Wuthering Heights: A2 coursework by Ellie Wood 2012

BY ELLIE WOOD

W U T H E R I N G     H E I G H T S

OVER BLACK

A door creaks and slams, then we hear the shuffle of chairs as people are sitting down.

BLACK FRAME

We hear a clock ticking.

QUOTE APPEARS:

‘Muse- Space Dementia’ plays loudly for 1:24.

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Anger is a manifestation of a deeper issue... and that, for me, is based on insecurity, self-esteem and loneliness.

-Naomi Campbell-

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QUOTE FADES OUT.

Music continues as background noise.

STAY ON THE BLACK FRAME.

-The door creaks quickly and slams, a WOMAN speaks and a MAN replies-

WOMAN

(sternly)

You’re late!

MAN

Ah. What of it? I doubt they’re bothered, and you Cathy; you’ve no right to whine.

WOMAN and CATHY are the same person.

FRAME SWITCHES QUICKLY FROM BLACK TO A P.O.V SHOT FROM THE MAN.

A dull, ill-lit yellow room in Thowarh City, scattered with various posters with positive messages and a large painting of Top Withens, and four chairs in a square. Two are occupied by an uptight Nelly and slouched Hindley. There is a ‘Bramwell furniture’ book case with poetry by Curer, Ellis and Acton Bell, and a tea stand on one side of the room and a large window on the other. The atmosphere of the room is cold and hostile. Like the people in it.

Cathy lunges forward to the man. The frame quickly switches to a wide shot showing CATHY waving her finger in front of the man’s face. Characters are frozen in the background.

MAN and HEATHCLIFF are the same person.

CATHY

No right? Ah yeah Heathcliff, marrying Edgar means I’m completely void of friendship, love or ‘owt we’ve developed since we were what-six? Seven?

Heathcliff looks down and Cathy strokes his matted hair.

CATHY CONT’D

I still love you Heathcliff and you’ll not change that with any shit you give me.

Music stops abruptly.

NELLY

Miss Catherine? Perhaps you shouldn’t over step t’mark, think of others present

(looks over to Isabella, head in hands)

Camera sweeps through the crowd zooming in on Heathcliff.

HEATHCLFF

(sudden interjection with a vicious tone. Removes Cathy’s hand from his face and slowly swaggers up to Hindley)

She’s never been one to think of others Nelly has she.

Silence and tension fills the room as Heathcliff stands behind Hindley, sternly dusting off his shoulders as if caring for him, then clutching them firmly. 30 seconds go by.

The shot is a view of each of their eyes in a thin wide shot. Hindley’s showing exhaustion and Heathcliff’s black and empty.

HEATHCLIFF CONT’D

Observe Hindley.

(grabs him by the chin. Hindley appears drunk)

Look how his sister torments him, how she fled from him, and how she still manages to disgrace him by loving me. Tut tut Catherine

(smiles wickedly)

Moves over to ISABELLA.

HEATHCLIFF CONT’D

And as for this one...

(strokes Isabella’s hair, she reacts by wincing. He says this quietly)

Cathy can do as she likes

(pointing at Isabella)

‘cos she doesn’t care for me anyway so...

(vaguely begins to laugh)

NELLY

(standing)

Heathcliff, leave her be.

HEATHCLIFF goes to react to Nelly aggressively, frowning and leaning forward pointing his finger, but Isabella interrupts. Heathcliff seems impressed and leans back folding his arms in a smug way.

ISABELLA

(mumbling in a timid way)

Nelly you haven’t bothered before so please, don’t.

NELLY

(shocked and seems offended. Turns attention directly to Isabella)

Miss Isabella? I don’t know what you mean.

ISABELLA interrupts.

ISABELLA

...well that’s not strictly true is it

(lifts head and begins to half smile)

You ignore me all’time.

NELLY

(shocked)

No. I never. I...

Heathcliff is sitting chewing his nails, legs crossed and enjoying the drama that is unfolding when he interrupts.

HEATHCLIFF

(coughs to get Nelly’s attention)

Nelly you do. And rightly so.

ISABELLA

(Standing and speaking with sarcasm)

how loving

(rolls eyes)

HEATHCLIFF

(unbothered by the sarcasm and goes on chewing his nails)

that’s me flower...loving and that.

Cathy laughs and Heathcliff is offended, delivering a scowl that she ignores.

HEATHCLIFF

(in a sharp tone and quickly spoken speech with raised volume)

Don’t you dare start this Cathy cos’ I’ll finish it. I’ve done now’t but love you as long as I can remember and I’ll be damned before I let you think otherwise.

CATHY

(retaliating identically to Heathcliff)

OH!!

She goes toward him as if to engage in a fight when Hindley stands upright maintaining his drunken state. Attention is on Hindley. He pushes her away and reaches into his inside coat pocket bringing out a gun. Nelly goes to his aid.

Nelly

Come on Hindley sit down you big lump

(in a mothering attitude not offensive)

Hindley lets her hold him but refuses to sit down.

HINDLEY

YOU! BASTARD!

(shouting. points gun at him)

HEATHCLIFF

(rubbing his forehead as if lost his patience)

Sit down Hindley or I’ll put you on your arse (pauses) again.

HINDLEY

(all a drunken slur)

Don’t threaten me gypsy! You’ve torn my family apart taken all I cared about. House. Money.

HEATHCLIFF

Yes Hindley all you cared about and yet you only mentioned the house and money which you lost through your own shit luck and poor gambling techniques. The rest you lost yourself through the wonderful mistress drink! I’ll not lie, I had the time of my life watching you lose everything but you did it yourself Hindley

(smiles)

Bird’s eye view shot. Hindley falls to his knees crying. Nelly helps him up and they both leave the room. Heathcliff shoots emptying the ammunition into the floor.

Heathcliff looks over to Cathy proud of his self for ‘breaking’ Hindley. Cathy scowls at him.

HEATHCLFF CONT’D

(surprised but maintains his smile)

What?

CATHY

Why are you like this?

(inquisitive and distressed tone)

HEATHCLIFF

What?

pause for a minute as Heathcliff’s smile fades and Cathy attempts to control her temper.

CATHY

You’re evil.

He reacts as if proud.

CATHY CONT’D

Look what you do. How many times have you broken my heart? You say you love me but you play games and wreck other people’s lives.

(Isabella looks up at him, he looks back not caring)

HEATHCLIFF

I... (Cathy interrupts)

CATHY

No! Look!

(holds up Isabella’s bruised arm)

This is not right. I don’t know what’s happening at the Heights but you know this wouldn’t happen with me so why is it acceptable to do it to Isabella!

Heathcliff speaks not letting her continue.

HEATHCLIFF

(Angry)

how do you know what's right?! I don’t think you’ve ever done what’s right. You’re a hypocrite!

CATHY

Yes Heathcliff but I’m not the one that’s beating my spouse and humiliating our brother!

HEATHCLIFF

Hindley deserves everything he gets for how he treated me. Us...

CATHY

And Isabella? Why her?

HEATHCLIFF

(sulking)

what’s it to you.

CATHY

Answer me Heathcliff.

CATHY CONT’D

Answer me or live with the responsibility that you finished us and I’ll never speak to you again.

Pause for 30 seconds.

CATHY

(shouts)

HEATHCLIFF!

HEATHCIFF

(shouts and stands)

SHE’S NOT YOU!

Pause as Cathy begins to cry, Heathcliff clenches his fists and rubs his hands on his face as if both are totally overwhelmed.

CATHY

...and that makes it right?

HEATHCLIFF

No... (pauses)...It makes it necessary. I’d slit my own throat if I thought I was capable of anymore suffering than I’m already going through. But I can’t. And she looks so like her bastard brother and wants so much for me to love her like I do you and I can’t, I won’t and then it just happens...I’d apologise but I don’t care Cathy I just want you.

Cathy walks towards him tucks his hair behind his ear and cuddles him although he doesn’t put his arms round her.

CATHY

(whispers and is crying)

I love you.

(kisses his forehead)

but I’m pregnant.

(walks away)

The colour drains out of the scene leaving it in black and white. Slow motion Cathy exits the room not looking back then a close up of Heathcliff’s shocked face and here a muffled sound getting clearer- his heart beat. This continues until we see Cathy in the background of the close up getting in a car with a MAN (assumed to be Edgar) and driving away.

Heathcliff walks over to Isabella who is sitting down with a plastic cup of hot tea. He seems zombie like- obviously fuming but is speaking calmly and sharply.

HEATHCLIFF

We’re going. Put that down.

ISABELLA

I’m not going anywhere with you.

HEATHCLIFF

Yes you are. Put down your drink or wear it.

ISABELLA

(Putting down her drink)

I don’t want to.

HEATHCLIFF

(Bending down to her height and speaking in a spiteful way)

And when have I ever cared what you wanted.

grabs her by the scruff of the neck and drags her out the room with him as she is shouting ‘NO’ and crying.

Doors are flung open and we see the long corridor ahead of them as he is dragging her- the doors shut slowly and make a loud bang as they fully shut. ‘Muse- Space Dementia’ begins to play again loudly.

FADES TO A BLACK FRAME : QUOTE APPEARS.

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My heart was taken by you... broken by you... and now it is in pieces because of you.

--Anonymous

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CREDITS

Wuthering Heights’ – Kate Bush plays.

tonka. killer pup.

got a little puppehh for my 21st. cutest little ball of fluff you ever did see.

but its not all loveliness.

he wees in the house and eats his own shit. things could be better.

he unravels the loo roll down the stairs and gets in the dishwasher to help out.

he jingles the keys in the door even when he doesn't want to wee outside, just to piss us off.

he humps. like anything.

he barks at loud noises, music, dogs on tv, people on tv, me, my mum, his own reflection anything really.

he sits down on his walks anytime we pass another animal, human or car. the walks take us a very long time.

he won't do anything without a treat on the cards.

we think we taught him instructions but he sits as a result of every one. down. he sits. paw. he sits. i cannot decide if he's really stupid or a complete genius.

he begs for bacon, he begs for cheese and he begs for pizza. like mother like son.

he bites my nose and chin when he kisses me because he's a little bastard.

he bolts across the garden, side to side like a loon when left alone.

he gets jealous when i sit with my girlfriend and wont leave us alone.

but mostly he wees indoors and eats his own shit.

this is just an opener to the chronicles of Tonka... there will be more.

So I'm writing my dissertation on media manipulation. vaguely I wanted to discover, with reference to UK Murdoch print publications how the media manipulates its content and consequently their audiences.
I've researched news values for content construction, sociological perspectives of media construction, marxist, pluralist and functionalist perspectives and their views on audience interpretation and participation, the historical perspective of Machiavellian manipulation and also researched Chomsky's views on agenda setting. I've matched these to some quotes about how Murdoch runs his businesses and how he came to be a media mogul, and what makes him stand out from the rest, usually for negative reasons. And now, I need to write it up into a concise piece of academia.

But in this search for answers i was listening to music and heard the lyric "we're sculptured from youth, the chipping away makes us weary, as for the truth it seems we just pick a theory" and it made me wonder, are we not so much manipulated by the media in stages, but are we born into a theory that is chosen for us, and is constantly reinforced.

At sixth form, being in sociology and being a Tory was a questionable affair. The teachers claimed to be teaching us impartial information, facts of which we could make our own mind up. Yet they were very obviously of the Labour political leanings, and preached about inequality that stemmed from our current Conservative Government. There was no balance to what they taught. Has education, much like religion or media, become a biased institution, are our theories chosen for us in more than one way?

Despite preaching socialist propaganda, as i saw it at the time, the teachers were still endorsing capitalism and and still endorsing the 'work hard achieve more' lifestyle choice. so is this pre-chosen for us?
the right to education seems like a blessing but is it? education on the terms of our prevailing ideology? with tests set out by prevailing governmental system? to achieve jobs who's rights, pension, wages are set out to serve capitalist values of worth? financial worth above all?
do we seek escapism in media and do not realise we're being manipulated by that? do we think we know we're being manipulated by media chosen for us in the papers but forget the evils of tv news? do we know our 'villains' (Murdoch) but think other media is impartial? do we think education is impartial? do we really think that it enlightens us to all the facts and religion is a biased institution, one of a kind?

As i'm getting further and further into this dissertation i'm seeing that print media is a 'known evil' but there is secret manipulators that people really over look. we're even manipulated into knowing what is manipulating our opinions. i just think its important that you're all forewarned. i know its exhausting to constantly be on the 'what is this trying to make me think? and what does it want me to avoid thinking?' guard 24/7 but please don't take everything at face value.

A friend of mine, in argument recently proclaimed about terrorism what he saw as fact. it took over an hour to educate him that YES what he was regurgitating is accurate to what he has read and so it appeared as fact, but its a manipulated one sided view and when dismantled wasn't the actuality of it. a grown, intelligent man was brain washed into thinking the news was a fact. so much so he couldnt even understand the news within the news. the 'inception' of the content. that was a very scary moment. people need to become a little more active in their media consumption.

just a thought like.

For Emma

ox blood original, scared of now't and intimidating. laced up tight, nothing out of place. occasional scuff buffed out sooner or later. and patent docco school shoe with bouncy sole and scuffed front. bow laces optional.

a seminal trend.

thats my friend, emma.

and when out and about. two very unapologetic, somewhat strangely put together peas in a pod dropping the metaphorical c bomb where appropriate; casual. and on occasion, where inappropriate; not casual. finding the footprint.

a seminal trend.

thats my friend, emma.

dragging ourselves through punk into britpop. a test of all sturdiness. bile fired and the crashing sounds slowly transitioning into a steady bop, eventually becoming more infrequent, but no less important.

a seminal trend.

thats my friend, emma.