FADE IN:
EXTERIOR SCENE – TRIBE FIRE PIT – NIGHT: It is a dark night. All black, except for a small source of light. As we approach the light, we can see it comes from trembling yellow flames burning at the center of an Indian village.
We can hear the Indians singing. We can’t understand them, but we can notice they keep repeating the same chants while dancing in circles around the fire, stomping their feet on the ground.
They are dressed to impress. Bodies are carefully painted; heads are crowned with their most beautiful feathers.
One of the Indians seems to be out of rhythm. He is not chanting. His face express discomfort. This OUT-OF-SYNC INDIAN whispers to an INDIAN FRIEND dancing at his side.
OUT-OF-SYNC INDIAN: “Do you really believe that all of this will make it rain?”
INDIAN FRIEND: (between his teeth to avoid been noticed). “It doesn’t matter. Don’t do anything stupid. Just dance.”
The ‘Out-of-Sync Indian’ looks at his feet and stomps with more energy trying to follow his friend’s advice. He makes more noise for sure, but still fail to get in tune.
The circle opens for a group of Indians carrying a huge pot towards the center. Inside the pot there is another Indian; a human sacrifice.
The ‘Out-of-Sync Indian’ looks at the pot and his face turns from indignation into pain. Like a mirror, the INDIAN IN THE POT makes the same faces, while the fire heats the pot.
But the ‘Indian in the Pot’ doesn’t scream, nor complain. He just sweat and make martyr faces accepting with resignation his destiny.
The ‘Out-of-Sync Indian’ can’t contain himself. He stops dancing and opens his arms, while he screams.
OUT-OF-SYNC INDIAN: “Stop! We can’t just keep dancing, repeating the same chants while someone is dying.”
Pause. Silence. Everyone looks at him.
OUT-OF-SYNC INDIAN: “Can we have some common sense, please?”
DISSOLVE TO BLACK:
FADE BACK TO:
EXTERIOR SCENE – TRIBE FIREPLACE – A BIT LATER: The Indians are stumping their feet as they dance in circles around the fire. They keep repeating the same chants.
The ‘Out-of-Sync Indian’ is inside the pot over the fire. You can see he is in pain, but he doesn’t scream, nor complain. He just sweats, resigned with his destiny.
FADE TO BLACK:
BLACK SCREEN SUPER: ‘Centuries Later’
FADE TO:
INTERIOR SCENE – OFFICE MEETING ROOM – DAY: It is a moderately lit meeting room. The curtains are closed, the ceiling lights are off. Most of the light comes from a presentation slide projected on one screen at the front of a large table.
The MANAGERS are seated around the table. They are dressed to impress. The men wear nice shoes, nice suits and similar color shirts. The women wear high heels, and their painted faces are crowned by imponent hairstyles.
We can hear they are chanting. We can’t understand them, but we can notice they keep repeating the same jargons while looking at each other and rhythmically nodding their heads in tune.
MANAGERS: “Take it to the next level… Differentiating value-added strategy… Transformational change… Build leveraged benefits… The helicopter view…”
But one of the managers seems to be out of sync. He is quiet. His face express discomfort. This OUT-OF-SYNC MANAGER whispers to a FRIEND MANAGER seated at his side.
OUT-OF-SYNC MANAGER: “Do you really believe that all of this will make any difference?”
FRIEND MANAGER: (between his teeth to avoid been noticed). “It doesn’t matter. Don’t do anything stupid. Just chant.”
He tries.
OUT-OF-SYNC MANAGER: “But I believe we should focus on our core competencies, driven by our corporate values. If everyone gives 110%, we can reach a scalable solution…”
While he chants, he can see the people nodding.
He can see the slide projected at the front of the room. The slide has a drawing of a large pot over a fire pit. Around the pot, spread all over the slide, there are written bullet points with business jargons: ‘generate synergistic applications’, ‘actionable plan to drive performance’, ‘outside the box’, ‘drill down’, ‘pushing the envelope’, …
Inside the pot, as if it was being cooked slowly, there is a drawing of his company logo sinking into a sauce of red numbers.
His face changes from wise chanting to pain, to indignation. He can’t contain himself. He stands up.
OUT-OF-SYNC MANAGER: “Stop! We can’t just keep talking, repeating the same words. Our company needs simpler an effective actions.”
Pause. Silence. Everyone looks at him.
OUT-OF-SYNC MANAGER: “Can we have some common sense, please?”
DISSOLVE TO BLACK:
FADE BACK TO:
INTERIOR SCENE – OFFICE MEETING ROOM – LATER: The managers are seated around the table chanting. We still can’t understand them as they keep repeating the same jargons, while nodding their heads in tune.
The OUT-OF-SYNC MANAGER seat is empty.
The slide presented still shows the pot over the fire pit. But now inside of it, squeezed at the side of the company logo, there is a cartoon drawing of the OUT-OF-SYNC MANAGER.
FADE OUT.