My Criminal Life
Series: Incarcerated Youth Speak Out
From: Blunt Youth Radio Project
Length: 00:04:33
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Piece Description
Time is running out for Mark. After being in and out of the Long Creek Youth Development Center six times for various drug-related offenses, he is about to turn nineteen and age out of the system. Mark feels stuck in his life, unable to make significant changes. This piece juxtaposes Mark's dream-like reflections with emotional reflections by Mark's mother as the two of them anticipate his impending release date. This feature puts listeners in the mind of Mark, a young man who feels hopeless against the cycles of drugs and violence in his life. This piece originally aired on the Blunt episode, "Law & Order", at WMPG in Portland, ME.
8 Comments
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Review of My Life as a CriminalThis piece raises some real questions that only a look inside a person can stimulate. It is very much to Mark's credit that he is able to describe his plight in a way that makes one wonder what it is that prevents him from changing. We are puzzled that he cannot change when the ingredients seem to be present to support change. Yet the will or desire or need to change just doesn't seem to be there, while the hurt his lifestyle provokes is severe enough to prompt suicide attempts. This is an enigma laid out is a terse four minutes. The solution would seem to require many times that. |
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Review of My Life as a Criminal“My Life as a Criminal” pulls you in right away with its rawness. Mark is honest and the honesty hurts. He tells us everything, including his drug abuse, suicide attempt, and drug withdrawal. His mother doesn’t hide anything either. Her voice cracks with emotion as she remembers the past eight years of Mark being in and out of prison. I feel that Mark and his mother linger too much on the past; I’d like to hear more of what they have to say about the present and about Mark’s future. Dark, repeating music plays throughout the piece, which makes listeners feel trapped in this kind of life, just like Mark. The effect is chilling and powerful, but I feel like the piece is trying too hard sometimes. The slam of the prison gate isn’t necessary, and neither is the half-minute of additional angsty music at the end. |
Broadcast History
This piece originally aired on the Blunt episode, "Law & Order", at WMPG in Portland, ME.
Musical Works
Keep Drawing Suns, Japancakes, Waking Hours, Warm, 2004, 4:32
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Frankcarlo Patron
Posted on November 09, 2007 at 06:40 AM | Permalink
Review of My Criminal Life
A powerful piece that gives us insight into how a 19 year old young man feels to be in prison. The juxtaposition of what he feels and his mother feels is very moving. The choices of audio effects and overlapping voices really serve to help us understand his hardships and lead us to sympathize with him, or all men who have been jailed for making the wrong choices in life.