Film Treatment: Thea

Group Members: Cierra McKinney, Bobby, Madison

Logline: Lesbian girl from New York travels into space as part of a science experiment. Little does she know the experiment is actually testing her ability to end heterosexuality back on earth.

• The overall idea of the film or theme is to address the fluidity of sexuality with the overall concept that it cannot be changed.
• Comedy: the experiments are so outlandish
• We wish to make the film a comedy to bring fun to something that could be so controversial and so taboo. Typically in society complex topics such as race, religion, gender, and sexuality are spoken about through comedy to bring light to something that could be taken very seriously, make people uncomfortable, and have them not want to speak about it. For this film, because it is about sexuality and sexual orientation, we believe it will be easier to discuss these topics through comedic relief. To do so we want to have the experiments in the film be very overly dramatic and show some outrageous obstacles that the main character, Thea, has to overcome in regards to her sexual orientation which will help the scientist meet his goal of attempting to end heterosexuality.
• Main character: Thea, The Scientist, Simulated people
• (Main Character: Thea) Thea is a young woman in her early 20s. She is originally from New York and has been asked to be in an experiment that is located on a spaceship somewhere far away in the galaxy. Due to her desire to find her own identity she agrees, without much context as to where she is going and what the experiment actually is, to be involved. Her only point of reference is a video blog that the scientist has been using to communicate and to provide updates on the experiment. Her sexual orientation is Lesbian. She just got out of a long term relationship with her college sweetheart which is why she is on the journey to finding her individual identity.
• (The Scientist) No one knows much about him, not even Thea. He first contacted her through a video message asking her to come to a remote location in the galaxy to help with a great scientific breakthrough. He is somewhat an evil genius and his desire is to end an entire sexual orientation. The only thing you can assume is he is insecure about his own sexual identity; so he is trying to create a world where he will fit in.
• (The Simulated People) The only interaction Thea has throughout the film, other than the one she indirectly has with the scientist, is with a population of simulated people. They are holographic people who are immersed as part of the scientific experiments.
• Why now (Market Research)? Current topic, political pull, controversial
• We chose to make this film now and think it is appropriate due to what is going on politically around us when it comes to the topic of sexual orientation and the LGBT community. Just recently on campus there was a swastika found outside of Madison Hall which is the LGBT housing on campus, and it was emblazoned with some derogatory names and messages about people in the LGBT community here on campus. Sexual orientation and equality has become a big part of politics across the country, first with the fight for the rights of gay marriage, then with bathroom rights for the transgender community and even farther into our society’s morality. This level of controversy makes for a great time for this film to be made in order to bring light and conversation about the topic in an unusual way.
• Themes that the film intersect with:

This film intersects with three major themes. The first is gender. Gender pervades the film in that the main character, Thea, is a woman. Another theme illustrated in the film is sexuality. The film is centered around sexual orientation. Thea is a lesbian who is tasked to save the world from being overrun by heterosexuals. By her being a lesbian it creates diversity in the film. By making the main character a lesbian it creates controversy and draws in a different audience. The overall look of the character, Thea, conveys sexuality and breaks the bounds of what is perceived as a typical lesbian character. Her physical appearance is demonstrated by our attached poster. Thea is beautiful, sexual, strong, and a “bad ass” girl. She is also considered the heroine of the story because her role is to save society. Her appearance resembles a character, likened to Wonder Woman. Her power is that of representing her lesbian “sisters”, and her goal is to conquer the evil of heterosexuality that is against her sexual norm. The belief that pervades her mental state is that, Love is love no matter what gender”.

Major scenes

-Opening scene-

This would be the exposition. An informational video that explains to Thea what the purpose of this experiment is, to end sexual orientation. The reason Thea believes they want to end sexual ordinations is because the video will state that without it there would be less hate in this world. This scene would also give a layout of the spaceship and show key areas such as the simulator.

The first simulation: Turn them all gay

This scene would play on the joke of over the top straight boys using the phrase, “No homo”. Turn the movie into a trope of romantic comedies when the two men are “bros” falling in love but keep having them say “no homo”. In the background it will show only gay couples to emphasize that it isn’t just these two boys falling in love. The scene will end with the eventual decrease of the population and human beings dying out.

The Second Simulation- No more hetros

This story will follow a bi-sexual couple. It will show scenes of them being yelled and harassed because they are in a heterosexual relationship. The two characters will be shown advocating for “different sex marriage” and other similar causes. The simulation will end with the realization that the world would still be violent and full of hate, just now it is directed at a different group of people.

The Third Simulation- Mission Achieved

In this will show a world without sexual orientation but also show a world where sex isn’t a big deal. Instead, sex is used for purely reproductive purposes. The world will seem ideal. People are getting along; there are no fights over sexuality, and people seem happy. Eventually the simulation will show that people have seemingly no idea how to fall in love, and feel wrong even trying, because it is seen as different. The simulation ends with the world being an unhappy place for the people who live on it.

In-between scenes-

These will be scenes of Thea’s past relationship. It will show the happy moments and the eventual break-up and hurt Thea is currently experiencing. Through these scenes we will show Thea growing as a person and coping with the break-up. These scenes will also bring Thea’s ending mentality of, “Love is love, and we shouldn’t shame anyone for who they love”.