Round Four [Chimerica v. The Atheist] posted by Martin

Chimerica (Shockah rank: #5, Burley rank: #8)

v.

The Atheist (Shockah rank: #4, Burley rank: #1)

BATTLE!

n. A method of untying with the teeth of a political knot that would not yield to the tongue.
-Ambrose Bierce

Chimerica
In a world almost exactly like our own, America has lost its place as the prime superpower, and China has taken over. Chinese language and customs have been absorbed into American culture, and have irrevocably changed the face of the country. The cold war between China and India is heating up, and when a terrorist act is committed on Chinese soil, the culprits are traced back to America. China puts a lockdown on America, sending in troops to root out the terrorist cells and throwing the country into a state of emergency. One family will witness everything, from the beginning of the invasion to the terrifying aftermath, and will try to hold onto one another as everything they hold dear.

Pros:
Oh, fuck man—America is down! This is not so hard to picture, since China owns so much of us right now. An overthrow of the US won’t come through violent revolution, but of a bit by bit sale of our interests and a slow change of our ideals over time. And a stock market collapse so drastic that we have to cash into our creditors. Oops! No more $15.00 an hour at the mill.

Plus, the pun in the name kicks ass.

It’s daunting, though, this idea. I love Chinese history, and have studied in depth the great mariner Zheng He. I have spent time in Singapore, with a population primarily descended from China, and feel like (at least more than your average American) I have an understanding of Chinese Culture. Still, I have no idea how to accurately describe an America under Chinese rule.

But, I’ve imagined something similar before. Zheng He, sailing 400 foot chinese junks a half century before Vasco da Gama sailed. They got as far as the East Coast of Africa, and there is some evidence that they sailed as far as the cape of good hope (there are some true believers who claim that Zheng He circumnavigated the globe and discovered America. I personally find those claims incredibly suspect. I’m with the scholars on this one). Imagine, though, if an armada with tens of thousands of Chinese, and hundreds of ships, some the largest wooden ships ever built, sailed into Eurpean harbors of the day? In a Europe just on the cusp of the Renaissance. I tell you, in that world it’s not hard to imagine Europeans speaking Chinese. What if the first explorers of America were running away from religious persecution, but were running away from their Chinese overlords? What if America was simply founded as a Chinese colony?

But, of course, this would be a more modern takeover. I like the idea of seeing the terrorism from the eyes of Americans—what if we were the terrorists? What would drive us to that? I have no trouble imagining an American under siege where average American’s would rise up against a controlling power.

Cons:
The biggest con for me is believability. We’d have to have Chinese language bastardizations, like Singlish—the blend of Chinese/Malay and English that Singaporeans speak. We’d have to have believable Chinese social constraints and arguments, and Chinese culture is remarkably complex.

The biggest problem would be assuming that China is like America is like India is like any super power. The relationships of class and culture are so nuanced and weighted in the Chinese culture, that we would need to tread carefully to be accurate and not just be the dumb white boys using pop-culture assumptions to make a cool script without it having any weight or nods to reality. I mean, my goal would be to watch a movie that would be riveting to a Chinese national, as well as an American.

Also, I see the struggle, but I don’t see the direct plot. Give > Me > Some > of > These > please.

The Atheist
In a world devout to an all powerful god, one man uncovers exposes an unspeakable truth: their planet wasn’t carved by a deity, it was created to hold the most dangerous prisoners in the galaxy: their ancestors. What crime is so unspeakable that not only you will be punished for committing it, but all of your heirs will as well? And what happens when you find out that your captors are still watching your every move?

Pros:
The skewering of the sacred cows! I dig this for sure. I mean, we’ll get to not only tear down a fanatical religion, but do it in a brutal way. Of course, the biggest facet of religion is faith, and what if your faith was challenged? Well then, I think we’d have three responses: 1. Some people would stop believing, when presented with evidence against. Some people would alter their beliefs to rationalize away the new evidence. 3. Some people would unflinchingly still worship the same as they always had.

I also love this idea, which comes up again and again for me, of this one guy or girl arguing against the cultural assumptions, and being maligned for it, only to find out that they were justified in their arguments. It spawns enemies from within, and more dangerous enemies from without.

You may, or may not, be disappointed to learn that I don’t have this one figured out either. I don’t know what the great crime was, or what the great secret is. I would guess that the great crime is a genocide of some sorts—or being banished because of some quarantine. Maybe the banished people are a control group being isolated to study evolution (ha! Religion and evolution in one movie, and that the evolution is imposed by the Gods in the sky?). But, whatever it is, I’m sure we can figure it out.

Cons:
What I’m not so sure how to figure out is how the confrontation between people and keepers would be. How would the aliens in the sky be represented? How would they conflict with the people on the ground? Maybe the idea is that they’re watching for signs of evolution and this kid, that I imagine leading the pack, is the first one to evolve as such. Then we could tie in to the common feeling that we’re not of this world, but of another world and we need to pass some sort of test to be brought home (i.e., follow the word of God). In any case, there are many parallels here and interesting things to play with.

But, that confrontation, as well as the reveal and the whole pace and feel, would need to be laid out. This short blurb was more of a cursory overview, so there would be some work here. But, I can totally see it working.

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