The Balloon Shipment

Abstract

The Balloon Shipment is a feature-length screenplay that utilizes surrealist and absurdist methods of storytelling to create a unique narrative experience. The script blends elements of black comedy, twisted logic, and surreal imagery. Techniques such as associative thinking, unlikely juxtapositions, and irrational logic are prevalent throughout the script. The Balloon Shipment attempts to balance these more experimental methods with a convergent narrative structure. This type of structure interweaves disparate stories that tie together by the end of the script.

The central storyline is built around Hodgeworth, an eccentric entrepreneur, who has devised a way for balloons to ship themselves by utilizing wind currents. Hodgeworth discovers that one of his laboratories has just invented the cigarette as a lung-strengthening tool for firefighters. He is so enamored with this discovery that he takes his close associate, RHM, with him on a mission to seek out new inventions.

From the very beginning, the story consistently takes unexpected turns. At a moment's notice, the story may delve deeper into a character through a series of flashbacks. At other times, it may follow characters that are unimportant to the overall plot, but have an interesting story to tell. The events that comprise this story are as diverse as snowflake microphotography, coughing fits, impending dust storms, vomiting inflictions, and tea dreams. This method of tangential storytelling creates a nontraditional narrative experience.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2005

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Johnson, Mary

Degree

Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree Program

Film

Subjects

Arts and Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic; Dissertations, Academic -- Arts and Sciences; Motion picture plays

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0021895

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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