Swords and duels have long captured my imagination. From
long past and far, far distant galaxies, during medieval times in Europe, and
even on the modern streets of New York, there has always been a nostalgic,
alluring, and captivating quality about the art of sword-fighting. While duels
motivated by romantic betrayals, by overthrowing (Galactic) empires, or as a
result of hatred or greed are quite common, very few of these duels have ever
been fought or motivated out of sheer love for ones opponent.
When my parents were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a number of years ago, I had thought that two brothers with a shared degenerative disease would be an intriguing motivation for a duel. They would be fighting to save one another from what they believed to be a terrible fate, or in this case an increasingly degenerative one.
In the years since their diagnosis, I have witnessed my parents facing a different kind of struggle everyday: the attempt to fight their disease while still trying to maintain a high quality of life. Theirs is also a struggle of love: love for each other, and love for their family and friends. Even through it all, it is still important to my parents that they continue to experience new things. It may not seem quite as dramatic as a duel with swords, but it is no less powerful.
With that, my initial idea for the project changed. While the duel between the two brothers still remains at the center of the story, I relegate it now to that of a McGuffin. This is a story of two brothers who love each other, who are struggling to live their lives as best they can, and who are forced to take on the same daily struggle that millions of people, including my parents, must face everyday.
It is this more important struggle that became the main and true focus of AN ENDGAME.
When my parents were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a number of years ago, I had thought that two brothers with a shared degenerative disease would be an intriguing motivation for a duel. They would be fighting to save one another from what they believed to be a terrible fate, or in this case an increasingly degenerative one.
In the years since their diagnosis, I have witnessed my parents facing a different kind of struggle everyday: the attempt to fight their disease while still trying to maintain a high quality of life. Theirs is also a struggle of love: love for each other, and love for their family and friends. Even through it all, it is still important to my parents that they continue to experience new things. It may not seem quite as dramatic as a duel with swords, but it is no less powerful.
With that, my initial idea for the project changed. While the duel between the two brothers still remains at the center of the story, I relegate it now to that of a McGuffin. This is a story of two brothers who love each other, who are struggling to live their lives as best they can, and who are forced to take on the same daily struggle that millions of people, including my parents, must face everyday.
It is this more important struggle that became the main and true focus of AN ENDGAME.
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