brasileiro
Spectator
Something for those who favor a fairly 'soft' and consensual approach...
Camera pans a bucolic scene, an open green meadow fringed by trees, ruins of a Spanish-style chapel in the background. Camera withdraws and we see a police-tape barrier at the margin of the meadow, behind the barrier a small gathering of people in casual clothes, many with cameras. It is mid-afternoon on a warm sunny day. The crowd is chatty but expectant. A man in early middle age enters the frame. The crowd settles. The man is wearing jeans and sandals. He is shirtless. He sports a wide leather belt. Thin straps dangle from the belt. He carried a mobile microphone.
Thomas Christian: Greetings! I am the Reverend Thomas Christian and I will be your host at this Second Annual Ultimate Christian Easter Challenge. Welcome! The challenge, as you know, is an affirmation of the Christian faith by, and for, women. This year’s challenge will be a little different from last year’s. You will hear about that in a moment. But first let me introduce our staff of helpers.
Seven men, all shirtless and wearing jeans and sandals, enter the frame. They range in age from early twenties to early forties. They are slim and athletic-looking. The men bow perfunctorily to the crowd.
Christian: And now we’re going to show you some of the props we will be using today.
The seven men scatter. Moments later, two of them carry a short wooden post into the frame. They settle the post into a hole in the ground. The post is square; a pair of old-fashioned iron manacles dangle from its sides. The men toss three or four leather pads onto the ground around the base of the post. Meanwhile, other helpers enter the meadow lugging three long wooden beans, which they drop to the ground.
Christian: And now, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce three of the most courageous women you will ever meet.
Three women enter the frame. They are all clad in billowing white robes suggestive of ancient times. They wear sandals. One is thin and dark skinned, her hair slicked back. A second is Asian. A third is pale, doe-eyed with long wispy hair that falls to her shoulders.
Christian: Meet Zoe, Alysha, and Fernanda!
The black girl, the Asian, and the doe-eyed beauty bow to the crowd in turn.
Christian: And now I’m going to ask Zoe to act at spokeswoman.
The skinny black girl approaches Christian and takes the microphone.
Zoe: Thank you, Reverend Christian, and thank you all for coming. I would especially like to thank the television audience for tuning in. This is, as you know, an event unique in the world today. We are here for the second year in a row. This year, we will execute something a bit more bold than last year. If you were here last year, you will remember seeing three erect crosses in the meadow behind me. Each of us—myself, Alysha, and Fernanda—mounted a cross and, fully clothed in the white robes you see before you today, we were tied to the wood. It was an exhilarating experience! We allowed you, the good Christians of the world, to approach our crosses, kiss our feet, and accept our blessings, offered, as they were, by arms outstretched as if to embrace all the world. Many of you told us, later, what a beautiful tableau we formed. You told us how moving the experience was for you. And yet…there was something missing. What was missing was the suffering of the Christ we sought to emulate. This year, we will set that to rights. (A soft murmur spreads through the crowd) I can see that many of you are surprised. Please do not be! We are here in the spirit, and indeed in the flesh, of Christ, or, as we say among the good Christian women of the world, the spirit, and the flesh, of Christa, the female anointed one. Here is what you will witness…Each of us—myself, Alysha, and Fernanda—will be presented to you, and to the Reverend Christian, under appropriate Biblical names--Gesta, Disma, and Christa. Each, in turn, will be stripped by the helpers to the waist (a collective shudder sweeps through the crowd). Each will then, in turn, kneel before the wooden whipping post you see before you, be affixed to the post by iron manacles, and be whipped on the naked back 39 times. Each will then shoulder one of the wooden crossbeams you see on the ground behind me and walk with it the 20 yards to the execution grounds at my right (Zoe points). There she will await the others…and her fate. (Zoe pauses, then signals for the murmur of the crowd to subside). You will be allowed to reassemble there. Once there, you will watch as the three crosses are assembled by the helpers. You will witness each of us being stripped naked by the helpers, walked to the site of our torture, and then laid upon the unforgiving wood of the cross. Each of us will then be tied by hemp at the wrists and ankles. The three crosses will be raised and we will hang, naked, from the crossbeams, in all the shame, humiliation, beauty and glory of our nudity, for your edification, your delectation, or your worship, as you please. (Zoe pauses; the crowd is silent. Zoe turns to her host). Mr. Christian! (She turns the microphone over to the host.)
Christian: Thank you, Zoe. (Addressing the crowd) You have heard Zoe’s outline of today’s events. Now, it is up to you. Do you wish these three lovely women to be crucified? (Only the faintest murmur can be heard from the crowd) Please, if you do, speak up. We want to hear it from you! If you want to see them crucified, then say, loud and clear, ‘crucify them!’ Now, let’s hear it! (A thin chant arises) Louder! Do you want them CRUCIFIED! (The chant grows louder) Do you want them WHIPPED? Do you want them whipped naked? And then CRUCIFIED NAKED? (The chant picks up). One last time, shall I CRUCIFY them! (A stiff chant arises, ‘crucify them.’) Very well! (Christian pauses; he glances toward his helpers, then points to the three women in the flowing white garments) Gentlemen, crucify them! (Applause)
Zoe is the first to approach the whipping post. She cups her hands in front of her and bows her head.
Christian: You are known as Disma? (Zoe nods) You are a whore, and a thief! (She nods) You have been condemned this day to suffer horrible tortures. You will be stripped of your garments, shamed and humiliated before men and women, whipped on your naked flesh. Do you deserve these tortures? (She nods) Then, you will carry the instrument of your own final torture to the place of execution and, there, you will be crucified naked for all to see…to mock…to ogle. Do you deserve this punishment? (She nods). (Christian turns to two helpers). Strip her and bind her!
The helpers roughly pull down Zoe’s upper garments until they hang from her waist. She is half naked. They untie her hair which falls in long black ringlets to her shoulders. She is lean, with small breasts and bright pink nipples. She stands at a slight angle so that her lean belly curves toward her prominent hip bones. The helpers guide her toward the whipping post then shove her to her knees. She kneels on the leather pads. They lock the manacles around her wrists. She presses her body against the pale wood of the post. Her back is a long, curved sheen of dark skin, outlined by the pebble-like beads of her backbone. Ridges and valleys are formed by the prominent shoulder blades of one so thin, making her seem frightened and vulnerable. Her breathing is heavy. She seems to hug the whipping post with her bare arms and breasts. Her chest heaves. Her ribs arch. She glances, with longing and terror, at Christian.
Christian: (Ignoring the cowering figure of Zoe, he brandishes a multi-strand whip and addresses the crowd) Shall I whip her? (The crowd murmurs) Louder! Do you wish her whipped? (The crowd begins to chant ‘whip her’) Shout it so she can hear it! (The chant ‘whip her, whip her’ rises from the crowd as from a single blood-thirsty throat) Very well…you shall have your wish. I will whip her!
Christian assumes an aggressive stance behind Zoe, whose breathing becomes labored. He tests the whip on the ground and in the air. It makes a hissing and then a slashing sound. With little warning, he lets loose a series of blows across Zoe’s curved, elongated back. She tenses at the first stroke, then twists and turns as the rain of blows slashes her back. She grunts and then screams as the lashes multiply. The manacles rattle. Her little breasts flit back and forth against the wood of the whipping post. Under his breath, Christian counts each lash. Soon, the crowd picks up the rhythm, counting ten…then 15…20. Christian pauses at 25 then, without warning, resumes his rhythmic whipping of Zoe’s naked back. Both Zoe and Christian are sweating profusely. The whip kicks up a hail of sweat from Zoe’s naked skin with each hissing lash. At the count of 39, Christian lowers the whip. He roughly grabs Zoe by her matted sweaty hair and turns her face to the crowd. Tears stream down her face.
Christian: (Addressing the crowd) Is this what you wanted? She has been whipped on her naked skin! She has given back to the lash the pleasure she took from the flesh, from your purses, from your husbands. The whore has been whipped! Is it enough? (The crowd murmurs) Is it enough? Say it! Say you want her crucified! (The crowd erupts in a chant, ‘crucify her, crucify her’) Very well. (Christian releases his grip on Zoe’s hair) Gentlemen…crucify her!
Fade.
...more to come
Ultimate Christian Challenge – Easter
Television Script
Written and Produced by Thomas Christian and Directed by Greg Gregson
Camera pans a bucolic scene, an open green meadow fringed by trees, ruins of a Spanish-style chapel in the background. Camera withdraws and we see a police-tape barrier at the margin of the meadow, behind the barrier a small gathering of people in casual clothes, many with cameras. It is mid-afternoon on a warm sunny day. The crowd is chatty but expectant. A man in early middle age enters the frame. The crowd settles. The man is wearing jeans and sandals. He is shirtless. He sports a wide leather belt. Thin straps dangle from the belt. He carried a mobile microphone.
Thomas Christian: Greetings! I am the Reverend Thomas Christian and I will be your host at this Second Annual Ultimate Christian Easter Challenge. Welcome! The challenge, as you know, is an affirmation of the Christian faith by, and for, women. This year’s challenge will be a little different from last year’s. You will hear about that in a moment. But first let me introduce our staff of helpers.
Seven men, all shirtless and wearing jeans and sandals, enter the frame. They range in age from early twenties to early forties. They are slim and athletic-looking. The men bow perfunctorily to the crowd.
Christian: And now we’re going to show you some of the props we will be using today.
The seven men scatter. Moments later, two of them carry a short wooden post into the frame. They settle the post into a hole in the ground. The post is square; a pair of old-fashioned iron manacles dangle from its sides. The men toss three or four leather pads onto the ground around the base of the post. Meanwhile, other helpers enter the meadow lugging three long wooden beans, which they drop to the ground.
Christian: And now, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce three of the most courageous women you will ever meet.
Three women enter the frame. They are all clad in billowing white robes suggestive of ancient times. They wear sandals. One is thin and dark skinned, her hair slicked back. A second is Asian. A third is pale, doe-eyed with long wispy hair that falls to her shoulders.
Christian: Meet Zoe, Alysha, and Fernanda!
The black girl, the Asian, and the doe-eyed beauty bow to the crowd in turn.
Christian: And now I’m going to ask Zoe to act at spokeswoman.
The skinny black girl approaches Christian and takes the microphone.
Zoe: Thank you, Reverend Christian, and thank you all for coming. I would especially like to thank the television audience for tuning in. This is, as you know, an event unique in the world today. We are here for the second year in a row. This year, we will execute something a bit more bold than last year. If you were here last year, you will remember seeing three erect crosses in the meadow behind me. Each of us—myself, Alysha, and Fernanda—mounted a cross and, fully clothed in the white robes you see before you today, we were tied to the wood. It was an exhilarating experience! We allowed you, the good Christians of the world, to approach our crosses, kiss our feet, and accept our blessings, offered, as they were, by arms outstretched as if to embrace all the world. Many of you told us, later, what a beautiful tableau we formed. You told us how moving the experience was for you. And yet…there was something missing. What was missing was the suffering of the Christ we sought to emulate. This year, we will set that to rights. (A soft murmur spreads through the crowd) I can see that many of you are surprised. Please do not be! We are here in the spirit, and indeed in the flesh, of Christ, or, as we say among the good Christian women of the world, the spirit, and the flesh, of Christa, the female anointed one. Here is what you will witness…Each of us—myself, Alysha, and Fernanda—will be presented to you, and to the Reverend Christian, under appropriate Biblical names--Gesta, Disma, and Christa. Each, in turn, will be stripped by the helpers to the waist (a collective shudder sweeps through the crowd). Each will then, in turn, kneel before the wooden whipping post you see before you, be affixed to the post by iron manacles, and be whipped on the naked back 39 times. Each will then shoulder one of the wooden crossbeams you see on the ground behind me and walk with it the 20 yards to the execution grounds at my right (Zoe points). There she will await the others…and her fate. (Zoe pauses, then signals for the murmur of the crowd to subside). You will be allowed to reassemble there. Once there, you will watch as the three crosses are assembled by the helpers. You will witness each of us being stripped naked by the helpers, walked to the site of our torture, and then laid upon the unforgiving wood of the cross. Each of us will then be tied by hemp at the wrists and ankles. The three crosses will be raised and we will hang, naked, from the crossbeams, in all the shame, humiliation, beauty and glory of our nudity, for your edification, your delectation, or your worship, as you please. (Zoe pauses; the crowd is silent. Zoe turns to her host). Mr. Christian! (She turns the microphone over to the host.)
Christian: Thank you, Zoe. (Addressing the crowd) You have heard Zoe’s outline of today’s events. Now, it is up to you. Do you wish these three lovely women to be crucified? (Only the faintest murmur can be heard from the crowd) Please, if you do, speak up. We want to hear it from you! If you want to see them crucified, then say, loud and clear, ‘crucify them!’ Now, let’s hear it! (A thin chant arises) Louder! Do you want them CRUCIFIED! (The chant grows louder) Do you want them WHIPPED? Do you want them whipped naked? And then CRUCIFIED NAKED? (The chant picks up). One last time, shall I CRUCIFY them! (A stiff chant arises, ‘crucify them.’) Very well! (Christian pauses; he glances toward his helpers, then points to the three women in the flowing white garments) Gentlemen, crucify them! (Applause)
Zoe is the first to approach the whipping post. She cups her hands in front of her and bows her head.
Christian: You are known as Disma? (Zoe nods) You are a whore, and a thief! (She nods) You have been condemned this day to suffer horrible tortures. You will be stripped of your garments, shamed and humiliated before men and women, whipped on your naked flesh. Do you deserve these tortures? (She nods) Then, you will carry the instrument of your own final torture to the place of execution and, there, you will be crucified naked for all to see…to mock…to ogle. Do you deserve this punishment? (She nods). (Christian turns to two helpers). Strip her and bind her!
The helpers roughly pull down Zoe’s upper garments until they hang from her waist. She is half naked. They untie her hair which falls in long black ringlets to her shoulders. She is lean, with small breasts and bright pink nipples. She stands at a slight angle so that her lean belly curves toward her prominent hip bones. The helpers guide her toward the whipping post then shove her to her knees. She kneels on the leather pads. They lock the manacles around her wrists. She presses her body against the pale wood of the post. Her back is a long, curved sheen of dark skin, outlined by the pebble-like beads of her backbone. Ridges and valleys are formed by the prominent shoulder blades of one so thin, making her seem frightened and vulnerable. Her breathing is heavy. She seems to hug the whipping post with her bare arms and breasts. Her chest heaves. Her ribs arch. She glances, with longing and terror, at Christian.
Christian: (Ignoring the cowering figure of Zoe, he brandishes a multi-strand whip and addresses the crowd) Shall I whip her? (The crowd murmurs) Louder! Do you wish her whipped? (The crowd begins to chant ‘whip her’) Shout it so she can hear it! (The chant ‘whip her, whip her’ rises from the crowd as from a single blood-thirsty throat) Very well…you shall have your wish. I will whip her!
Christian assumes an aggressive stance behind Zoe, whose breathing becomes labored. He tests the whip on the ground and in the air. It makes a hissing and then a slashing sound. With little warning, he lets loose a series of blows across Zoe’s curved, elongated back. She tenses at the first stroke, then twists and turns as the rain of blows slashes her back. She grunts and then screams as the lashes multiply. The manacles rattle. Her little breasts flit back and forth against the wood of the whipping post. Under his breath, Christian counts each lash. Soon, the crowd picks up the rhythm, counting ten…then 15…20. Christian pauses at 25 then, without warning, resumes his rhythmic whipping of Zoe’s naked back. Both Zoe and Christian are sweating profusely. The whip kicks up a hail of sweat from Zoe’s naked skin with each hissing lash. At the count of 39, Christian lowers the whip. He roughly grabs Zoe by her matted sweaty hair and turns her face to the crowd. Tears stream down her face.
Christian: (Addressing the crowd) Is this what you wanted? She has been whipped on her naked skin! She has given back to the lash the pleasure she took from the flesh, from your purses, from your husbands. The whore has been whipped! Is it enough? (The crowd murmurs) Is it enough? Say it! Say you want her crucified! (The crowd erupts in a chant, ‘crucify her, crucify her’) Very well. (Christian releases his grip on Zoe’s hair) Gentlemen…crucify her!
Fade.
...more to come
-0-
