Canvas

"**Canvas**" (Bujanski: **Bȳra, Бѵ̄ра**; Eosome: **Pjalau**) is a movie produced and released in Bujan in 1902, ten years after independence and the massacres.

## Background

The movie was directed by Baeljoi Vjatorinskij, who was unhappy with cruelty over seemingly small offenses, like blocking in social media without a valid reason (which it itself a crime in Bujanski law).. He had the idea from watching Terrans in execution grounds almost being beheaded or shot over what they did online.

His message was meant to ask people who wanted to kill and torture blockers: "If all you wanted was friendship and seeing that person's art, what is the point in killing that person for being your enemy? Does your hate help you in your career, your future, and your dreams? Can you get money and food simply by murdering a nobody?"

### Inspiration

The movie was ultimately inspired by a friend of his who was unbanned from a fan club. Initially, he was banned five years ago over his obsessive fan art causing some fans to be disgusted, causing him to join the revolution only to wage war on those people who banned and blocked him. With his enemies sent to prison, he was able to return to his favourite fan club, but aside from some fanart and posts, he was the only member left.

It was also influenced by a folktale about the Day of Resolution, when an artist threatened his executioner: "All this hatred and war because of me? Because of just ONE Internet server? They are all mine, and when I go down to oblivion, they go down with me. My works will become as ash and dust, yet they have more worth than your stupid, obsessive war!"

## Summary

A fan breaks into an artist's house and angrily stabs the artist's face. He steals several paintings, but as he looks at them, he sees visions of his own future. Some were his own dreams and wishes, while others depict the consequences of his murder.

He returns back to his bed, sitting with a knife in his hand. Remembering what might happen to his own plans, he takes his knife to his own studio and carves a block of wood to a statue.

### Remake

Decades later, the film was remade. It also added an ending where the would-be murderer becomes more famous than the person who shunned him, because he did more artwork than his former favourite.

One additional scene involved him cursing a "God of Change", demanding Heaven to return what he lost by tenfold.

The main characters are Mikhail, a fan; and Artyom, an artist.

* The film begins with Mikhail stabbing Artyom in the face, cursing him for banning the fan from seeing his collection of paintings and declaring Mikhail an enemy. As he stares at Artyom's dead face and scours for the paintings, he searches through the nine hundred canvasses that Artyom made, and seventeen thousand doodles all over the walls.
* Some of the paintings turned into scenes of his wishes for the future, and the consequences of his murder. Instead of a happy life of an engineer, married and teaching his wife and children to continue his work, he was instead brought to a firing squad. Fifty years later, both he and his enemy were forgotten, but were shown by others as a horror tale to warn others about the price of obsession.
* It was a dream, and Mikhail wakes up. He realises that murdering Artyom will never help him in his life, so he instead creates his own art, inspired by Artyom's fantasies. Eventually, he becomes more famous than Artyom, who later ended up in prison for plotting war against the King.
* The movie ends with Mikhail visiting Artyom's prison cell. Artyom was surprised that Mikhail did not want to kill him, but instead thanked him for the inspiration. Touched by how he instead inspired someone to become better, Artyom smiled and cried. A guard stopped him from beating his own head in shame, and asked Artyom to calm down.

## Trivia

* In the 1910's, this movie became part of a genre, known as "mending and folding", which is about people who lost friends or were banned from their favourite venues. It was meant to teach readers how to deal with loss and betrayal.

## See also

* Curse of 400
* Bujanski taboos
* Terranisation
* Penance
* Bujanski pop culture