Movie Mayhem.P1

1.       Set the mood (nostalgia, everyday life, the machines)

a.       The start of a new semester and thus an upcoming Tuesday PTA (Parent Teacher Association) meeting follows parent-teacher conferences.

b.       The city is also planning the annual Cultural Festival the following Saturday with live music, movie screenings, as well as activities and exhibitions of different works that students have created during their academic year.

c.       The Video Store has new posters in the window advertising “Coming Soon” Jaws and The Terminator.

2.       Saturday, Feb 1st, 1986- morning scene:

Eric (Mike): Your English teacher, Ms. Gornto calls asking what you plan to contribute for your school’s entry in the cultural festival. “I’m not much into performances. I could maybe set up a craft table. Make some dream catchers.”

Lukas (Aaron): At breakfast, your mom complains to your father, “Last night the library director (Ken) placed ‘Off Limits’ signs on various book sections. When I complained, he said ‘We must all do our part for a better society’.” Lukas offered to help pack things at the library. “Thanks son, but Ken closed the library till everything re-arranged.”

Josh (Pearl): missed out on the intro.

Ace (Whitney): After breakfast in his room, Ace went to the Livingroom to watch MTV. Only static. Miss Patsy explained, “Your parents cancelled the subscription and added parental control. Said such shows are unhealthy. Also told me to pack all your LPs. Something about how there are satanic messages when playing an LP backwards.” Shocked how his parents usually caved in to his desires, Ace left the house with his Walkman and only cassette tape.

Ein (Joey): you accompany your mom to the grocery store to buy milk and cereal, when you spot a couple get out of a van to confront a woman carrying groceries. Short conversation till they guide her into the van under protest. [Investigate/Comprehend] You didn’t recognize anyone but wrote down the license plate number.

Evan (Jordan): you go to the Video Store (Ellen Woods clerk) to rent The Dark Crystal when a few adults interrupt the transaction by giving stern looks and pointing out the damaging effects of the movie’s darker, more dramatic tone. Ellen tries to praise its narrative, aesthetic, and characters but they reply, “You are corrupting these kids.” Evan snarled back, “Hey lady, mind your own business.” Which only prompted their rebuttal, “See! Exactly what we are talking about. Rude, misbehaving kids. We’ve heard how you let the kids play their DnD in the back room. You’re probably their cult leader in that role-playing game that is a cover for devil worship!”

Group Huddle: Ace called Ein for support, “My house, my life as I know it is gone! All I have left in their world is my single cassette in my Walkman.” Ein got on the walkie-talkie, “Calling all SNOOPS. We need to band together. Ace is an outcast from his own home. So much for movie night at his place.” It wasn’t long before they joined up, enroute to their junkyard hideout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bntfUA6TmLs

Along the way, they paused at the corner where a woman publicly berated an energy drink, “Monster is a work of Satan. These disconnected Hebrew letters form 6-6-6. And even the word has a cross through the Oh. But this isn’t a Christian company as its promotional marking includes the ‘F’ word.” Ace couldn’t resist: he grabbed the can (as the woman launched into another Satanic product) and took a big swig, before acting possessed, catching the woman’s eye. She hurriedly made the sign of the cross, “As I feared! Begone Satan.” Ace broke out in laughter, “You people will believe anything.” When the husband suddenly appeared, Ace tossed the can and ran.

Movie Hour: to lighten the mood, Evan pulled out his collection of 3 VHS rentals from the store. Others asked, “Yeah, but where are we going to watch it?” Evan got on the walkie-talkie, “Raven to Grunt. You home?” As they rode up to his uncle Steve’s house, Evan warned, “He’s a little paranoid and eccentric, but some of his conspiracy theories have proven true. He’s got a VCR player and a whole bunch of electronics.” For the next 90 minutes they watched The Dark Crystal. All thoughts of the morning events evaporated… till Ein mentioned the kidnapping he’d witnessed. Uncle Steve offered to investigate, “I’ve got contacts who might be able to get a lead on the license plate.”

Monday, Feb 3rd, school: Ace was despondent about his home life, “Those aren’t my parents!” Other kids had similar stories which added to the homeroom chaos, till the speaker crackled. The voice of Principal Hutsenpilar interrupted their commotion, “Good morning students! I am excited to announce a ‘New Initiative’ conceived by the PTA to start cleaning up the school. Your teachers will be handing out mimeographed copies of the school directive for you to give your parents. We are implementing a new dress-code: no more distasteful T-shirts depicting demonic DnD or lewd Rock-n-Roll images. We want a healthy, happier image for our school and the city.”

Everything stripped from him: his music, his MTV, now his goth clothing. [Lead 2] Ace began crafting his own copies for distribution “Solidarity! Protest walkout tomorrow at 9am.” Eric was equally disturbed, “A century ago the government created the Genoa school and others like it to assimilate Indian children into American society. We’re about to be brainwashed!” Ein was just as suspicious. Josh silently contemplated ‘fight or flight’. His decision made up when a lunchroom supervisor confronted him, “You know Mr. Tuttle, your overalls with suspenders will violate the dress-code.” 

Rod	Johnny Fire

He stood dumbfounded as he witnessed a few other protesting students (Rod and his mullet haircut, and Johnny Fire in his ‘Day of the Dead’ T-shirt) being led to the principal’s office. Sad to see the bullies (Randy, Joey, Darrel) accepted their fate. No surprise the twins (Erica and Ben Sanders) supported the dress-code decision.

School’s Out: They couldn’t wait to regroup, “Can you believe this injustice?! We need to find that woman spouting nonsense about the Monster drinks. Who else in town has been brainwashed?” Evan smiled as he flashed his mimeograph flier, “I plan to do my own shopping. I wonder what the teachers will say when I show up in girls’ clothing?” Everyone burst out laughing, till they happened upon the Video Store with signs on the door and windows “Closed by order of the Parent Teacher Association.” Eric announced, “I think we need to attend tomorrow’s PTA meeting to hear what they plan. Ace, maybe we can get your lawyer parents to help our cause.” All stood in the foyer as Ace asked his parents. His jaw dropped when they explained, “We’re in support of the ‘New Initiative’. It will be good for you. Dress like the others so you’re not seen as an outcast.” Ace boiled, “I hate you!” And stomped out.

Lukas panicked when Eric wondered, “What other businesses are joining the compliance?” They rushed to Al’s Arcade Emporium and stood aghast at the sight of half of the pinball machines unplugged with “Out of Order’ signs. Others with suggestive artwork were covered in brown paper. Lukas almost burst into tears when he found ‘Donkey Kong’ unplugged, “What’s wrong with a gorilla?” Al appeared, “Not the monkey. It’s the scantily clad woman. Buck up Lukas, there are still plenty of games. You’ll come to your senses and understand this is for the good of the community.”

The Video Store: If they weren’t crushed already… a woman armed with a megaphone incited 20 furious adults shouting and carrying posters with the slogans like “Prohibit Sin” and “Think of the Children”. 

She broadcast, “Look at those movie posters. Weird Science is nothing but young-teen lust. The Breakfast Club is just a bunch of ‘Brat Pack’ kids: outcasts, moral delinquents, and criminals. That’s not how we want to raise our kids! Henry and Ann McDuff, you should be ashamed of yourself. And where is Ellen Woods who has been slipping X-rated movies to the kids? Show yourself and account for your sins! Confess your immorality and repent.”

The adult crowd was whipped into a frenzy and soon the sound of breaking glass filled the air. The front store window caved in with a trash can. Adults poured through the window while others pushed their way past the crying McDuffs to enter through the front door. 

Eric rode around to the back of the store and stood on his bike seat to access the office window, “Ellen, are you in there?! Slip out thru this window.” No answer, but from his perch he watched adults come into the office and rifle through the desk. They soon found a leather bag with a syringe inside. They rushed out the exit door proclaiming, “Just as we suspected! Ellen is a drug user. Has she been pushing drugs on our kids?!”

Meanwhile, Evan joined the crowd in their rhetoric, “Freedom is overrated. Protect us children.” He worked his way closer to the woman with the megaphone. [Contact 0, Force 2] He had no idea who she was but found the opportunity to snatch the megaphone and pointed east, “I saw Ellen run out the back door! She went that way.” A good half-dozen adults took off in pursuit. The stunned woman was about to thanks Evan and ask for her bullhorn back, till he ran away.

Meanwhile, Ace/Ein/Lukas tried to follow the crowd into the store. [Sneak] Ace in his goth outfit stood out and was quickly apprehended. He pulled his guitar off his back and swung it in defense. As for Josh: he wielded his whittling knife as a veiled threat, “Leave Ms. Woods alone. She hasn’t done anything wrong.” But Josh’s threats only proved the adult’s point, “He’s on drugs! One of her acolytes. Catch him!”  Lukas was also spotted and collared. But enough distraction for Ein to slip inside. [Pride: tries to do stuff by himself] Ein was witness to the adult’s actions.

Inside: Ein watched a few adults carefully inspect VHS labels, sorting out those with ‘offensive’ titles or themes. But others didn’t bother as they swept an entire shelf of tapes into a waiting box to be hauled out. Still others selected a few innocent tapes and headed for the back of the store, into the office. From his window perch, Eric silently watched these new adults approach the bank of video recorders the McDuff used to make authorized copies. One man pulled a VHS tape from his jacket and inserted it into the master recorder. Other adults inserted their retrieved tapes into the slave recorders.

[Investigate] Outside, Lukas and Josh happened to hear the squawk of a radio, “We have eyes on the runaway near Hemenway Pass.” A few adults dressed in bird-watcher vests (and with binoculars hanging from their necks) took off running north. [Force 1 plus Luck re-roll 1] Lukas managed to grab the radio from the one birdwatcher before trying to run away. He left the stunned birdwatcher holding a torn piece of Lukas’s shirt. As Lukas ran, he held the transmit button down to prevent further communication between other radios.

As for Josh: he was corralled and led off to the police station. But his protests added to the distraction to allow Ace [Sneak 0, Luck 0, Condition- Upset] to slip into the store and pull the fire-alarm. Water rained down on the adults inside. They gathered what they could and exited. As for those in the rear office: the leader removed the master tape before he and the others exited via the emergency exit.

As the soaking adults gathered outside, the kids listened to the repeated claims of someone finding Ellen’s drug needles. [Contact 1] Ein realized they must have found her insulin kit, but his attempts to tell the crowd fell on deaf ears. Suddenly he spotted Evan across the street with the bullhorn in hand and rushed to his side to broadcast, “Ellen is diabetic. That is her insulin!” The one holding the kit finally looked and confirmed the small bottle was labeled insulin. But she was only one of a few members of the crowd to suddenly lower their voices and stop their frenzy. Most of the other adults had their minds made up, “ELLEN WOODS! Show yourself. Confess your sins.” Emergency sirens grew louder, announcing the imminent arrival of fire trucks. The crowd scattered. Eric used the opportunity to slip into the office and grab the slave tapes from their recorders.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Tuttle happened to be watching TV when local news broadcast the riot at the video store. She called her husband, “Lewis! Your son’s on TV!” He drove to town in his pickup, not a happy camper. He stormed into the police station, “I understand you have my boy in custody? You know you can’t hold him.” Lewis unbuckled his belt and folded it to demonstrate, “Trust me, he’ll face his own judge.” [Now, you and I might think this a bluff…] Josh hung his head as he climbed into the truck for the silent ride home. Where indeed, he was whooped behind the chicken coop. Whether or not he was grounded… Josh hopped on his moped and drove (standing, as his rump too sore to sit) back into town to rejoin his friends.

New Hideout [as such, the hideout allows cure of conditions: Ace’s Upset and Josh’s rump injury]: Evan got on the walkie talkie, “Raven to Grunt. We’re inbound with evidence.” They found Uncle Steve waiting, with his own tape recorder ready and waiting. Evan produced the tapes he’d recovered from the store office. Eric warned, “We don’t want to watch it. There’s something hypnotic on them.” Ein stepped forward with his laptop, “I got this.” Lukas slid beside him to lean a hand.

• [Program 1, Luck 2, Empathy 0] Ein fought off a headache as he analyzed the digital data on the tapes. “Looks like they included words like ‘community’, ‘conform’, idyllic’.”
• [[Calculate 2, Empathy 1] Lukas monitored Ein’s work with no sign of a pending headache. “They only overwrote the introduction on the original tape. Replaced the previews of other movies.”
• Eric pressed, “Would it be safe to watch with the sound muted?” [carry over from his prior Program] Ein fiddled with his laptop, “One better. I can add closed caption to read what is being said.”

[Contact] It looked like an amateur production by local citizens, who each made it a point to emphasize the special words. Josh (1) recognized the woman in front of the store with the bullhorn, “Closed-Caption says her name is Janet Thompson, head of the PTA.” Ace (1) recognized another actor as someone at the store. Eric (3) pointed out, “Ein, that woman in the background matches the description you gave of the woman being abducted. And Ace, isn’t that your parents behind the woman?! Dude, they must have been hypnotized.” As if that reveal was supposed to make Ace feel better. Eric asked, “Ein, do you think you can de-program the tape?”

As each of the kids rubbed their temples to address their individual headaches [from watching the tapes- besides the words, there were flashes of a swinging pocket watch they would have only seen if played in slow motion], the radio Lukas had stolen crackled to life, “Birdwatcher 3 to base. Runaway spotted near Pumping Plant One.”

TO BE CONTINUED: https://tftljoey.blogspot.com/2023/05/movie-mayhemp2-conclusion.html