Documentary Pitch #1

It's a Wednesday and you're sitting in English 324. Suddenly the lights begin to flicker before the entire building goes dark. It's eerily quiet until you begin to hear the faintest sound. Within a few seconds you're drowning in the sound of screams. You hear footsteps racing through the hallways and outside of the building. You grab your stuff, jam it into your backpack and race into the hallways only to see hundreds of students and faculty all running the same way. A young man grabs your shoulders and screams "RUN!"

You don't know what's going on, until you see what they're running from. It's an apocalypse--zombies, aliens, soldiers--something is chasing you and wants you dead.

Where do you go? Will you stay on campus or try to go home? Do you find your friends, call your mom, or find weapons first?

For my documentary, I want to interview students and perhaps some BSU faculty to find out what they would do in a harrowing situation that starts as they're on campus. I think this topic is both funny and interesting. Personally, I think an escape route/plan is always a good idea. Even if there is no current threat of danger, everyone should still have an idea of what they would do in a dangerous situation.

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 13, 2018 at 6:37 AM

    For what sounds like a comedic piece, I think a good source of humor for this essay can be exposing the difference between how people think they will act in a crisis vs how they will actually act. The most obvious example that comes to mind are the people who claim that them would totally bum rush school shooters, even though we're all perfectly aware that they would never actually do that.

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  2. UnknownMarch 13, 2018 at 8:29 AM

    My daughter has always tried to emulate me. She likes spicy food and horror movies--the only thing she can't get into is Magic: the Gathering. Ever since she was ten or so, when we're going for a walk or hanging out, she always wants to know my zombie escape plan. So I feel like this is a compelling topic for me, as it is something I've put a lot of thought into.

    What a fun idea.

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  3. UnknownMarch 13, 2018 at 2:37 PM

    This IS a fun (and practical) idea. When I worked at the library and ran emergency drills, I had very strong reactions from students protesting leaving. "This isn't a real emergency," they'd say. Some cussed at me for inconveniencing them. Were there an actual fire, earthquake, natural disaster, or something else, what would they have done? When I was younger, I used to keep my baby blanket next to the door in case of a fire, so I could take it with me. I'd love to know your personal plan, too, so I know why this is relevant to you. This topic can be as fun (or serious, or both) as you want it to be! (However, I think you're going to need a bit more specificity and narrowing down.) Good luck!

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  4. BballengerMarch 14, 2018 at 9:57 AM

    Really interesting idea, Lainey! Obviously, the first thing that came to my mind when imagining such a crisis is a shooter situation, which of course doesn't lend itself to comedy. Will you intentionally sidestep that whole issue? In your interviews, how will you frame the questions? "Imagine there's a zombie apocalypse, where do you run?" I can also imagine monsters-under-the-bed stories. "What were the monsters who terrified you as a child, and how did you plan to stay safe from them?"

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    Replies
    1. UnknownMarch 14, 2018 at 11:16 AM

      I didn't put it in my original reply, but I agree with BB here that the first thing that came to my mind was an active shooter situation, and so you'll want to be clear to make your piece in such a way that you don't evoke that feeling before moving to laughter. Maybe positioning it as "Home, work, or school" or somehow setting the scene in such a way that you don't start with hearing someone yelling "run" while in class.

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