Response to EXTREMELY Harsh Moral Criticism of Boy Who Never Slept

Update July 13: My response has been officially posted on freesoftwaremagazine.com and Terry Hancock responded politley. I just read an extremely negative critique of Boy Who Never Slept by Terry Hancock published in http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com. Due to the very indie nature of the film and the controversial subject matter I expected this film to generate a fair amount of criticism, but I never thought a review would mention my movie in the same paragraph as Birth of a Nation (a racist movie where the heros are the KKK) and condemn it as a “an apology for statutory rape”. Wow, what an insult. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I respect that, but it’s hard for me to comprehend how he could have misinterpreted my work to that degree. Below are a few of his quotes, I invite you to view his full review here. Below I respond and talk about the morality in Boy Who Never Slept and discuss some of the movie's themes. I posted the following exact response in the comments section of free software magazine, but it’s currently awaiting comment moderation. Hopefully they'll publish it.

Selected quotes from Terry Hancock’s review of boy Who Never Slept. "...sordid and offensive plot" "The film really ought to be called 'Portrait of a Pathetic Internet Predator'" "Fortunately, the film is so poorly written, directed, filmed, and acted that the apparent intent of the film as an apology for statutory rape is highly diluted." "In almost every aesthetic way, the film was just awful" "It’s a shame that the film takes a morally suspect stance and that it is executed with such poor aesthetic values, but then again, Birth of a Nation, the world’s first feature length film was a pretty suspect piece of work too (for those unfamiliar with film history, the film is one of the most racist ever made, as the nation in question is the Confederacy, and the heroes of the film are the Ku Klux Klan. Nevertheless, the film is important because of its technical and artistic (or craft) advances)." On the lighter side of things. “All of that considered, it doesn’t really look that bad. And there is a very nicely prepared movie “poster”, titles, and a fairly nifty (if slightly ad hoc) website for distribution of the film. Rothman may not be much of a screenwriter or director, but he’s obviously a pretty capable guerrilla producer.” My Initial Response Thank for very much for reviewing Boy Who Never Slept and for both the harsh and kind words. Unfortunately I think you completely missed what I was trying to say, considering you're well outside my target audience, that’s expected. You seem to get seriously upset about the moral stance you believe this movie took. First, the story in this movie may not be ideal, but the theme reflects reality. Also you’ll be glad to know that the story isn’t autobiographical. I would also like to send a clear message to anyone reading this: PLEASE use common sense in your relationships, and I absolutely don't advocate sleeping with underage girls. I’m releasing the full script this week, I invite you to read it, and you may pick up on some of the subtleties you may miss in the movie. Ideally I didn’t want to have to explain why I made this or that decision and leave it open to artistic interpretation and just welcome the controversy, but when my film is being mentioned next to Birth of a Nation and described as an advocacy for sleeping with underage girls, I think it’s important to explicitly state what this movie means and what some parts of it represent. Watch any modern chick flick with a teenage girl target demographic (one by Hillary Duff or Lindsay Lohan will do). You’ll find it filled with “fate” “soul mates” and “meant to be” philosophy. These are very popular movies and represent the beliefs embraced by lots of teenage girls. I would even say the majority of teenage girls, but I don’t have the data to back up that strong of a claim. There are many accounts of relationships, (some ending in marriage and children) where the girl met the guy and become “involved” before she was the current “official” age of 18 (or 17 if you're in Las Vegas). That is NOT a show of a support, just a note or social comment. “Love conquers all” as long as you’re both within the right ages, so if one of you is 17 and the other just turned 18, then it doesn’t apply. It's interesting how people often try to reconcile beliefs that, in practice, contradict each other. If you believe in "true love" it's obviously not bound by minor age differences. If it makes you enjoy the movie more, think of Daniel as 19. Very little in the script would have to change. 23 was chosen arbitrarily. I just needed an age over 18. “Fate brought us together”, but if everything else doesn’t coincide perfectly, then it’s not fate just ignorance. We’re “Soul Mates” destined to be together; of course we could just be in a superficial relationship One of the greatest love fantasies in movies, novels, and other artistic works is the “love conquers all” theme. Where two people meet by fate and come together despite social constructs, taboos etc. I gave you what this would really look like, not a beautiful fantasy story with a superfluously happy ending, but a lonely young man who lacked common sense and a normal teenage girl, both lonely and desperately wanting to find "love". Not just any love ,but the magical "love that conquers all" they see in the movies and read about in novels. If you ask an average teenage girl if she thinks “true love” between a 23 year old and a 16 year old is possible, I bet she’ll answer with a resounding yes. One of the biggest points of my story that unfortunately didn’t come through strong enough for many people to pick up on was this: I believe fiction highly influences reality, the philosophy ingrained in movies, novels, books etc, affects how people think and influences their character (I'm not saying this is bad or good; I'm just stating my belief). With this stated, I find it very interesting how people embrace, even love fiction that perpetrates philosophies completely opposed and in direct disagreement with their personal beliefs, and see no irony or hypocrisy in this. This is not in reference to “reality” or hyper realistic movies that are a reflection of real life, but fantasy based fiction. Melissa’s father loved Daniel’s script, liked the sexuality and the uncompromising emotions and power of the “love conquers all” theme, but absolutely went crazy when he found out it was about his daughter. It was a great script when it was about someone else, but when it’s about his daughter, it automatically becomes disgusting, and Daniel automatically becomes a sexual predator deserving of statutory rape. Notice that decision was made before he ever spoke to Daniel or even considered how they met, etc. So in fiction he endorses that philosophy, but in reality he is automatically opposed to the very idea and instantly labels Daniel a criminal. I find this somewhat hypocritical. Why would Melissa like a "loser" like Daniel? It is difficult to apply all their romantic ideals and notions of love they're inundated with to the average, immature teenage guy. Referencing Hillary Duff and Lindsay Lohan movies, for example, you'll notice that the male actors who usually play the love interests are all relatively mature compared to real teenage boys. In fact, the actors themselves are often quite a bit older than the actresses, further cementing the idea that an "older man" is more capable of "romantic" love. Why did Daniel even start talking to Melissa? If you have ever been in an internet chat room, you’ll notice that people chat with all kinds of different people and it’s not uncommon for individuals of all ages to be in the same regional chat room; thus Daniel meeting Melissa online was very probable. You also mention a lack of substance in Daniel and Melissa’s conversations in your review. Please check out an internet chat room and you'll see people talking about very normal stuff. Most people in there are not having award winning intellectual chats - this is about real life, and people are lonely and mainly just want someone else to talk to. The subject of their conversations is of less importance then the emotional connection of having someone to vent to, to share their thoughts with and who appears to understand them. That's all it takes to inspire steps towards meeting and seeing if they connect in person. I made Daniel a would-be writer not to “impress chicks,” but for the following reasons: People fantasize about stronger than reality emotions. Perfect relationships, perfect people, perfect jobs, perfect etc. It seems like a normal part of life “fantasizing” about the ideal. Read any romance novel or watch any recent romantic movie. I find this to be especially true in the case of would-be artists like Daniel. Despite the complex drama contained in their everyday life, they continually look to romanticized accounts and stories for inspiration. Like I said before, they fantasize about the ideal. Daniel wants to be a writer, because he wants to experience this super emotional even “magical” view of life. The dark and dreary scenes are on purpose Daniel is stuck in a rut, and going nowhere, because he’s looking for something “magical” – his fantasy version of “love.” He’s lonely and drinks a lot; it makes perfect sense that he would be intrigued by Melissa and what she represents. He’s not looking for reality, but wants to find something amazing, to be “blown away.” Many people don’t look for reality when searching for love, but hold off, at least secretly, for a super mate, or some kind of unstoppable love slike that so often portrayed in cinema. Additionally, Daniel was NOT trying to meet a younger girl; it simply happened, as it does every day. You call their relationship purely superficial and that bring up two questions from me. 1. Can a teenage girl have a non-superficial relationship? I don't think most parents tell their children, “all your relationships will be meaningless until you’re 21” 2. What’s the difference between a real relationship and a superficial one and who should judge that ? Many thousands of people have already seen the movie, and they range in all age/gender demographics. I generally receive responses in two categories: 1) Those that endorse the love conquers all philosophy and bought the characters, meaning they liked the movie and were glad Melissa and Daniel met each other (note that many in this category are female). 2) Those that don't believe in true love, bought the characters, and enjoyed the movie as a story of someone with no common sense and for its comedic value. Out of the thousands of people who've already seen it, this is the first response I've found that so misinterpreted the intention and moral stance of the movie. It is the most completely negative response I've received, and the first negative response in regards to the story line. Because of this, I wonder how much your own world view, your philosophy on love and morality, and the fact that you have a daughter played into the extremely negative response to the story line of the movie. As for what I believe, I won't say. film is the art of storytelling. I want people to be able to enjoy the story without any more direct influence on my part than I've already given (again, I didn't want to write this article, but it is important to clarify when someone so wrongly interprets the moral stance of your movie). I invite you all to comment on the movie directly on my website. http://www.moviepals.org/boywhoneverslept Just click on the comments link from the main site and please be respectful!!! As for me, more movies are coming soon and some will contain slightly more traditional themes. I love screenwriting and filmmaking, it’s my life’s passion. I have 2 completed scripts and 10 more drafts ( I just worked all night on polishing up a horror script that should be really fun and very scary). So far I’ve received a very positive response to Boy Who Never Slept. Last Note: Boy Who Never Slept was designed to be a movie anyone could made ($200 dollar budget all amateurs, etc). I wanted to inspire would-be filmmakers and to some degree I have from the comments I’ve received thus far. My next films will be of superior technical quality as I progress in my filmmaking abilities.