BRIDGE KIDS: THE TECHNOLOGICAL REINCARNATION OF JULIA DENZIG
GEOFFREY PUGEN
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF FINE ARTS
GRADUATE PROGRAM IN FILM YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO
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1+1 Canada Abstract
"A cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid ofmachine and
organism, a creature ofsocial reality as well as a creature of
fiction."
-Donna Haraway
In this age of ubiquitous cyborgs, avatars and virtual personås, artists are
returning to science fiction metaphors, the hyper-real and the absurd to
investigate the impact of technology and the virtual on the human body and
environment. Are we headed for a technocratic future, filled with bureaucracy
and endless virtual information? Or could our development with technology
result in a mutualism, forming a stronger union with the natural, the spiritual
and the supernatural? This media project is a meditation on this complex
terrain, a portal through which to explore the tension between science ('the
real') and the imaginary ('the virtual').
Bridge Kids is a 16min single channel video work that connects a research documentary on the history of ESP, a fictional dramatic televisjon series, and a science fiction drama portraying an adolescenfs technological reincarnation. A meditation and absurd collage of media, found footage and staged drama juxtaposing complex human relations with ESP, iv pedagogy, instability and sci-fi cliché creates a fragmented narrative of two kids' escape from networks and institution. The video metaphorically depicts humans interfacing with technology, the virtual, creating a psychic space.
v Table of Contents
Abstract 2
Synopsis 4
Background 5
Indigo Children 8
Creativity & Pedagogy 10
Autism & Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd) 12
Technology, Intuition and Art 14
Simulation and pataphor/pataphysics in digital media 17
Artistic Process 20
Creative Treatment and Artistic Techniques 37
Works Cited 43
Bibliography (Selected Readings) 46
vi Synopsis
A gifted youth, Kent, is sent away to a private 'special' school. There she makes a psychic connection with one of the students, Kathy. After sharing thoughts they decide to escape. Kathy shows Kent her secret tree house devoted to her avatar Julia Denzig. She hopes to gain further understanding by revealing her deepest secrets to Kent. Through this exchange a technological reincarnation unfolds.
1 Background
Throughout my childhood I was a highly competitive tennis player. By the time
I was 19-years old I competed at an international level, playing tennis four to five hours a day. As I completed my undergraduate degree, my interests moved towards the arts and video-making, and ultimately quit competitive tennis. However, this "gaming mentality" continued to influence my thought processes in my daily life; I feel the need to compete and win in everyday situations as well as in personal relationships. My own difficulties separating the game from real life has inspired me to explore the influences of today's culture on adolescents - virtual gaming, television dramas, and our hyper mediated history.
There is no real, there is no imaginary except at a certain distance. What happens when this distance, including that between the real and the imaginary, tends to abolish itself, to be reabsorbed on behalf of the model? Well, from one order of simulacra to another, the tendency is certainly toward the reabsorption of this distance, of this gap that leaves room for an ideal or critical projection. (1)
The digital realm of the Internet is the institution on which much of the world's population is building its meaning of the 'real'. In what Baudrillard calls 'the model' is what I interpret as a 'pataphor' for the current state of the Internet.
The ever increasing integration of technologies into the education system,
2 medical industry and office/ work place will make it progressively more difficult
for people to make a distinction between the simulated and what was formerly
understood as the real. Television networks like Fox news uses imagery from
different time periods or locations and broadcasts them as immediate news
as if it were real. The widening approval of mood-altering drugs, from Ritalin
to Zoloft, has made a pharmaceutical induced high the normal state of mind
for millions of people. It is not at all abnormal for a person to relax on Ativan
and interact with the rest of the world mainly through social networking
communication (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedln) People can sustain these
active imaginary social lives by håving '2nd lives' on the Internet and simulated
virtual sex. "There is no longer one absolute reality, but the possibility of
multiple realities, each one as "real" or as artificial as the others." (2)
The boundaries between 'natural' and 'artificial' have not only become blurred but are a part for our identity.
Computer technology works increasingly with organic substances, which are inserted into electronic devices, for example as 'biosensors.' In 1994 the American Leo Adelmann developed the first DNA computer which, using amino acid sequences of genes, can solve certain types of mathematical problems faster than any conventional computer. Nature thus becomes artificial and technical, while technology becomes alive. The direct connection of life and technical construction, once a fantasy of science fiction films with their cyborgs, has become reality. (3)
3 My experience is that the human body, when connected to a system of virtual
information, tends to shut down. Our senses are no longer aware of the
exterior world, "unlike Cinema, in which the audience sits in a darkened
theatre, their bodies grounded in the physical world, and watches flickering
projections of light on a screen..." (4) Thus in Cinema our senses are
experiencing a form of simulation in the real. Where in the virtual our senses
are enclosed in a simulacrum allowing ourselves to become a projection of
how we want to see ourselves. This digital age has given humans the ability
to extend and modify their identity via cyberspace. To "make oneself a body
without organs," then, is to actively experiment with oneself to draw out and
activate these virtual potentials. These potentials are mostly activated (or
"actualized") through conjunctions with other bodies (or BwOs) that Deleuze
calls "becomings." (5)
Bridge Kids metaphorically examines how the virtual affects us psychologically and emotionally. Recent phenomena of more rapidly disseminated images and information have radically changed human behavior. Bridge Kids explores possibilities of how human life and virtual life have begun to morph into a new breed of more 'psychic' beings. In Bridge
Kids, constantly moving between the world of the 'real' and the 'virtual' effects the childrens' conciousness', creating disturbing and fantastic supernatural
4 experiences.
Indigo Children
Bridge Kids is partly inspired by a new-age theory developed by Nancy Tappe
called Indigo Children. The concept allegedly claims that some children are the next step in human evolution, possessing paranormal abilities such as telepathy, to the extent that they are simply more compassionate, artistic, and psychic than their non-indigo peers. Some Indigo traits are: high IQ, confidence, and resisting authority. Despite zero scientific studies to support this theory, many parents believe their child to be 'INDIGO', when diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism. Parents who subscribe to this alternative diagnosis are told to change théir child's treatment and pedagogy to achieve balance and harmony in their lives.
"The Indigo Child is a boy or girl who displays a new and unusual set of psychological attributes, revealing a pattern of behavior generally undocumented before. This pattern has singularly unique factors that call for parents and teachers to change their treatment and upbringing of these kids to assist them in achieving balance and harmony in their lives, and to help them avoid frustration." - Lee Carrol
5 There are, however, more skeptics than supporters. "All of us would prefer not to have our kids labeled with a psychiatric disorder, but in this case it's a sham diagnosis," said Russell Barkley, a research professor of psychiatry.
"There's no science behind it. There are no studies." The traits attributed to indigo children, he said, are so general that they "could describe most of the people most of the time," (6)
Is the indigo child a hoax or ploy to seil books to naive parents, a product of technological change, or a form of activism against the pharmaceutical giants? I hope that for my viewers they can come to debate these questions.
Creativity, Intuition, and psychic phenomena have never been able to be quantified or calculated by science. As the world moves from an industrial society to a technological and creative society the idea of the indigo child or children that are intelligent in new ways and don't fit into our current systems is a major cultural concern.
6 Creativity & Pedagogy
Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our
children. He advocates a radical rethink of our school systems, to nurture
creativity and recognize multiple types of intelligence. "Why don't we get the
best out of people?" Sir Ken Robinson argues that it's because we've been
educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students
with restless minds and bodies - far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity - are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. (7)
The Sudbury Valley School in Framingham, Massachusetts was founded in
1968 and created a different model and environment for children to learn called democratic education. 'The fundamental premises of the school are simple: that all people are curious by nature; that the most efficient, long- lasting, and profound learning takes place when started and pursued by the learner; that all people are creative if they are allowed to develop their unique talents; that age-mixing among students promotes growth in all members of the group; and that freedom is essential to the development of personal responsibility."(8) It seems that this system of learning for children promotes creativity and stronger social skills, as children are encouraged to explore in the arts and socialize with their peers in reality rather than online. In addition,
7 the rale of adults is different, as they don't interfere unless the children are
inflicting harm on to their peers. Also, children are not evaluated on a curve or
given a specific grade, but rather are graded by levels of self-determination.
The environment for children has proved to be successful as over 80 percent of students that have graduated from the Sudbury school system goes on to graduate from college.
8 Autism & Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
"Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by early
onset of impairments in social interaction and communication and unusual,
stereotyped behaviors. Autism (Le., autistic disorder) often is classified with
two related, although less severe, developmental disorders: Asperger
disorder and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified.
These three constitute the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Diagnosis of
ASDs is based exclusively on developmental pattern and behavioral
observation" (9) In the last 20 years there has been an increase of autism in
children. What is the cause for this increase? Studies at the Centre for
Disease control in the United States has confirmed that "ASD prevalence in
the United States during the 1990s have identified rates of 2.0--7.0 per 1,000
children... a greater-than-tenfold increase from rates of 0.1--0.4 per 1,000
children identified during the 1980s."(10) Further to this study in the township
of New Jersey the CDC concluded that no specific associations were
identified that environmental hazards affected the rate of change in ASD.
ADHD is one of the most common neurobehavioral disorders of childhood. It
is usually first diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. Children with ADHD have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors
(may act without thinking about what the result will be), and in some cases,
9 are overly active. (11)
Interestingly, there is a relationship between these disorders in children and their obsessive impulses with technology. My cousin has autism and I have a friend with ADHD and botn have trouble with the real world and spend most of their time on the Internet or playing video games. They feel more connected and secure with other people through screens.
A study performed at Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan set out to investigate the links between emotional conditions such as anxiety, depression and ADHD and Internet addiction. Two thousand fourteen students, 1204 male and 910 female, were assessed for all of the above factors using a self-report questionnaire. The results showed that Internet addiction is associated with ADHD, depression, and hostility in males, while it is associated with ADHD and depression in females... Internet addiction is characterized by someone's inability to control the amount of time they spend online, neglect of responsibilities due to time spent online, and a preference for spending time online over forming intimate relationships. (12)
10 Technology. Intuition and Art
Intuition has been a word used by artists for centuries. Whether sensed as a
gut feeling or a flash of insight, intuition is central to processes of "coming to
know" in aesthetic practice and experience. (13)
This relationship or bridge between Intuition and technology has motivated
artists to create interesting fantastical projects. Sometimes absurd in nature, others conceptual, in each case the artists have rendered an interesting political or social commentary. Chrysanne Stathacos, a visual artist, created
The Aura Project. For several years Stathacos traveled the world using a
Biofeedback camera taking "aura photographs" of what she calls "spiritual people." The relationship between the subject and the artist is mediated by technology. The subject puts their hands on a biofeedback plate attached to the camera that determined the exposure. This arbitrary exposure creates a color field in the picture. What is most interesting is that Stathacos photographed people of different race, gender, sex, age, size and connected colors to different people thus transcending cultural differences.
Another artist project that explores intuition is entitled "Spiritualist Embrace" by Valerie Lamontagne. Lamontagne is a Montréal-based performance and digital media artist, freelance art critic and independent curator. She is interested in performance and the representation of women in a tradition of
11 feminist performance art. In this project Lamontagne was interested in the relationship between performance art and photography in an séance. She gathered academics, artists, and people who were open to participating in the performance. The event was unscripted and took place at the Spiritual
Science Fellowship (a Montreal training centre for mediumship and spirit contact). Séances have been ongoing at this site for the past 20 years; the artist thought it would be an appropriate space to investigate her concept in.
The culture of Spiritualism - the practice of séances, spiritualist photography, and an interest in forging contact with the hereafter - emerged at the same time as women's emancipation in the mid-nineteenth century. "As society became evermore networked (railroads, telephone lines) and technologized, mediumship provided a unique point of insertion/insurgence for an increasingly disenfranchised female populace." (14)
The fusion of technology and nature marks the turn away from the mechanical age; the fusion of biotechnology and computer science does not only question the exact, the standardized, and the homogenous, but just as much the calculable and the predictable. It discovers the amorphous, living, and unpredictable, the autonomously evolving. This results in an expansion of the programmatic, thematic, as well as the formal canon, which can today be realized just as much by means of technical constructions as by 'naturar substances. Thinking in linear chains of cause and effect is replaced by network thinking, constructing by evolving and artificial evolution. Instead of demarcation and division, there is integration and
12 linking; instead of the true, the possible; instead of the unspoiled, intensity; instead of supremacy, intervention. (15)
Lastly, Wolfgang Tillmans is an artist that works primarily in photography in an art gallery context. What interests me in Tillman's work is his deconstruction of hierarchy in media that mimics the way we 'surf' the Internet. He juxtaposes abstract and documentary images that form a complexity in narrative and history. Self-construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction are vital dimensions of Tillmans's artistic formation. His practice reflects continually shifting subjectivity, necessitating that design always be new....
"with their elaborate recombination of old and new photographs, demonstrate his belief in the capacity of such networks of images and of meanings to suggest the multivalent complexity of a life... "In these situations Tillmans has found, not just a new and challenging way to work with photographs in the spaces of galleries and museums, but to underscore the depth of his engagement with contingency. By "contingency" I mean the way in which meaning, but also subjectivity, sexuality, gender and identity, are all the unstable and temporary results of dynamic processes at the heart of which is difference.'(16)
13 Simulation and pataphor/pataphysics in digital media
Pataphysics is a term that comes from French writer and theatre artist Alfred
Jarry. It is defined as a parody of modem science and a philosophy that
studies what lies beyond metaphysics. Pablo Lopez constructs the Pataphor
as derived from and inspired by the science of Pataphysics. "A Pataphor
attempts to create a figure of speech that exists as far from metaphor as metaphor exists from non-figurative or abstract language." (17) The digital realm and Internet could be considered a metaphysical space in which humans create new selves, interact/ communicate, and construct their identities. As we transcend into this metaphysical space and get bombarded by simulacra and documentation of events that happen in the real, we negotiate and choose our political and social positions.
In 1886 Alfred Jarry wrote a play called Ubu Roi. It was one of the precursors to the theatre of the absurd and the surrealist art movement. In the play his main character (King Ubu) is a metaphor and parody for the modern man as an antihero, fat, ugly and disgusting. "Ubu Roi is bizarre and an absurd retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth: Pere Ubu, an oafish, barely ranking civil servant is persuaded by his shrewish wife to kill the king of Poland and usurp the throne. Pere Ubu is magnificently stupid and appallingly unfit to rule anything, so his eventual ascension is a farce. He becomes a violent and
14 incompetent dictator who kills his subjects, destroys the economy, and makes wararbitrarily."(18)
Eighty years later Jean Baudrillard wrote an article called Pataphysics. In the article he poetically explains his interpretation.
Pataphysics is the highest temptation of the spirit. The horror of ridicule and necessity lead to an enormous infatuation, the enormous flatulence of Ubu.... The idea is to turn it back on itself, it is in this fashion that reality is demolished. In the opinonatedness of Ubu, our will, importance, faith, all the things that are carried to paroxysm where we perceive quite naturally that they are made up of breaths from our flatulence, from meat which we make the candles and ashes, from bone with which we make false ivory and false universes. It is not ridicule. It's an inflation, the brusque passage into an empty space, which is the thought of no one, cause there is not pataphysical thought, there is only pataphysical acid which sours and embaums like milk, swollen like a drowning victim et deflragrer like a greenish-blue truffle of the brains of Palotin. Pataphysics: philosophy of the gaseous state. It can only be defined in a new undiscovered language because too obvious: tautology. Better: it can only define itself by its own term, thus: it doesn't exist. It turns around and around and rehashes the same half-assed incongruence, smiling stupidly, from girolles and decayed dreams. (19)
When viewers suspend their disbelief and fall into an imaginary world they are looking for narrative cues in visual representation. If it is in movies or
15 photography - people are in search of a narrative and genre in which to reference the visual representation to understand the content. In the digital realm/internet these cues become even more important as advertising products and the seif have become primary content. People have become obsessed with this simulation and it has become a daily routine. I am interested in how this obsession has transformed man into a postmillennial version of Ubu Roi.
16 Artistic Process
Over the past decade I have devoted my artistic practice to digital technologies including video, photo-based work, installation and web art. I have extensively studied the social nature of the internet; virtual communities, blogging and gaming culture as well as current trends in television in order to reflect back aspects of these cultures through critical modes of expression. I feel that this is a necessary critical conversation as we find ourselves challenged by these spaces daily; in everything from news media and documentary forms, to email and gaming, we find ourselves negotiating the space between these poles, influencing the decisions we make, our political choices and our daily practices.
In terms of my previous bodies of work, IVe created "Utopien, a fictional institute that promises participants an animal-metamorphosis program, allowing humans to realize ultimate mental and corporeal liberation by finding their inner animal.
"Bridge Kids", will be an extension of these practices. Previously with
Utopics, my video making process was about occupying the infomercial genre to create a narrative and critique about the current nature of the human condition; a condition in which people are obsessed with technology and have lost touch with their natural selves. As well, the Utopics project has adapted
17 an online component (utopics.ca) mimicking the social network phenomenon
(Facebook, Myspace) through obsessive blogging. This online community
consists of individuals from around the world who are able to live out their life
virtually as their inner animal, simulating the narrative of a future-based
society in which people become obsessed with their virtual selves and the
potential to experience their deepest desires through their avatars.
Another video work I completed was called Fictional Dance Party, which
portrayed a surreal narrative of virtual worlds and how our social experiences
become electronic and digital. In this case I was inspired by early ninety's
reality television shows like "Electric Circus." I wanted to create an
atmosphere of the future of dance party experience where the virtual blurred
with reality.
BRIDGE KIDS continues to build upon my previous work. My process is in creating naturalistic performances and futuristic environments to create social change. 3 worlds intersect and fragment throughout the video: A research documentary, a television drama, and a science fiction film. Moving into the future, we must comprehend the effects of how the information age, cyborgs,
18 pedagogy and technology affect and modify our bodies, our culture, and our individual selves.
This unique hybrid of media engages the viewer through different genres depicting the language of a virtual-based culture. History told through documentary conventions, absurdity from the television drama, informs the intense relationship between the two main subjects in the film; two kids connect on complex levels which results in a fragmented media collage poetically deconstructing humans relationship with our past, present and future. The lure of a virtual area, a place in which we can displace our everyday, reintroduces a world that we need to consider perhaps in ways we would not do otherwise.
In terms of my own art practice I act as a cinematographer, director and editor. Maintaining these roles, the techniques that I have worked with in the past will be employed again in this project. They are as follows:
Research Documentary: Using photos, collage and dramatizations with actors I created visuals from the voice over script (see attached script Part 1).
This deepened my artistic relationship to the concept and I found new relationships and connections that informed the fiction element in the film.
19 The documentary is told through the lead character Kathy. She will be
presenting a slide and video show of JB Rhine and Julia Denzig to her dass
at school.
Improvised performance around a conceptual script: My own directing
style involves working intimately with actors to develop staging, new
characters and stories. There is no formal script - mostly scene and dialogue
experiments depicting and signifying the fictional world. With a prepared
concept based script, I approach actors with the idea that l'd like them to
perform as a participant in the environment. Together with the other
performers, we collaborate to create the details of their character through
improvisation of the script dialogue. From these improvisation rehearsals and
shoots, new dialogue forms and is written into the script and captured on camera. In this way I seek to render more natural and candid scenes, as well as characters that are derived from the personal experiences of participating in the concept. With my previous work I filmed performance artists and dancers, using choreographed movement and improvisation around concepts to build characters.
For Bridge Kids my intention was to expand on documenting live performances in this conceptual environment. I wanted to create an imaginary school environment for psychic kids. The main characters would be east
20 through the virtual realm. I posted an ad on Craig's list simply stating that I
was making a video about 'Indigo children.' My response was overwhelming
and I narrowed the search down to 2 female child actors, Jill 0'Craven and
Victoria Gonclaves, both around the age of 10. The rest of the kids who
auditioned became the other school kids, background children, or classmates
Once we started filming, the script dialogue was abandoned and
improvisation was re-introduced, documentary filmmaking conventions were
appropriated creating naturalistic images of the kids. In some cases (when
the kids are connecting as psychics) I simply directed them to play together in
a field, giving them an object (crystal) to play around with and filmed whatever
happened.
One stage or example of the process was to ask the kids to give a
presentation in an imaginary dass about the history of ESP and
parapsychology. I had already done the research about Dr Rhine and created
a slide show presentation for Jill. She then presented the slide show to the
dass and I filmed their performances.
Locations & Studio: Bridge Kids was shot in multiple locations outdoors: An elementary school, walking home on various streets in Toronto, on a bridge in
21 High Park and surroyodiog area, and a tree house. The rest was shot no a
controlled studio environment
Photographic still from 'Bridge Kids.' Geoffrey Pugen
The main action and environment in the film was situated in and around the tree house. Earlier in the year I found a tree house on the York campus and thought it was the perfect location for the film. However, due to the age of the performers we did not shoot inside the tree house. Instead we filmed many of the scenes under the tree house and in fields surrounding it. The interior
22 scenes inside the tree house were constructed in the studio, building a set that mimicked how it would look. Once it was built, and all the props and occult crystals were staged inside, I directed the kids to adventure inside the set and try and channel Julia Denzig. Again, there was a dialogue script, but it was abandoned on filming. Mostly, Jill showed the contents and explained what they were to her newest best friend Victoria. Jill, understanding whom the fictional character Julia Denzig was and represented, performed naturally in attempting to channel her virtual existence.
Production still from 'Bridge Kids.' Geoffrey Pugen
23 We also created evening outdoor scenes in the studio by laying down sod and other plants - As the children could not film past 8pm. The studio set-ups were very intricate and designed by Matthew Nye, constructed by Danielle
Greer using recycled materials: old doors, woodchips, and found materials.
Inspired by Multiverse theory and fragmentation, the interior of the tree house was triangular, shard like, to feel like a portal.
Multiverse theory: is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes (including our universe) that together comprise everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and constants that govern them. The different universes within the multiverse are sometimes called parallel universes. The structure of the multiverse, the nature of each universe within it and the relationship between the various constituent universes, depend on the specific multiverse hypothesis considered. (20)
My previous process in making Utopics and Fictional Dance Party began with creating research videos and documentaries in order to develop a final work.
For this project I began with creating the research documentary on the history of ESP and parapsychology. Intuitively, I felt like there was a connection between psychic communication and the virtual realm and wanted to explore this bridge. In my research I focused on Dr. Rhine, a man who attempted to
24 legitimize Extra Sensory Perception as a science and psychology called
parapsychology. I was intrigued by his obsession with trying to formulate a
scientific measurement of psychic ability with humans. He tested his subjects
with esoteric symbols called Zener cards. Zener cards were used to conduct
experiments for extra-sensory perception (ESP), most often clairvoyance.
Perceptual psychologist Karl Zener designed the cards in the early 1930s for
experiments conducted with his colleague, parapsychologist J. B. Rhine.
In this case he could measure how many times people would predict the
cards in relation to space between the tester and subject and the amount of times they would guess the card correctly.
On further research, I found it interesting that he came from a botany education and switched into psychology. Clearly he was interested in a supernatural world, intuition, and the spiritual and was trying to use the scientific method in proving it existed. As my research continued I learned that he had a few subjects that he concentrated his study on. He believed
25 that these people were psychic and had supernatural abilities. This
relationship between the para-scientist and the intuitive subject became my
starting point in creating the fictional character Julia Denzig who is based on
several of Rhine's subjects. The professor - student relationship and the
psychic experiments that he did inspired the dramatic tension in the film.
Using various media (film, animation and photo), historical footage, and voice
over I rendered a process based research documentary focusing on Dr.Rhine:
a man who tried to legitimize ESP as a branch of science but ultimately failed.
Once this was roughly completed I inserted Julia Denzig into the
documentary. She acted as J.B. Rhine's muse. From this character I was
able to create an alternate reality between Denzig and Rhine. A reality in which Dr. Rhine did ESP Para psychological tests on her that developed into an intense relationship. I became very interested in using a real historical figure in a fictional setting and discovered that I could dramatize the relationship between the two in a faux 1990's TV series. Psychic and supernatural characters are found in Hollywood movies and several TV shows like Firestarter, True blood, Flash Forward, uses this cliché over and over again. I wanted to mimic, and simulate these TV shows by preating my own.
My TV show inside the film entitled 'The Rhine Experiments" became a metaphor for how our history gets transformed through the media. How pop culture appropriates historical facts in relationship to current trends and
26 nostalgia sensibilities and reinvents the aesthetic in order to manufacture and
seil its product. Thus in my film I mocked this process by transforming my
research documentary into a 'soap opera TV show' based on Dr. Rhine and
his psychic/ indigo protege Julla Denzig.
Video still from 'Bridge Kids.' Geoffrey Pugen
Simulating and occupying the 'sci-fi TV soap opera like genre' Jb Rhine and
Julia Denzig will be represented as psychic lovers. A Professor and student relationship that has "gone too far'. This story absurdly depicts the tension of
Dr. Rhine trying to control Julia and her ultimate fate of escaping into another dimension. The TV show begins in the middle of an episode and fragments throughout the video. Julia has come to her professor Rhine to give him back a psychic object and explain to him that she is now ready to leave him.
27 These two worlds collide and are experienced through the main character in
my film Kathy. The film begins with Kathy presenting this documentary and
parts of the TV show that I constructed as a slide show homework
assignment to her dass. The presentation then blurs into the 'real' world of
Kathy's imagination.
Kathy a 'speciaT indigo child has come across the TV show on the Internet
and has connected with Julia Denzig's character. With further research online
she learns that Julia is a real person with a dark history. As she becomes lost
and obsessed with this history, her persona gets intertwined with Julia's and
eventually Kathy's identity is lost. The film then serves as a metaphor for
depicting Kathy and her friends interfacing as ubiquitous cyborgs and avatars;
Extra Sensory Perception serves as a metaphor for romantic ideals of communication.
Kathy also finds out that Julia Denzig died at a young age. This stirs her imagination and she decides to bring her back to life - reincarnate her. She finds a tree house and uses it as a gateway Into Julia Denzigs life. The tree house serves as a metaphor for the virtual realm or 'rhizomatic' web. The concept of the Rhizome as developed by Deleuze and Guattari in A Thousand
Platesus: A poetic discourse of ever shifting patterns of media-elements.
28 "Unlike trees or their roots, the rhizome connects any point to any other point,
and its traits are not necessarily linked to traits of the same nature; it brings
into play very different regimes of signs, and even nonsign states." (21)
Kathy claims to her friend Kent that she has brought Julia Denzig's 'stuff to
the tree house but does not understand why. Kathy believes that by showing
her other psychic friend her inner world might trigger a gateway to bring Julia
back. She hopes that her friend Kent will shed some light or help her figure it
out. However, on the way back to school from their visit to the tree house
Kent feels something through her psychic intuition coming from the forest.
She walks off the path and into the forest in a trance like state. Kathy is
confused but follows Kent curiously. Kent comes across a geometric
sculpture that holds the 'model'. She picks it up and looks through it only to
find that Julia Denzig is inside the 'model'. Kent learns in this moment that
she cannot be freed and this disappoints Kathy. In reaction, Kathy from a
distance sees what is happening and in fear and jealousy runs away leaving
her friend behind in the wilderness. The 'model' here refers to Deleuze and
Guattari idea of the model. In what I interpret into my narrative as the 'model' which contains the virtual history and spirit of the 'real' Julia Denzig.
29 Video still from 'Bridge Kids.' Geoffrey Pugen
The model' prop for Bridge Kids
Based on this illustration of the model:
Video still from 'Bridge Kids.' Geoffrey Pugen
This projection is totally reabsorbed in the implosive era of models. The models no longer constitute either transcendence or projection, they no longer constitute the imaginary in relation to the real, they are themselves an anticipation of the
30 real, and thus leave no room for any sort of fictional anticipation - they are immanent, and thus leave no room for any kind of imaginary transcendence. The field opened is that of simulation in the cybernetic sense, that is, of the manipulation of these models at every level (scenarios, the setting up of simulated situations, etc.) but then nothing distinguishes this operation from the operation itself and the gestation of the real: there is no more fiction. Reality could go beyond fiction: that was the surest sign of the possibility of an ever increasing imaginary. But the real cannot surpass the model - it is nothing but its alibi.
The imaginary was the alibi of the real, in a world dominated by the reality principle. Today, it is the real that has become the alibi of the model, in a world controlled by the principle of simulation. And, paradoxically, it is the real that has become our true Utopia - but a Utopia that is no longer in the realm of the possible, that can only be dreamt of as one would dream of a lost object.
Perhaps science fiction from the cybernetic and hyperreal era can only exhaust itself, in its artificial resurrection of "historical" worlds, can only try to reconstruct in vitro, down to the smallest details, the perimeters of a prior world, the events, the people, the ideologies of the past, emptied of meaning, of their original process, but hallucinatory with retrospective truth. Thus in Simulacra by Philip K. Dick, the war of Secession. Gigantic hologram in three dimensions, in which fiction will never again be a mirror held toward the future, but a desperate rehallucination of the past. (23)
The intersection of these three worlds (the documentary, the televised appropriation of the documentary, and the children's exposure to these two
31 medias), is where this film takes place. The 'truth' behind the original story
between Rhine and his muse (Julia Denzig) becomes dissected, fragmented
over time and mediated by popular culture. By the time it is disseminated to
these bridge kids, their initial legacy as scientist and patient have morphed
into mythic characters that infect and occupy the consciousness' of the young
students. The format of the film follows this same path; identities shift and
switch, footage replaces memory, real time becomes past time, science
becomes fiction, and fiction becomes science. The media, the history, and
real life transform to represent dimensions which children can jump between
at will.
Finally, Kent brings the model and other school children to the tree house to show Kathy what she has found. Kent gives the model to Kathy hoping it will reconnect them. However Kathy becomes ang ry that Kent has revealed the location of the tree house and their secret of Julia Denzig. In the exchange of the model between the two kids a force is unleashed and Kent falls from the tree house. Kathy and the other kids are shocked. Through the force of the
'model' and the expulsion from the 'rhizomatic' tree house Julia Denzig is freed and heals Kent from the fall.
The film ends with Kathy destroying the tree house and all evidence of her psyche and Julia Denzig. This brings her back to the beginning of the film and into the classroom environment where she comes to terms with her technological reincarnation of Julia Denzig and apologizes to her friend Kent.
33 Creative Treatment and Artistic Techniques
My film and artistic style is situated in between absurdity/satire and
dramatic/serious. Occupying many formats and techniques including Sci-fi
cliché, documentary, movie of the week, and after school special - viewers
can interpret my work in different ways. I like to think of my work like an eclectic 'mix-tape' or 'DJ mix.' Early influences are DJ Shadow and Kid
Koala. Both artists used various sound samples to create new meaning, atmosphere, satire /absurdity, and emotion through mixing. For Bridge Kids appropriated and original video and sound elements merge together creating an atmosphere of camp. "Indeed the essence of Camp is its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration. And Camp is esoteric -- something of a private code, a badge of identity even, among small urban cliques." (22)
Taking insight from Samuel Beckett, Alfred Jerry, and Artaud - there is an existential, absurdist questioning of how these mediums converge and communicate bizarre dogmas.
Digital Editing:
The edit was inspired by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari's term/theory the"Rhizome"; which, "allows for multiple, non-hierarchical entry and exit points in data representation and interpretation... A rhizome works with
34 horizontal and trans-species connections, while an arborescent model works with vertical and linear connections."(24) I felt that this idea, which mimicked the tree house and the virtual, could be a creative entry point to postproduction. Using the 3 dimensjons I tried to stagger the worlds and juxtapose the visuals in an anti-genealogy where the history of Julia Denzig in the present future past and fictional collides.
The rhizome is an antigenealogy. It is a short-term memory, or antimemory. The rhizome operates by variation, expansion, conquest, capture, offshoots. Unlike the graphic arts, drawing, or photography, unlike tracings, the rhizome pertains to a map that must be produced, constructed, a map that is always detachable, connectable, reversible, modifiable, and has multiple entryways and exits and its own lines of flight. It is tracings that must be put on the map, not the opposite. In contrast to centered (even polycentric) systems with hierarchical modes of communication and preestablished paths, the rhizome is an acentered, nonhierarchical, nonsignifying system without a General and without an organizing memory or central automaton, defined solely by a circulation of states. (25)
35 Music:
I created the music through a Moog synthesizer, appropriated Theremin and
Guitar. As I was editing the film I created the music simultaneously. I wanted
to bring out the sci-fi cliché through early synthesizers and the Theremin but
also contrast this feeling with the organic - the guitar. The Theremin is
associated with an eerie sound, which has led to its use in movie soundtracks
such as those in Spellbound, The Lost Weekend, and The Day the Earth
Stood Still. (26) The Theremin interested me in this project because it
reminded me of psychic phenomena. The instrument uses metal rods and
sensors to connect with the body. It is controlled without contact from the
player. So to play the instrument one has to master the art of the 'sensor'.
Treatment of the 3 Worlds/Dimensions
My construction of the film is inspired by Foucaulfs theory of heterotopias:
The mirror is, after all, a utopia, since it is a placeless place. In the mirror, I see myself there where I am not, in an unreal, virtual space that opens up behind the surface; I am over there, there where I am not, a sort of shadow that gives my own visibility to myself, that enables me to see myself there where I am absent: such is the utopia of the mirror. (27)
The aesthetic results from simulating a world saturated with morphed imagery, where the viewer is bombarded by documentary, history and
36 mythology. Thus creating a commentary on how we look at media today and
our understanding of the real.
Documentary:
In documentary films filmmakers will use historical footage and photographs juxtaposed and overlaid with interviews to explain what happened in the past and how it affects us in the present. In my film I mimic this technique using found and appropriated footage, photo, old film stocks and illustrations. This aesthetic results in a collage/ cut and paste atmosphere.
TV Show:
Occupying the genre of the soap opera and Sci-Fi television show, such as
'Days Of Our Lives' and 'X-Files', my process was to mimic these techniques to create an absurdist psychic melodrama between Dr. Rhine and his muse
Denzig. Using close up over the shoulder shots and editing between the two characters, much of the action happens in one location - Rhine's classroom.
Using a modern blackboard, a stereotypical school desk, and 1970's 'campy' costumes, the viewer does not know what time the scene is placed but comprehends that it is a school or classroom in a staged TV show. Most importantly I wanted to show psychic equations on the black board that I
37 appropriated from a1960's esoteric book called 'ESP Reader' - giving the
impression of Rhine's work. In the book there is a forward from Rhine himself.
Camera: Shot on HD 2k with the RED CAMERA using prime 16mm lenses. A
Jib arm was mounted to the dolly to achieve choreographed movements.
Sci-Fi Fiction:
This section of the project was shot on Super 16mm film with mostly Kodak
film stock. The film was shot with steady camera movements using a fisher
dolly with tracks. Some Bolex camera work was used to create more surreal
imagery. Long shots and intricate choreographed takes of the performances created a cinematic and meditative atmosphere. As well for some sequences
I used old 16mm color footage from the 1950's - Kodak Color Negative 7291.
This was very successful in achieving a psychedelic atmosphere with the kids.
Conclusion
My Masters thesis allowed me to research, deepen, and refine a new digital video work that gave my art practice more independence and artistic freedom to sculpt and create new characters, narrative and choreography using new and old technology. It helped me achieve new ideas in working and collaborating with performers formulating arresting visuals. It gave me the
38 opportunity to deconstruct the narrative and genre in film to understand more clearly the potentials of filmmaking. Most importantly I was able to understand and become more aware of my own process in creating work, filming performance techniques, and collaborating with others.
39 Works Cited
1. Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation. The University of Michigan Press 1994. Pg. 81
2. Artificial Nature, catalogue of the exhibition with the same nåme, Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens 1990. Pg. 56
3. Philipp Oswalt, Designing Nature, http://www.oswalt.de. 1998
4. Dot Tuer, "The Second Nature of Simulation", Mining The Media Archive. Literary Press Group, 2005. Pg 20.
5. "Body Without Organs." Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 10 June 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body without organs
6. J Leland, Are They Here to Save the World?, New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01 /12/fashion/thursdavstyles/12INDIGO.html?ei =5088&en=277f b750ad762ed9&ex= 1294722000&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&p agewanted=all. January 12, 2006
7. "Speakers Sir Ken Robinson: Creativity expert" http://www.ted.com/speakers/sir ken robinson.html. 2006
8. Sudbury Valley School: About Us", http://www.sudval.org/01_abou_01.html Retrieved 2009-07-28.)
9. "Mental Health in the United States: Parental Report of Diagnosed Autism in Children Aged 4--17 Years — United States, 2003-2004." http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5517a3.htm. May 5, 2006
10. "Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders — Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, Six Sites, United States, 2000." http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5601 a1 .htm. February 9, 2007
11. The ADHD Molecular Genetics Network. Report from the third international meeting of the attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder molecular genetics network. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 2002, 114:272-277.
40 12. "Addicted to the Internet? You may have ADHD." http://www.anxiety-and- depression-solutions.com/articles/news/internet addicted adhd 0607.php. Jun 20, 2007
13. Jennifer Fisher, Technologies of Intuition. YYZ books, 2006, pg. 11
14. Jennifer Fisher, Technologies of Intuition. YYZ books, 2006, pg. 61
15. Philipp Oswalt Designing Nature, http://www.oswalt.de. 1998
16. Julie Ault. "The Subject Is Exhibition." Wolfgang Tillmans. The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, in association with Yale University Press, New Haven and London. 2006. 126.
17. "Pataphysics." Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 10 June 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pataphysics
18. "Ubu Roi." Rorschach Theatre. http://www.rorschachtheatre.com/default.aspx?webpage=ubu. 10 October 2009.
19. Jean Baudrillard. "1000 Days of Theory." CTheory. 1 April 2007. Arthur and Marilouise Kroker. http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=569.15 June 2009.
20. "Multiverse." Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 10 June 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse
21. Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1987 tr. Brian Massumi, pg 21
22. Jen Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation. The University of Michigan Press 1994. Pg. 82
23. Susan Sontag, Notes On "Camp", http://interglacial.com/-^sburke/pub/prose/Susan Sontag - Notes on Camp.html. published in 1964, pg. 1
24. "Rhizome." Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 10 June 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizome (philosophy)
41 25. Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1987 tr. Brian Massumi, pg 21
26. Theremin." Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 10 June 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theremin
27. Michel Foucault. "Des Espace Autres." October 1984. Architecture /Mouvement/ Continuité. http://www.foucault.info/documents/heteroTopia/foucault.heteroTopia.en.html
42 Selected Readings
Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation. The University of Michigan Press 1994.
Jean Baudrillard. "1000 Days of Theory." CTheory. 1 April 2007. Arthur and Marilouise Kroker. http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=569. 15 June 2009.
Jean Baudrillard. Pataphysics. London: Institute of Pataphysics and Atlas Press, 2005.
Donna Haraway, "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist- Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century," in Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (New York; Routledge, 1991).
Dot Tuer, 'The Second Nature of Simulation", Mining The Media Archive. Literary Press Group, 2005
Jorge Luis Borges, The Aleph and Other Stories. Penguin Classics, 2000 .
Michel Foucault. "Des Espace Autres." October 1984. Architecture /Mouvement/ Continuité. http://wvvw.foucault.info/documents/heteroTopia/foucault.heteroTopia.en.html
Robert Fitzpatrick and Ann Philbin. "Tillmans Tour Catologue" Wolfgang Tillmans. The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, in association with Yale University Press, New Haven and London. 2006.
Susan Sontag, Notes On "Camp", http://interglacial.com/~sburke/pub/prose/Susan Sontag - Notes on Camp.html. published in 1964
Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1987 tr. Brian Massumi.
Jonathan Williams, "Påta or Quantum: Duchamp and the End of Determinist Physics." tout-fait. 1 Dec. 2000. http://www.toutfait.com/issues/issue 3/Articles/williams/williams.html
43 Joseph Nechvatal. "Book Review: The Counter Fearful Thing." International Journal of Baudrillard Studies. January 2007. http://www.ubishops.ca/BaudrillardStudies/vol4 1 /nechvatalpf .htm
Dominic Molon. "A Pulse Within the System: Wolfgang Tillmans and Photoconceptualism." Wolfgang Tillmans. The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, in association with Yale University Press, New Haven and London. 2006. 35 - 64
Elisabeth Schellekens. "Conceptual Art." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 7 June 2007. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/conceptual-art/
Chris Sharp. 'The Itoits." Art Review. 32 (2009): (80 - 84)
Daev. "Alfred Jarry: Absinthe, Bicycles and Merdre." blather.net. 30 May 2001. http://www. blather. net/blather/2001/05/alfredJarry_absinthe_bicycles. ht ml
Jim McGurn. "Alfred Jarry: a Cyclist on the Wild Side." New Cvclist. Spring 1989. http://www.bikereader.com/contributors/mcgurn/iarry.html
Jennifer Fisher, Technologies of Intuition. YYZ books, 2006, pg. 61
Philipp Oswalt Designing Nature, http://www.oswalt.de. 1998
Jen Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation. The University of Michigan Press 1994.
David C. Knight, The ESP Reader, Groddet & Dunlap, New York, 1969
44 Bridge Kids
By
Geoffrey Pugen
Pugen 2 00 9 . com PART 1 - This Other World (A psychic soap opera) INT. Julia at University Julia Denzig, a psychology student, walks down a school hallway. Shots of clothing, shoes, and persona depicting an eccentric girl from the early 1970's Int. Classroom Julia walks into a classroom and Joseph Rhine, a parapsychology professor, is drawing on the chalkboard. Julia and Joseph have been experimenting with ESP and doing tests but lately Julia has been contemplative and distant. Julia feels a deep connection for Joseph but for some reason is haunted by him - as she sees visions and ESP dreams of him controlling her. A Soap Opera Montage of a fictional TV show starring Rhine and Denzig called 'This Other World" plays out. Dramatic Music emphasizes the "soap opera" element. JULIA Hi. Joseph nods. She puts an esoteric object down on the table JULIA I'm in and out. Super busy JOSEPH What else is new did you get my message? - -• • . •- JULIA Just now JOSEPH Ok. Its just what you said yesterday really effected me. JULIA Sorry End of introduction montage of soap opera - which fades into scene. Music ends. The scene continues but will be fragmented throughout the short film in the editing process. 2 .
JOSEPH Its ok...Just...It would be good to understand more? JULIA Ok. But I don't want to talk about it really JOSEPH pause) I'm not sure what to say But I guess your working it out... Would you feel ok if we started up tomorrow? JULIA Tomorrow won't work.... I have a DG Lab test And a Grad going away party for one of the staff... I'm doing both JOSEPH When is good for u? I could do Thursday... after my studies JULIA Joseph I just don't know if I should see you JOSEPH Yah JULIA It really screwed me up.last time JOSEPH Well I thought you were actually thinking of continuing these experiments with me JULIA It's too much right now JOSEPH Its seams like it's always too much, just speaking the truth Julia looks at her watch. JULIA I have to go. I can't talk about this 3 .
JOSEPH Can I call you then after work to talk about it? JULIA No JOSEPH So listen I'm in the dark here. But i can understand what you're going through. JULIA I'm sorry JOSEPH But it's hard when you give me nothing...you know? JULIA I have to go work JOSEPH Can we make a date in the future JULIA When? JOSEPH Friday... some point later? JULIA Joseph...I can't sav yes I don't know if I should see you JOSEPH Please then let me know why you can't see me...? And if it's going to be the last time we will see each other. JULIA Because I'm not ready to have a friendship with you... I feel too emotional...and it feels wrong. JOSEPH Well we should actually talk about it... And then make a decision JULIA Make a decision about what? 4 .
JOSEPH About our relationship in general... You know... not over thoughts As it's hard to talk JULIA You told me you just wanted to see because you missed me... no strings attached ... And now it feels like it's turned into more than that Which is why I should not have come here.
JOSEPH Thafs not true JULIA Well, it is emotional for me knowing what will happen later on. And it upsets me - and now you want to do it again? I'irr just not ready to approach it all JOSEPH ok well can we please talk about this over the phone? Already I understand you more. JULIA Not now. JOSEPH I do not want to hurt. you JULIA I have to go - now JOSEPH Well then can you please let me know when we can talk about this...? JULIA No...b/c I don't know I cry and it's upsetting and I don't need that right now JULIA Ok...I'm sorry but I'm going now JOSEPH Please leave this on a good note 5 .
Julia goes to leave the roora and Joseph grabs her arm to hold her back. She looks at him fearfully and he withdraws.
JULIA Well stop pressuring me
JOSEPH Julia....1 just wanted to explain myself and let you know where I'm at
JULIA Ok... I'm not mad I just don't want to do this right now and I don't know when I can do this with you...or if I should and I don't want to decide now
JOSEPH Ok well ill let you go then good bye
JULIA Bye
Julia walks out of the classroom. Joseph goes back to working.
PART 2 - Documentary on ESP
INT. CLASSROOM 1 KATHY is in front of a classroom giving a slide presentation on the history of the Rhine experiments. She conneets the history with the 1990's soap opera "This Other World" depicting Julia Denzig and JB Rhine's psychic life together. Mostly stills and staged footage will illustrate Kathy's voice over. This voice over will montage and fragment throughout the film.
KATHY Joseph Rhine grew up with a love of the outdoors. He was educated at the University of South Carolina, after which he enlisted in the Marine Corps where he became a sharp-shooting champion.
Afterward, he. enrolled at the University of California, where he received his Ph.D. in botany in 1925. After a year of teaching at (MORE) (CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 6.
KATHY (cont'd) the Institute for Plant Research, he enrolled in the psychology department at Harvard University, to study for a year with Professor William McGimpsey. After listening to a lecture given by Arthur Conan Doyle exulting the scientific proof of communication with the dead, Rhine later wrote, "This mere possibility was the most exhilarating thought I had in years." Rhine began the studies that helped develop parapsychology into a branch of science, looking upon it primarily as a branch of "abnormal psychology."
In the summer of 196 5 J.B. Rhine discovered a phenomenon. After testing thousands of people at the parapsychology lab at Duke University for nearly 35 years Rhine had found a person that displayed unusual Perception. Julia Denzig was tested. Sitting 100 yards from one another Denzig's overall score in guessing the order of the unseen cards was 5 times as good as chance. As well, Unusual photography tests indicate short periods of levitation with Denzig. In 197 0 Rhine founded the Foundation for Research on "the v ::•-'- -••--'--• Nature of Man, at Duke. Throughout the decade, several high-scoring subjects Denzig among them, expressed notably comparable reactions; high levels of ESP but also high levels of ADD. In 1972 Rhine convinced Canadian biophysicist Dr. Alfred Edgar Laband, best known for demonstrating the existence of stem cells, to study with him. Dr. Laband agreed and continued studying Julia Denzig with Dr. Rhine. Dr Laband wanted to explore Julia's nerve cells and experiment with (MORE) (CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 7.
KATHY (cont'd) them in order to find unknown extra sensory phenomena. Dr. Laband was successful in preserving blood samples after Julia's death in 1981. Later that year, Dr. Rhine passed away and Dr. Leband dissolved the foundation and sold the blood samples to Dr. Jeremy Leo. Dr. Leo was the owner and CEO of Celeqon Inc., a large pharmaceutical, and research company, highly successful for growing human.organs out of stem cells. In the late 1990's Dr Leo reopened the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man and dedicated his experiments using the blood samples from the Leband / Rhine experiments. After forming a research team, the group was successful in 2003 ->/ successfully isolating a irregular gene in Denzig's DNA (image of blood) sample. As further testing continued, the group extracted the gene and inserted-i-t into a virus that was ..-.-._.-- injected into patients. The virus passed along the gene to the patients and forms of peculiar behaviors emerged. Today Julia Denzig & JB Rhine are commonly tied to the 1990's soap opera about their lives and paranormal experiments together. Throughout her depiction in the tv series she maintained order and harmony in the lab - But when she feels unappreciated, she becomes terrible... her attitude changes and violently goes from one extreme to the other. Her affair with Dr Rhine maintained her happiness for (MORE) (CONTINUED) CONTINUED:
KATHY (cont'd) sometime but she could not commit to him. She felt the need to leave and move on. PART 3 - Sci_fi Drama
EXT. SCHOOL YAZZ, VERONICA,RYAN and LEO are sitting playing a card game with KATHY. VERONICA where you going? KATHY oh nowhere... GROUP (snickers) Kathy leaves. And they continue playing cards.
INT. CAR - DAY A young androgynous girl KENT sits in a car. She is looking out the window.
EXT. CAR - DAY ADULT hands open trunk and take out luggage;
INT. OFFICE ! KENT is sitting on a couch. PRINCIPAL, is sitting across from KENT. The adult is on a computer reading the psychic levels and making notes. The adult's face is never revealed here. The shot is completely on KENT. Insert - monitor of rendering of Kent on the screen. PRINCIPAL Pills will be tåken at lunchtime. Your levels are very interesting. Dont worry you'11 be fine here. (more text here will be from improv) (pause)
Kent looks over and sees a crystal prop. 9.
EXT. SCHOOL PLAYGROUND - DAY
KENT and a little girl named KATHY are playing at the playground at school. There are other kids, (LEO, YAZZ, VERONICA and KIDS) playing as well. Another boy is there named RYAN. He is watching KENT.
KENT and KATHY notice each other.
Kent is swinging on the swings and Kathy is watching him. Finally KATHY approaches.
KATHY Do you want to walk?
KENT Yeah sounds ok.
The TEACHER stares at Kathy and then makes a note in her book. KENT finishes getting off the swing.
KATHY Want to go now?
KENT Sure .
Kathy and Kent pickup their school bags and start to walk.
EXT. VARIOUS SIDEWALKS - DAY
KATHY I know you hear me.
KENT Hear you?
KATHY In your head. I can hear you too.
KENT You mean in Mrs. Clooster's class?
KATHY Mm hmm, but at night too. I listen to you in my head. (pause) We can all hear you.
KENT who?
(CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 10.
KATHY Everyone that was playing cards. KENT What do you mean? KATHY We can hear your thoughts - I know you think about me. KENT I do. KATHY I think of you too. They continue to walk. Kent mostly looks down at her feet. Kathy switches from staring at her own feet to Kenfs, trying to match her pacing. KENT But i can only hear you Kathy reacts a bit surprised. She looks at kent and then moves on.
EXT. TREEHOUSE - DAY Kent and Kathy get to a Treehouse. KATHY Have you ever thought of becoming older...like an adult? KENT Maybe, why? KATHY I want to be a woman.. a beautiful woman. Like from an old movie. KENT Really? KATHY Yes. Do you know how to do it? (asks Kent to see if she knows?) KENT What do you mean? Kathy goes and climbs up the ladder on the treehouse and looks down and around.
(CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 11.
KENT What are you doing? KATHY. This is the Rhizome.... come see KENT Ok.
INT. TREEHOUSE KATHY looks over the edge from in the treehouse. Sne sees KENT watching her. Kent climbs up the ladder. Kathy pulls Kent up the into the treehouse. Kent looks around the treehouse amazed. She looks back down to the ground below. Kathy walks over to a picture of Julia Denzig. Kent's eyes widen slightly with realization. KENT Who is that? KATHY Julia Denzig. KENT What is all this stuff? KATHY It's Julia's. KENT hov; did it get here? . - - KATHY I think i brought it. Kathy looks at Kent. Kent is looking at all the stuff. KATHY She talks to me sometimes... I can't help coming here. (pause) Kent looks scared. KATHY We should get back to school... Kent nods and they both leave. 12 .
EXT. FIELD 10 Kathy and Kent are in a field walking. To the left them is a forest. Kent looks into the woods and feels something peculiar. She gets curious and walks into forest.
KATHY Where you going?
Kent does not answer. Kathy watches her go into the woods and then decides to follow from a distance.
KENT walks through trees and bushes until she comes across a white geometric sculpture with a glass rock laying on the ground in the middle of it. She walks around it and then bends down.
KATHY is watching her. Kent puts her hand inside the geometric sculpture to try and pick up the glass rock. She pick it up...
KATHY don't touch that!
Kent drops the glass rock in shock and picks it up. When she looks back Kathy is gone.
KENT Kathy?
Kent gets up and tries to find Kathy in the woods but cant find her. SHe decides to go back to school.
EXT. SCHOOL ,.-.-- ••'- ;.•• 11 Establishing shot of Scott library
INT. CLASSROOM 12
KATHY starts to daydream. She thinks about Julia Denzig as a soap opera.
EXT. SCHOOL 13
YAZZ,VERONICA,RYAN and LEO are sitting playing the card game.
KENT enters.
(CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 13 .
KENT Where's Kathy?
YAZZ She left to see you. What is going on with you guys?
KENT Nothing?
RYAN Yeah right...
KENT You wouldn't understand.
YAZZ Listen, Kathy is known for getting kids in trouble.
KENT I see. Well I had to do something for her. (pause) Lets go I want to show you something.
The kids all look at KENT.
14 EXT. FIELD - DAY - GREY FOGGY 14 KENT, YAZZ, VERONICA, LEO and RYAN are all walking through a field with power lines above them. They head towards the treehouse.
15 EXT. TREEHOUSE - DAY GREY RAINY AND A BIT STORMY 15
KENT, YAZZ, VERONICA, LEO and RYAN look at the treehouse.
16 INT. TREEHOUSE 16
KATHY is in the treehouse waiting for Kent. KENT comes to the treehouse with YAZZ, VERONICA, LEO and RYAN.
Kathy senses that kids are coming.
The kids climb up the treehouse.
KATHY What are they doing here Kent?
(CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 14 .
Kent looks around - takes out the crystal from her bag and hands it to Kathy. Kathy takes it and begins to see flashes of Julia Denzig. Kathy starts to scream. Kent slowly backs up - scared. The kids are more scared then kent. She looks at Kathy and her face changes and morphs into Julia Denzig's. Kent gets even more scared back up and falls from the treehouse.
17 EXT. TREEHOUSE - DAY 17 KENT sees visions of Julia Denzig on the bridge. (Voice over text) Kent lays on the ground when JULIA DENZIG appears beside her.
18 INT. KATHY TREEHOUSE - NIGHT 18 KATHY is in the treehouse lying on the floor sleeping. Kathy wakes up. She gets out of bed and puts on her socks. She grabs a flashlight and looks down to see if kent is there. KATHY Kent? She grabs a gasoline canteen. She spreads the gasoline everywhere around the treehouse •and then lights it. on fire. She watches the fire burn. She smiles and then jumps from the treehouse and watches -it burn down. She steps back and then runs away. FADE TO BLACK
19 EXT. NIGHT FIELD CLASSROOM 19 KATHY enters a classroom in the middle of a feild. Everyone from her class is there including KENT. She slowly walks towards her seat. KATHY sorry Kent looks over to her and nods.
FADE OUT.