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Writer's picturePeter K F Cheung SBS

Aesthetic Property

  1. FADE IN.


  2. Act 1


  3. EXT. TUEN MUN HIGHWAY - 22:00


  4. Driving his coupe towards Kowloon, PETER sees the rising moon in the cloudless sky.


  5. PETER (V.O.): Just the moon and the night.


  6. Gazing while driving.


  7. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Both appeal to me on my way back to my urban home.


  8. Pausing.


  9. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The moon isn't full, but it stays big. Without the cool night, it wouldn't look warm and bright.


  10. Pausing.


  11. PETER (V.O.): I feel charmed by their partnership.


  12. Act 2


  13. FLASHBACK


  14. INT. STUDY - 10:00 (Earlier today)


  15. Peter is reading Philosophy.


  16. PETER (V.O.): While my mind is fresh in the morning, I like to read and think about something that requires mental capacity.


  17. Reading and thinking.


  18. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Beauty can be something that's simple and indefinable. People know it intuitively.


  19. Reading and thinking.


  20. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Beauty can also be something that's capable of producing a pleasant experience to any perceivers.


  21. Reading and thinking.


  22. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Objective criteria like order, symmetry and proportion count. Everybody has the same judgment on beauty.


  23. Reading and thinking.


  24. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Or beauty can only be found in the eye of the beholder.


  25. Reading and thinking.


  26. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If so, beauty isn't based on any specific qualities of the thing but depends on the pleasure it gives to a particular person.


  27. Pondering.


  28. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What's the nature of beauty and pleasurable experience then?


  29. SEQUENCE OF PETER'S EVENTS LATER


  30. A. Car park. Peter starts a silver coupe. No crank. After further attempts, we hear cranking sounds.


  31. B. Battery shop. A STAFF is installing a new green battery in the coupe. When Peter starts the coupe, it responds swiftly.

  32. C. Peter's NT home. Opening the hood of the coupe, Peter takes a photo of its V-6 Engine and the green battery.


  33. END SEQUENCE


  34. INT. LAKESIDE RESTAURANT - AFTERNOON


  35. Enjoying his tea set, Peter is staring at the image of the car engine and with the new battery on his smartphone screen.


  36. PETER (V.O.): Are they beautiful, conceptually?


  37. Pausing.


  38. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But how would others know by intuition?


  39. Pausing.


  40. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Many won't share my perception that they've any aesthetic property.


  41. Pausing.


  42. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But to me, they're beautiful. Why?


  43. Pausing.


  44. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My 1800cc coupe has got a V-6 engine. It's unprecedented.


  45. Pausing.


  46. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Together with the new green battery, I feel energized in my coupe - a pleasurable experience.

  47. Pausing.


  48. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I decide what's beautiful.


  49. Pausing.


  50. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If I'm right, aesthetics shouldn't be a branch of philosophical inquiry.


  51. RETURN TO PRESENT


  52. Act 3


  53. EXT. TUEN MUN HIGHWAY - 20:10


  54. Having negotiated a bend, the moon re-appears from behind the hills.


  55. PETER (V.O.): It's big, bright and lovely. It lights my senses.


  56. Pausing.


  57. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But if people don't have the aesthetic attitude, would they appreciate the moon's beauty and get the aesthetic experience?


  58. Pondering.


  59. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Do people need the aesthetic attitude at all? That's another philosophical inquiry.


  60. The moon is out of Peter's sight.


  61. THE END.


  62. FADE OUT


























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