Darius Goes West

Wow. I am so utterly impressed by Darius Goes West-- a documentary about a 15-year-old with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy who traveled across the country with 11 other guys.

Not much renders me speechless, but I was completely blown away by the quality of that documentary; I don't even know what to mention first.

Lucky for me, some of the crew members actually came into my documentary class today and talked about their journey. I never get tired of hearing those types of stories. Imagine what the world would be like if we all had an extra dose of inspiration each day.

I think what Logan talked about in class, about the effect a narrative can have on achieving a larger mission, really resonated with me once I was able to process the film in its entirety. The guys' goal became all the more meaningful after witnessing the humanity that existed within each member of the crew. The laughter, the tears-- those responses meant more to me than the science and the numbers. I realized that the greatness of this particular piece, and the challenge I face in creating my own documentary, lies in the ability to appeal to the audience's emotions rather than simple logic.

For me, Darius Goes West compelled me to want more than just a cure for muscular dystrophy. I wish that as a global community, we could experience others' lives the way we experienced Darius'. Then perhaps all of us would be less willing to pass judgments, to look the other way.

For the first time, I understand the importance of my choice to be in a filmmaking class. We can effect change, just as those 12 boys from Georgia already have.