@PaulBlackthorne 'This American Journey' shows the real America
11:31 PM
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Written by Jesus Figueroa
Actor Paul Blackthorne's "This American Journey" crosses the country, from New York to California, stopping along the way to hear what the American citizens have to say about America.
The human element of the documentary makes the topics of politics, religion and everything in between entertaining while staying informative, relative and impactful.
Blackthorne and friend/photographer Mister Basquali gear up to make their way across the country they fell in love with as children. Along the way, they hoped to talk to the diverse communities, that make up America, to discover how real people view the country.
From New York and New Jersey, where the filmmakers start their journey, they reveal their reason behind the road trip and the difficulty they expect to encounter.
Quickly, they start to get Americans to talk about the recession, how the crisis in America has impacted them and their community. They got surprising responses.
Hearing how the American people are hurting, the mixed emotions over President Barak Obama and the struggles that people go through seemed to fuel the passion that inspired Blackthorne's idea.
Traveling west towards Los Angeles, Calif. a new America came to life. While traveling in the south, right to the place where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated they found racism still prominent.
Traveling through central US they encountered the religious divide.
The issues were timely and relatable in a universal manner. The difference in the people were clear, but what united everyone was the yearning for change.
The vision each person had of America showed just how unique the world is and how people do different things to persevere.
There are many issues that have appeared throughout this young nation's history. Some issues, such as racism, are seen as being a minor issue but this film shows that even in historical locations where extreme racial hate tainted this nation's history, racism is still still a problem.
This film shows what makes this country great, this country is great because of it's citizens.
The film shows many of the point-of-views — the liberals, the conservative, the religious and all were Americans.
By the end when Blackthorne and Basquali found their way to L.A. the message was clear and the impact the film wanted to make was received loud and clear.
The differences of the people need to be accepted and embraced. The liberties we hold dear and at points take for granted should be valued.
I give this documentary 5 out of 5 Popcorns. There are very few documentaries that grab the audiences attention like this one did. It's entertaining yet keeps it's serious tone throughout. The structure helped build up the intensity and convey the message well. Look for this documentary on www.thisamericanjourney.com and on VOD.
Being in Los Angeles, Calif. and having seen a small section of the US first-hand, this documentary felt real. It not only captured the diversity that is found throughout the US, it revealed issues that stem from the under-appreciation of all the liberties we have.