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Writer's picturePeter K F Cheung SBS

Full Attention

  1. FADE IN


  2. Act 1


  3. INT. A FLOOR, HK CLUB BUILDING - 09:55


  4. Coffee bar. As PETER grabs a cup, WOMAN#1 approaches him.


  5. WOMAN#1: Can I help you?

  6. PETER: No thanks. I'll help myself.


  7. Peter continues to talk to woman#1 as he taps the "hot chocolate" button on a machine.


  8. PETER: I'm Peter, and you're...


  9. WOMAN#1: I'm Karen...just a small potato...


  10. PETER: No, you give me attention. That's good.


  11. Reception. 12:30. Coming out from a conference room, Peter sees WOMEN#2,#3 & #4. Peter introduces himself to woman#4.


  12. WOMAN#4: I'm Jessica.


  13. PETER (to all): Bye-bye Ah Po, Shirley and Jessica!


  14. Act 2


  15. INT. SAIZERIYA - 13:30


  16. Peter is enjoying Black Pepper Steam Clam on Iron Plate.


  17. PETER (V.O.): I'm never tired of this $20 dish.


  18. Eating clams.


  19. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I pay attention to little things as they can tell me a lot about the big thing.


  20. Using a spoon to drink the soup.


  21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The ability to focus attention on little as well as big things is a defining characteristic of intelligence, in my view.


  22. Recalling.


  23. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Days ago, I checked in the Shangri-la hotel, Shenzhen.


  24. Pausing.


  25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There're a number of booking platforms that I could use.


  26. Recalling.


  27. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the end, I chose the one that gave me attention relentlessly.


  28. Recalling.


  29. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I was in the hotel, I realized that the staff there were giving me full attention.


  30. Pausing.


  31. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It dawned on me that now's the attention economy - anything trying to get my limited attention.


  32. A plate of Rigatoni with chicken is put on Peter's table.


  33. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My capacity for attention is limited, and that the contents and events vying for that attention far exceed that capacity.


  34. Thinking.


  35. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And so my attention is used against me so that I'd become a customer of a particular platform or hotel.


  36. Pondering.


  37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Is the attention economy a trap, turning people into mindless consumers?


  38. Finishing the food.


  39. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Am I being slaved in the digital environment?


  40. INT. HOME - 14:00


  41. Living room. Peter and KAJI, the family pet, are sharing a banana.


  42. PETER (V.O.): Our maid is on leave. There's no one at home to give her any attention.


  43. Bathroom. Peter checks Dai Gow, the family's pet turtle.


  44. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Since Nana's death, there's no turtle to give him attention.


  45. EXT. PARK - 16:30


  46. Seeing it running here and there, Peter gives Dai Gow full attention.


  47. PETER (V.O.): If I don't give him full attention, he might have sneaked inside flower beds and I might not be able to find him.


  48. Pausing.


  49. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My family felt guilty that we didn't give Nana full attention when she's alive.


  50. Peter continues to give Dai Gow full attention.


  51. Act 3


  52. INT. STUDIO - 23:00


  53. Having input the prompt: "1 man, 4 women, 1 light-brown Shiba Inu and 1 turtle" in an AI art generator, Peter sees a cubist image appearing.


  54. PETER (V.O.): Yes, attention is the most valuable commodity now.


  55. Pausing.


  56. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Entities can be very powerful if they succeed in getting the collective attention of humanity.


  57. Pausing.


  58. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For myself to be digitally free, I've to awaken my mind to reclaim my focus.


  59. FADE OUT


  60. THE END

















































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