This is a short essay I wrote on screen writing back in 2005. I usually never revisit anything I write, but in this case, I found it to be interesting. When I found this piece on my computer, I wasn’t sure who wrote it until I nearly reached the end.

This was written before the realization in December 2006. Perhaps this piece foreshadows events not yet transpired? Anyway, it is interesting, at least to me, to see how words, related to a specific medium, can impact the whole of expression.

Maybe I should write a current piece on artistic expression? Just to see which chair one now sits upon.

Enjoy!

I’ll Climb Down the Rabbit Hole, and You Cut the Rope
by Takuin Minamoto

The first step is always the worst, you know. It never feels quite as solid as the places we usually tread. But where we usually tread is not at all where we wish to be, is it? We secretly long for those worlds that seem meaningful to us in a way that is not easily explained to others. Those locales, while dark or bereft of meaning to others, shine with the luminosity of life to us.

Do we not already have the stuff within us? Are we doomed to fail? Well, I wouldn’t start dusting off that noose just yet. The inner workings of our imaginations, and the content it contains, is THE repertoire, so the answer is in there, hidden amongst the bizarre odds and ends.

How long can we ignore the natural expression that pokes us, prods us, peeling back skin, revealing the beast inside? The signs are all there, but we need to learn to embrace what is not known. And it is not the expression itself that breathes life into that beast, but the lack of attention and fear of what we have never embraced. Don’t be afraid kids. There is nothing to fear, not in any pocket of the mind. Just put out your arms and welcome your expression into the world.

How does it feel to ignore the passions that burn deeply in our brain-cases? Doing what others feel is right for us? Or perhaps, what we believe is right because we don’t want to disappoint someone else? That puts us into conflict with ourselves before we even get one foot out the door. If we cannot resolve this difficulty within us, how can we hope to have real and complete relationships with other human beings? It is not possible. And since the completeness of life is all about relationship, we might be lost, floating in the wastes of our own internal struggles.

So, what does this have to do with making movies? Why should it matter? What’s it all about, Alfie?

More than just making films, it is about the completeness of our artistic expressions. Completeness meaning, everything we have within is used to the best of our ability. Being complete means that only our true selves can flower and grow. There is no room for dishonesty, or some falsehood in our intention. Just infinite space where we work with finite material.

And don’t bother with pretension when thinking of your own filmic expression; wonderful films are made inside and outside of the Hollywood system. There is nothing saying that a film, just because of where it is made, is inherently good or bad. There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages on both sides. But, we shouldn’t bother thinking of those things in the beginning, anyway.

Get started, and don’t look back. If you want to write a movie, get some paper and get to work. Don’t let fear stop you.

Be truthful, even in your lies. Don’t get bogged down with details or try to talk yourself out of it. Just shut up and write. Don’t slow down because you think it is awful. It very well could be awful, but now is not the time to deliberate on that. Rage against the dying of the light, as it were.

Be as clear as you can, even if it seems you have little to work with. Don’t write for the approval of others, or to tell everyone how cool you are. Works of complete selfishness and self-aggrandizement can be popular, but they never last. Not even Disco could last forever, and thank goodness for that; I couldn’t stomach to wear the clothing.

I do my work now in complete comfort since I passed through the Rabbit-Hole. Things are clear, and I am not afraid to move in any direction. It is a new adventure that I embark upon, and there is no going back.

You can join me if you like, just be sure to cut the rope behind you.