Memory Lanes
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Oct 6, 2020
- 2 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. STUDY - DAY
Checking his phone notifications, PETER pauses.
PETER (V.O.): I seem to recall there's an interesting answer request from a Quoran. What's that?
Peter scrolls down his phone screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Here it is.
On screen, we see the question: Why does nostalgia make past experience seems so much better than what they were in reality? Is it because you only remember the good things, rather than the bad?
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yes, the good old days.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Although I had worked part-time in Castle Peak Hotel for five years from age 15-20, I often walk down this memory lane as if the characters and activities remain the same.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Then, I sold my cheap labour from sunrise to sunset. It wasn't easy life at all.
Act 2
INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't categorize my nostalgic reminiscence as either good or bad.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I yearn for things of the past particularly when entering into an transitional phase - now getting old.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't know if I was torn between the nostalgia for the familiar or the worry about the unknown.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've gone through so much in the past.
Peter surfs the web.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There was a study about nostalgia.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We think about the past because it can be rewarding. It counteracts boredom. loneliness and anxiety.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We remember more of the positive elements of our nostalgia than the negative ones.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Walking down our memory lanes more, we'd have a healthier sense of self-continuity from past to present.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Here's the explanation of the mystery. Nostalgia isn't about remembering good or bad, we just focus on what lives have meant for us.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That's true. That has been resonating in my mind.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I always feel things deeply. It's impossible for me to tear the past out by the roots.
Thinking
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As we stroll down our memory lanes, do we still find that our lives are still worthwhile?
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There's a beautiful lyrical song.
Tapping the YouTube icon on his phone, Peter finds a video clip.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): This one is interpreted by Nat "King" Cole.
We hear:...Smile, what's the use of crying, you will find that life is still worthwhile, if you just smile...
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yes, we should even laugh in face of sorrow. This is the beloved standard.
Peter seems fixed in nostalgia.
Act 3
INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Nostalgia apparently makes past experience seems so much better than what they're in reality.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The reality is that: Castle Peak Hotel and other places where I worked in my teens were gone.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I still play the role of a protagonist in my nostalgia, resolving tensions.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've tasted life. It isn't bitter-sweet. It's actually sweet, sour, bitter and hot.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We pick up just the sweet spot in our nostalgia, downplaying the sour, bitter and hot ones.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Or, the distance past allows our objectivity and overall perspective of the true value of past moments.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That's how we appreciate where we're today.
Peter begins to type his answer on the phone.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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