“SCARS”: A Story of Raw Emotions
John Glidden, Staff Writer
June 3, 2012
Filed under Internet, Movies
About ten months ago I was surfing videos on YouTube when I came across a link to a rant video. I forget the topic of the rant but at the time, I was less than impressed. The man ranting, known by his YouTube handle as Iluv2rant, profusely used curse words and my initial reaction caused me to click away from his video. However, I found myself discovering another of his rant videos and this time I stayed to watch.
Iluv2rant aka J.B. presents substantial life lessons in his myriad of videos. He rants about adult themes and freely uses cursing but underneath everything is a man trying to rebuild his life and YouTube has become his catharsis. J.B. uses YouTube to express himself after his wife left him around five years ago. “I was a great husband. In the end found out she was a lying sneaking cheat. (She) told me I loved her too much,” J.B. said in an email. “(She) walked out on the kids and I on 12-28-07. Life has been an emotional roller coaster ever since.”
J.B. has channeled his pain into a new project with his short movie entitled “SCARS.” The movie follows a man and the emotional pain he feels after his wife leaves him for another man. I asked the obvious question to J.B. – is SCARS a mirror of his own personal loss and grief?
“Absolutely,” said J.B. “There are many levels of pain and grief you go through. After a while you just go numb. There is a lot of loss you go though in a split like this. Part of you dies when you experience a loss like this.”
Q: What led you to branch out from your rant YouTube videos to make a movie?
A: Well I had made a few other concept videos – first was “Love is Pain,” then “Eyes of a Stranger,” then “Revolution, Revelations, and Hope,” after that came “No Promise of Tomorrow,” and then I did one called “Pain.” Those were all voice overs and music bits. Right after the “Pain” video that I created with Piratesavvy07, I had the idea for “SCARS”. At first it was gonna be just another concept video but my mind just kept spinning more and more about it every day. Beyond that I always said “If this YouTube thing blows up for me I wanna make a movie.” YouTube is a lot like (show business), if you are young and pretty they can market you – not so in my case – so I said to hell with it, I’m gonna do this thing on my own. Forget about waiting for Hollywood to magically appear at my door and offer me a movie. So I just went for it on no budget and very low tech. This film was to be my masterpiece I had to outdo myself and all the other videos I had ever done before – I believe I did just that.
Q: What did you use to record “SCARS”?
A: A Nikon Coolpix – just a little pocket camera – like you would use to take pics of friends at the bar. It has a video option that allows 8 minute clips.
Q: After “SCARS” would you identify yourself as an ‘artist?’
A: I would not call myself that, for the fear of sounding pretentious but I have proven that I do have a level of talent.
J.B. is the embodiment of being confident enough to express raw emotions; a thoughtful reminder never to give up, especially when life deals you a tough hand. Although J.B. is not a student at Solano Community College his example of independent artistic expression should be copied. Meaning: follow your dreams and don’t be afraid to express yourself.
This artistic self-expression can be seen throughout “SCARS”, from a tearful phone call to his dad, to his reaction when he learns the fate of his lost love. Although J.B. doesn’t want to sound pretentious calling himself an artist, I would label him as one.
My favorite scene from SCARS is the reaction of J.B. when the car he “acquired” runs out of gas – just classic. A bit of levity in a serious movie, is always welcome.
The only critique I have for “SCARS” is the desire to see how the relationship between the main character and his wife developed. I felt that more time could have been spent on the early stages of their relationship. With that being said, the overall tone and direction of the movie is not compromised.
I’ve intentionally left out a serious description of “SCARS” on purpose. Hopefully your interest is piqued and you will want to watch it. Spend an hour and give a serious look at “SCARS”. Does it have the top-of-the-line editing, or million-dollar cameras, or Oscar-worthy acting? No. But what it does have is one man’s soul on display. His heart and personal anguish is exposed to the world. To me, this is more worthy of my attention that spending $30 to go to the movies.
Q: Anything else you would like to say about “SCARS”?
A: I have a great appreciation for everyone that was involved, the cast and all the amazing artists that allowed me to use their music. This is a film I want the world to see. I believe anyone that has suffered from the grief that only betrayal can bring will be moved by this film.
Content: Rated-R. With adult themes, violence, and adult language
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-vPVxwogog
