Historical Script: Ted and Genghis' s Fetal Adventure

Ted and Genghis's Fetal Adventure Script

      

Artist's Statement

Our script, Ted and Genghis’s Fetal Adventure, tells the story of Genghis Khan and his twin fetus Ted. This script is based on the Mongolian legend that Genghis ate his twin fetus in the womb, which was considered a sign of his greatness to come. Obviously, there is no evidence to support this historical tale, but the rumor exists and served as a great platform to write our script. All of the details, which are few, come from word of mouth over generations. One of the inspirations for this script is Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. In this film, famous historical figures are taken out of their original histories and transplanted into a reimagined 80s context. These characters are exaggerated and their traits and personalities are fabricated to fit into this new 80s-themed world.

          We did essentially the same thing in our script. We adjusted the environment of the womb to our own liking, and then exaggerated the traits that we assume Mongolian fetuses would have. It is absurd and almost completely unrealistic. However, this imagination of the story generates a few interesting ideas as to what caused Genghis Kahn to eat his twin. It also explores what kind of effect this act had on Genghis, and how this act directly influenced Genghis's personality and his effect on mankind. Another source of media that had an effect on this project is the film The Bad Seed. This film deals heavily with the idea of nature versus nurture. It makes us question if some people are just bad seeds, or if everyone is good and then simply becomes bad. Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis tells the story of a girl who, because of her upbringing, decides that she wants to become a prophet. She wants to create a way of living that will help people the most, it can be argued that she is a very good person. But, she comes to this decision because her country is put under a new, pro-Islamic rule. Satrapi, after being forced to wear a veil at school, sees the ways that religions are failing and this is the spark that causes her to want to create a new, more helpful code of life.

          While our script was not meant to send a message either way, due to circumstance it clearly sides with the idea of nature and that there are bad seeds. It is an interesting argument that currently has no real answer, so it was interesting to, albeit unintentionally, throw our two cents in. Our script argues both sides, really. In it, Ted is a bad seed, he was conceived bad and is bad throughout. But, he pushes Genghis to his limit and causes Genghis to snap, which leads to him become the ruthless warmonger he was. Some people are born bad, some are made bad.