Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Week 43, Day 296 - "Retard"

“Retard”

Written by Joe Janes

11/10/09

296 of 365

CAST

Bill, 30s

Marcia, 30s

(Lights up on Marcia and Bill working at computers near one another.)

BILL (reading an e-mail)

Oh, man, Marcia, did you see this e-mail from Mr. Kessler?

MARCIA

Yeah. What’s up with that?

BILL

If he thinks I’m going to work on a Saturday for free he’s a fucking retard.

MARCIA

Bill. I really find that kind of language offensive.

BILL

Oh. I’m sorry. I meant freakin’ retard. Kessler’s a freakin’ retard.

MARCIA

Bill. It’s not the “F” word. It’s the “R” word. It’s very offensive.

BILL

It is?

MARCIA

It’s as bad as the “N” word.

BILL

Oh, okay. I’ll be more careful.

MARCIA

Thank you.

BILL (reading new e-mail)

Oh, man. Now, Kessler wants us to work both Saturday and Sunday. What a fuckin’ mentally disabled person.

(He smiles at Marcia, looking for approval. She gives him a faint smile and goes back to work.)

MARCIA (to herself)

Retard.

(Blackout)

4 comments:

Alisa said...

The "R" word is a tough word and may offend many. Maybe Bill could call Mr. kessler a douche bag, and Marcia could be a staunch feminist and offended, plus she could go off on how it's not healthy for a women to douche anyway, and it's toxic, and then they can both agree that some people are just toxic like Mr. Kessler. I think I feel a song about douche bags coming on.

Joe Janes said...

I think because it is such a charged word is why I need to use it for this scene. That word has an interesting history because it did not start out with any derogatory intention. It became that. Same with douchebag, really. It's not the word, it's how you use it. And if we all agreed on an acceptable replacement word for it, like "toaster," we'd eventually be talking about what a hateful word "toaster" is. And it really is.

- Toaster Face

Alisa said...

True, but that is a lot of explanation and backstory, and if all people in the audience hear is the word "retard" it's a complete trigger and takes them out of the scene at hand... just my opinion, feel free to disregard!

Joe Janes said...

I agree with you. It's a charged word and there will likely be people who don't hear beyond the word. It's a risk.