BAD DOG - STORY BEATS & TREATMENT
CW - animal abuse, child abuse, menstruation, implied(?) SH, misogyny
1. Interior of an old, grimy barn. Groups of rednecks are cheering, drinking, smoking, etc.
2. Reveal the dog fighting ring.
3. Duke is holding back his dog Miss Roxy in the corner, who is growling and snarling.
4. He lets her go.
5. She bolts towards the camera.
6. Title card - BAD DOG
7. Interior of a slimy dive bar, full of drunk men chattering.
8. Maggie weaves through the bar patrons carrying a tray of drinks.
9. A man elbows her, causing her to stumble--
10. And she trips and drops her drinks.
11. Miss Roxy leaps and tears into her opponent.
12. Spilt alcohol drips off of Maggie.
13. She looks up at the man that tripped her, feeling small.
14. She starts to clean up, pretending not to be affected.
15. Miss Roxy’s opponent has collapsed.
16. Duke cashes in.
17. Maggie turns her shower on.
18. After the bathroom has filled with steam, Maggie steps in.
19. She lets the events of the day wash off of her.
20. Ten-year-old Maggie plays on the monkey bars.
21. She turns around, noticing young boys making fun of her, calling her disgusting.
22. She realizes she’s bled through her shorts.
23. Present day, blood mixes in with the water going down the drain.
24. Maggie stares blankly ahead.
25. The next morning, Maggie walks to work. She has a cigarette in hand.
26. She walks past an old, dilapidated barn.
27. She pauses a moment to look at it.
28. Ten-year-old Maggie looks out her bedroom window at the barn.
29. She sees her dad, Duke, “training” his dogs.
30. He hits one of the dogs--
31. And the dog growls and snips at him.
32. Maggie is wide-eyed.
33. She feels her own canines in her mouth--
34. And she growls at her reflection in the window.
35. At work, Maggie goes through the motions.
36. Ten-year-old Maggie is being teased for the blood stain on her shorts.
37. She growls and barks at the boys teasing her.
38. One of the boys grabs her.
39. Using a belt, they cuff her hands together, restraining her against a tree.
40. One of the boys stuffs a bandana in her mouth.
41. She imagines a muzzle around a dog’s snout.
42. Maggie walks home at night.
43. She approaches the old barn again.
44. She stops and stares.
45. She grabs her lighter out of her jacket pocket.
46. She ignites the flame.
47. She throws it on the side of the building, the old rotting wood catching fire.
48. The flames illuminate her face.
49. Ten-year old Maggie stands in the same position she’s in now.
50. She watches Miss Roxy collapse in the ring.
51. Present-day, Maggie stands silhouetted against a raging fire.
1. Open on the interior of an old barn full of rowdy rednecks, hooting and hollering. They’re surrounding a dogfighting ring, where Duke holds back Miss Roxy. He lets her go, and she leaps at the camera, revealing the title.
2. Now in the interior of a grimy dive bar, we meet Maggie, a tired waitress. She weaves through the crowd of bar patrons with a tray of food and drinks. A man elbows her, causing her to trip and fall.
3. We flash back to Miss Roxy leaping at and tearing into her opponent.
4. Maggie has spilled the contents of the tray all over herself and the floor. She looks up at the man who caused her to fall, feeling small.
5. Miss Roxy’s opponent collapses. Duke cashes in.
6. Maggie turns on the shower. After the bathroom has filled with steam, she steps in, letting the events of the day wash off of her. She sees herself in the reflection of the glass, and she feels contempt and hatred.
7. Ten-year-old Maggie plays on the monkey bars during recess. A group of older boys make fun of her, and she realizes that she’s bled through her shorts.
8. In the shower, Maggie stares blankly ahead. Blood mixes with water going down the drain.
9. The next day, Maggie walks to work on the sidewalk alongside a busy street. She walks past an old, dilapidated barn. She lingers on it for a moment.
10. Ten-year-old Maggie looks out her bedroom window at that same barn, eleven years ago. She watches her dad train his dogs. He hits one of the dogs, and she growls and bites at his hand. Maggie is wide-eyed, pulling her lip up to look at her teeth in the window. She feels her canines, practicing her growl in her reflection.
11. She goes through the motions at work the next day, facing abuse and harassment at the hands of the bar patrons.
12. We return to the monkey bars. Maggie barks and growls at the boys teasing her. They continue to jeer, grabbing her and stuffing a bandana in her mouth. She imagines a muzzled dog.
13. Maggie walks home at night, and she approaches the old barn again. She stops and stares at it. Standing now in the overgrown grass and weeds, she grabs her lighter out of her jacket pocket, lights it, and throws it against the side of the building. It quickly catches fire, and the flames illuminate Maggie’s face.
14. Ten-year-old Maggie stands in the same spot. The inside of the barn is lit up with lanterns. She watches the dogfight, and Miss Roxy collapses in the ring.
15. Present day, Maggie stands silhouetted against a raging fire, and the old barn starts to collapse.
We open on the inside of an old, grimy barn, full of rednecks cheering, yelling, drinking, smoking. Duke holds back a growling and snarling pitbull, Miss Roxy. At the sound of a bell, he lets her go, and she comes barreling towards the camera. Title card.
Now we find ourselves in a slimy dive bar, where drunk men chatter and slur their words. Maggie, an exhausted waitress, weaves through the bar patrons, carrying a tray of drinks. A man elbows her, causing her to trip and fall, spilling her tray of drinks all over herself and the floor.
Flash back to Miss Roxy tearing into her opponent.
Spilt alcohol drips off of Maggie, and we see the rage starting to build up in her. She looks up at the man that tripped her, and he seems so much bigger than she. Ignoring him, Maggie starts to clean up.
Miss Roxy’s opponent collapses, and the pitbull stands victorious. Duke cashes in, smugly flipping through the stacks of cash.
Maggie turns on the shower faucet, and the bathroom fills with steam. She lets the shower wash the events of the day off of her. She looks at her reflection in the glass shower door, feeling contempt and hatred.
She thinks of a day from her past, where she, at ten years old, plays on her school’s playground at recess. She’s hanging off the monkey bars when she hears a group of boys snickering at her. She’s bled through her shorts.
We see water going down the shower drain. Blood mixes in with it.
The next morning, Maggie walks on an uneven, overgrown sidewalk on her way to work. She walks past an old, dilapidated barn. She lingers on it for a moment.
10-year-old Maggie looks out her bedroom window at the same barn. She watches her dad, Duke, training his dogs, who are tied up on thick chains. He hits Miss Roxy, and she growls and tries to bite him. Wide-eyed, Maggie bares her own teeth, feeling the sharpness of her canines. She growls at her reflection in the window, trying to see how fierce she can look.
At work, Maggie goes through the motions, facing harassment and abuse from the bar patrons.
And she feels 10 years old again, on the playground. Like she’d practiced, she growls and barks at the boys teasing her. Jeering, one of the boys grabs her and they lead her off the playground. They tie her to a tree with a belt and stuff a bandana in her mouth. She imagines a muzzled dog.
She walks home again at night, and approaches the old barn again. She stops and stares. Standing now in the overgrown grass and weeds, she grabs her lighter out of her jacket pocket. The flame ignites. Maggie throws the lighter at the side of the building, and the old rotting wood catches fire.
The flames illuminate her face. Her expression is blank, but she stands with confidence and a sense of justice.
Parallel to ten-year-old Maggie standing in the entrance to the barn. She watches as Miss Roxy collapses in the ring.
She stands silhouetted against a raging fire, and the old barn starts to collapse.
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