Changes: Going Native

Revision as of 06:40, 4 February 2020

Synopsis

An alien studies the human race through her work as a photographer as well as observing a therapy group.

Cast

Claire: Kim Greist

Lee: John Aprea

Amy: Cynthia David

Mark: Richard Kuhlman

Janine: Pamela Kenny

Plot

Act I

Claire — an emotionless alien disguised as a human — sits in her large New York loft observing photos by use of a projector. She has been sent to Earth to “record” many aspects (good and bad) of the human race. To help her mission, she also takes part of a group therapy but does not contribute to it — instead choosing to watch the others deal with their problems. One day, an angry man named Lee practices an exercise with the group therapist Amy to help him get over his recent divorce. He vents his anger by punching a pillow, then suddenly shifts his frustrations to Claire’s voyeurism. When another member Janine also gangs up on her, Claire simply announces that she feels uncomfortable. The group grows tired of her lack of empathy, with Lee sarcastically telling her to “let yourself go...as a public service”.

B785B6F4-A22E-460D-A0AE-FFDC909B4B2E — Claire the observing alien.

Later that night, Claire returns to her apartment and continues looking at her slides — eventually making it go faster by use of telepathy. As she watches many pictures of the people in her group fly by, she wonders why she even joined the group. She knew therapy would open the door for her to explore humanity, but she is now afraid of ”primitive” emotions such as anger and is worried they are starting to catch onto her.

Act II

While sitting in bed and dwelling on how lonely she feels, Claire gets a surprise visit from Amy. She apologizes on behalf of the group and insists that their hostile feelings are part of the healing process. Claire speaks minimally, but assures Amy she’ll be at the next meeting. After Amy leaves, Claire continues looking at her photos; she observes the way humans huddle in cities together and “how they fear loneliness the way they fear death”.

Lee pays Claire a visit later on. He sincerely apologizes, but once Claire invites him in, he wastes no time flirting with her and insisting how much his relationship with his ex-wife is over. Seeing her camera equipment, Lee assumes she’s a photographer and talks about a time when he took Janine to a gallery. He asks Claire if she’d like to go to a gallery sometime, which she declines. He calmly leaves as Claire goes back to her work. She observes more photographs and theorizes that only half of the world is alive while the other half pass through life with a set routine ”like sleepwalkers”. She becomes fascinated with “one way picture communication” (TV) and Playgirl magazine; at the same time, she’s confused on humans dependence on advertising to tell them what to like.

6D419A47-109E-477D-860C-BD2B0E188F58 — Mark getting close with Claire

After seeing an image of Lee and Janine making love on her bed, Claire feels the need for an intimate contact. She meets Mark at a bar and invites him up to her apartment. Feeling frisky, Mark comments on her unique look while noticing “you don’t talk much”. The two sleep together, with Claire thinking to herself how she was trained to handle this “physiologically“. On the other hand, she is unsure if she is able to handle it emotionally - insisting that she is “losing her mind”.

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 === Act I ===
-Claire — an emotionless alien disguised as a human — sits in her large New York loft observing photos by use of a projector. She has been sent to Earth to “record” many aspects (good and bad) of the human race. To help her mission, she also takes part of a group therapy but does not contribute to it — instead choosing to watch the others deal with their problems. One day, an angry man named Lee practices an exercise with the group therapist Amy to help him get over his recent divorce. He vents his anger by punching a pillow then suddenly shifts his frustrations to Claire’s voyeurism. When another member Janine also gangs up on her, Claire announces that she feels uncomfortable. The group grows tired of her lack of empathy, with Lee sarcastically telling her to “let yourself go...as a public service”.
+Claire — an emotionless alien disguised as a human — sits in her large New York loft observing photos by use of a projector. She has been sent to Earth to “record” many aspects (good and bad) of the human race. To help her mission, she also takes part of a group therapy but does not contribute to it — instead choosing to watch the others deal with their problems. One day, an angry man named Lee practices an exercise with the group therapist Amy to help him get over his recent divorce. He vents his anger by punching a pillow, then suddenly shifts his frustrations to Claire’s voyeurism. When another member Janine also gangs up on her, Claire simply announces that she feels uncomfortable. The group grows tired of her lack of empathy, with Lee sarcastically telling her to “let yourself go...as a public service”.
 [[File:B785B6F4-A22E-460D-A0AE-FFDC909B4B2E.jpeg|thumb|180x180px|Claire the observing alien.]]
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 === Act II ===
-While sitting in bed and dwelling on how lonely she feels, Claire gets a surprise visit from Amy. She apologizes on behalf of the group and insists that their hostile feelings are part of the healing process. Claire speaks minimally, but assures Amy she’ll be at the next meeting.
+While sitting in bed and dwelling on how lonely she feels, Claire gets a surprise visit from Amy. She apologizes on behalf of the group and insists that their hostile feelings are part of the healing process. Claire speaks minimally, but assures Amy she’ll be at the next meeting. After Amy leaves, Claire continues looking at her photos; she observes the way humans huddle in cities together and “how they fear loneliness the way they fear death”.
+Lee pays Claire a visit later on. He sincerely apologizes, but once Claire invites him in, he wastes no time flirting with her and insisting how much his relationship with his ex-wife is over. Seeing her camera equipment, Lee assumes she’s a photographer and talks about a time when he took Janine to a gallery. He asks Claire if she’d like to go to a gallery sometime, which she declines. He calmly leaves as Claire goes back to her work. She observes more photographs and theorizes that only half of the world is alive while the other half pass through life with a set routine ”like sleepwalkers”. She becomes fascinated with “one way picture communication” (TV) and Playgirl magazine; at the same time, she’s confused on humans dependence on advertising to tell them what to like.
+[[File:6D419A47-109E-477D-860C-BD2B0E188F58.jpeg|left|thumb|220x220px|Mark getting close with Claire]]
+After seeing an image of Lee and Janine making love on her bed, Claire feels the need for an intimate contact. She meets Mark at a bar and invites him up to her apartment. Feeling frisky, Mark comments on her unique look while noticing “you don’t talk much”. The two sleep together, with Claire thinking to herself how she was trained to handle this “physiologically“. On the other hand, she is unsure if she is able to handle it emotionally - insisting that she is “losing her mind”.
+=== Act III ===
 [[Category:1988]]
 [[Category:Episodes]]