STOP
An award winning short film by Alvin Attles III
"Vibrant colors fool even the most jaded of men. Snapshots of my existence explode in magnificent movements and street life belying the fact that each day my walk down this block reminds me of how worthless I have become. Illusions of a disillusioned man; born in the belly of the beast. The paradox being the intellect stays shrouded in the body of the 'threat.' The city streets have shaped my behavior and forged my thoughts. My walk is unlike any other. My soul dances to the rapture of the departed, while my legacy will be measured by the exploits of my unborn. Fa real…My girl lies still like Emmett Till, even as I plot my next 24 hours. The howls and growls of my stomach spill into a hunger for pain and my license to kill.
Reflections of life’s transgressions have hastened the regressions of my moral compass. My chrome friend rides shotgun while the Devil’s messenger sits on my shoulder. The sage advice from my nana no longer moves me. Her songs to the celestial remind me that the God that she serves must’ve forsaken me.
My heart beats through my veins with the stained blood of a homicidal fugitive fighting for a rep. And my brokenness puts all in danger…Bitterness adorns MY psyche. Insecurity cloaks MY mentality and lessens MY self-esteem. To put it bluntly, i don’t give a damn about reversing a pattern of incarceration. Inside me a fire scalds my emotions and scorches my heart. A torrid cascade of societal inequities and political agendas, thinly veiled as progressive reform, blister my consciousness. I HATE YOU because you look like me…I Hate you because you act like me…I hate you because you walk like me…and you must die
At this point I’m done trying to be anything other than what I am. I am the monkey in the cage....I am a quota.......I am the beast......I am the beast…….and today I might have even become a killer
But my race to face my fate is shook as I look into the mirror of my mortality.....my search for meaning has halted behind lifeless brown eyes…...but God....GOD!…how can I change …..How can I STOP the hurt…….how can I STOP.....how can I STOP the cycle of genocide…How can I stop from mama from crying ......how can I STOP my soul from seeking validation….How can I….STOP.....STOP.....STOP.......STOP killing ourselves
There is so Much More Below the Surface...
Ten Feet Deep is
about guilt and the absolution of guilt. Ten Feet Deep is about unity. Ten Feet Deep is the
tale of jealousy and what happens as envy and resentment rip at the very fabric of the family. Ten Feet Deep is the story of love, a story of redemption. Any one of us has faced hopelessness and
despair. Our reaction to life’s turmoil is what binds us and ultimately what bonds us.
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