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A Day in the Life

Album: Gold Audio 11: It's Another Fine Day

Episode: 158

Lesson/Theme: Distinguishing truth from falsehood.

Bible Verse: John 8:32

Characters: Bernard, Connie, Eugene, Whit

Writer: Paul McCusker

Sound Designer: Bob Luttrell

Original Air Date: July 13, 1991

Last Air Date: August 6, 2008

Description:
Whit writes a story about the people of Odyssey called "A Day in the Life." He sends it to his agent, and the agent gives it to a publisher. The publisher brings it to the attention of a movie producer, who wants to make it into a motion picture. And so Hollywood descends on Odyssey. Director Marty Scoresberg and his crew arrive and turn the place upside-down. They change not only Whit's story, but rewrite some of the characters, eliminate others, fabricate scenes, and add nonexistent structures and even a beach front to the midwestern town! Whit and the others complain loudly, but there is nothing they can do. Whit's agent sold all the story rights to the producer. Finally, the movie is finished, and the premiere is held at the Bijou Theatre in Odyssey. Ironically, everyone likes it. The movie isn't Odyssey, but the townspeople hope everyone will know the difference. They all go back to Whit's End and, as Whit puts it, are "glad to be living and breathing in the real Odyssey, where the lights . . . burn late into the night, and we slip quietly to the end of yet another day in our lives. No movie could capture the wonder of that. Then again, who said it has to?"

Questions:
Why was it so hard for the people of Odyssey to see the movie script change so radically? Whit said, "Maybe the people will know the difference" between the movie Odyssey and the real Odyssey. Do you think he was right? Explain. How else does the media distort reality?