayas, Malana was isolated from the outside civilization for thousands of years. Was never invaded or ruled by an external administration. The people there had been living in harmony with nature, an innocent pure existence with their own language, their own world, their own democracy. Their people’s republic has been governed by a village council with an upper house and a lower house like the bicameral assemblies of our parliament. The council members are chosen by the village folk through a process of unanimous selection - not an election! Their court has been resolving all their internal disputes. No manipulation, no favoritism, they have their God in front. All decisions have been unanimous; every individual’s opinion is considered – unlike the present form of democracy that leads to dictatorship of the majority. And the secret of their civilization has been trust. the democracy of trust. Since a given word is taken as absolute, they have never felt the need for formal education.

In popular belief they are supposed to be the descendants of some deported Greek soldiers of Alexander, yet some traces their existence rooted deep in Hindu mythology. Their ancestral roots may be debatable but their democratic setup with participatory court procedure has similarity to that of ancient Greece.

And they have been producing some very good quality hashish. Blessed by Lord Shiva good quality cannabis plant grows in abundance there. For ages the use of cannabis has been an integral part of their lives, from medicine to footwear. But in the past they had never traded it; neither did they know the value of it. Their only trade with the outside world had been sheep wool.

In the seventies came some white men. They taught the villagers how to rub the cream – the cleaner and more potent hashish suitable for an international market. Those foreigners drew them into business. Malana cream became an international brand. Hashish production grew like a home industry for each household. The poor villagers started earning money and they didn’t know the value of money either.

The Indian government took notice of a hidden backward tribe who as par laws of the state were into criminal activity. The outlaws were to be brought under the rule of our mainstream democracy. Malana became a part of our national electorate, a part of our mainstream administration.

And the invasion begins… To give them the light of our civilization government starts building a series of dams, tunnels through the mountain to generate hydel-power. Malana gets electricity, Television, satellite dishes, mobile phones, a vehicular road. With them comes all the vices of a modern world, comes money, comes greed. The incursion of political parties also means creation of political polarity among the beautiful people of a peaceful hamlet. With no knowledge or perspective of the outer world innocent illiterate villagers take sides of political parties and create a divide within.

And the fire strikes… In January 2008, in a devastating fire, caused by an electrical short circuit, half the village including four ancient temples gets completely destroyed. The villagers comprehend that the political divide has disturbed their unity so the God is angry. The people who haven’t lost their houses accommodate those who have lost theirs. But the fire annihilates; the curse of the modern world has hit hard upon the hidden treasure of this ancient civilization - their trust.

The rebuilding of Malana witnesses transition of an ancient civilization. Rules of the modern world, which promote homogenization and convenience, force replacement of traditional methods and practices. In our democracy it’s illegal to cut trees, so the villagers are forced to build concrete houses instead of their traditional stone and wood ones. Poor villagers cannot understand how come the government can destroy their jungle to built the dam or the road and they themselves are prohibited to cut a few trees to rebuild their homes! Concrete house means outside knowledge, outside people, more money; so comes outside aids with their political interests! An age-old traditional society crumbles; the influential individuals turn corrupt, families break apart, brothers fight.

For the poor villagers hashish still remains their only means to earn some money, and it’s a very little money, not even enough to make their living forget about rebuilding their homes. Their production is very restricted now because of police watch. They don’t understand why they have to give away something, which has been so special to them for thousands of years! For them governance is for the people, so why can’t the government make special sanctions for these poor people in crisis! They don’t realize why they have to become a part of India and loose their sovereignty!

We can see the end is very near. In the name of progress of human civilization, like thousands others, another ancient civilization is getting engulfed by a modern one, loosing its unique identity to homogenization. When the whole world is looking for an answer to the shortcomings of the present form of democracy, we witness a beautiful model of self-governance, one of the world’s oldest forms of democracy for the people being obliterated by the rule of the majority.

I feel destined to record such a reality… some moments of truth, some disappearing myths, some wisdom of trust… a dying account of an obscured victim of human progress!

15 Elements of Action-Adventure Scripts

 


Action-adventure scripts seem to always be in demand. They’re big business for Hollywood – making up the industries main tentpole films each year. Let’s look at some of the essential elements of the genre:

1. The “Big Idea” PremiseAction–adventure films are most often high-concept with a main storyline that involves the hero saving the world from destruction. More frequently action-adventure films have franchise/series potential.

2. The Hero is an “Average Guy” or “Larger than Life” CharacterThe Average Guy hero (John McClain in Die Hard, Neo in The Matrix) is an unwilling participant who gets himself into a predicament and is forced to take action. The “Larger than Life” hero (such as Batman) is already prepared to fight and save the day and doesn’t usually require any convincing to take action. Sometimes the Action-Adventure hero is an “anti-hero” character (such as Danny Ocean in Ocean’s 11.)

3. High StakesThe stakes for the hero are often extremely high: the destruction of earth by an asteroid (Armageddon), the death of innocent hostages held in a skyscraper (Die Hard), the annihilation of entire planets by a space-station super-weapon (Star Wars)

4. Plot-DrivenAction-adventure films are plot-driven. The events that make up the story’s plot consist of the hero’s efforts to thwart the villain’s plan.

5. Present a “Good vs. Evil” Theme
The theme of action-adventure stories is basically “good vs. evil”. This theme is often narrowed and personalized based on the hero’s emotional stakes (for instance, Lethal Weapon’s narrowed theme focuses on the importance of family.) The hero almost always reflects and upholds the current morals of society.

6. A Title that Reflects The Action and Content of the StoryA vibrant title that evokes the action, adventure, and premise of the story is a key component to the genre. (Iron Man, Terminator, Lethal Weapon, Braveheart, Die Hard, Armageddon)

7. The Villain Has a Masterful PlanThe villain’s plan provides the catalyst for the hero’s adventure. The villain’s plan sets up the hero’s goal (which is to stop the villain’s plan.)

8. The Villain Is More Powerful than the HeroCreating a villain that is more powerful than the hero forces the protagonist to transform. In action-adventure films where the protagonist is a “Larger than Life” character, the hero often has a weakness the villain can exploit (such as kryptonite against Superman.)

9. The Hero and The Villain Do Battle to the “Death”Though the obligatory scene (the final battle between the protagonist and the antagonist) does not always involve the literal “death” of the villain, the hero always triumphs in some way – even if the hero dies in the battle.

10. Contain Plenty of Action SequencesThe core of an action-adventure film is of course, action: violence, car chases, gun battles, fistfights, explosions, martial arts, and foot pursuits. The average action-adventure film contains nine action sequences that put the hero in physical jeopardy.

11. Big Set Piece(s)A set piece is a memorable scene that stands alone. In an action-adventure film the big set piece (or set pieces) is an organic extension of the action sequences, such as the train wreck in The Fugitive, the plane crash landing on the Vegas Strip in Con Air, and the famous car chase in the film Bullitt.

12. Snappy DialogueMost action-adventure films contain snappy dialogue, especially in stories where the hero has a buddy or ally or mentor to spar with. Another common dialogue element is the hero’s payback line delivered to the bad guy. (“Do you feel lucky? Well, do you punk?”)

13. A Ticking Clock ScenarioMany action-adventure films use a ticking-clock scenario, which creates urgency, heightens tension and increases suspense. Examples include the ticking bomb in Die Hard, the amount of time available to pull off the heist in Ocean’s 11, the countdown to the asteroid striking Earth inArmageddon, and the deadline for getting a prisoner on a train in 3:10 to Yuma

14. Incorporates Mythical Story StructureCampbell’s hero’s journey is often, though not always, used as the foundation for action-adventure films. Star Wars, The Matrix, and Lord of the Rings are a few examples to study.

15. Vertical, Active WritingVertical writing creates an immediate, active experience for the reader. Action expressed in few words moves faster. The action-adventure writer leaves plenty of white-space on the page by breaking long sentences or important moments of action into short phrases and presenting them as separate lines of description (instead of paragraphs.) Action scripts use tight writing full of sound elements (BOOM, CRASH, BANG) and active verbs – and avoid adjectives, which stall action.

YOUR TURN: What additional elements are essential to the action-adventure genre?

STAY-TUNED: In the next post we will examine two classic action-adventure scenes.