Danny and the Scatman

"So you want to be a filmmaker?", the narrator asks, and we painfully watch as 13-year-old Danny tries to formulate an answer. When I was little, my classmates and I thought stuttering was hilarious. Who could blame us? Our only experience was with cartoon characters such as Porky Pig, or in movies where it was used to comedic effect. Later, we learned that stuttering--a condition of unknown origin that afflicts approximately 1% of the world's population--can be a socially painful condition. In this UC Berkeley student film from Peter Nicks, viewers are introduced to the parallel stories of Danny Kremer, a boy from Pittsburgh who wants to follow in the footsteps of Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni, and the late John Larkin, who struggled for years as a jazz artist until he decided to use his stuttering to his advantage as a "scatman." Focusing primarily on Danny and his experiences communicating with his family, teachers, and friends, the video also illustrates how Larkin became a very successful individual despite his disability. Both man and boy are an inspiration, and through their actions encourage others who share their disability not to limit themselves or their dreams. Appropriate for speech pathologists to share with their young patients, as well as for junior and senior high schools for a unit on tolerance, this is recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (J. Asala)