War/Peace - Part II. Clarissa Daisy Huntsman
But the media does. And if I do something sleazy then they're bound to make sure it reflects badly on dad. Spin. Just like the advertisers telling us what we gotta buy to be happy. Fact is, though, Americans are getting more and more depressed [1.] [2.] [3.]. We don't know what we want so we buy whatever they tell us to and forget about our communities, experiences, relationships and all that [8.] [9.]. I would seriously hate to be locked away in a lonely mansion. I need to go out and know I can get that chemical rush [4.] again and again.
EMILY
Which is why you and I gotta find guys we can fall in love with for the night . . . but try not to mention who you are.
CLARISSA SMILES.
CLARISSA
I can try. But it's hard not to blurt it out.
EMILY
Well, either you keep it a secret or you'll find yourself stuck in a nuclear family, no way out.
CLARISSA STOPS WALKING. SHE BOWS HER HEAD.
EMILY
Clarissa!
CLARISSA WIPES AN EYE. SHE TAKES A DEEP BREATH.
EMILY
Clarissa! Are you ok?
CLARISSA LOOKS AT EMILY. HER GAZE SPEAKS A THOUSAND WORDS. AND THEY ECHO OFF THE SALT WATER DROPLETS THAT REST IN HER EYES.
CLARISSA
Um . . . sorry. Don't mention "nuclear" please.
EMILY
Oh. Cassie. Clarissa, I'm so sorry.
CLARISSA TAKES ANOTHER DEEP BREATH. SHE LOOKS AROUND.
CLARISSA
Pick a club, any club.
EMILY POINTS TO THE ONE RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM AND THEN THEY BOTH WALK TOWARD IT.
*****
1 Sandler, L. (2011). ["As Andrew Oswald, who studies the intersection of economics and happiness at the University of Warwick, in Britain, states, "The U.S.A. has, in aggregate, apparently become more miserable over the last quarter of a century."]. The American nightmare. Psychology Today, 44 (2), 70-77.
2 Eyunni, A. (2011). [Abstract]. On the Determinants of Happiness. Social Science Research Network. Retrieved January 6, 2011 from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1889222
3 Oswald, A. (2006, January 19). [p. 1]. The Hippies Were Right all Along about Happiness. Financial Times (Online). Retrieved January 6, 2011 from http://www.andrewoswald.com/docs/fthappinessjan96.pdfSandler, L. (2011). [""Here we look to that incredible emotional rush when you've just fallen in love, which we know physiologically doesn't stay that way--it can't," says sociologist Linda Waite, who studies marriage at the University of Chicago."]. The American nightmare. Psychology Today, 44 (2), 70-77.
4 Carlin, F. (2011). ["Now that Americans have their dream homes, many are setting up substitute institutions in the living room--and taking on the roles of preacher, teacher, and boss. There are many reasons we're increasingly home-centric, among them an overarching sense that Americans, being Americans, want the freedom to educate and support themselves and their children in the way they see fit, not the way that supposed authority figures would have it. But a possible consequence is that all of this insular socializing puts even more pressure on families, cutting them off from the diversity and connectedness of the proverbial village."]. Stay-at-home nation: Is public life moving indoors? Psychology Today, 44 (2), 74.
5 Sandler, L. (2011). ["Add to that, he [Andres Duany] says, the loss of authentic connections that comes from the distinctly American notion of homeownership that plays a key part in fulfilling the dream: you purchase a private realm--your home--to replace a public sphere that no longer exists."]. The American nightmare. Psychology Today, 44 (2), 70-77.
6 Duany, A., Plater-Zyberk, E., & Speck, J. (2010). [Blurb]. Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream (2nd Ed.). New York, America: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Blurb retrieved January 6, 2011 from http://books.google.com.au/books?id=aBNu7zLlcRcC&dq=Suburban+Nation:+The+Rise+of+Sprawl+and+the+Decline+of+the+American+Dream+%E2%80%9D&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XWQGT5LBAemImQXRnpzwBw&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA
7 Sandler, L. (2011). [""The more people focus on a materialistic pathway to happiness, the less happy they tend to be, and the less happy they make others," he [Tim Kasser] says."]. The American nightmare. Psychology Today, 44 (2), 70-77.
8 Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1993). [Abstract]. A dark side of the American dream: Correlates of financial success as a central life aspiration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65 (2), 410-422. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.65.2.410 Retrieved January 6, 2011 from http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/65/2/410/
9 Chemical Rush - Brian McFadden (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnrSosAHlrY)
10 Numb - Linkin Park (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXYiU_JCYtU&ob=av2n)
11 Sandler, L. (2011). The American nightmare. Psychology Today, 44 (2), 70-77.
******
INT. NIGHTCLUB - NIGHT
(CLARISSA, EMILY)
EMILY'S AT THE BAR. CLARISSA IS RIGHT BEHIND HER. THE CLUB IS CROWDED, THE NOISE DEAFENING AND ATMOSPHERE ELECTRIC. AND, IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE SPARKS FLY CLARISSA SIGNALS HER CHOICE OF LIQUID TO EMILY: SHE DRAWS A HALF SUN IN THE AIR WITH HER FOREFINGER. EMILY TURNS TO THE BARMAN.
EMILY
. . . and a Tequila Sunrise thanks.
THE BARMAN PREPARES A TEQUILA SUNRISE. CLARISSA SCANS THE CLUB GROUND. SO DO WE. AS USUAL THERE EXISTS A STAGE, A DANCE FLOOR, A BAR AND AN ELEVATED EATING AREA. UNLIKE THE LAST CLUB THERE ARE MORE FEMALES THAN MALES HERE. THE LIGHTING IS DIM AND STROBES DOT AND DASH THE SKY CONTINUALLY LIKE EXCLAMATION POINTS THAT CAN'T BE IGNORED. THE CONTAGION OF EXCITEMENT DEFINITELY FILLS THE AIR.
CLARISSA
Yeah! I'm loving this place!
EMILY TAKES THE TWO DRINKS FROM THE BAR. SHE HANDS ONE TO CLARISSA.
EMILY
Introductions!
THE TWO MAKE THEIR WAY TOWARD THE CLOSEST TABLE.
CLARISSA
What?
EMILY
Introductions. Let's say we're in the public eye, and we're the stars of a new reality TV show. How do you introduce yourself? What do you say to the camera? Or to me? And what do I say? And what do we wear? What do we drink?
CLARISSA
You said "reality"?
EMILY
Yeah.
CLARISSA
Then the answers are already in our hands, on our bodies, and jumping from our lips.
EMILY
But it's the first time I've had this drink. I don't know if it's my favorite yet, or even if I like it.
EMILY STARES AT THE GLASS. CLARISSA GLANCES AT HER WATCH.
CLARISSA
12 o'clock!
EMILY
He better be hot this time.
CLARISSA
Not a direction. It's 12 already. I got an early shift tomorrow.
EMILY
What