Working title

The Game.

Audio clip link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BUNHuT0e6sLSUuH_lRMXvVn_VIY22_C4/view?usp=sharing

Verbal story

The memory is one that shows the contrast the times and how drastically things have changed in my country. Before the 2008 political uprising Maldives was a different place. The country was ruled by one president who had stayed power for over 30 years and there were no other candidates to challenge him. The people were not separated by Politics hence they lived in harmony. Those days the country thrived on its love for Football. Every year the Maldives roared with the chants people when the football leagues began and there would be magical electricity in the air.

People would take time off work and even travel across seas to come to watch their team play. Stadiums would be filled with people and their deafening noise resonated around the country. It was Phenomenal. I had always longed to go to watch one of these matches, and my excitement was not a surprise when my father told me that he was going to take me to my first football match. I did everything I can to get ready for that match. I painted my face with the Blue and black to represent my team and wore my best clothes.

I remember walking down the street towards the stadium into a stampede of people rushing towards the gate. I had never seen so many people gathered in one place. When the teams came out of the stands the stadium echoed with sounds of drums and people that send chills down my spine. The experience was one I will never forget and one sadly I might never see again.

Shortly after this experience Maldives was taken over by politics. We all fought during the political movement believing the good it could for our country. And yes, it did bring about development and allowed our voices to be heard. But what we do not see is that we lost something along the way. Because now if you walk down Maldivian streets you would not see poster for upcoming football matches but rather posters for candidate elections. You would not see stadiums filled with people or hear drums and chants. We as a country may have achieved Democracy but we paid a heavy price. The faint sound of the echoing football fans that represented the spirit of Maldives will now forever remain a memory.

Fig 1.1 Line and shape sketch

Character Description

Internal features Before what if
- Joyous
- Cheerful
- Passionate

External features Before what if

- Peaceful
- Thrilling
- High-spirited

Internal features After what if
- Surprised
- Sad
- Disappointed

External features After what if

- Conflicted
- Dull
- apathetic

Character Paragraph

The protagonist is a teenager who is hopeful and festive. Having been away from his country for along he is very aware of positive and negative changes that had transpired. He retains the image of an exciting, thrilling and passionate country who had a single driving power, football. He longs to relive his experience and therefore dislikes the changes he sees around him.

Story Spine

Once Upon a time Maldives was a very different place. The people were connected by their love for football and that was imminent during the times of the local football league. The country would fill with and electrifying atmosphere. The stadiums would fill up with cheering fans as people from across seas came to support their teams.

There was a young boy who had admired this passion for the game and longed for the day that who could go to watch a game. One day his father decided to take him along to a game and he was very excited. He was mesmerized by the atmosphere at the stadium, He could feel the love and enthusiasm of the people. It was just phenomenal

Until one-day things changed in the country. People rose to get democracy and change in the presidency. Because of that Politics started gaining popularity. For the first time multiple political parties started forming. Because of this people began to separate and the country was divided by the political party systems. Because of that the streets that used to fill with football posters were replaced with political posters. Until finally the great passion for football faded away. People were not as interested in the local games and the atmosphere changed drastically and ever since then stadiums were never filled with cheering fans. And the echoes of the people supporting their team disappeared.

Moral of the story - Sometimes in the fight for improvement, we lose sight of the parts of ourselves that make us who we are.

Fig 1.2 Whatif (Before)

Fig 1.3 Whatif

Fig 1.3 Whatif (After)

Three Act structure

Act I - Setup: Exposition, Inciting Incident, Plot Point One

A teenage boy named Zain, returns back to the Maldives, with luggage in his hand, he steps off the ferry onto the Maldivian road. He takes a deep breath and looks at his surroundings. He notices the major development of the country, from small houses and cobbled streets to high rise buildings, tarred roads filled with motorcycles and cars. He starts walking with a smile on his face. As he is walking down the street, his smile starts to fade. He notices the excessive number of political posters on walls and banners hanging in almost every corner. As he grabs the handle to his house, he hears his neighbors. He turns and looks up to see them having a heated political argument on their balconies.

Act II - Confrontation: Rising Action, Midpoint, Plot Point Two. 

A stray cat knocks over a trash can and he looks down to see a flattened ball on the street. He picks it up and remembers a time when the atmosphere was very different. The same neighbors were the best of friends, they were smiling, talking, and exchanging tiffin boxes while watching the young boys play football on the street below them. A young Zain was among the boys, playing football on a cobbled road. Mid game, young Zain passes the ball and stops distracted by a poster on the wall. He looked at it, gleams with excitement as he realized that it was the poster for the upcoming football match. He stood there looking at the poster, then a man appeared behind him and picked him up. Young Zain turned around to see that it was his father looking at the poster and hugged him before pointing at the poster. His father smiled and nodded to say yes, he then carried young Zain on his shoulder and started walking home.

Young Zain walked out of his house. He was wearing his team’s jersey with the team colors painted on his face, ready for the match. He had the biggest smile on his face. He looked outside his house and saw the street was packed with fans. He could hear the loud drum and air horns coming from the stadium. He held his dad’s hand as they made their way to the stadium. The street was so packed that he could barely walk through the crowd. So his father lifted him up and placed him on his shoulder. At that moment, young Zain saw what was in front of him. He saw an ocean of people as far as his eye could see. As they walked through the stadium gate, the crowd screamed.

The teams came out of the dugout and made their way to the field. The match was about to begin.

Young Zain could hear his father cheering loud as ever below him, so he joined in and cheered his little lungs out. When the match started, he joined the crowd chanting. Jumping with every pass, and cheering with every shot.

Act III - Resolution: Pre Climax, Climax, Denouement. 

Montage of political uprising. Riots break out as people fight for democracy. Political banners start going up parties start developing. Zain is brought back to the present by a piece of paper, rustling on his leg. He takes the paper and sees that it is a flyer of a football match for the following day. His face filled excitement and hurried his way into the house.

On the next day, the sound of his wakes him up. He jumps out of bed, puts on his jersey, and face paint. As soon as he is ready, he rushes to the front door, eager to join the crowd outside. He opens the door and is surprised to see that the street is empty. Confused by the lack of excitement on the street, he starts walking towards the stadium. As he gets closer to the stadium, he sees a group of people standing near the gate. He is thrilled to see the crowd and begins to walk faster but the closer he gets, he notices the people are there for a political campaign at the nearby hub.

He walked past them, disappointed, and made his way through the gate. The match has already started but the stadium is quiet. Nothing can be heard except for the occasional whistle of the referee and the sound of the ball kicking around. The seats are all empty, and the atmosphere is lifeless. Saddened by the sight, Zain holds his head down and walks out of the stadium. Right outside, he sees a man pasting political campaign posters on top of the football posters and he realizes that things have changed.

Synopsis

Zain, A young teenage boy return to his country after it has gone through a political uprising. He looks around to see the tall buildings and the newly tarred road and is happy to see the development that the country is seeing. As he walks towards his house through the streets of the country he starts noticing the influence politics had on the country.

As Zain is about to enter his house he was taken aback by half flattened ball on the street, leading him to reminisce about his past, playing football on the streets as a kid. He remembers the astounding experience he had attending his first game with his father and the unforgettably electric atmosphere of the stadium. In a change of events, his happiness is cut short as he remembers the chaos that followed when the country rose to fight for democracy.

Zain is brought back by a piece of paper rustling against his leg. He is thrilled to find that the paper was in fact a poster for the upcoming football league. With high hopes and uncontrollable excitement he gets ready for the game the next day. As he makes his way through the empty street towards the stadium reality starts to dawn on him. Reluctant to believe the reality he walks in, and is greeted by an empty stadium with only the teams playing a solitary game. He realizes that the political revolution had changed not only the country but the people too as he walks out to see a man covering up football posters with campaign posters.