Full Attention
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Aug 24, 2023
- 2 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. A FLOOR, HK CLUB BUILDING - 09:55
Coffee bar. As PETER grabs a cup, WOMAN#1 approaches him.
WOMAN#1: Can I help you?
PETER: No thanks. I'll help myself.
Peter continues to talk to woman#1 as he taps the "hot chocolate" button on a machine.
PETER: I'm Peter, and you're...
WOMAN#1: I'm Karen...just a small potato...
PETER: No, you give me attention. That's good.
Reception. 12:30. Coming out from a conference room, Peter sees WOMEN#2,#3 & #4. Peter introduces himself to woman#4.
WOMAN#4: I'm Jessica.
PETER (to all): Bye-bye Ah Po, Shirley and Jessica!
Act 2
INT. SAIZERIYA - 13:30
Peter is enjoying Black Pepper Steam Clam on Iron Plate.
PETER (V.O.): I'm never tired of this $20 dish.
Eating clams.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I pay attention to little things as they can tell me a lot about the big thing.
Using a spoon to drink the soup.
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.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Days ago, I checked in the Shangri-la hotel, Shenzhen.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There're a number of booking platforms that I could use.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the end, I chose the one that gave me attention relentlessly.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I was in the hotel, I realized that the staff there were giving me full attention.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It dawned on me that now's the attention economy - anything trying to get my limited attention.
A plate of Rigatoni with chicken is put on Peter's table.
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.
Thinking.
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.
Pondering.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Is the attention economy a trap, turning people into mindless consumers?
Finishing the food.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Am I being slaved in the digital environment?
INT. HOME - 14:00
Living room. Peter and KAJI, the family pet, are sharing a banana.
PETER (V.O.): Our maid is on leave. There's no one at home to give her any attention.
Bathroom. Peter checks Dai Gow, the family's pet turtle.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Since Nana's death, there's no turtle to give him attention.
EXT. PARK - 16:30
Seeing it running here and there, Peter gives Dai Gow full attention.
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.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My family felt guilty that we didn't give Nana full attention when she's alive.
Peter continues to give Dai Gow full attention.
Act 3
INT. STUDIO - 23:00
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.
PETER (V.O.): Yes, attention is the most valuable commodity now.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Entities can be very powerful if they succeed in getting the collective attention of humanity.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For myself to be digitally free, I've to awaken my mind to reclaim my focus.
FADE OUT
THE END
Comments