From Goody Two Shoes to Rock Bottom
Series: Incarcerated Youth Speak Out
From: Blunt Youth Radio Project
Length: 00:09:28
Listen to George tell the story of how he went from being an innocent kid to surviving two brushes with cancer to being locked up at Long Creek Youth Development Center (LCYDC).
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Piece Description
Listen to George tell the story of how he went from being an innocent kid to surviving two brushes with cancer to being locked up at Long Creek Youth Development Center (LCYDC).
2 Comments
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Review of From Goody Two Shoes to Rock BottomWhen I hear the phrase incarcerated youth, cancer survivor doesn't exactly spring to mind. But that is exactly what this compelling piece is about. This feature is the story of George, a two-time cancer survivor and incarcerated youth, told matter-of-factly and articulately by himself. What makes this story stand out is the contrast between the stages of George's life as is clearly stated in the title, "From Goody Two Shoes to Rock Bottom." One great thing about this feature is the narration. You only hear George's voice, no questions or prompts, which makes for a smooth sound. The short segments of guitar music are also really nice--they help break up the piece and the transitions are nice and clean. However, this feature is a bit long for radio, clocking in at a bit over nine minutes, and could be edited a little bit. Though the content is valuable, it gets repetitive at times and could be made a little tighter. I would have also liked to hear more in the transition from when George talks about his newfound friends and when he talks about his depression. I was interested to hear more about why his depression got so bad--what triggered it and why did it provoke him to act out so much? It seemed like a very sudden change in the mood of the story. That said, this is a very great story that proves that you can't always judge a book by its cover. This feature kept me listening with its sometimes funny, sometimes sad anecdotes--the cake story in particular was very poignant. This is a fascinating story, and kudos to Blunt Youth Radio for giving George some time on the airwaves! |
Broadcast History
This piece originally aired on Blunt at WMPG in Portland, ME.
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Sara Zhang
Posted on May 31, 2010 at 03:17 PM | Permalink
From Goody Two Shoes to Rock Bottom
"From Goody Two Shoes to Rock Bottom" is a piece about George's experience with surviving cancer and incarceration at the Long Creek Youth Development Center. The piece is a simple narrative; it's just George's voice intermittently intersected by music, creating tension throughout the piece rather than detracting from George's personable voice. George felt like a comforting friend at the end of the 9 minutes, and I wanted to jump through the computer screen to give him a hug by the end. George's voice immediately establishes a connection with the listener, and it's almost as if he is letting us in on a secret by using conversational language. He's a natural storyteller, and does a great job narrating his life, a lot like a less refined and younger version of Morgan Freeman.
Overall, I thought "From Goody Two Shoes to Rock Bottom" was an excellent piece. It puts the listener at the edge of their seat, wondering when George was going to make the fateful decision to start taking drugs and eventually, what he would do to merit incarceration. For the first 3/4 of the piece, it's impossible to imagine George committing any crime, much less arson. He uses anecdotes to help with characterization, and my favorite is one when he retells the story of when he steals some of his mom's cake in the hospital. He takes the cake when his mom isn't in the room, and dives under the covers to hide when the nurse comes because he knows he isn't allowed to eat solids, only to reveal his "crime" by peaking his head up from under the sheets with a face covered with frosting. I laughed out loud at that part!
I highly recommend this piece. It was nine minutes, but I left the piece feeling very satisfied.