“How so?”
I study him, thinking about the best way to explain something I know all too well about. “Hope isn’t always something people can understand, regardless of the picture you paint. More often than not, the promise of something better is more terrifying than the horrible situations life can throw your way. Sometimes, they just aren’t strong enough to believe in something so unpredictable. They aren’t capable of being or becoming impenetrable against life.”
He leans back in his chair and studies me in a way that makes me think he can see right through me. “You’re right, Willow, but I believe that by showing the audience you can overcome something as huge as this, it would give someone struggling a little bit of that so-called fickle hope and plant a seed of doubt that can grow into the knowledge that their future is their own. The influence of others only holds as much power as you let it.”
“That’s easy for someone to say when they probably haven’t had to struggle with a bully once in their lives,” I return. “How will you show that the hope is worth taking a chance on? Make the audience believe in something that isn’t always so easy to take a leap of faith on.”
“What is the one thing someone at rock bottom needs, Willow?” he asks; the seriousness in his tone makes me wonder if we’re even talking about his movie anymore.
“That depends. If they want to change, they would need a reason to climb up and rise above. If they aren’t at the point in their lives where they can see that a change is possible, well, then even the most impenetrable soul would be stomped further into the ground.”
He nods. “And if the path to change is something that is forced on them?”
I ponder his question. “Well, then, I guess they wouldn’t be past the influence of others, now would they?”
“Okay, that’s true, but just because someone makes the choice to be stronger doesn’t mean they have to do it alone, Willow. Our protagonist here is someone who has forever thought of herself as weak. The bullying did get to her, but the difference here, what makes her impenetrable to those trying to influence her future, is that she chose to take the hand reaching out to help her thrive. Using it as a shield, she made all their negativity into something that couldn’t influence her further. It protected her and, in turn, showed her what it’s like to live without fear and flourish instead of drown. In a way, I guess they are influenced by that hate, but instead of it turning into something that shapes their future in a negative light, they’re able to use it as motivation to be stronger.”
“Not everyone has that person, Kane. You know that, right? You’re painting a picture that to some isn’t always achievable.”
God, if he only knew.
“And therein lies the beauty, Willow. Everyone has that person. And what Impenetrable will hopefully show is that person is most often themselves.”
I lean back, not taking my eyes off his, and let his words sink in. He’s right. I know he is. I’ve lived that life—where the bullies around you want nothing more than to watch you drown. It doesn’t take a physical person to be your shield, but you turning into someone new. Being reborn in a sense as someone stronger. What did he say? Thriving in the face of the fall.
“In order for it to be believable, the protagonist has to want to be someone stronger, which in turn allows her not to be influenced when it comes to the distress in life and the doubt others wish to cause her. She has to be able to show others that the hope they need is within themselves and you are stronger than fear tries to trick your mind into believing.”
He stops talking, and I look over, understanding what he’s creating here and hoping that he’s right; it does give others the hope I didn’t have at that age. Hope to make the change.
“You’re giving people the hope they need to be impenetrable?”
“No,” he says. “I’m giving them the power to believe.”
“In the one person they view as the weakest really being the strongest?”
“Exactly.” He smiles, and when I feel his hand squeeze mine, I realize that during our conversation I had reached out to him.