Monday, August 19, 2013

GZ: Superhero



It's like a movie. You get fed up. You blow something up. Or you fall down and cry. Or you shoot. Or you become paranoid. Or maybe paranoid happens over time. A slow boil. A rumbling toward a breaking point. Or many breaking points. Only eventually one break is one too many. What do you do in your spare time. I mean your other spare time. When you're not paranoid or obsessed with what's outside your window.  What are you looking at inside? Not inside yourself, that might make you a different person, less paranoid less rationalizing of the irrational. I mean inside your house. How many movies have you watched? How many movies with good guys and bad guys and action and explosions and shooting? How many movies with a scary bad guy sneaking around hiding in the shadows ducking out of the way until the good guy looks down for just a second? The bad guy comes out of nowhere. Hits the good guy in the face. "What you want? Why you watching me? I'm gonna kill you motherfucker." You know in the movies, when the bad guy circles the good guy's car staring menacingly in through the rolled up windows. The good guy notices the bad guy has a hand in his waistband hiding a gun or a knife. The bad guy disappears and the good guy gets out to follow (because otherwise the plot would stall the action would never move to the conflict and fight scene). The good guy follows but can't see the bad guy. The good guy has 911 on the phone but then says the bad guy is gone. Hangs up. Starts walking away. Feels nervous. Looks for his phone but this time he can't find it (which pocket? oh crap which pocket?). Caught unaware he is hit in the nose (because bad guys like evil nemeses can appear without sound in a flash and catch the bad guys off guard... that's why we cheer for the good guys, they come from behind to triumph win over evil) staggers gets knocked to the ground. Bad guy "you got a problem?" Good guy: "no." Bad guy: "you do now." And before he knows it the good guy is down head on cement bleeding can't get up. Bad guy holds him down. Good guy: "help!" Bad guy: "shut the fuck up." Bad guy slams good guy's head into cement. Bad guy: "you're gonna die tonight motherfucker." Bad guy reaches for good guy's gun holstered at good guy's waist. Good guy gets a surge of adrenaline. Suddenly pushes back. Grabs his gun first. Good guy puts the gun to bad guy's chest and pulls the trigger. Bad guy: "you got me." Bad guy sits up sways a little. Good guy pushes him off down to the ground face down gets on top of him spreads his arms out to the sides to keep him at bay. While the bad guy dies. This is the screenplay for GZ: Superhero. It's already half written. You wrote it. In your own words. GZ neighborhood protector. GZ local hero watching out for dangerous potholes and piles of trash. Calling 911 on kids playing in the street, kids playing basketball, dogs wandering aimlessly. GZ calling 911 on suspicious black men wearing tank tops, leather jackets, sweatshirts. GZ has studied the law. GZ wants to be a police officer. GZ can protect the people take down criminals has a gun goes on patrol wants to be a judge one day. GZ is ready to kill the bad guy. In the non-movie version the bad guy is a kid barely verging on adulthood. The bad guy is not a bad guy but a kid walking home from the store. The kid who is mistaken for a bad guy has candy in his pocket no criminal record no record of violence walks home in the rain talking to his friend on the phone. The kid  weighs 80lbs less than you GZ. In the silent version unwritten the kid tried to run away instead got caught on a movie set shot dead with not-fake blood.

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