Behind the Scenes

Narrative

• Imbroglio-driven - The documentation of a 'situation' which is on-going.

  • Stance: The persecution should not be happening

    • There is no 'plot' per-se, rather, the slow and constant revelation of facts that explains a complex set of circumstances and relationships, which eventually condemn and justify actions of the protagonists

• Four acts (15 segments):

  • Introduction

  • Conflict: The situation

  • Conflict: The mechanisms

  • Resolution

• Primary consideration: The audience - What do they "know" and not know

• Secondary consideration: Responsibility to present the two main protagonists and the imbroglio (in the correct manner), that has been 'misrepresented' by the media.

• • The 'plot' of the film is not in what is discussed, but directly experienced by the audience

    • A journey from ignorance to informed

      • This particular 'arc' is one that is present before the beginning of the film, and persists beyonds the ending

A fluid approach to 'story telling' was taken, considering the complexity of the subject matter. The transmission styling is conducive to this method and adds dramatic appeal.

The content of Transmission 6-10 has been presented from the notion that one cannot truly understand a situation if aspects of it are considered in isolation. It is a case of "it all makes sense in the end!"

Aim

To leave the audience in no-doubt about what is right and what is wrong with the persecution, in a global setting.

Structure (essay)

• Introduction: Primary protagonists (CCP & Falun Gong) simply presented conducive enough to move forward from

  • Comment: Pictorial, audial, informational

    • CCP a tyrannical dictatorship

    • Falun Gong a peaceful spiritual movement

  • Define:

    • CCP represented by facts of previous campaigns, imagery and sound effects

    • Falun Gong represented by imagery, description, and representation by practitioners

  • Direct:

    • The antithetical nature of the two main protagonists is suggestive of an inevitable clash

• Conflict "Goliath (and friends) vs David": The persecution and counter-efforts

  • Raise and develop: Aspects of the persecution discussed chronologically (with non-chronological interjections e.g. World Psychiatric Association)

    • Cause and effect

    • Positive and Negative

    • Sequence of Events

    • Illustrations

    • Extensions

      • One aspect leads to another. Each dealt with individually, but left open for extension or reference

  • Return to beginning: The mechanisms explained - how has the CCP managed to initiate, maintain and intensify the persecution despite growing relations with the West e.g. 6-10 Office and Trade

• Resolution: Never give up (David vs Goliath).

  • Efforts of practitioners and non-practitioners highlighted

    • Summarise: Closing of conferences and re-cap of situation

    • Answer: Something must be done to end the situation - efforts

    • Conclude: Individuals informally express their opinions

    • Implications: Statistics of situation exposed

The thread that carries the story is 'progression of content'. One segment (which contains information more-or-less singular subject, leads seamlessly to the next. What adds to this progression is that, throughout the film, each segment builds a bigger picture, as information from one segment, is relevant to the others. In the end, it is all pulled together providing an over-all understanding of the situation discussed.

Styling

Transmission:

• Directorial comment on the only means to disseminate information to the West.

• Representative of efforts made in China.

• A plea for help/call to action.

• Looped (symbolic of on-going nature and likeliness of future repetition)

Editing

No frills - Interviews, B-roll, Information Screens (anonymous narrator).

• Inform wide audience of situation from impartial stance

• Treat audience as 'intelligent', yet, engage them (non-emotive and subtle)

• Inspire audience to "inform other"

SEGMENTS:

INTRODUCTION - Stasis

s1 - History repeated (Opening, The Practice)

Description:

Introduction to the film and the topics it discusses. Previous political campaigns in recent Chinese history are divulged, along with a new campaign for freedom. The Human Rights Torch Relay of 2007 is a platform to air views on the Beijing Olympic Games. The practice of Falun Gong is introduced.

CONFLICT - Trigger

s2 - Recollections of the Ban (Tianjin & Zhongnanhai, The Ban, The Battle for Tiananmen Square)

Description:

Events that led to the banning of Falun Gong in Mainland China are explained, along with the atmosphere of that time period. Early efforts to make the plight of practitioners known to the world centred around Tiananmen Square.

Surprise

s3 - Arrested and abused (Arrested, Overseas Practitioners, Psychiatric Abuse)

Description:

Rounded up, interrogated and beaten, survivors tell their stories. Placed into institutions for the criminally insane, the previously forgotten form of psychiatric abuse for political reasons is used to silence.

s4 - Torture the evil cult (Force Feedings & Beatings, Evil Cult, The Torture of Annie Yang, The Practice and the Regime)

Description:

Re-defined by the CCP as an 'Evil Cult', practitioners of Falun Gong are subjected to gruesome torture methods. Forced labour provides the west with cheap products. Morality in China has become a thing of the past under the current regime.

Quest

s5 - Propaganda & Counter-propaganda

Description:

In a war that is fought for the hearts and minds of a nation, the media is key. Government controlled broadcasters tell their side of the story in order to manipulate the population. To counter this, people risk their lives.

Surprise

s6 - In Prison

Description:

Not every jail is instantly recognisable. Some are in open view to the public, but hidden behind the facade of being a 'Hospital'. What goes on inside is recounted by survivors. Western organisations that interact with China have a responsibility to ensure that their standards are adhered to.

CONFLICT - Re-introduction/Stasis

s7 - The Campaign Begins

Description:

The beginning of the campaign agains Falun Gong is readdressed, as all is not as it first appears. The mechanism for persecution has been in place since 1949, as 80 million lost lives testify.

Quest

s8 - The 6-10 Office

Description:

The Gestapo, under the control of the Nazi government, was in charge of orchestrating the genocide agains the Jewish population of Europe. The 6-10 Office is a modern-day equivalent, with a single purpose; eliminate Falun Gong. The difference is that geographical limitations have been reduced, and mechanisms for persecution increased by advancements in the 21^st century.

Stasis

s9 - The System

Description:

Organisation is the key. A system has to be in place. Every available option must be explored. Resistance is never futile.

Surprise

s10 - The Iceland Incident

Description:

In 2002, Jiang Zemin visited Iceland. His arrival was greeted with a mass demonstration by Icelandic citizens who were outraged at the arrest of innocent people on their soil. The incident is an insight into the power the China wields over its trading partners, and the lengths these partners will go to in compliance with the wishes of the CCP.

s11 - The West

Description:

China's borders are no-longer closed to the West. Trade links have been established and strengthened over the decades to such an extent that a symbiotic relationship now exists. The 'new' China is much reported on, but what is the truth.

Quest

s12 - Gao Zhisheng

Description:

“The Lionhearted Lawyer from Beijing”. It takes courage to take on the system. Those who try, find themselves in danger. But they are not alone. Their families also suffer. Anyone who voices an opinion agains the prevailing regime, is at risk.

Climax

s13 - Organ Harvesting

Description:

It is not financially logical to throw away a profitable resource. If you have a population of people who are healthy, and yet they are down for elimination, how do you maximise an opportunity. The mechanisms to prevent such crimes are in place. Are they enforced?

s14 - Never Again

Description:

After the Holocaust, the world united in its efforts to confront acts of Genocide. For 11 years China has managed to evade public scrutiny by the suppression of the Falun Gong story by those who established organisations with the soul objective of bringing peace to the world and freedom to all who inhabit it.

RESOLUTION

s15 - They have not been Abandoned (Efforts, Closing)

Description:

Not everyone is willing to let the persecution continue. Practitioners around the world are involved in a multitude of activities to bring to the world's attention the atrocities that their fellow practitioners face. They have been joined by men and women of conscience, who feel the same way.

Return to the beginning

CRITICAL CHOICE - left largely to the audience