I had a head filled with story ideas today for the first time in ages, and many of them will be coming soon. This one is decidedly odd. I suspect you all might find it a very strange choice indeed.
Today’s Word:
anamnesis
As in:
Brighton J Josten is pursuing a highly unusual dream. Josten, 47, is a lifelong fan of the television show, “The Simpsons.” His dream? To honor the fab five in an original, live-action stage production.
“There are millions of people out there who’ve never watched an episode of this brilliant comedy, for whatever reason. Some people have bought into the various controversies, and failed to see the show for what it truly is. I want to present the show without the controversy, and maybe grow the show’s audience.”
Josten, however, has run into controversy of his own.
“Most fans think a live-action Simpsons is something akin to a sacrilege. They say without the animation and, most importantly, the voice talent, I’m wasting my time. Since I’m reaching out to people who’ve never seen the show, I won’t be fighting any residual anamnesis. These people will have no knowledge of what the voices *should* sound like. They’ll also have no experience of the more “cartoony” facets of the show, so, I can present things more “realistically.”
Because of the copyright issues involved with using “The Simpsons,” a property of Fox, Josten has called the project, “The Jostens,” and is making the show a drama. Gone will be the trademark zingers, famous character quotes, and theme music. Josten insists the changes are “superficial,” and that, at its core, “The Simpsons” has always been about the struggles of a middle-class American family, who, despite their imperfections, always stay together and love each other.
Josten begins the casting process next week. The actors who’ve seen portions of the script for audition purposes had no hints that the play was loosely based on the popular long-running television show. Said one actress trying for the part of Margaret Josten, the youngest Josten daughter, “I’ve got like 20 lines of dialog in the opening Act alone. This is nothing at all like “The Simpsons.” It’s really pretty heavy stuff, too. Like, wow. A complete downer. The father’s a barely literate knuckle-dragger who beats his kids, especially his son. Somehow he’s managed to remove all of his wife’s self-esteem, so she never leaves him, and despite his incompetence and idiocy, he manages to keep his highly technical job? It’s really messed-up. I just thought it was like avant-garde.”
Other critics have emerged, “Seriously? This guy calls himself a fan of ‘The Simpsons?’ He’s completely missing the point. Take away the animation, and the show is too brutal to be seen. It’s like he’s trying to link himself to the show to bring in audiences, or gain press, but, those who come expecting to see anything remotely *like* the show will not only be disappointed, they’re likely to be traumatized.”
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Not much more to say about that.
anamnesis / ann – am – NEE – sus/ the recalling of things past; recollection, reminiscence.