Blending Colours (Alternative Story Choice)

DTVM
SC8106 Conceptualisation & Structure
CA10 – ‘Writing a Story Treatment’
09/10 Sem 2
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Blending Colours

‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’

Written by
Simon Koh Yuan Zhi


ACT ONE


Jordan, Bryan, Saranya and Gopal are watching TV. Diana complains how the interior of the house looks old. Saranya agrees and says the house should be repainted. Jordan then adds in that maybe everyone should chip in to spruce up the house.

Meanwhile, Timothy is together with his “beng” friends when an old lady wearing expensive jewelry passes by. One “beng” dares Timothy to rob her. Timothy rejects by saying that he’s afraid he might get caught but the rest of the group begins to egg him on and promises to help him out. After more pressuring, Timothy gives in.

The household is watching TV at home. Jordan is switching channels when he sees the Miss Universe finals on air. In passing, he says that there's no point watching the show since Miss USA is going to win anyways. Gopal and Saranya step in and disagree. Instead, they says they think that Miss India would win instead. They go back and forth like this for awhile. Unable to reach a conclusion, they decide to stay tuned the Miss Universe finals.






ACT TWO
Timothy and the” bengs” are stalking the old lady around void decks. She stops at a lift lobby to wait for the lift. The group acts immediately and robs her of her jewelry. As they’re running away, the old lady begins to scream for help. Feeling guilty, Timothy decides to turn around and return the jewelry while his friends run off. Just as Timothy reaches the lady, a policewoman appears out of a corner. It is Diana. Upon seeing the jewelry in Timothy’s hands, Diana arrests Timothy and brings the old lady to the police station to take her statement.

By the time the show gets to the swimsuit round, the argument escalates with Gopal and Jordan increasing their bets to fifty dollars. Both Miss USA and Miss India pass and it's a draw for Jordan and Gopal.

At the evening gown round, the winners are chosen based on their clothing. Miss USA wears a revealing dress. Jordan comments that she looks great with the dress because it shows off her figure. Gopal, on the other hand, complains about it's too revealing.

Miss India's choice for the evening gown round is a conservative non-revealing dress. Gopal claims that women should dress that way. Jordan complains that the dress covers her body too much. Both of them begin arguing again so they raise the stakes. Now, the bet is raised to a hundred dollars. In the middle of this, Bryan is furiously taking down notes and sketches for future reference. The judges begin to discuss.

At the interrogation room, Timothy tries to explain but Diana refuses to listen. Just then, another police officer enters and says that the old lady is not pressing any charges.

Both Miss India and Miss USA make it into the top five. Once again, Gopal and Jordan come to a draw.

For the final round aka the Interview round, the contestants have to justify their wardrobe choices in the previous round. Before the round even begins, Jordan and Gopal are so sure of victory that they raise the stakes even more. If Miss India wins, Jordan would let out the master bedroom to Gopal and Saranya at the same price as their guest room. If Miss USA wins, Gopal would pay for new renovations for the entire house. The final round begins.

Miss USA says it's because she has a great figure and she wants to show it off. She quotes the phrase "If you got it, flaunt it”. Jordan and Diana completely agree while Gopal and Saranya shakes his head and calls it nonsense. The judges criticise Miss USA for picking an outfit that was too skimpy to the point where it was unbefitting for a Miss Universe contestant. At this, Gopal feels even more certain that Miss India would win while Jordan laments that it is perfectly okay to show some skin.

For Miss India, she says it's because she wants to show her modesty and self-respect by choosing a full-bodied dress. She says she wants to show her inner beauty. At this, the judges critique her for not staying true to the competition. They say that after all, it is a beauty pageant first and foremost. Wearing a dress that doesn't show off one's body only works against her. Gopal cries foul and accuses the judges of being hypocrites while Jordan agrees with the judges.

Both men now await the final verdict with worried faces.

ACT THREE
For the first time, Diana sits down and listens to what Timothy has to say. After listening to everything that Timothy has to say, she gives Timothy a lecture. She tells Timothy that those “bengs” aren’t his real friends. When he was in trouble, they were missing. She advises him to break off with them before they make him do worse things. Timothy realises his folly and promises to stop hanging out with that group of “bengs”.

As for the competition, a twist happens when it's Miss China who emerges the winner. Both Gopal and Jordan turn speechless. Neither of them even noticed that that there was a Miss China in the final five, nor the other two Miss Universe finalists for that matter because they were too occupied with the contestant that they were rooting for.

Having chosen a tight-fitting Qi Pao as her evening gown, Miss China says it's because she wants to show off her curves without actually revealing her body and to create a fusion between tradition and modernity. The judges think its the best answer and awards the Miss Universe award to her.

In the end, it's still a draw. Just then, Bryan looks up and is greeted by the annoyed glares of Gopal and Jordan.

(999 words)