Jesseca Kusher

While I wait to see if my thesis partner has written a script for our thesis, I am continuing work on my contingency plan and passion project. For now, let’s call her “SEVEN.”

I began writing this miniseries in the fall of 2018. I was inspired by the idea that women — especially young women — are expected to live and operate within a very strict frame of society. They are shamed for their sins and taught that meekness, innocence, and purity are the values that make them worthwhile. Once these attributes are stripped away, they become shells of “the nice pretty girl” they once were.

“SEVEN” refers to the seven deadly sins. These vices are given all sorts of power in our society. Some of the stronger ones such as “pride,” “wrath,” and “lust” are all too often seen as positive attributes in men but are looked down on in women as a weakness. A prideful woman who has accomplished a lot is boastful, while a proud man is a powerful one. Men who get angry (Brett Kavanaugh?) are seen as rightfully standing their ground while women who fight back (Serena Williams?) are seen as bitchy. Moreover, a man who hooks up with many women is seen as suave while a woman who hooks up with even more than one man is seen as a whore.

I hope to explore some of this bullshit duality via a much simpler plot line. My story follows a young woman and reporter whose life is severely altered by traumatic tragedy, only to discover a world of witchcraft and yet unknown power inside her.

For the most part, I want to work on creating a drama/horror tone with elements of a detective narrative interwoven into four connected “episodes.” The first deals with her in tragedy, the second she joins a coven, in the third she uncovers a conspiracy, and in the fourth she confronts her demons.

I have been heavily influenced by some of the critical analyses of “Stranger Things,” I have found online. The Duffer brothers put a lot of effort into how they structured the series. Within the first season alone they mix four different plots which fall into separate genres. Sheriff Hopper is a detective who uncovers a conspiracy with the Hawkins Lab, Joyce Byers is a mother searching for her child, the pre-teens are dealing with Eleven and her supernatural powers, and the teenagers are fighting off monsters.

I don’t immediately think this plot will be that complicated, and I’m not super inclined to put each beat on my blog for the world to see. That said, each of the four episodes sort of leans towards a different genre.