Trapped in Exploitation

My adaptation of Conrad's Heart of Darkness titled, Trapped in Exploitation, takes place in Romania during the early 21^st century and centers around Kostya, a man who works as a truck driver to pay off his past loans to an underground corporation called The Sudajes. Kostya, accompanied by several members of the Sudajes, is instructed to drive a specialized pick-up truck to a city in the Ukraine and haul heavy packages back to Romania. However, once Kostya reaches his destination, he is given strict orders to remain inside the truck while the members of The Sudajes tend to the boarding of the packages.

Kostya spots the arrival of an all-white cargo van. He observes that it is a two-seater lacking back windows and a front license plate, all of which induce the sketchiness of the situation. “What have I gotten myself into?” Kostya mumbles. “...Smuggling drugs? Weapons?...Some type of illegal trade…” he ponders. The driver of the cargo van approaches one of the members of the Sudajes and is paid handsomely in cash. Meanwhile, the other members of the Sudajes follow the passenger of the all-white cargo van to the back of the vehicle in order to retrieve the goods. Kostya can hear the doors of the van open. But it is what he hears next that chills him: muffled shrills of terror. The piercing tones stroke his curiosity. The sharpness of the voices compels his legs to step outside of the pick-up truck. To his surprise, being forcefully shoved and transported from the Ukraine to Romania are not drugs, not weapons, but far worse: women. But also to his surprise, after the trembling women have been loaded into vehicle, Kostya, now trembling himself, climbs back into the pick-up truck and starts the ignition. The sight of the pick-up truck is visualized speeding into the distance on the roads to Romania.

In my adaptation of Heart of Darkness, the savages are represented by the members of the Sudajes. The main character, Kostya, represents Marlow. Just as Marlow senses the “wrongness” of the Africans held captive on the ship and does nothing particularly admirable or heroic for the victims of the circumstance, Kostya’s uneasiness hints at his recognition of the moral wrongness of human trafficking yet he makes no meritorious action to improve the situation for the victims.

Darkness of Money

If I were to write a modern-day adaptation of Heart of Darkness it would be about the flaws of our economic system today. The main message of the story would be that even though we say capitalism gives opportunities to all many people in our country tend to remain in the class that they were born to. The story would follow an investigator posed as a young businessman. He objective is to steadily climb the corporate ladder to eventually get closer to a corrupt CEO of a corporation. He must collect evidence on him to uncover his corruption and take down his reign. Through the course of the story the main character encounters many drones who he sees as brainwashed. While encountering the great riches the CEO has amassed, the main character also sees the great poverty caused by the company. He stumbles across a neighborhood brought into poverty due to the selfish acts of the CEO. These people can be seen as the savages in this story. The were seen as lazy in the eyes of the corporate world but they simply could not find jobs as the CEO had closed a factory they had all worked at in a multibillion dollar deal he had made. The CEO is a very wise man and in that sense the investigator has an odd respect for him. However, in the end he exposes the CEO for all of his corruption and wrongdoing.

The Adventures of Koala and Panda: Heart of Furry, Happy, Love :)

If I was to write a contemporary adaptation of Conrad's Heart of Darkness I would make it cute, furry, and gear it towards kids. Yeah that's right, towards children. How could I do this?... By making Marlow a koala and Kurtz a panda (specifically a red panda)!!! Genius right? But the fun doesn't stop there... I would make all the characters furry animals so adorable they would warm Adolf Hitler's heart. And just when you thought I was finished... I would also cut out all the corruption, killing, raping of natural resources, racial prejudice, etc. and promptly replace it with sunshine, rainbows, and the power of friendship. To close the novel I would give the story a happy ending. This would definitely give kids a good look at what the world is really like. Picture this... Marlow the koala has been sent by the koala king to go up the gum drop river to bring toothpaste to Kurtz the red panda. Kurtz has been eating too much of the candy canes that he was sent to harvest and now has a cavity (see the story can also teach kids good personal hygiene). On the way up the gum drop river into candy land's interior Marlow the koala meets all sorts of interesting characters like the guinea pigs whom the koalas have enslaved through the power of friendship and are now helping, out of love, to harvest candy cane for everyone to share. Marlow the koala eventually makes it up the gum drop river and gets Kurtz his toothpaste to help fight those big bad cavities.... oh yeah and everyone lives happily ever after forever. The end.... Have I changed the world?

No... That story would be stupid. But why? Parents lie to their kids all the time. They tell them they're special (when in reality they're just like everyone else), that they can do whatever they set their minds to do through hard work (I'm kinda starting to think I'll never be elected president), and, the biggest fib of all, that people are good. Man is evil at his core. We may know right from wrong but that fact doesn't matter when we can justify wrong by changing what's right. Darkness within darkness is the human position. The sooner an individual realizes that the better.

Of course maybe I should write an adaptation of Heart of Darkness like the one I've described, watered down/censored. Everything is watered down these days anyway and not just when it comes to children. We are all being shielded from the darkness that lurks in the interior. but pretending its not there doesn't make it any less real.

So maybe I should dilute it down with all the good i can muster... or maybe I should make Marlow a koala and Kurtz a panda and leave the rest of the story as it is. Too bad that would kill my chances of it becoming a Disney movie.

Faith and Fortitude

Eman moved to France from Lebanon, expecting a new life and a warm welcome. Her family sent her away in hopes that she would be able to express her religious freedom, as well as enjoy the opportunities France could offer to women that Lebanon could not. Little did she know that she would be amidst religious persecution in France. French citizens were beginning to feel threatened by the "imposed" Islamic religion. They believed that France would no longer be French, and would become Muslim. Thus, the French government created new laws banning the Hijab. Eman found the ban on the Hijab to be severely discriminatory.

Although she was not a strict follower of Islam, she believed that all Muslims living in Europe should have the right to freedom of religion. Eman found several other women that practiced Islam to help organize a protest. After just days of preparation they scoured the streets for followers and began a march. The french were insulted by the womens' insolence. Many of the Muslim women were taken to prison for the outburst. Eman, luckily, was not incarcerated. She decided to take the advice of Booker T. Washington, and submit to the government for the time being, while pondering other methods of peaceful protest. She knew it was feasible in time. She was, after all, named after one of the many Islamic words for faith.

In my brief story, Eman is the main character, like Marlow. She too has an idea of a new country, but is sorely surprised by reality. The other protesters represent the suppressed savages, while the French government are like the imperialist in the Congo.

http://youtu.be/ONZ10HJtor0

Heart of Love

In my contemporary version of Heart of Darkness, Devin and his partner Brad, a homosexual couple from Louisiana, are planning to be married in their home state where they both grew up. Both raised in Catholic homes and baptized in Catholic churches, the couple plans to married in the Catholic church that they attended throughout their childhood and adolescence. But when the bishop denies to marry the couple, they realize that their dream of having their marriage recognized may not come true. Under fire from the Catholic community and many of their own family members, Devin and Brad abandon their hopes to be married in their community. When news of their proposed marriage reaches national news, Brad becomes at war with himself and ends his engagement to Devin. Devin fights against Brad's fear and assures him that they will be married, no matter how far they must travel to find a place where their love will be recognized. In search of that place, the young couple faces several protests, some for and others against their marriage. This aggression causes much tension between the two, and just when they are ready to call it quits, the arrive in New York, where they can legally be married and where their marriage will yield recognition and the benefits of heterosexual marriages. Along the way the young couple faces several protests, some for and others against their marriage, and

If I were to write an adaptation of the Heart of Darkness I would choose the current issue of human trafficking. My character would be named Xin Lee, and he would be of eastern Asian dissent. He would grow up in the lower middle class and would be coaxed into the dark world of human trafficking by a local gang of boys. After several years with the gang, at around 18 years old, he will begin tricking people into slavery. His struggle would begin when he comes across a young girl that grew up in a home near his. They had been friends as children but overtime grew apart. Now as he sees her struggle and the fear she contains; he begins to see just how dark human trafficking is. The savages are not the enslaved and he is not a savage. The savages will be the other boys in the gang. The greed and total disrespect for humanity is what will ultimately make him realize he needs to get out of human trafficking. But without knowledge of a proper escape he tries to run from the gang. He ends up starting a new life in another country but he lives in poverty and fear.