Comedy/Coming of Age

TREY'S EMERGENCE

When you think of the Coming of Age genre, you typically think of a generic, somber-hearted teen movie. The protagonist starts off as an unsure character, plagued with insecurity and poor navigation. The protagonist doesn't know what to do with his life. The protagonist sees a girl and falls in love. The protagonist realizes by the end that his life does have meaning as a result of their environment. Many will see that and will praise the movie for its unoriginal message and shower it with accolades. You know what I say to that? **HOIK-PUH!** That was a spit if you couldn't tell. I have an idea that will revolutionize Coming-of-age movies by giving them a close-to-home cultural spin.

Establishing Tone

My movie, Trey's Rise, will rely much on character-driven elements. Meaning much of the movie's style, humor, music, effects, and mise-en-scene will come as a result of the main character's state of mind. The opening is going to include a lot of humor, physical gags, and internet-based humor to match the character's personality and age. A lot of the dialogue is going to be witty, unfiltered, brutally honest, and introspective since most of what will be said is in the character's head. I'm going to incorporate visual elements from comic books, anime, hip-hop, and street art to give my film a unique style. Race, bullying, existentialism, and isolation will be prominent themes throughout the opening as well to match the character's daily struggles.

The Story

You see this kid? That was me in middle school. I used to be bullied for being overweight, black, and not fitting in. I couldn't exactly find my crowd in the world. I was "too black" for the white kids and "too white" for the black kids. I wasn't into basketball. Shoot, I didn't even know how to play the sport. I preferred to listen to Red Hot Chill Peppers or George Benson over Lil Baby and Uzi Vert. Simply put, I was a nerd, and I was persecuted for being myself. Not many people know this, but not conforming to a major society could get kind of lonely sometimes. Middle school me was sad, desolate, and yearned for connection.

One day I decided to give up everything that made me different to become friendly with what I considered "normal" at the time. It worked for a while until I realized that I didn't just give up everything that made me different, I gave up everything that made me, "me". Ever since I joined CBTV I've always wanted to adapt my story into a short film, but I've never found the time. But now that I'm being forced to create a movie opening, I might as well start now.

The Plan

I will write, produce, and cast for my opening and have my friend direct it. Andrew has developed many short films and has earned multiple awards throughout his career. Because he and I share the same creative mind, as well as a strong bond, I trust him and only him to help me adapt my story in the most accurate way possible.