The Parable of the Director and the Producer

One day while teaching, Josh was asked, ”Teacher, how is the current revolution in Egypt different from the last revolution in Eqypt?”

Josh spoke thus:

A movie director and a movie producer were eating lunch together.

“Some stories don’t have sequels,” the director said.

“Every story has a sequel,” the producer said, “And every story has a prequel.  Sometimes all three are the same story.”

“So theoretically you could make all three movies at the same time,” the director said.

“Then they’d be the same movie,” the producer said, “That’s not a sequel.  That’s not a prequel. You should know, with the movies you make.”

“I don’t make sequels,” the director said, “I promised myself that I would never make sequels.”

“Oh, that’s right, you do remakes,” the producer said.

“I don’t do remakes,” the director said, “I do 

re-imaginings.”

“Re-imaginings!” the producer said, “That’s stupid.  You do remakes.”

“A remake is taking a movie and remaking it,” the director said, “A re-imagining recreates in a new medium a work from another medium.”

“You remake television shows as movies!” the producer said.

“I re-imagine them, I don’t remake them,” the director said, “But I will grant you that it is a little repetitious.”

“In the same way that sequels are repetitious,” the producer said, “That’s what you mean.”

“And the same way that prequels are repetitious,” the director said.

“And the same way remakes are repetitious,” the producer said.

“Just the same way life is repetitious,” the director said.

“Life is cyclical,” the producer said.

“There is nothing new under the sun,” the director said.

“Not in Hollywood there isn’t!” the producer and the director said together.  They laughed and lifted their drinks in a mutual toast.

“So about this story,” the director said, “It doesn’t have a sequel.”

“It has a repetition,” the director said.

“A what?” the producer asked.

“A repetition,” the director said, “Movies have sequels and prequels and remakes; televisions programs have re-imaginings.  Revolutions have repetitions.  Especially in the Middle East.”