M
Malak Alhajri
Scene #01
An unknown city in the Middle East.
FADE IN:
INT. 2003 - A MESSY ROOM WITH CURTAINS OPEN - MORNING
The year is 2003. We see a young girl, M (11), sitting at her desk with her computer in front of her. She is dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans, nodding her head to No Doubt's It's My Life that is playing on YouTube from the old Labtec computer speakers. The sound is fuzzy because the speakers are old and only one of them is working.
M (singing to herself loudly)
IT'S MY LIIIIFE! DON'T YOU FORGET-
Suddenly the song cuts off and the music video stops and
starts buffering in the middle of her singing, she lets out a big groan in frustration.
M (CONT'D)
Ugh! My sister is on the phone. AGAIN!
Pan of the camera shows a wider view of the room we see her bed, unmade and posters of My Chemical Romance, Madonna and other artists and musicians on the wall to the side of it hung up in a messy way.
M (V.O.)
The internet was always myescape. I used to sit on my
computer for hours, looking up
new songs I can listen to,
download them for ages and wait
for it to export on my iPod for
hours. I made a playlist for each
day of the week, that's how I
would cope with my day most of
the time. I was always fascinated
by this world of music and
culture that was so different
from my own. I tried to play
guitar and pretend I was in a
band playing to a sea of people.
It was all in my head but it made
me feel amazing.
She puts on a CD in her CD player to continue listening to music while the internet is still down. She plays Post by Bjork and "Army of Me" starts playing and she sits back on the chair.
M (V.O.) (CONT'D)
I never really liked Arabic musicmusic like people from school. It
was cool and all but it wasn't
for me. I think that was an
influence from my parents. My dad
made me listen to Prince one time
and I really liked it, and
I’ve been buying popular
English music CDs ever since. I
just related to it more, it was
more theatrically exaggerated and
I liked watching music videos a
lot. It also made me feel like an
outsider a bit because no one
else at school was listening to
the same things I was.
Aggressive knocking on her bedroom door cuts off M's train of thought, and we can hear the sound of an older woman yelling outside of it.
M'S MOTHER
Are you dressed for school yet?!You're gonna be late, M!
M turns off her computer screen and gets up to get dressed in her school uniform, picks up her book bag and heads for the door.
CUT TO:
INT. THE SAME ROOMCamera still pointing to the door, a time-lapse starts that shows the room getting darker, suggesting that the sun has gone down and it is night time now.
CUT TO:
Scene #2INT. SAME ROOM - THE YEAR IS 2012 - NIGHT TIME.
Door opens and we see M again, but this time she is now 21 years old. She looks a bit older and more mature. She is carrying a book bag with her and is wearing a Joy Division shirt and jeans. She takes out her laptop from the bag and throws the bag on the bed. Her desk looks different now. There is a screen monitor, much smaller and thinner than the old desktop monitor. The posters are still the same but we see more pictures added to the wall. She walks over to her desk, sitting down and we see her messaging with her best-friend, H on her computer.
M: Hey! Are you ready?
H: Hey, yeah. I'm actually shaking.
M: I KNOW, ME TOO. OK only 5 minutes left now. Are you on the stream?
H: Yeah. I can't believe we're gonna get new music AND a music video from Gaga I just know it's gonna be good. Applause sounds like it's gonna be amazing.. I am ready forthis era.
M: I keep refreshing YouTube, tell me if you get anything?
H: OMG IT'S HERE
M: HOLY SHIT OK WAIT LET'S START IT TOGETHER. On the count of 3 OK? ONE.
H: 2222222222
M: THREE!!!!
M (V.O.)
This is how I remember watchingmusic video premieres of our
favorite artists. Me and H
couldn't wait to watch them right
when they were released, analyze
the hell out of them and talk
about it for days. The references
made in these videos were how I
learned about art, its history,
and how I learned about iconic
films. I would look these things
up and share everything with my
friends online. The friends I
made on the internet made me feel
like I belonged, it was insane.
We would talk about music
everyday and that is how we
bonded. Even though I used to
feel like an outsider this helped
me make genuine real friends who
cared about the same things I
did.
Time-lapse starts showing M on her laptop talking with her friend for a while as the camera pans to the side of the room where the bed is and M is moving away from the desk to the bed, she turns to her side giving her back to the camera to sleep.
CUT TO:
Scene #3INT. SAME ROOM - THE YEAR IS 2022
Morning sun peeks through the window and M turns to face the camera but we can see she is clearly older now. The room looks completely different like it is in a different place.
As the camera zooms out of her face, we see there aren't any posters anymore, there are photographs of landscape and the room looks way more mature than it used to be with, contemporary furniture and a minimal theme. She picks up her phone.
M is holding up her phone, talking on FaceTime with H.
M
I don't know man, it's likenothing is good anymore.
H
(scoffing)
Yeah, these pop girlies nowadays(scoffing)
aren't doing anything to revive
music and make their videos
interesting theatrical stories
and make it into like.. a gay
Marvel movie. What happened to
that?
M
Yeah.. Nothing hits as good as agood Y2K music video does.
H
True. Do we just sound old andthis is what it's like..?
(pause)
Anyways, how's that new job
going? I can't believe you're
doing this now I'm so-
M
(excitedly)
Yeah! we need to make sure we(excitedly)
have the set ready by noon, and
have all the extras briefed. I
can't believe I'm doing this too
it's kind of surreal haha.
H
You got this honestly, you'vebeen working on this for weeks, I
just know you're gonna be great.
I can't believe you're a set
designer dude..
M
I know, it's so cool I get to dothis stuff now..
I have to get ready for work,
I'll let you know how it goes!
M ends the call and gets ready, she sits on her chair and gets her things ready. The camera zooms in a little on her face to put her sunglasses on to get ready to leave.
CUT TO:
Scene #4INT. BEDROOM - THE YEAR IS 2032 - MORNING.
M, now 41, is sitting in her room with a virtual reality headset on her head. Camera zooms out to show her bedroom which looks completely different now. There are no more posters and the room looks way more mature with minimal aesthetic.
We see a transparent hologram in front of her showing she is watching an old live concert. It looks as if she was in the crowd, watching the performance in real time.
M
(sighing)
This is amazing.(sighing)
Her daughter, N (6), walks in and watches her.
N
(excitedly)
Mom, that’s the same artist I(excitedly)
like! Can I watch with you?
M removes the headset and they both watch the concert together, singing and dancing to the music like they were there.
M (V.O.)
Music has always been animportant part of my life. It is
a force that transcends borders
and cultural barriers. It has the
power to evoke strong emotions,
to transport us to different
places, and to bring people
together in ways that defy
distance and difference. It made
me feel like I belonged and
helped me understand what I like
ever since I was younger, without
realizing it. Music let me meet
the most amazing friends and
people who I am still talking to
everyday. It helped me pick a
career that I enjoyed and was
passionate about. Music has the
ability to help us find
ourselves, to connect with our
innermost thoughts and feelings,
and to make sense of the world
around us. It was a tool for me
for self-discovery and personal
growth. Whether we are seeking
comfort, inspiration, or a sense
of self-discovery, music can be
an incredible thing to help us
navigate the journey of life and
find ourselves along the way.
FADE OUT.
