Chapter 107: The inspiration behind the naming of the script
"So are we Quakers?" Ronald drove Aunt Karen and Donna to church.
"Yes, Ronnie. Your mother's and I's families belong to the Staten Island Quaker parish, and your father is also from the New England Quakers. Don't you remember? Maybe because the church there uses
Another name for the sect—Quakers.”
This was the first time Ronald learned about the denomination his parents belonged to. After Aunt Karen lost her husband, she was very busy trying to make money. She often went to work on Sundays and rarely went to church.
In the past two months, the leg warmer business has started to get on the right track, Donna has entered a key high school, and Aunt Karen finally has the opportunity to resume the tradition of going to church on Sundays.
"There were some wives of Quaker veterans at Little Bud's place who came to make leg warmers. They told me that there is a small Quaker church in Manhattan. A new priest came to preach today. I heard that
His speech was great.”
"I remember going to church when I was a child. There was no priest, so everyone stayed silent and communicated with God by themselves, right?" Donna still has some memories of going to church.
"Maybe it's a different way to get close to God. I heard that this priest is from the south."
…
"Dear parishioners, I hope you will all close your eyes, close your eyes and pray, and pray with me for a miracle in your life..."
"Have you heard the good news? It is the gospel of God, spreading among the brothers and sisters in our congregation... What I want to talk about today is Genesis 4:1-4:16, the story of Abel and Cain...
…”
"Congregants, we are all brothers and sisters, and we are My Brother's Keeper, which means you are a trustworthy, godly person who takes care of others in their time of need or struggle. This
The sentence is very heartfelt and conveys a strong message...
That's when you show a lot of courage, a sense of responsibility, and a willingness to put others before you."
"God created this world 5,500 years ago. He created it all in six days and rested on the seventh day..."
"The former governor of California, now the Elephant Party's presidential candidate, has gained advantages in the primaries in 36 states. He is the candidate given by God to America. Let us pray for him and defeat Jimmy in the presidential election at the end of this year.
, leading America to prosperity and security..."
This pastor from the south preached very attractively, his voice was magnetic, and his speeches were very rhythmic. However, Ronald had no feelings about religion. He just felt a little strange, "Isn't the current commander-in-chief a southerner? Why?
Is this pastor from the South supporting the former governor of the Elephant Party?”
The aunt looked at him, dumbfounded. This question was beyond the scope of her knowledge, "Maybe the former governor is a more devout Christian, Amen."
Aunt Karen went to socialize with other veterans’ wives, and she didn’t forget to bring the cookies she baked. Donna secretly said to Ronald, “I don’t like this pastor. He said the earth is only 5,500 years old.
They say that the theory of evolution is wrong and that all living things are created by God. But they turn a blind eye to the dinosaur fossils discovered by science that were hundreds of millions of years ago..."
"Yes, but what did you mean when there were no priests in the church before, so everyone prayed silently by themselves?" Ronald had never heard of this custom in the church before.
"I don't know. Although that church is also a Quaker church, everyone is silent for half an hour, no one speaks, and they communicate with God. Then there are social occasions. It doesn't matter if the priest doesn't need to preside over it."
"Then let's go to that church in the future." Ronald felt that the priest had some brainwashing ability and he didn't like his family to be brainwashed.
"No, I remember when I was in middle school, it was closed because there were very few believers."
"Girl, you must be talking about the liberal Quakers." Next to him was a man who looked like a college student, with a big beard and long hair, and he looked very spiritual.
Seeing Ronald looking over, he introduced himself, "I am from the Department of Anthropology at Yale University. I deliberately grew my beard and hair to investigate churches in various places." As he said this, he took out his university library card, and sure enough, it was written on it.
In the photo, he has the popular slightly longer hair and is clean shaven, looking very normal.
"What do you mean by liberal?"
"After the First World War, many religious institutions went bankrupt and no one believed in God." The college student discussed with Ronald in a low voice. "The churches at that time also began to lean towards freedom and did not deny scientific research findings. For example, your sister said
The lifespan of the earth, the question of evolution. The tendency to view the Bible as an ancient story rather than a sacred scripture.”
"Some conservative institutions use more conservative views to attract right-wing believers. They are fundamentalists. They believe that every word in the Bible is the truth, not a metaphor or description. For example, Moses parted the Red Sea, or
Christ’s return to earth is a real event.”
"But these ideas seemed too bizarre in modern society, so thirty years ago, a southern priest, Billy Graham, began to promote evangelicalism in America. Evangelical dress
He is more centrist than Fundamentalists, but opposed to liberal attitudes toward the Bible."
"Have you heard the good news? This sentence is their starting point. They often start their preaching with this sentence."
"But we are Quakers, why did we invite an evangelical priest?" Ronald asked.
"This is a misunderstanding. Evangelicalism is not a sect, but an evangelical movement. It encompasses all denominations. For example, the Baptists, who are the most widespread and have the most believers in America, are divided into liberals and evangelicals.
faction, and fundamentalism.”
"Liberal believers easily embrace science or doubt the existence of God, so there are fewer and fewer believers. Fundamentalists are too extreme. The better churches developed by Puritanism now are basically evangelicals. They
It has also reconciled with the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has become very popular in the world."
"What did he mean by my brother's protector?"
"Hahaha, don't you read the Bible?"
Seeing that Ronald was a little embarrassed, the college student explained, "This is from the fourth verse of Genesis. Adam's son Cain only dedicated to God the fruits of plants that fell on the ground. But his brother Abel killed himself to raise food.
Cain sacrificed his animals to God with their flesh and blood. God favored Abel, so Cain killed Abel.”
"God rebuked Cain, and Cain quarreled with God, saying that I was not my brother's protector. So later on, saying that someone is my brother's protector is praising him for having the virtue that Cain lacks, and bringing the benefits of his brothers and even strangers to him.
Put your interests before yourself."
“My Brother’s Keeper,” Ronald said this short phrase from the Bible repeatedly, feeling that it was very suitable for the title of his new Vietnam War script.
A mentally retarded fool, but he understands the true meaning of God better than many smart people. He cannot throw grenades or aim a rifle. During training, he threw grenades into the sky and almost caused an accident. Fortunately, the platoon leader held him
He took shelter in an explosion-proof trench.
After being deployed to Vietnam, other people in the company disliked him and deliberately left him on Vietnamese soil. The fool was caught by the Vietnamese army and took him to fight. Although he was a fool, they did not mistreat him. He was with the original army.
After the encounter, the ambushing Vietnamese army captured many of their former comrades.
His original comrades-in-arms all thought he was a traitor and deliberately brought the Vietnamese. The fool took care of the wounded among them, secretly released the prisoners at night, gave them weapons, and asked them to go home to their mothers. The Vietnamese came over alert and took them with them.
Chasing after a fool.
The fool was playing with his comrade's grenade. Whether it was intentional or out of curiosity, he threw the secretly hidden grenade into the sky and blew himself up when it fell. In the chaos, the platoon leader and his comrades were able to escape and returned to America and
The family reunited, but everyone said that the fool was the incarnation of Christ. He was not killed by the grenade. He was still on the battlefield in Vietnam and was the protector of all brothers.
Ronald took out his notebook and quickly jotted down his inspirations. He suddenly became excited and wrote dozens of pages of plot.
Until Aunt Karen asked him gently, "Ronnie, have you finished writing? It's time for us to go back."
"Ah? Is it already noon?" Ronald saw that most of the believers in the church had already gone to have lunch. "I'm sorry, Auntie, I got inspired and wrote a lot of plots."
Not only does it have a brotherly comradeship, a controversial plot, an anti-federal war policy, and a religious plot, it may not be a big hit. Ronald is very satisfied with his inspiration.
"Shall we go to Burger King? Their burgers and fries are quite delicious." Donna said with a smile.
"Okay, let's go."
I don’t know what cooking method is used in Burger King’s beef, but it is indeed a little better than McDonald’s. Donna ate very enthusiastically, “Mom, I don’t like this priest. What he said is different from what is in our science textbooks.”
"Yeah, don't delay Donna's studies. Ivy League scholarships don't have theological content." Ronald supported.
"Okay, I will attend the Sunday gatherings of veterans and families from now on." Aunt Karen actually didn't like the atmosphere of the church, and no one praised the delicious cookies she baked.
…
"Click, click, click..." Ronald spent the afternoon and evening at home typing frantically on the typewriter. When inspiration came, he had to seize the time to type more. If the inspiration left, he would never be able to get it back.
From time to time, I would take a sip of the red wine beside the table, light up a Marlboro, and smoke while looking for notes made by my friend who interviewed Aunt Karen.
Sometimes he was immersed in typing, leaving the beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer aside.
Michelle Pfeiffer, wearing a bathrobe and wrapping her head in a towel, sat next to him, looking at the paper he typed out, and helping to sort it out. Pfeiffer knew that Ronald had entered a strange state.
Based on dozens of pages of first drafts, Ronald wrote quickly and accumulated nearly 100 sheets of manuscript paper.
Pfeiffer looked at the man in front of him who was two years younger than him. His concentration was really attractive. Will he be the next gold medal screenwriter in Hollywood? Just like John Milius who wrote Apocalypse Now, or will he write it himself?
Self-directed Billy Wilder?
"It's done." Ronald finished typing the 96th page of the manuscript. After more than 10 hours of continuous writing, the first draft was completed in one go.
"Dear, I lost track of time while writing." Seeing Pfeiffer holding his first draft with a smile on his face, Ronald couldn't help but stretch, picked up the red wine and took a sip. The urge to write quickly flowed to the manuscript paper.
On the topic, Ronald seems to have not had enough fun writing, and has not yet released all his energy.
Michelle Pfeiffer gently pulled off the bath towel wrapped around her head, and her silky hair flowed down like a waterfall, pouring on the open-necked bathrobe, and also on her snow-white shoulders and chest.
"Ronnie, you are really talented." Pfeiffer was hugged tightly and whispered in Ronald's ear, "Um...ah..." Pfeiffer exclaimed in a low voice.
It was a man who was encouraged to express his gratitude through actions.