Contact

So often it sounds cliché to say the Olympics are the pinnacle of sports and national pride. Realistically, though, it’s a spectacle of over-commercialization capitalizing on the talents of the few and an endless collage of montages depicting the ‘struggle’ and ‘raw emotion’ of competition as an endless line of athletes ‘battle’ for the coveted title of Olympic champion.

And as countries buy into this ideal of global domination through athletics philosophy, we find ourselves glued to the television watching an endless cabaret of horse and pony show antics as countries string together entire armies of competitors – regardless of whether they have a chance to medal or not (see Team USA) – to the blissful clamors of the corporations profiting from this spectacle. Whether this two-week event can be classified as exploitation of international conglomerates bent on taking over the world for capital gain or drama in real life is debatable – but what’s lost in the mess is the reality that only a few of these athletes truly deserve to be there and furthermore what they do on the world’s stage defies not only their season, but also their careers.

While I am guilty of having a personal love affair for these Games, I have found a complete distaste for the media using this every 4-year event to exploit the names and faces of those (who are far too quickly forgotten) to fuel the consumerism that’s perpetuated this into a national obsession and turning its viewers into addicts in search of another quick fix.

Yet, as I write this I am starting to realize the impact of these Games are more than just a gripping trial of human skill, strength and will captured on an accessible medium. And while it does represent the ultimate in reality tv, it does serve a purpose to show the real and human side of these genetically superior beings that otherwise wouldn’t exist.

So that leads me to this spiel here. Since August I have been working on trying to secure the permission of such a person for the purposes of my documentary for film class. Although there have been many instances where failure was all but assured, I stuck it out and let the journalistic side of me take over as I worked to finally get what I was after.

Progress was made, and yesterday contact was finally achieved. After months of planning this documentary, regardless of the consequences or insecurities involving it, we have reached an accord with the team in training and the principal individual himself. Although we have yet to meet David in person (he was busy with a business venture); his teammates, manager and coach are all on board to aide and assist us in making this documentary about something more than just another story.

As a group we have preached this is not to be done with just a simple story in mind. And as I have stated from the beginning, this story is aiming at truly representing the man who came from obscurity to the pinnacle of his profession as he now stands at the forefront of a discipline historically dominated by Americans.

In essence we want to capture the pulse of David’s story – and like the conglomerates that capitalize on these moments – create something that inspires others by illustrating momentarily this man’s incredible narrative of resolve, desire and will.

We have the team in place; we have the support of his training cadre and friends. All the pieces are there, and now the pressure is solely on us. And much like the athletes that truly deserve to be at the Olympics – it’s time for us to rise to the occasion and show our mettle as we begin this journey and orchestrate David’s story in a manner which represents it to the fullest.