We started with introductions & the question: "What's the most interesting thing you did in the past week?" Two people said going to the Coachella Music Festival was easily most interesting. Both said it was windy & incredibly mobbed, but overall they had a good time. One especially enjoyed seeing one of his favorite bands - Guns N' Roses. (I didn't know these guys were still around. I guess they got Axl & Slash out of mothballs.) One member went to the Newport Beach Film Festival & saw an interesting Chinese movie - "Red Mountain" - his highlight this week. He added that he purposely went to a foreign film with subtitles because his hearing has gotten so bad, he has trouble understanding dialogue in domestic films. A visit to the ear doctor & a hearing aid are coming soon. (What? Did somebody say something? Never mind). He might have chosen the Chinese film anyway: it was good & he regularly sees foreign films. Another member's highlight was a dinner with other members of his profession. He got a chance to practice his fluency techniques. Two members said their highlight was going to local shooting ranges & enjoying target shooting. (Guns, but no roses.)
Next we (finally) showed a movie about stuttering - "Voice in Exile." Thanks to the member who brought in a laptop that played DVDs, we were able to connect to the big screen at the meeting place! "Voice in Exile" is great short movie made about 30 years ago. The director, Mark Kaplan, stutters and had wanted to make a film that was an accurate portrayal of what it's like to be a person who stutters - in this case a 17 year old high school student. The actor who played this role (not a person who stutters) did an amazing job. Everyone agreed it was a highly accurate depiction - both of how stuttering looks to others (and to us for that matter), & of the tremendous anxieties, frustrations, disappointments, and even despair caused by stuttering, especially in high school. Rather than give away the plot, I strongly advise you see this film anyway you can. I know it's on Vimeo; don't know the quality. Maybe you can still get it on DVD or from another streaming service. We had an interesting discussion after the film. Everyone agreed it brought back memories of high school days & all the problems caused by their stuttering. One person said his heart started beating much harder as he watched the film, saying it put him in touch very strongly with all the bad memories of his high school stuttering days. Hope it was cathartic for him. In some ways, I thought the film was superior to the "King's Speech," especially because it very accurately showed severe stuttering blocks. The guy in the "King's Speech" seemed like he just had something stuck in his throat, rather than having blocks. Each to his own.
That's all for now. Next meeting is on Thursday, May 12, led by the one and only Matt de Heras. Don't miss it!
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