Isaiah Turner
Dr. Heiniger
American Literature
09-14-2015
Short Film Paper
Mary Rowlandson was a colonial American that lived from 1637 to 1711. She was a
mother and a wife who had great caring towards her family. Where Mary and her family
lived was under attack and captured. These men were coming in from the King Philip’s war.
They made the decision that they wanted to kill and take what they wanted and there was
nothing that the American colonists could have done. As Mary held her child in her arms, she
was shot at with the bullet hitting the young child. The attackers have killed Mary’s child in
her arms. The rest of the residents were either captured or killed. Mary later got separated
and was eventually finding herself on a one-hundred and eight mile walk.
Mary Rowlandson’s story would be shown and explained best within a mini-series drama
television show. The every week basis, time consuming drama will explain every emotion
and physical acts that she went through in her life. The actors in this mini-series that play the
role of Mary and her family will be an actual family. This will get the emotion to be so much
stronger because when they see something happen to their own family member it will bring
out true emotion. The actually feeling that “oh my goodness, my daughter just died in my
arms” feeling. The fear in Mary’s eyes will be like if she is looking at a ghost. Shocked,
stunned, and just a feeling of being surprised by what happened and that it is actually
happening to her and her family.
It will take place in a rundown, beat up area that tries to show what hard things they had
to go through besides these people coming in and attacking them. The way they lived and the
clothing they wore will describe what it all was like. Cut and stripped clothing with blood on
them, as they wore shoes that are like dress shoes but a lot worse. People will be able to
understand how they lived more, if there is clothing that is ragged and a way of living
horrific.
The altercation between the children and attackers will show that the children were in
pain and trying to scream and tell these men to stop. There will be much more detail of what
happened during the attack. Since this is a mini-series we will be able to see much more of
that detail and drama than a movie or play would be able to show. Throughout the show as
nobody is talking but there is altercations going on, there will be music playing in the
background to pull the audience in and feel the sorrow of what is happening to their
characters. At some point Mary will be fighting with one of the attackers and pulling her
child away from him and this is where a good music part can lie within the episode.
The main theme that I would want to come out of this series would be that once you set
your mind on a belief, it is hard to change or go back to another. I like this theme because it
can be used in so many different situations within the series. When Mary is holding her child
and has her child die in her arms from being shot at, in the series Mary believes that there
was something she could do for her child to not get shot. She tries to find a way to make it
her fault and come up with ways like turning around with the child in her arms to make it all
her fault. This is a great example of the theme because Mary has set her mind on the belief
that this is her fault and only her fault when it was not. This theme happens to be true in
many people situations, so the audience will be able to understand and see what she went
through.
As Mary is walking this long, hot, never ending one-hundred and eight mile walk, slow
music plays and tried to get everyone to understand and remember everything that this
woman has been through. These miles that she had to walk were not just simple to go
through. She had to walk in the shoes that were like dress shoes and be in pain the whole
time. Searching for water and food this whole time would not have been easy as well, so
that will be laid out in different episodes showing what she came upon throughout this
horrific journey.
A mini-series is the best way to get this story explained because there is just too much
emotion within it. People being kidnapped and being taken from their lives and any
possible freedoms is too much to be taken in without visuals. It is something that must be
seen to be able to actually get the full understanding. For example, the movie Hotel
Rwanda is about genocide and there is just no other way to explain this to anyone without
them understanding unless it is through a movie like Hotel Rwanda.
I have a strong belief that it is almost impossible to get off emotional feeling without visual
film. This is why I believe the best way to do this story is through a mini-series. Not even
as much as a movie because a movie would not be long enough for this situation and
detail that can be laid out by the story. The drawn out thought of explaining and showing
each detail can only be done in this mini-series. Also, a mini-series is able to go on for
such a long time. Instead of 2 hours, there can be 20 episodes consisting of 1 hour each.
A mini-series is above all the best way to go if you want to explain emotion with reaction
from your audience.