Lesson 11

[Copper Wiezi]

Copper … Living Metaphors

WHAT I LEARNED DOING THIS ASSIGNMENT IS…
I learned that subtlety can be a powerful tool in storytelling. Using “Should Work, But Doesn’t” moments and Living Metaphors allows the audience to experience emotional truths without needing to be told. These tools help challenge belief systems in a poetic, cinematic way — making transformation inevitable without preaching. And they fit perfectly into my story world.

1. Old Way: Hiding her truth to stay safe
Challenge: Kim tries to blend in at her temp job by dressing gender-neutral and avoiding conversations.
Result: She still gets harassed and misgendered. Hiding doesn’t protect her — it erases her.

2. Old Way: Relying on fighting skills alone
Challenge: She tries to stop a mugging using martial arts.
Result: The more she fights, the more it escalates — and she gets arrested.
Truth: Physical force alone won’t dismantle systems of violence.

3. Old Way: Seeking validation from her mother
Challenge: Kim visits her dad after years, hoping she’s changed.
Result: Her father calls her by her dead-name, triggering Kim’s breakdown.
Truth: Validation must come from within, not from those who refuse to see you.

4. Old Way: Depending on Liam for all the answers
Challenge: Kim pushes Liam to tell her what she’s supposed to do next.
Result: He disappears mid-scene — forcing her to make her own move.
Truth: Her awakening can’t be outsourced.

5. Old Way: Believing she’s still powerless
Challenge: She witnesses another trans woman being assaulted and freezes.
Result: The woman screams at her for not helping.
Truth: Not acting is a choice — and it has consequences.

Living Metaphors—Challenges
Metaphors that visually, symbolically challenge Kim’s Old Ways and plant seeds for her evolution.

1. Old Way: Gender = binary
Living Metaphor: A holographic butterfly morphs between masculine/feminine forms and lands on her hand.
Meaning: Fluidity is nature’s truth. Transformation is her essence.

2. Old Way: You can’t trust anyone
Living Metaphor: A child on the street offers Kim a tiny origami crane. She hesitates… but takes it.
Later reveal: The crane holds a hidden message from the underground resistance.
Meaning: Trust opens doors to hidden allies.

3. Old Way: She doesn’t belong here
Living Metaphor: At a graveyard, a tombstone flickers between two names — her dead-name and her chosen name.
As she kneels, her name stabilizes.
Meaning: Her identity is real. It’s not up for debate.

4. Old Way: Resistance is hopeless
Living Metaphor: She sees a cracked mirror reflecting thousands of versions of herself — some crying, some fighting, one smiling.
The smiling one nods and the mirror shatters.
Meaning: She’s not alone. There are infinite versions of her — and some of them already made it.

5. Old Way: The world is broken beyond saving
Living Metaphor: Liam brings her to a rooftop garden growing through the ruins of a collapsed high-rise.
Meaning: Beauty and life always find a way — even in collapse. She can be that seed.