God of rust

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Authors
Rice, Ethan
Advisor
Deighe Crowe, Rani
Issue Date
2024-05
Keyword
Degree
M. A.
Department
Other Identifiers
CardCat URL
Abstract

These submitted pages make up the First Act of a feature length screenplay. The narrative follows the staff of a towing company in a small Indiana city owned by a community-minded entrepreneur, Demond Jeffords, who is struggling to keep his family together in a decaying postindustrial environment. The discovery of a dead body and thousands of dollars worth of contraband in a towed car turns their world upside down, as dueling motivations threaten to implode the delicate life Demond has worked to build for his family and employees. The script deals in many themes pulled from my own life growing up in the Midwest - economic decay, social indifference, police culture, and the varying ties that hold us close to and drive us away from the places we call home. Major artistic influences in my approach to this project include The Coen Brothers, Kelly Reichardt, and fellow Hoosier, John Cougar Mellencamp. Through writing this script, I aim to promote a broader understanding of the Midwest in a landscape that has often reduced its people, places, and struggles to broad, one-dimensional caricatures that ‘God of Rust’ will fill in with all the regional color and complexities I know firsthand.