The Advantages of Being Colorblind Setting

The year is 2017. Newport is one of the busiest cities in the world a growing megalopolis. At ground level it has remained mostly unchanged since 2012, but the skyline is now covered with skyscrapers in every direction. Another layer of the city is being built on top of the old one. At night, the skyscrapers tops, crowned with gigantic billboards, blaze with neon light. The new vertical nature of the city has led to a new type of segregation between rich and poor and has created unofficial classes. The rich are now richer, the poor poorer. The transition from low to high is gradually becoming harder, while conditions are becoming worse for the low class. This has given birth to anarchist groups like the Brotherhood, who denounce technology and progress, praise the laws of nature and the right of the physically superior individual. They embrace this ideology with almost religious zeal, condemn the established order as artificial and try to fight it with chaos (believing chaos is the way of Nature). Other less extreme examples of rebellion against the mechanization of society are the groups of people leading a 21st-century-hippie lifestyle (calling themselves The Free Folk), who fight by refusing to conform to the trend of using the newest communication technology, social networks, debit chip implants etc. In these small circles of people, the warm old-fashioned human interaction survives. (They see the way of Nature as harmony and tranquility) On the subject of Christmas: Newporters no longer celebrate Christmas in 2017. No decorations can be seen on the streets. However, the free folk continue this tradition (not necessarily for religious reasons) and thats why Christmas trees can be seen in all three flats in the film. Furthermore, one of the jokes Charlie makes is related to people no longer celebrating Christmas and him hoping that somebody might finally notice that it is also his birthday. Tristiamine [tristitia (lat.) blissful sadness, melancholy] is a powerful opiate, extracted from the leaves of a flower similar to the Edelweiss, which is endemic to certain regions of the Himalayas. Tristiamine has been known to Tibetan monks for hundreds of years under the name Ral pa Iha (meaning Tears of Gods). Ingesting it, they enter a meditative state. More recently, it has been discovered by western countries but the extreme rarity of the flower its made of makes tristiamine an expensive luxury. It is an addictive drug. Because of the emotion reversal effect of tristiamine, prolonged use causes addiction to emotional pain (and to the drug too). However, due to the limited availability of tristiamine, there have not been any reported cases of extreme tristiamine addiction or overdose. Popular musician Danny Spielman is rumored to have written one of his albums under the influence of tristiamine. More about Newport [not related to the films plot]: World-renowned scientist Dr. Jack Tomodril has invented the Preservation process a series of physical alterations which are made to a living person in order to preserve them in their current state, enabling them to live for extremely long periods of time. The cost and complexity of the process limit not only the number of participants in the so-called Preservation Program but also the number of actual Preservations performed every year. Needless to say, this luxury

is completely out of reach for the inhabitants of the lower levels of Newport. In order to fool the masses into thinking they have control over something, the government has introduced the Preservation Program voting. Every month the citizens of Newport get to chose one person out of the four nominees (usually artists, scientists, politicians, businessmen etc.) to be Preserved. The voting is presented as a competition, a reality show, and is just one of many ways to manipulate people. All over Newport, posters can be seen promoting different candidates (Vote Danny Spielman!). [seen in the Streets of Newport sequence)

Characters
On the etymology of names: Because tristiamine is ambrosia, the nectar of gods, the characters names contain references to different deities. To clarify the origin of each: TOBIAS means Jah is good. Jah is the deity of Rastafarians, the name obviously derives from Jehovah. RAPHAEL means God has healed. Im being ironic here, because Raphs emotional wounds from the break-up with Lottie havent been healed yet. MARY is obviously the virgin Mary. LOTTIE is an allusion to the biblical character Lot, associated with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah a story about immorality and sin. ELLIE (or Eli) means God in Hebrew. Eli Eli lama sabachthani? (Let the Right One In, anyone?) SIBA is a version of Shiva. (Derived from Sanskrit (shiva) meaning benign, kind, auspicious. Shiva is the Hindu god of DESTRUCTION AND RESTORATION, the husband of the mother goddess Parvati. His aspect is usually TERRIFYING, but it can also be gentle.) CHARLIE doesnt really mean anything. THE CHARACTERS: Charlie (The Enigma) considers public speaking to be his talent. His dream is to be a comedian. If he had a day job it would be tour guide in a museum, where he would try to tell jokes to foreign tourists and fail miserably. He can be funny when hes on stage (he goes to Open Mic Nights in the local comedy club). Hes just not talented enough to be a professional comedian. At other times, when the situation calls for it, he gets serious and does whatever needs to be done with cold-blooded determination. Nothing is known about Charlies past. Charlie dislikes colored clothes and wears only grey a shirt and jeans. He also has a silver jacket. His eyes are bright blue; his heavy brown hair hangs over his forehead. Tobias (The Guide) is a simple person honest, sincere and straightforward. He is not intelligent but is very wise. He has a huge family and a lot of friends and somehow manages to find time for everyone.

Tobias is genuinely friendly to everybody and everybody likes him. Hes great at telling jokes, particularly when hes drunk and in a company of friends. He loves his album collection loves the music, loves the ideology behind the lyrics, loves the colours on the covers. The walls of his room are covered with posters of reggae bands. Even though hes WHITE, he truly believes in Rastafarianism (a movement, which is on its way to becoming extinct). It is his way of fighting against the modern mechanical society. He wears a Hawaiian shirt with floral motives and a jacket of many colors. His thick dreadlocks reach half-way down his back. Raphael (The Philosopher) is an eccentric. He speaks extremely fast and often digresses into topics that only hes interested in. He reads a lot and draws all of his opinions from books, often backing them up with citations. He keeps track of current affairs, news and politics, and supports one of the extreme opposition parties. Raph believes it requires extreme measures to stop the downfall of Newport. Conspiracy theories get him excited. The morbid side of reality fascinates him articles about murderers, documentaries about major world tragedies and other heart breaking stories are his thing. Hes studying philosophy and psychology. He used to be romantically involved with Lottie, which, he claims, was a mistake caused by parataxic distortion. He wears cold colors a teal/dark blue sweater and black jeans. Hes skinny and has extremely curly hair. He wears his signature hat at all times a black beret. Lottie (The Cynic) is an intelligent woman with questionable understanding of morality. She doesnt see any point in adhering to old restricting traditions and social norms, and views herself as a modern emancipated woman. Flirting is in her nature. She has been in more relationships than all the other characters combined. A heavy smoker since the age of thirteen. A fourth-year law student. Lottie likes to dress provocatively tight revealing tank tops, shorts etc. Her long wavy hair falls freely over her shoulders. Her signature colour is red. Ellie (The Perfectionist) did not have the chance to enjoy her childhood because of her demanding parents, who insisted (with almost religious zeal) that she put all her energy into becoming a pianist. Despite hating music initially, she learned to take pleasure in what shes doing in a cold and composed way. She has adapted to this lifestyle and has also found a way to have social interactions.

After an unexplained accident Ellie has lost her ability to hear and speak. Eli has a weird sense of fashion. She often wears uncommon combinations of clothes (knee-length skirts and trainers). Her signature item of clothing is a rainbow-coloured cotton scarf. Her colours are light blue and bright yellow. Mary (The Fanatic) was raised in a family with extreme Christian beliefs. All her life she has abstained from much social interaction, believing it is bound to lead her into sin. Slowly, she has started hating people who (unlike her) are capable of having fun. It is a subconscious thing. She sees herself as truly virtuous and is often quick to judge others. However, she also has the same desires a girl of her age would and the longing for love and intimacy has made its way into her dreams. She believes God has given her a vision of the man shes going to marry and shes looking for him in real life. Like Charlie, she wears mostly grey (they are a perfect match!) a sweater/knitted vest and a long skirt (see A Walk to Remember/Carrie). Her mousy hair barely reaches her shoulders. Mary never parts with her silver cross necklace. Siba the Warpriest (The Anarchist) is the leader of the Brotherhood. He doesnt believe in established order or in the law, and doesnt understand the concept of possession. He just takes whatever he desires. Sibas appearance inspires fear into everyone around him. Hes massive tall and muscular, dressed in a tight leather vest. War paint covers his face. The Chief is a figure that haunts Charlies dreams. He is a tall muscular middle-aged Native American wearing a massive headdress of multicolored feathers. In the middle of it, directly above the center of his forehead, there is a single red feather. The Chiefs face is also painted red. Around his neck hang several beaded necklaces.

The Three Flats

Flat 1 (Tobias and Raphael) The Magpie Nest Both of the boys are collectors. Raph collects books and Tobias collects pretty items of questionable artistic value. They are both obsessed by music but different kinds (dark ambient gothic vs. cheerful reggae). Posters of movies, such as Perdido Street Station and At the Mountains of Madness cover the walls. Flat 2 (Lottie and Mary) The Battlefield The two girls have only been living together for a week or two. They cant stand each other. Lottie likes to smoke inside the flat. Mary hates that. Mary likes to talk about God. Lottie hates that. Lottie stays up late and listens to loud music. Mary hates that. Mary constantly complains about things (she is inexperienced and its the first time shes away from home). Lottie hates that. Lottie wears makeup and jewellery. Mary hates that.

Marys room is simple, white and rather empty. A cross hangs on the wall. Lotties room is full of stuff brochures for theatre plays, cinema tickets, law textbooks, promotional vouchers, make-up, cosmetics, accessories, clothes Flat 3 (Ellie and Charlie) Minimalism In Ellies flat there is a door with Charlies initial C on it. The flat is designed in a very minimalistic way simple furniture, no colours. Ellie barely has any possessions compared to her friends. (NB! The emptiness of her flat is very different from the emptiness of Marys room.) In the middle of Ellies living room stands her keyboard, which is painted black (including the white keys). Ellie is the only colored thing in the black and white apartment. Her walls are covered with photos of her playing the piano, diplomas and prizes from competitions. A metronome is ticking on one of the shelves.