The Valley of Dry Bones
The Title
The name originally was influenced by a speech given by Malcolm X that was given this title because in it he makes several references to the original story from The Bible. To briefly summarize the story, God takes Ezekiel to a vallley filled with dry bones. There the spirit of The Most High tells Ezekiel to prophesy the word of the lord unto the dry bones so that they may come to life and live again. Malcolm X became Ezekiel in his speech speaking the truth into the ears of those listening fighting to transform them from dry bones to flesh. During my stay I was surrounded by so much knowledge, ignorance, love, hate and jealousy. Where I'm from not too many people have the time to stop and ask questions on why life is so hard for the common man, they are simply too busy surviving. I realized I was in The Valley of Dry Bones, and I am one of them.
The People
It was refreshing being around people that were just genuinely happy to be alive. I get so consumed by the difficulties Africans face all around, it was a blessing to be around those innocent to the ways of the wicked. The lifestyle over there encourages happiness. From the sun light to the way in which we interact with each other.
The Voice Over
The voice Over was a collection of my thoughts I gathered over several cold nights I spent laying on my couch when I returned back to Massachusetts. The facial expressions of those I document play over and over again in my head like instant replay, sometimes I understand what they were projecting and other times I do not. All my words were inspired by my confusion and my understanding. A great influence of mine is the philosopher Plato not only for his mind but his honesty as a writer (giving credit to African wisdom in his works) and in the film I make a brief reference to a work of Plato's called the Apology. In The Apology, Socretes tells of how he was declared the wisest Man in the republic by the Oracle, however he was not the wisest man because he knew everything, he was the wisest because he was the only one aware of how little he knew. This message always stuck with me, its humbling, it will forever reflect in everything I do.
The Message
I wanted to say so much with this piece, too much, it even took me 3 months to decide to go the route I chose. I did not want to tell my viewers what to feel, we all perceive the world differently, I wanted to share my thoughts without discouraging viewers from forming their own original thoughts. Where ever you go you have to see, truly see. There is so much that plays into why we are the way we are as a people, this goes for any culture/community. There is knowledge everywhere. What you choose to think about your environment is powerful, see only light.
