This morning I woke up and had this phrase in my head that developed into what could be a series of pro-life commercials. I wrote down my initial ideas for them and thought I would share them with you.
Pro Life Commercial 1
A convertible playing party music, with two young long-haired women inside, turns into a medical complex. Camera zooms to the driver’s face, a pretty woman in her late 20s/early 30s. She looks at her passenger.
FRIEND: [with concern] Are you sure I can’t stay with you? Just for support?
WOMAN: No, thanks. I just want to put this behind me. They say it is a simple procedure. Just pick me up in about an hour and a half.
FRIEND: OK, see you then.
The woman gets up and shuts the car door. As the convertible pulls away she turns toward the medical building and for the first time we get a good look at her and see that she is pregnant. She looks up at the building and reads the sign which says “Clinic.” When she starts to walk, she realizes she is about to run right into a woman with a stroller.
STROLLER LADY: Whoops, I’m sorry.
WOMAN: No, I’m sorry.
The stroller whooshes away and WOMAN sees a cute pink baby hat on the ground. She picks it up and starts after STROLLER LADY.
WOMAN: Wait! You forgot y–
WOMAN notices the stroller is out of sight. Looks at the baby hat, looks at the entrance of the building, looks at the baby hat.
Next scene:
FRIEND pulls up in convertible, this time playing calmer music. WOMAN is sitting on a park bench close to the building, still holding the baby hat. FRIEND looks at WOMAN and sees her with one hand on her belly, looking down and smiling.
FRIEND: Is everything ok?
WOMAN: It will be, I hope.
WOMAN walks to car and gets in.
WOMAN: Change of plans. Can you take me to pick out some nursery bedding?
FRIEND: Sure, I know just the place.
Women continue to chatter happily as convertible pulls away.
Appears on the screen in large letters: CHOOSE LIFE.
VOICEOVER BY ANNOUNCER: Opinions may be changed to protect the innocent.
Pro Life Commercial 2
A young, pretty black WOMAN is sitting on the examining table at the doctor’s office.
DOCTOR comes in with a clipboard.
DOCTOR: Well, you’re pregnant.
WOMAN (shocked): What?
DOCTOR: Oh, this wasn’t a planned pregnancy?
WOMAN: Well, no, not at all. I’m still finishing school, my husband is working two jobs… this is really bad timing actually.
DOCTOR: No problem. We can take care of that for you. Our receptionist will set up an appointment for a couple of weeks from now. See you back then.
WOMAN wanders out of the office in a daze, goes to reception, looks at an appointment card that is handed to her, walks out of the doctor’s office.
She gets home, goes to her closet, takes out a shoebox size box from the top of her closet and opens it. It is full of memorabilia from her childhood. At the bottom are her first pair of satin shoes that she wore home from the hospital. (They are attached to a card with a photo of her as a baby wearing them.) She takes out the card and shoes, sets them on her desk, and picks up the telephone. She looks at her appointment card, dials a number.
WOMAN: Hi, I’m calling to cancel an appointment.
Appears on the screen in large letters: CHOOSE LIFE.
VOICEOVER BY ANNOUNCER: Opinions may be changed to protect the innocent.
Comments (22)
That's a mortal sin, especially if you know that you are hastening your own death. And in light of the topic of this post, I can think of a "Pro Life" commercial tailored just for people like you:
* * * *
MAN 1 and MAN 2 are standing in front of a house in American suburbia.
MAN 1: Hey, I have a death wish. Let's eat some junk food!
MAN 2: Sounds like a plan. I love to eat things that are sweet when you eat them, but then later are as bitter as wormwood.
MAN 1: Exactly. Hastening the halting of the natural processes of my thyroid is one of my most anticipated actions of my life.
MAN 2 suddenly is hit with a newspaper from a boy doing a paper route. He immediately goes into a trance. The Virgin Mary appears to him and shows him a vision of lying on a hospital bed, his abdomen opened up by surgeons and one by one, his rotten organs are being removed for lack of function. He snaps out of the trance.
MAN 2: On second thought, maybe we should heed the advise of the Holy Roman Church and seek to preserve life rather than to destroy it. Therefore, let us abstain from foods that destroy our bodies and instead focus on healing our bodies which have been slowly poisoned over the years by our poor choices and careless behaviour.
MAN 1: I see what you mean. I think our previous ethos of engaging in reckless disregard for all things holy ought to be abandoned once and for all - we should forever aim to rid ourselves of the diabolical idea that seeks to promote epicurean hedonism in a consequence-free environment.
MAN 2: Let's eat some raw vegetation and a proportionate amount of complex carbohydrates.
MAN 1: Indeed. And I know just the place to get some lean meat and raw unhomogenised milk.
MAN 2: Afterwards, let's go lift some weights, or maybe run four miles!
MAN 1: I'll race you to the garden!
Yeah, the commercials are totally awesome.
Fast food = mortal sin
Dave, c'mon, you're killing me! If smoking in moderation is not even categorized as a venial sin, more less mortal sin, then I think we'd be stretching it to say that the occasional #3 at Mc-E-D's mortally severs us from the state of grace.
Beware the Cult of the Body (CCC 2289)
btw- I am going to go eat something healthy and then work out at 2:30. : )
The point is that William knowingly admitted that his intention was to destroy life, not to enjoy good-tasting food. First of all, it is obvious that his intent was not to enjoy good-tasting food as he specifically said that he was going to Pizza Hut. Secondly, he was acting on what was admittedly a grave matter (wilfully shortening his own life), with prior knowledge and the full consent of the will. I'm sorry Jeremiah, but this case is practically shut. Comparing William's decision to that of an occasional cigarette is laughable.
"btw- I am going to go eat something healthy and then work out at 2:30. : )"
I am glad that you are making good decisions for yourself, but I am concerned that you may be party to William's sin by means of consent and/or flattery.
Dave always hijacks posts!!! Remember my post on limiting TV that got all wild and zany? Craaaazy! hahahahahahaha
Bah humbug, Dave! haha
1. While William may have used these words, I highly doubt that "destroying his life" was his real intention. I think it is safe to say that it was said sarcastically, possibly even with your view of fast food in the back of his mind.
2. I think that with his knowledge, he would be forced to take into consideration just how many slices of Pizza Hut pizza he would have to eat in order to die from its contents. Or, were he to mean it in a more incremental manner ("Killing me softly" plays in the background), he would have to figure out just how much fast food per-day would be required for him to potentially die within a reasonable amount of time. This would be tough, though probably not outside William's mental capabilities. Still, I think it highly improbable that he went through this entire process.
3. Did it really matter that he said it out loud if he knew internally that his eating fast food had the potential (if done long enough and in mad quantities) to kill him over a long period of time? Or can it suffice to simply know this truth internally? Reason being, every smoker (which we have granted to be permissible in moderation) knows internally that were he to continue inhaling those chemicals into his lungs that there is a possibility that he would die from something related to his smoking. If all it takes is knowing it internally, then the casual smoker is just as screwed as William, regardless of whether or not he says it verbally.
4. My take: William could be faulted for useless words or poorly phrasing what he planned on doing, but being faulted for wanting to intentionally destroy his life would be a stretch. Mortal sin? Definitely not.
William, you suck. : )
PS- Does everyone know how tall William is? I just found out yesterday. Puts an entirely different perspective on the way I thought of him, really. Actually, I dare to say that he shatters to pieces every black teenage male stereotype I have ever had. haha
I am sincerely touched by your concern, especially since what you have written obviously comes from an informed conscience and strong moral convictions. For the record, it should be stated that I did not go to Pizza Hut today, but instead went to see Ratatouille and then to Golden Corral. I have been to Pizza Hut twice this month, and both times I did not eat to the point of satiety so that my health was not unduly compromised, but I do that agree to eat with the intent of going beyond the point of satiety (gluttony) or with seriously compromising one's health is indeed sin.
Well, I would the the aforementioned son that goes to film school, and these commercials are amazing! PSAs like this are always playing on EWTN (ergo, they could always use more, 'specially good ones like these), but also with election year approaching quickly, it might be the type of project that a Republican candidate could be looking to sponsor on the actual secular channels. Do you have any plans for sending it out to 'produce a harvest?'
If you don't have anything planned for it, and are interested... I know that at school (www.jpcatholic.com) we're always looking for projects to do, especially Catholic ones. And the students who are aspiring to be producers (my own humble self included) would specialize in finding the channels to bring projects from the script through filming and into the hands of a customer. Have you dabbled in screenwriting before? The way you capitalized the names in visual descriptions, it looks very close to the official format screenplay format.
I don't have anything planned for these at all. I sent them to my sister in law who is doing a LOT of work on the current personhood bill in Georgia, HR 536 (personhood.net) and she said she would send them on to the local GRTL chapter, as they sometimes do commercials. If you have any further ideas on how to get them made, feel free to email me at sarahhodges323@yahoo.com. And as your mom suggested, feel free to let us know when you are in town and maybe pop over for a visit.
Actually those are very powerful images...small things like the baby hat and baby shoes. I think this is a great idea...you could maybe even submit it to Priests for Life?
Dave looks wayyyy too thin to have been committing the mortal sin of eating at Pizza Hut. *grins*
I have a terrible commute, especially in the summer. My route is also the only way the the Shore from points north of where I live.
May I tell Priests for Life, Ireland's Family & Life, and David Bereit (a protestant who organizes 40 Days for Life) about your commercial ideas? You have a great imagination.
For some odd reason this reminds me of an inside joke from high school that I shared with some other nerds. "You are a genius! And together, we are genii!" :)