A Change for the Better

        While researching locations, I found it increasingly difficult to find the right house that properly emulated the time period that I originally imagined. The reason I originally chose the 1860s was because it was the endangerment of the Civil War. During this time period, mental illness was considered a physical weakness, not even an illness at all. This would have been the perfect environment for the growth of Williams internal conflict: he is terrified because of his symptoms but shuts down and refuses to seek help for fear shame or embarrassment of not being able to control himself and handle the situation "like a man".
        I believe I've found the perfect solution. The town and forest will remain the same to emulate a eerie and primeval sense; however, the time period will leap ahead 100 years to 1969, the "peak of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War". This will be a much better environment to breed the conflict withing the film. This war was considered one of the most horrific wars in American history, with a reported minority of all soldiers assessed during the time period being diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. However, when the data collected from  National Vietnam Veterans' Readjustment Study (NVVRS) - a diagnostic scale used to investigate PTSD during and after the war - was re-analyzed, it was discovered that 80% of veterans showed chronic symptoms of the disorder when interviewed up to 25 years later. Most of the aforementioned information I just mentioned I gathered from the website of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, which claims that "unfortunately, only a small number of these Veterans actually sought treatment from mental health providers" during the era of the war and the years thereafter.  However, civilian journalists report that

             "The policy for receiving treatment and compensation for ptsd for soldiers in the military
             during the war was that if the soldier experienced symptoms 6 months after their return
             home it was considered a “transient situational disorder.” This meant that it was a
             pre-existing condition which was not eligible for treatment by the United
             States Government."

Anti-War Prootests

The framing of these reports is what interests me the most, and I promise that reading the entirety of this post will be both relevant and beneficial into understanding the complexities behind my film and its characters. It is clear that in many ways, the government made mistakes during this time period, and overall the effects and the severity of PTSD on veterans was stifled. The combination of the lack of incentive to get treatment due to the understating of the disorder by officials and the fervent disapproval of the war by society breeds internal conflict in even its audience just by the plight alone. Many of the soldiers, whether drafted (1/3 of all involved) or volunteers (2/3 of all involved), were resented and marginalized by the rampant anti-war sentiments back home.





The changing of the time period resolves some plot holes and also amends some of the technical and mise-en-scene issues I encountered.

Plot

• William and Minnie's new names will be Michael and Teresa to better suit the time period.
• Michael will be an orphan, his mother died young and his father died in the war efforts. Teresa's parents have estranged her because they don't support the war efforts and don't like her being involved with a veteran from the war. Michael and Teresa live in his parents old house that he inherited after his father died, leaving Michael and Teresa alone and to themselves to deal with their situation. 
• PTSD is more readily associated with the Vietnam War in terms of representation in the media, this will resonate more poignantly in the audience.

Mise-en-Scene

    Setting

• The houses in the 1960s were unique and increasingly leaning towards luxury and convenience. Kitchens were state of the art for the time period and landscaping was more sophisticated, loom layouts were also more spacious. For this reason and for convenience, I've chosen my own house to shoot the room specific scenes and will do minor adjustments to layouts and decoration to best suit the scene.
• The forest that I will be using is a patch of land located in Markham Park in Weston, Florida. The area that I will be using has the perfect ambiance for the episode that will appear in the opening: the forest appears dense - thick enough to shroud the area from the outside world - but the trees are spread out far enough to maneuver.
• During the height of the formalist episode, I will be using a fog machine to add to the foreboding ambiance of the forest. It will be light, like a natural fog so as not to appear forced but still seems ominous.
• Lighting will be low-key natural lighting, I plan on filming at dusk and dawn to achieve this to physically embody that Michael is in a dark place in his life and that he is haunted by his experiences. 

    Costumes 

          Michael 

   The chance in time period will make costuming a bit more difficult. The fashion of the late 60s was the shit into the vibrant colors and patterns of the 70s. I do not want Michael to reflect this at all. Staying true to what was available at the time, he will be wearing normal straight legged jeans, hinting at flair but not exaggerated simply sticking to the time period. He will be wearing gray or black shirts neatly tucked into his pants with a black belt. The color choices are representing the lack of vibrancy and vitality in his life and how he feels physically and emotionally drained or marginalized. He will also wear black boots underneath his jeans. He will have a certain cleanliness about him that reflects how he wants to be perceived as in control and put together in regards to both his personal life and his wellness.

        Teresa

   Teresa is meant to represent a care taker, a woman who puts herself above others. It is the combination between this attribute of hers and her love for William that makes her stay with him in the beginning of the story. This is what also gave her her name, Teresa - meant to draw similarities to Mother Teresa and make connections to its meaning of harvest and connotation of motherhood and nature, a kind of fierce selflessness. Since she is young and innocent and affected by the war in different ways than Michael, she will be a more apparent balance between the anti-war sentiments/social hatred of soldiers and the sympathy that their plight evokes and their need for treatment and support. She will therefore be a mix of the fashion of the times but slightly different. The way I feel this can best be achieved is through the style and cut of the clothing in the late 60s (short column sheath dresses and straight length pants) but in earthy and colorless shades. This will show an innocent femininity by sticking to the fashion of the times but will also evoke sympathy because she will also be void of vitality. She will hear browns and whites and dark greens to match the nature of her name and to show a natural purity in the debatable naivety of her actions throughout the plot.

    Begg, D. (n.d.). Vietnam | History of PTSD Through Warfare. Retrieved March 25, 2016, from http://historyofptsd.umwblogs.org/vietnam/

  History.com Staff. (2009, January). Vietnam War History. Retrieved March 25, 2016, from http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history

  Phipps, P. (2015, August 23). 1960s Fashion for Women & Girls. Retrieved March 25, 2016, from http://www.retrowaste.com/1960s/fashion-in-the-1960s/1960s-fashion-women-girls/

  Price, J. L., PhD, & U.S Department of Veteran Affairs. (n.d.). PTSD: National Center for PTSD. Retrieved March 25, 2016, from http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/research-bio/research/vietnam-vets-study.asp

  Social Security. (n.d.). The top names of the 1960s. Retrieved March 25, 2016, from https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names1960s.html

  The People History. (n.d.). Homes in the 1960s. Retrieved March 25, 2016, from http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/60s-homes.html