The Plum Tree on the Hill [Screenplay]

About this Screenplay

This screenplay was written as part of a final project for one of my college courses: a class about the Japanese Mind.

We discussed various topics present in Japanese culture in this class—and, at its conclusion, we were divided into 6 groups and asked to create a screenplay that contained any number of the concepts we learned about in the course. This screenplay is the skit for my group.

The initial idea was created by our group leader, who I will refer to as "V". Our second group member, "A", picked out the individual elements that we included in our production. That leaves me, known here as "escapism91", to take their ideas and the concepts they picked out, and create a coherent screenplay with them. While this was a group effort amongst us three, they credited me with the screenplay itself in our group evaluation. Which is why I felt safe enough to publish it here without it seeming as if I was taking all the credit for our creation.

I still provide credit to V and A for their amazing brainstorming and initial concept. Without them, I would have never been able to create this. In my mind, it is a collaborative effort. I just wanted to share it, because this was my favorite school project I've ever done—and I am very proud of what we came up with.

For those curious, these were the concepts we picked out and included in our story:
Otogibanashi (Japanese folktales)
Kisetsu (Seasons)
Zōtō (Gift-giving)
Omiai (Arranged Marriage)
Chinmoku (Silence)
Japanese Ie System (a system of familial hierarchy in Japan)
Giri (Japanese sense of obligation)
Gambari (Determination)
Honne-tatemae (the idea of one's "true self" and the self you show others)
Haragei (the Japanese idea of implicit communication)

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this!