Reel life: 4 questions for Darryl Roberts
<b>4 Qs for Darryl Roberts</b>
Q. What inspired you to take two years out of your life to create "America the Beautiful 3"?
A. I wanted to locate a childhood friend and I went on the Internet to find him. When I did, he was a registered sex offender. It was an indicator of just how bad things had gone wrong. Then the American Psychological Association released that report about the sexualization of girls, and it said sexualized advertising is creating a mental health crisis in our youth. I said, "OK, that's the subject for my next film!" And I just kept going.
Q. It was quite bold of you to give the comments of your two female teenage interns - one of them Cali Linstrom from Glyn Ellen - equal weight with comments from established authorities. Why?
A. If I was going to talk about how sex is affecting young people, I actually wanted to hear from young people. I started shooting them talking at the table one day because I realized that mixing their views with those of the officials would make the message more authentic.
Q. You've tackled a huge issue with a thousand tangent issues in your movie. Did you ever feel like throwing your hands up and doing something easier?
A. No. It would be impossible for anyone to do a single definitive film on the topic. So, I figured this would be my little introduction. I have this philosophy that if every person in the country does what they can do to solve social issues, the world would be a better place.
I don't feel there's one culprit when it comes to failing our youth. We're all culprits. The only way we're going to stop it is to get out there and do it. That's why it's important to see the wide swath of where this (sexualization of youth) is coming from, as opposed to one specific place.
Q. What drives you to make these movies?
A. I've been shallow all of my life when it came to women and relationships. And I missed out on some pretty good relationships because of that. So I asked myself, "Why are we so obsessed with beauty?"
That's what started me on the first film. I met so many women who were hurting, who were in pain. By nature, I'm sensitive, I'm empathetic, and I held on to the pain. Making the film, their pain became mine. It sucked me into this thing of becoming an activist for women's issues.
<b>A Catlow first</b>
The first Catlow Local Shorts Festival, featuring 12 locally produced short films, will be shown starting at noon Saturday, Nov. 22, at Barrington's historic Catlow Theater, 116 W. Main St. Admission costs $5 (tickets available one hour before showtime). Go to thecatlow.com. Support your local bijou, so to speak.
<i>Dann Gire's Reel Life column runs Fridays in Time out!</i>