Tiananmen Square Effect — Matthew Dunn

When was the last time you were really, truly inspired? When was the last time you found yourself stirred beyond a smile or momentary contemplation that just as quickly blew off into the wind of day-to-day routine? It is the fuel of life, these moments, so rare and difficult to find in a world of endless sight and sound. Vital as water, as urgent as love, many would say they are unpredictable bolts of lightning that last only a second, but whose powerful thunder rumbles on. Others would argue them seeds of grief growing slowly until one day, a brilliant, or perhaps equally grotesque, bloom. Wherever your loyalty lies, you will know it when you see it, even if with disbelieving eyes. In 1989, a Chinese man stood alone in front of a line of tanks, seeking an end to the violence against student demonstrators. His image inspired the world. Twenty years later, one woman will risk everything to capture that spirit again. Driven by loss and an uncontrollable need to expose the truth about the powerful men shielded by pillared concrete and mountainous piles of law books, she will use her brains to outwit and her body to manipulate them all, sacrificing her life, if necessary, to broadcast a portrait over the internet she prays will inflame the soul of the world.