Propaganda Contest: Hakau Sione and the Whistling Jungle
When the fleet left the home islands, among its civilian members (the “support staff”, officially) was a cadre of actors and a film crew or two. The justification for them and their equipment taking up some of the limited berths was “to support the morale of the troops and support staff via entertaining films.” Also, they paid for two extra ships, and brought their own equipment.
While the first productions had targeted their continental enemies as bloodthirsty conquerors who coveted the honorably won and long supported Mainland Territories and the bountiful Home Islands, upon sighting of the Embralian fleet their objective changed. Admiral Vaea requested a change of subject and provided the teams with a few amateur scholars among the soldiers, lacking proper experts due to the assumed lack of Old World nations on Harren.
Their first film attacking the evil Embralians is Hakau Sione and the Whistling Jungle, starring Tavita Peleki and Ailani Kahele. The film follows the heroic explorer Doctor Hakau Sione, of the explorer’s fellowship and a veteran from one of Inithar’s minor wars before it’s neighbors banded together to strike it and one of the best in his field. The adventurous explorer goes further beyond Inithar’s borders than anyone of the age, and discovers a strange foreign land. The people seemed to be ambling along in their jobs without thought, muttering to themselves in an unfamiliar language. They didn’t acknowledge his existence, let alone his questions. Nobody would speak to him for long before he met an attractive young woman who gave him warnings: be quiet and act normal, or else they’ll come. Do not drink the water or listen to the music, or they’ll have you. He could not ask who “they” were before she ran off. In the night, there is a commotion outside of the abandoned building he took as shelter. He hears a whistling noise, and when he looks sees several people, bound and gagged, being taken by men dressed in black with horrific masks that seem to be producing the whistling noise instead of talking.
Hakau assaults them, trying to stop what seems to be a kidnapping, but they get away. One of the men he’d taken down starts screaming, and the townspeople come out and try to mob Hakau - except for one, who instead saves him and helps him hide. He introduces himself as Katon, a member of the resistance and spy for the heroic People’s Union of States. The Embralian empire, through it’s poisonous water and mind controlling music, took this town among many others on it’s borders, influencing them to blind loyalty until they were but drones who existed to serve the emperor. The Sikari that they had just fought had taken most of the rest of his cell, including the woman who had warned him, Caia, for “re-eductation” in the capital.
From this inciting incident the film follows Hakau and Katon’s investigation and pursuit, and Caia’s efforts to remain herself in the reeducation camp. The former find evidence that Embral is preparing for something very dramatic, while Caia stumbles across Harren refugees in the camp who had been interrogated for all they knew. As the film progresses, it becomes clear that Embral is planning to conquer Harren Island and steal it’s resources, first to wipe out the Union and then to conquer the rest of the world and bring them for it’s emperor. The pressure is on when Caia, due to her resisting of interrogation and reeducation, is chosen as a sacrifice to the Wells, a primitive blood ritual meant to give power to the soldiers of Embral. Hakau and Katon manage to reach the staging grounds where the military is being assembled just in time, battling the depraved head of the Sikari, who uses his magic music to mind control Katon to fight his new friend. After Katon is wounded, he manages to fight off the mind control long enough to hold the head of the Sikari long enough for Hakau to kill them both. Hakau then saves Caia and detonates large amounts of ammunition, setting back preparations by months. While it would make him the happiest of men to stay with his new love after bringing her to Inithar, he declares that he must join the military once again in order to battle against Embral overseas.
Being filmed primarily on a ship and in a frozen wasteland, a large amount of improvisation had to be done for sets and props; but many of the civilians helped in the effort, and the highly skilled actors making stunning performances more than made up for it’s limitations. It has been played often in makeshift cinemas aboard the transport ships since the fleet made landfall.
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My bit for the lore contest. If I've got the time I might do an actual script for one of the scenes. The idea is one of those schlocky propaganda films that countries made in WW2, demonizing their enemies and glorifying themselves and allies.
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Topic: Mechanized Warfare: Inithar Thread / Final Phase, 1941 Cold Season (Read 38377 times)