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:
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.
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
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!
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.
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