JADE GREENE
By Sarah-Lynn Brown
Synopsis:
Jade Greene is an
American/Japanese girl, who grew up in a diverse section of
Yin:
PAGE 1
PAGE ONE, PANNEL ONE
1) NARRATOR: My father was a soldier. An Airman stationed
in
Page one, panel two
a TOKYO HOSPITAL ROOM. mR. AND mRS. GREENE
HOLD THEIR NEWBORN child, WRAPPED IN A BLANKET.
2) Nurse: Here is
your baby girl, she is the biggest child born these week in
3) Mom:
JADE…Jade GREENE.
PAGE ONE, PANEL THREE
a
YOUNG jADE STANDING IN A KIMONO WITH SNEAKERS ON. with WAVING aMERICAN AND
JAPANESE FLAGS BEHIND HER, tHE LITTLE GIRL APPEARS CONFUSED, AND SCARED.
4) nARRATOR: I grew
up with dual citizenship, both American and Japanese. Perhaps even more
confused than my mother. I was mostly American with a bit of Japanese that
showed in the shade of my skin, the almond shape to my eyes and the blackness
of my straight hair.
pAGE ONE, PANEL FOUR
young jADE IN THE SAILOR suit STYLE SCHOOL UNIFORM IN A GUARDED
STANCE WITH OTHER CHILDREN POINTING
AND MAKING FUN OF HER IN A SCHOOLYARD. mIRAGED WITH AN IMAGE OF HER WITH AN
AMERICAN FLAG PLASTERED ON HER FORHEAD.
5) lITTLE bOY: wE
BEAT THE
6) jADE: bET i CAN
BEAT YOU!
7) nARRATOR: But for
all practical purposes I was American, white to the Japanese children I went to
school with.
Page 2
PAGE TWO, PANEL ONE
jADE
BEING CONSOLED BE HER MOTHER. jADE IS IN TEARS FROM THE TEASING OF A GROUP OF
ADOLESCENTS.
1) mOM: dON’T PAY THEM ANY
ATTENTION SWEETY.
2) gIRL: cRYBABY jADE
NEEDS HER MOMMY!
3) nARRATOR: My
mother helped me deal with the early childhood torment.
PAGE TWO, PANEL TWO
a
vOLLEYBALL GAME. jADE IS HITTING THE BALL BACK OVER THE NET. oTHER PLAYERS WATCH THE TALL STRONG GIRL,
FANS CHEER.
4) nARRATOR: At five
foot nine I was the tallest girl in my grade. I had few friends. Because of it,
I was active in sports and excelled at them. I played several sports, better
than most of the boys. I attribute that to my American blood.
PAGE TWO, PANEL THREE
jADE
STUDYING IN HER BEDROOM. HER COLLECTION OF BOOKS AND OTHER ITEMS OF CHILDHOOD
ARE ON A BOOKCASE IN THE BACKGROUND. oN A BULLETIN BOARD THERE ARE LETTERS AND
POSTERS FROM SEVERAL AMERICAN AND
In my senior year of
high school I was in the top twenty of my class and given admission to several
good universities.
PAGE TWO, PANEL FOUR
bIRThDAY
PARTY. tHE CAKE IS HALF EATEN.
jADE’S PARENTS ARE CONGRADULATING THEIR DAUGHTER.
that same year I was
turning 18 and had to suddenly choose if I wanted to remain a Japanese or
American citizen.
Page 3
PAGE THREE, PANEL ONE
aBOARD A JET FLYING IN
Against my
father’s wishes I decided to become American and move to the
PAGE THREE, PANEL TWO
jADE LOOKs AT THE STEPS OF A
I knew that a degree from an
PAGE THREE, PANEL
THREE
Jade is wAKEN EARLY IN
THE MORNING BY HER ROOMMATE AND BOYFRIEND STUMBLING INTO THE ROOM,
HORSEPLAYING.
enrolled as a pre-law
student, I LIVED the first year in the dorms before getting a small apartment.
PAGE THREE, PANEL
FOUR
jADE TALKING TO A HISPANIC MAN HOLDING A PART OF A SINK, WHILE A BLACK
GENTLEMAN WRITES ON A CLIPBOARD.
The complex I live in
has people from all over the world within its walls. this was a lot like home. The building
supervisor often had me to interpret for a tenant who spoke little English.
PAGE FOUR
PAGE FOUR, PANEL ONE
sCENIC
SHOT OF THE OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS WITH THE FLAGS OUT FRONT
WAVING IN THE WIND.
In my second year, I
went on a trip with a student group to tour the United Nations headquarters.
PAGE FOUR, PANEL TWO
THE
group chanced upon the Secretary-General who was out of a meeting and happy to
say hello to a tour group.
PAGE FOUR, PANEL
THREE
HE greeted us in English and said that he also
spoke French, which was the tongue he spoke best.I immediately greeted him in
French.
PAGE FOUR, PANEL FOUR
Jade in tight with Sectrectary-general, others
watch.
upon hearing my
pronunciation he asked if I was a citizen of
PAGE FOUR, PANEL FIVE
closEup OF THE sECretary-general.
I told him of my
diverse background. He smiled and laughed, shaking my hand. He then handed me
one of his business cards and told me that the United Nations is always looking
for people like me.
page five
page five, panel one
jADE SITTING WITH AN INFORMATION PACKET OF
UNITED NATIONS MATERIALS Spread OUT AROUND HER. SHE IS DEEPLY INTERESTED IN
WHAT SHE IS READING. the
secretary-general’s words stuck with me. I decided to learn more about
the united nations.
page five, panel two
A MIX OF IMAGES OF UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPERS, AND OTHER PERSONEL ON
MISSIONS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES HELPING PEOPLE.
i was in awe of the
many acheivments of this organization.
page five, panel
three
jADE
WITH BOOKS PILED UP IN HER ARMS RETURNING THEM TO THE LIBRARY.
I decided then that I
should devote more time to studying language and added it as a second major. I
began to overload classes in an effort to add more language, history and social
studies classes. In three years I learned all the languages offered at my
university.
page five, panel four
A
WHEN I graduated I knew a dozen languages
including Hebrew and Latin, and could write in ten of them. Still I was in the
top ten in Pre-Law.
page six
page six, panel one
Jade is congratulated and welcomed A UNITED
NATIONS HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER, AFTER A SUCCESFUL INTERVIEW.
to the dissapointment
of both my parents i turned down all my law school offers and applied directly
to the UNITED NATIONS.
page six, panel two
a
TRANSLATOR BOOTH, JADE HAS A LISTENING DEVIcE IN HER EAR AND IS SPEAKING INTO A
MICROPHONE, TRANSLATING FOR A LIVE MEETING IN THE ROOM BELOW.
my first job was as a
japanese, french and russian interpretor.
page six, panel three
SHE
IS bESIDE A DIGNITARY AT A PARTY
TRANSLATING FOR HER INTO ENGLISH.
in little over a
year, i was promoted. but i still wasn’t satisfied.
page six, panel four
Jade
is sitting at her computer, searching the u.n. jobs site. She has a pencil in
her mouth and worried expression.
i wanted more
involvement in the actual workings of the UNITED NATIONS and so i applied for
jobs in other branches, most of which were in far off cities.
page six, panel five
Jade walking with the Sec-General.
she’s holding a umbrella above his head. She seems in another world, bliss.
i was hired by the secretary-general
himself to replace his aide.
page seven
page seven, panel one
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL IN A SECURITY COUNCIL
MEETING. THE REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE OTHER MEMBERS OF
THE SECURITY COUNCIL LOOK TOWARD THE SEC-GEN. WHO IS GIVING A speech. JADE IS
some where amongst the crowd.
from here i see and
hear JUST ABOUT everything happening in the united nations.
page seven, panel two
cLOSE-UP
THE SECRETARTY-GENERAL LOOKING INTO A CAMERA, giving a blurb for a united
nations press release clip. JADE CAN BE SEEN LOOKING AT HIM FROM BEHIND.
i work closely with the
most powerful single person in the UNITED NATIONS.
yang:
page eight
page eight, panel one
Flashes of human hatred.
Riot like with Lots of red, emotion, anger mixed into one another, and
distorted.
perhaps it boils down
to redemption for all the years of social isolation……
or it is simply a
vengelful streak in me…..
page eight, panel two
Jade in a Heroic pose, a criminal at her feet.
She stands with a foot on his back, pinning him. He is an apparent
theif, with a woman’s bag in his hand. A woman stands in the distant, not
sure if she should approach to ask for her property.
but at night i become a vigilante.
page eight, panel
three
SHADOWS OF A FEMALE FIGURE WATCHING THE STREET BELOW. tHE BRIGHT NEON SIGNS OF THE STREETS CAST
A LONG SHADOW TO THE FRONT OF THE SCENE.
i scour the streets
of nyc watching the back of would be victims, to weak to defend themselves,
unaware of the dangers of the city.
page nine
page nine, panel one
a young man walks the street, obviously out of
place wearing a cowboy hat, big belt buckle, torn jeans and boots. He carries a
guitar case and a duffle bag thrown over his shoulder. He has just wandered off
from the bus depot, into the dark unfamiliar streets.
page nine, panel two
He spots
page nine, panel
three
The new arrival has not gone unnoticed by an
interracial pair of thugs waiting for AN easy person to mug. They watch the
cowboy walk by the old store front they hide under.
page nine, panel four
Someone else notices the cowboy. Another
figure stands in the dark above the street looking down.
page ten
page ten, panel one
the two men pull out their knives and sneak up
behind the entranced cowboy.
page ten, panel two
The
taller thug, a young black man in a knit cap and button pull-over grabs for the
duffle bag and guitar case while the other threatens him. The black bearded,
shaggy middle-aged holds his knife
in his right hand and reaches out his left toward the startled young cowboy,
while his partner tries to grab him.
page ten, panel three
close-up- The cowboy freezes as the men try to pull his belongings from him. The shaggy
man whispers a threat to the young man while pointing his knife at him. the
cowboy doesn’t see him, His eyes are fixated on
something behind them.
page eleven
page eleven, panel
one
A female figure dressed in black, stands
behind the two thugs in AN attack stance.
page eleven, panel
two
Looking at the attack through the stance of
the female vigilante. the low voice of the woman
calls to the men. her long hair waves in a breeze. the men look at the
cowboy, enraged to be disturbed.
YY- Leave him alone
page eleven, panel
three
the man with the knife turns toward the voice. He
has a smart smirl across his face. His missing tooth,
makes him almost look hokey.
thug- are ya gonna
make me?
page eleven, panel
four
The woman knocks the knife from his hand and
grabs his throat.
yy- tell your friend
to let him go or i will hurt you
page eleven, panel
five
the man grins at her threat. she
squeezes his throat, her nails ripping his neck. He fights her grip.
yy- tell your
friend…..
page eleven, panel
six
The man gasps.
let ‘em go
johnny! please!
page twelve
page twelve, panel
one
johnny stands stupidly, refusing to let a
woman dictate his actions.
page twelve, panel
two
his friend shouts again
let ‘em go!
page twelve, panel
three
johnny releases the young cowboy. he falls to
the ground watching the woman wide eyed.
page twelve, panel
four
johnny looks directly at the woman. his friend
searches for his knife.
so is that your
holloween costume …sUPER SING-SING LADY OR SOMETHING? are you supposed to
be some sort of super hero?
page twelve, panel
five
yy- I am a Vigilante… Do superheroes really exist
anymore?
page twelve, panel
six
Then what the hell
are you?
page twelve, panel
seven
CU
- her face with the gesha styled makeup.
I AM A PERSON WHO
DEMANDS BALANCE.
page thirteen
page thirteen, panel
one
both
men now have their knives and point them at Yin-Yang.
J- that is a bunch of crap and we are gonna kick it outta you!
page thirteen, panel two
yy- YoU don’t
want to use violence against me.
page thirteen, panel
three
right! Come on baby!
let’s get her lloyd
They lunge at her knifes thrusting.
page thirteen, panel
four
She leaps kicking lloyd over and punching
johnny in the chest. hIS KNIFE STRIKES HER IN THE HAND.
page fourteen
page fourteen, panel
one
johnny grabs his chest and falls to
the ground unconscious.
page fourteen, panel
two
Lloyd looks over at his friend and begins to
shake.
page fourteen, panel
three
sHE CLENCHES HER FIST AND HIS EYES WIDEN IN
TERROR.
yy- run away.
page fourteen, panel
four
lloyd jumps up and runs from the scene.
page fourteen, panel
five
yin-yang approaches the cowboy and helps him
up from the ground. she speaks him in a friendly voice.
yy- are you okay?
page fifteen
page fifteen, panel
one
THe young man pulls himself up,
grins awkwardly AT HER.
CB- Thank you ma’am… Did you kill ‘em?
page fifteen, panel
two
tHE COWBOY WALKS OVER THE UNCONSCIOUS THUG AND
LOOKS DOWN AT HIM. jADE CROUCHES LOOKING AT THE THUG.
YY- No. I don’t like to kill.
page fifteen, panel
three
A Police cruiser nears the scene. The young
cowboy looks at the high beams and is taken over by the light.
page fifteen, panel
four
A large officer peers out of the cruiser
window and sees the cowboy standing near the limp thug. The
officer shouts to the man to stand still with his hands above his head.
page fifteen, panel
five
The Cowboy freezes and looks beside him for
Yin-yang who is long gone.
page fifteen, panel
six
the officer neeling, checks the pulse of the
fallen thug and looks up at the cowboy.
Policeman- you are lucky, this guy might have killed you for your guitar. He
is a known addict.
paGE sixteen
page sixteen, panel
one
LOOKING AWAY FROM THE COP, THE
COWBOY TRIES TO SEE YING-YANG SOMEWHERE IN THE DARKNESS.
cb-
i WAS HELPED BY A WOMAN.
policeman - rEALLY, WHERE DID SHE GO?
page sixteen, panel
one
hE LOOKS BACK AT THE COP, VERY SINCERE.
CB-
i DON’T KNOW, SHE FOUGHT OFF TWO ATTACKERS.
Policeman- YOU ARE VERY LUCKY.
PAGE seventeen
page seventeen, panel
one
BLENDING INTO A CROWD IN
PAGE eighteen
page eighteen, panel
one
BACK AT HER APARTMENT jADE IS STITCHING UP THE
GASH ON HER HAND.
page eighteen, panel
two
SHE SITS ON THE COUCH WATCHING THE LATE NEWS,
WITH THE REMOTE IN HAND AND A BOWL OF POPCORN BESIDE HER.
page eighteen, panel
three
THE PHONE RINGS, SHE GLANCES AT THE CALLER ID.
IT’S HER mom.
page eighteen, panel
four
sHE ANSWERS THE PHONE AND GREETS HER MOTHER.
JADE- HELLO MOM! hOW IS EVERYTHING? oH i WAS JUST OUT. i MET A COWBOY.
wOULDN’T THINK i’D SEE ONE IN
page eighteen, panel
five
jADE’S MOTHER IS COOKING A MEAL WITH HER
CORDLESS RESTING ON HER SHOULDER.
MOM- tHERE IS ALL KINDS IN A BIG CITY LIKE
PAGE ninteen
page ninteen, panel
one
jADE MIMES SWINGING A BAT at invisible
attacker.
jADE- WELL IF SOMEONE WERE TO BREAK IN i’D HIT THEM WITH MY BAT
AND WAIT TILL THE POLICE COME.
page ninteen, panel
two.
sHE STOPS STIRRING HER SOUP AND HOLDS THE
LADDEL UP FROWNING.
MOM- A HANDGUN WOULD BE BETTER, I DON’T SEE WHY YOU….
page ninteen, panel
three
Jade Rolls her eyes
i WORK AT THE UNITED
NATIONS, I DON’T believe IN GUNS. wE HAVE A WHOLE POLICY OF DISARMIMENT
REMEMBER?
page ninteen, panel
four
MOM- THAT IS WHY YOU NEED ONE. THE FACT THAT YOU ARE A FEMALE, YOUNG,
SINGLE AND YOUR JOB MAKE YOU A TARGET HONEY.
JADE- I’LL BE FINE, I TOOK KARATE REMEMBER.
MOM- A BLACK BELT WON’T HELP AGAINST A BIG MAN WITH A KNIFE.
page ninteen, panel
five
JADE SMILES TO HERSELF.
JADE- OKAY MOM. I’LL THINK ABOUT IT, BUT I WON’T
PROMISE….
PAGE twenty
page twenty, panel
one
jADE
HANGS UP THE PHONE AND GRAPS HER HURT HAND AGAIN. A
LARGE UNITED NATIONS LOGO IS MOUNTED ON THE WALL BEHIND HER.
page twenty, panel
two
SHE WALKS DOWN THE HALL TO HER BEDROOM TO GO
TO BED. SHE PASSES SEVERAL FRAMED UNITED NATIONS POSTERS.
page twenty, panel
three
sHE CLIMBS INTO BED AND LAYS STARING UP AT THE
CEILING DEEP IN THOUGHT.
page twenty-one
A variety of iconic images, ovelapping, moving
across the page.
Page twenty-one,
panel one
1) Narrator: i am
usually wherever the police aren’t.
Page twenty-one,
panel two
2) upon occasion my day job collides with
the night…
page twenty-one,
panel three
3) and so i wear makeup
and costume to conceal my identity.
page twenty-two
Simular vague shadowy images, mixed with
transparencies of heroes, real (micheal jordan, harriet tubman, and george
washington) and fantasy, Such as spider-man, hulk and captain
Page twenty-two,
panel one
1) Narrator: the
police don’t like vigilantes…
but not everyone carries a gun
2) or has super powers to get the job done.
3) some simply use
their own mortality and faith to help others.
4)peace comes at a price.
