valid. - Treatment

Written by Zachary Thomsen

Primary Cast:

JORDAN WEST: A young queer adult who is unknowingly about to receive the exact validation that they need to affirm their identity.

GUIDE: A force of queer affirmation on a mission to offer validation by exploring a fantastical space of queer references.

Log Line: Omnisciently aware of the homophobic microaggressions that a particular young adult faces, a reality-enhancing entity seeks to to speak to their heart.

ACT I - EXT. CITY; INT. TELEVISION

        We open on a San Francisco-style city and the world is in black and white. JORDAN WEST leaves her house in frustration, taking a walk to calm down. Her mind is swarmed with words that she has heard in life that invalidate her bisexuality. She is so consumed by her thoughts that she nearly gets hit by a car while crossing the street.

        Shaken by the near-accident, JORDAN stops at a bench in front of a storefront. JORDAN watches a video of RuPaul and it brings her a sense of relief, as the color of the world starts to saturate. Unbeknownst to her, an omniscient GUIDE senses this and tries to communicate with JORDAN’s queerness through the televisions. JORDAN watches the GUIDE on the television until the GUIDE breaks through the television and reaches out to grab JORDAN’s hand.

ACT II - EXT./INT. QUEERIFIED SPACE

        Queue the track, “valid.” as the GUIDE takes JORDAN through a fantastical experience, singing to her about her queer identity and assuring her of her validity. The world is now in full color.

        The first part of the song takes place in a “queerified” version of the San Francisco-style city, acting as a visual segue from reality to this new space. The second part of the song cuts through various queer art movements, queer artists, and queer activists/icons.

ACT III - EXT./INT. QUEERIFIED SPACE, EXT. CITY

        After the song finishes, the GUIDE takes JORDAN to an empty white space. Their journey together concludes with the GUIDE leaving JORDAN with some final words. JORDAN closes her eyes and when she opens them, she finds herself back in front of the storefront televisions. She realizes that she is back in reality and takes comfort in the validation that she received. We see that the once black and white city is now in full color.