What would you do if you and a group of Iraqis had been picked up in the street by Saddam Hussein's police and were being interrogated by a terrifyingly violent policeman, and all you had on you was the cigarette lighter that you'd hidden in your sock? It's an excellent question, which my dad, my big brother and I were discussing in my dream last night. My immediate idea was that I would use the lighter to set fire to my trouser leg, which would give me an excuse to get up and rush around the room, whereupon I would be able to take advantage of the panic I would have caused to slip away, unnoticed. My dad agreed with my basic idea, but not with the approach. He said he'd set fire to the burqa of the woman sitting next to him, because that would cause more panic and make it easier for him to escape. Also, he wouldn't be on fire. My big brother said he'd set fire to the desk. As they discussed the merits of the three courses of action, I thought how similar the scenario and our reactions to it were to what happened during the famous attack on New York City by Albino King Kong, which had taken place a few years before. If you recall, Albino King Kong had been spotted wading across the Atlantic towards the city, and the people of New York had only a few days in which to come up with a way of preventing him from carrying out his plan to rampage madly around the island of Manhattan until he'd flattened all the buildings south of Harlem. The population divided around three options. The first was to set fire to Albino King Kong before he got to the city, but it was generally thought that his fur would be too wet. The second was to set fire to the city before Albino King Kong got to it, which was thought to be sensible because, if the place was going to be destroyed anyway, it would be much better, safer and fairer if the citizens did it themselves. The third option, which was suggested in the middle of the night a few hours before Albino King Kong was due to arrive, was to go to the apartment of the evil man who was controlling Albino King Kong, get him out of bed and set fire to him. This was done, because it was obviously the best idea. As the man, still wearing his pajamas, was burned by the mayor and other elected officials, Albino King Kong, many miles from shore, toppled slowly into the sea, smoke pouring from both ears. Notes for Freudian Interpretation Often, it's obvious to me where certain elements in my dreams have come from, and I generally like to be able to have a lot to say in the notes for Freudian interpretation section of the post, but I'm completely at a loss this time, as I'm sure that nothing in the dream had come up during the day (although I had spoken to my dad, and we'd mentioned my brother, who had been promoted to acting sergeant of a police station near where I work). All I can say is that this was one of those very exciting dreams that leave you with a satisfied feeling and the conviction that they'd make a brilliant film, which is a firm belief that you hold only until you write it down...
I think with a little constructive editing (such as the removal of the rather disjointed Iraqi Prison Break sequence) it would make a good movie, probably called something like 'Cloverfield'
Posted by: Colin | October 14, 2008 at 08:39 AM