Blink And You’ll Miss It
Glimpses of our shared humanity
“How about a movie at the El Capitan?” Ken yells from his office. I yell back, “Will we get free popcorn?”
“Yes!”
I holler back, “Do it!”
The Disney-owned theater in Hollywood had sent an email about coming attractions, including “Blink,” which had no description of any kind. There was simply the title, a photo of four kids on top of a travel van, and the fact that it was a National Geographic documentary.
That last part was all my husband needed to know. Apparently, other Angelenos weren’t quite as confident: we were three of only five people in the theater!
And that’s a shame, as “Blink” is simultaneously heart-warming and shattering, with a liberal sprinkling of humor. The NatGeo pedigree was represented by jaw-dropping vistas of places few people have ever seen.
The doc, directed by Daniel Roher (who won an Oscar last year for “Navalny,”) involves a French-Canadian family of two parents and four kids, three of whom are diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa. RP is a rare eye disease, causing eyesight to eventually narrow to a pinhole, with virtual blindness in low light or darkness. There’s no cure, at least for now. Instead of wallowing in “why us?” the parents take their doctor’s advice to fill their children’s visual memory banks to the brim before it’s too late. After paging through books, the Mom suggests they make a bucket list of everything the kids would like to do or see. When the list is created, the entire family drops everything for a whole year and travels the world to see all those things in real life.
Why would you want to see such a bitter travelogue? Because it’s full of love, joy and real life. The film shows that the world is welcoming, not scary; it’s also the antidote to “helicopter” or “snowplow” parenting. The panoramas and experiences are dynamic in and of themselves, but to see how these parents encourage their kids to “go ahead,” to take risks and to experience life fully is astonishing and moving.
I feel terrible for the kids who grow up with parents who won’t allow them to experience mistakes or challenges as they grow. Attempting to make their children’s lives carefree is childhood robbery! I am so grateful to my parents, who never said, “Don’t do that; you might hurt yourself.” I did hurt myself occasionally: so what? Humans learn from making mistakes. My parents also didn’t lay any “that’s not lady-like” BS on me, similar to the parents in “Blink,” who also eschewed “toxic masculinity.” There were plenty of tears from the boys (and the parents a few times), but no “Don’t be a baby!” or “Man up!”
The Mom in “Blink” also took tons of photos during the year so the kids could see them later (just barely). The film is a tribute to the beauty of the natural world and the love these parents have for their children. Be sure to see this with the entire family! (It will be streaming on Disney + / NatGeo soon.)
The next evening, I was at a special press screening of the documentary “Between the Mountain and the Sky” (BTMATS) featuring the BlinkNow Foundation. (No relation to “Blink.”) The BlinkNow Foundation is committed to empowering women and kids, and their statement says: “Our mission is to change the world by empowering Nepal’s youth, and we work towards a day where every child is safe, educated, and loved. We provide quality education and a loving, caring home for orphaned and at-risk children in Surkhet, Nepal. We also support our local community to reduce poverty, empower women, and improve health while encouraging sustainability and social justice.” BTMATS focuses on the Kopila Valley Home, started by Maggie Doyne and her community-building partner, Tope Malla, himself an orphan in Surkhet.
The film is based on Maggie’s book of the same name. The story is simple yet extraordinary: Middle-class, suburban New Jersey teen Maggie Doyne spends her gap year with a group of students in Nepal. She is so moved by the desperate poverty and, most significantly, the kids with no parents that she starts a children’s home! You know what every 19-year-old does in high school, right?! And again, just like “Blink,” parenting figures into this story. Maggie’s parents didn’t try to talk her out of her dream; instead, they sent her $5,000, her babysitting money that had accrued, and gave her their blessings. Talk about another antithesis of helicopter parenting. I know parents who would’ve jumped on a plane, grabbed their kids and duct-taped them onto a plane ride home. Such courage on not only Maggie’s part but also her parents.
The biggest messages I got from both documentaries were Love with a capital “L” and courage in the face of the unknown. Both films also have lots of dancing and silliness! BTMATS is currently winning awards on the festival circuit; I’ll let you know when it gets a release date. Make sure your teens see it so they can think about what they’d do during a gap year.
Shameless plug: in case you haven’t seen my solo show, “Now That She’s Gone,” I’m reprising it in Pasadena… and it’s free! It’s been described as “passionate, poignant and funny” as it explores the often hilarious, irreverent and sometimes torturous relationship I had with my Norwegian-American mother. The show has received rave reviews and standing ovations worldwide. Saturday, Oct. 26 • 2 p.m. • Lamanda Park Branch Library, Pasadena, CA.
The LA Press Club recently awarded Ellen Snortland Best Columnist and Journalist Of The Year! Ellen teaches creative writing online and has a few rare openings in her classes. To get more information regarding tuition and schedule, she can be reached here.