This is something I deal with constantly -- "Arkansas, really?"
It is a generic question that seems to apply for just about anything, it seems. The most the "outside world" knows of Arkansas is limited to Bill Clinton, Wal-Mart, tornado damage, and a vast stretch of land no one really cares about.
So we had some nut job a few years back who listened to some hellfire and brimstone sermon who got off her duff and demanded my former high school hide all copies of
"Harry Potter" behind the librarian's desk, as if it was offensive or pornographic.
(No, I'm not making this up.)
I think Arkansas is also known for the Arkansas Razorback's athletics department up in Fayetteville, and that's probably the last on the very short list of what people know and recognize about my state.
Oh yeah, and Billy Bob Thornton. And there the list ends.
But you know what? I'm here too. I may endure dial-up internet connections and the big business of discount prices, but I'm very glad to say I'm not one of them.
I don't have a Southern accent. My former Humanities instructor, mentor, and friend once asked me "did you learn how to speak watching the national news?"
No, I've always had this verbal style. I also have my degrees, and a healthy interest in storytelling. If you'd make a comparison to my literary style, you'd possible argue I'm comparable to those wizards out at Pixar, mixed in with the honesty and style Peter Jackson and his cohorts put forth in "Lord of the Rings."
I'm not saying I'm as good as them, but then again I'm also not trying to compete with them. Although I'd would like the chance to prove such a comparison correct.
I don't try to recreate this, emulate that, or follow X trend. In fact, I do the exact opposite. If vampires are popular, I will avoid them like the plague. (I do have a vampire movie, but I refuse to promote it now in an effort to "cash in" on said trend.)
I've cut my teeth for several years in and out of the classroom, plus I'm also the man that was called upon twice to put together short promotional films for my former college. I was also brought in once (unofficially, of course) to help shake out the structure of a scripted presentation my former mentor was giving concerning the gardens of Versailles.
If anyone doubts my abilities, please do so only after you've read one of my actual spec scripts. Just because I prefer to live here amongst the rolling hills and the vast green lands of a state the Weather Channel barely acknowledges doesn't mean that I'm not here with my own unique voice or something wonderful to contribute to the "outside world" as well.
I hope (and expect) to surprise you. After all, it's the things that come out of nowhere that literally take you by surprise. And, let's face it, there is no place that is more commonly ignored than rural Arkansas in this modern world.
PS - Yes, they do have movie theaters here. There's a state of the art cinema just fifteen miles away from where I currently sit.
