Dumb Da-Dumb Dumb!

So, an interesting thing happened on the way to creating an amazing independent film. We had to deal with people!!!

Writing for me is definitely a labor of love. I'm very passionate about it, and like most people, if I'm passionate about something, I put my all into it. But with writing, the only people I have to deal with are the ones in my head. And while they can get annoying and scary sometimes, I'm usually able to handle them.

However, adding real live human beings to the equation entirely changes things. It's kinda like making a sandwich. Imagine some fresh, warm multi-grain or wheat bread patiently awaiting succulent slices of turkey. You place the poultry perfection on one side, followed by juicy tomatoes and fresh Romaine lettuce. On the other side, you spread just enough mustard, regular or the honey variety, then add a slice of cheese or two. Perfect, right? Then, imagine that someone walks up and piles two heaping spoonfuls of mayonnaise right into the middle of your sandwich. After you beat them down, you'd just stand in awe of how what once was so beautiful has become a monstrosity. Adding people to the mix is like like listening Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On and right when Marv's about to lay on a "oooooooh, baby", the DJ mixes in the infamous Brrrr, from Gucci Mane.



We've come across all types of people trying to do this project:

• The shady business owner who wants exorbitant amounts of cash for us to use his venue
• The nothing-on-their-resume divas who don't understand the concepts of independent
• The unprofessional actor/actresses that simply disappear from the project w/o saying a word. (Damn, if you don't want to or can't do it, cool. Just let a brotha know!)
• And the adults that come to audition that seem to only read books with pictures in them
  

One of the major things I've learned from this project, thus far, is that the rumors of the U.S.'s shortcomings in education are grossly understated. People can't read. And it's funny and sad at the same time. During the casting, when the potential actors had to read lines that I wrote, I had to bite my tongue while listening to them fumble and stumble over simple sentences and words like fruition. That word has three syllables. Oh, sorry. Syllables are the distinct, I mean different sounds that are in a word. The word is pronounced froo-ish-uhn, not froo-shoon, or froo-tee-yun.

It was hard sitting there and trying to keep a straight face. I am a pretty decent actor, but people that truly know me know that my face is window to what I'm thinking. I had to pull out some Sydney Poitier skills a few times.

Some people were nervous and I get it. And there were a couple of words that might have been new for some of them. Okay. But damn, my seven year-old cousin, Brandon, could have done better than a lot of them.


It's no wonder that U.S. students ranked 32nd out of 35 countries surveyed about positive attitudes toward reading. Somewhere along the line we stopped reading. Growing up, I learned a lot from Sesame Street and The Electric Company, but they supplemented my learning. Today, many parents depend on the teachers entirely too much and allow Nickelodeon to do what they should be doing. My mama kept my face in a book.

So, that leads to me to a serious question: How dumb can we get?

If you watch TV, you'll think that there are no limits to the depths of our dumbness.

I tell those I know who watch that bastion of intellectuality, Jersey Shore, that they are probably losing ten brain cells for every minute Snookie and The Situation are on air.




Who's to blame for proliferation of ignorance?

The parents? The teachers? The media?

Absolutely. Undoubtedly. And definitely.

So, do we just shrug our shoulders and say, "Since all of those things are stacked against the kids, then there's just no hope for them"? If so, then we doom, not only them, but our own future.

But what can you do? I'll tell you. Go and mentor or tutor a kid. It can't hurt. Maybe you can help make their dreams come to fruzyun. And I highly doubt that you can make them any dumber than they all read IS.