For those who fear they might become...uh...targets of the Mean Girls Club during this upcoming unlimited posting month, I thought I'd continue to have fun with my idea from a couple of nights ago. That is, a way to react that strikes me as non-reactive (and even creative) might be to take derogatory descriptions of you posted on FFL and turn them into a story, set in Rick's Cafe Americain, in Casablanca. The game, if anyone is up for it, is to take epithets thrown at you and illustrate them in words, amplifying or embellishing as you see fit, and thus turning them into a fun parody of the person or persons who sought to characterize you that way.
To aid aspiring writers in this challenge, here is my off-the-cuff (meaning that I'm coming up with this "on the fly," in a Paris cafe, in the moment, not putting a shitload of thought into it) *casting* of these "mini-Casablanca" movies, using familiar FFL posters as the actors or actresses. Apologies in advance for not naming everyone, but there really aren't a lot of named characters in the movie, and even fewer of them are women. [http://thefedorachronicles.com/flicks/ricks_cafe/casablanca.jpg] Everyone Comes To Rick's (the original title) Cast: * Rick (Richard Blaine) -- Duh...Rick * Capt. Louis Renault (enforces the rules...or at least some of them...but always his own way) -- Alex * Victor Laszlo (noble, but sometimes a bit uptight) -- Michael Jackson * Heinrich Strasser -- Duh...the Judester * Col. Heinz (Strasser's aide) -- Jim Flanegin/doctordumbass/whoever he is this week * Signor Ugarte -- Ravi * Yvonne (the cabaret singer with a weakness for men who don't love her back) -- Obbajeeba * Carl the waiter-- Rory * Annina (naive refugee rescued by Rick in the movie) -- Share * Berger (Victor's Resistance contact...always too serious, always trying to get everyone to join the revolution, always failing) -- Buck * Sascha (Russian bartender) -- Salyavin * Signor Ferrari ("As the leader of all illegal activities in Casablanca, I am an influential and respected man.") -- Bhairitu * Sam -- another Duh!...Curtis * The Pickpocket -- Willytex * Abdul the doorman (because when anyone brings up this character in a discussion about the movie, no one can even remember him being in it) -- Robin * Minor Nazi officer (as in the movie itself, too unimportant to have any lines or even be given a name in the credits) -- Ann * Ilsa -- You may have noticed that I have saved her for last. That is because it's difficult for me to find anyone among our FFL women, past or present, who captures her combination of inner/outer beauty and, above all else, balance and equanimity. So I'm going to nominate that the role be played in turns by -- Susan (wayback), Sally Sunshine, and Ruth. Have fun writing your own movies. Or not. Either way, have fun... :-)
