Yael and Courtney

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-slsB64MzrwLUdRNEEzY1pIcTQ

Artist’s Statement

The main character of our script is Courtney’s ancestor, Henry. We could write a full script for a feature-length film telling all of his story. Dramatic from start to finish, his life was interesting enough of a story for his descendants to tell over and over again through the years so that it finally reached us today.  As the legend in the family goes, he was a ranger determined to catch and outlaw and was eventually successful, but was shot on a train station platform by an assassin hired by the outlaw’s family.  It is not hard to believe that, as the re-telling of history often causes, this glorified Henry was created from this storytelling to replace the original.  In our readings, Neufeld’s “After the Deluge” showed the events of Hurricane Katrina in a very specific way to show how some may have viewed or remembered the traumatic event.  It showcases history in a brief flash of pictures instead of explaining every historical detail.  In a similar way, every time that some facts from Henry’s story are omitted and others are exaggerated over time, “Henry 1” and “Henry 2” get further and further apart from each other. The original Henry was more likely a local authority with his own faults and defects as well as a healthy amount of values. The second, a Texas Ranger that did heroic feats, always defeated his enemies, and his only fault was to be too good for his own good. And then there is, perhaps, a third Henry, created by us for this assignment: one with a thick Texan accent, witty remarks, a hat, and a dislike for stale bread. Still, because of the curse of the passing of time and our inability to move through it, we cannot know for sure if the original Henry wasn’t what we made him to be, or if in fact, if we did not even do justice to the grandeur of his original character.

           We attempted to tell this portion of Henry’s story while also including the mood of modern Westerns such as The Magnificent Seven, which include humorous banter along with action and adventure.  In order to do this, we had to research information about Texas Rangers at this time: their responsibilities, line of command, and duties to the state of Texas.  We also made sure to use vernacular that was both familiar to a modern audience and accurate to this specific setting.  Instead of including all of the events in Henry’s life that are often told by family members, we chose to focus on the moment where Henry shoots an unarmed outlaw and is arrested for it.  By showing this particular part of Henry’s story, we hoped to show his struggle with attempting to protect the laws of the state whilst being accused of abusing his position.