My first exposure to this movie was actually in an undergraduate course regarding special populations. My professor set away 2 days of class so that we could all watch this movie in class to learn more about Muscular Dystrophy. I understand why he chose to do that as lecture after lecture about neurological conditions is sometimes daunting, and watching a heart-warming documentary while still getting all of the educational value is the way to go.
A couple years later now, I decided to watch the film again and see if I picked up on anything new and if it was still as impactful now as it was then. Not surprisingly, I still thoroughly enjoyed this film. Darius Goes West is a documentary filmed by a young man named Darius and his friends who take a road trip to see if they can get Darius' wheelchair pimped out by "Pimp my Ride". Darius has a condition called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and gets around with his wheelchair as his muscles are slowly fading away. This condition is one that appears in early youth and begins disintegrating the muscle tissue until one becomes reliant on others for basic self needs. The film highlights both this journey and the narrative from his mother about how her older son Mario passes away at age 19 of DMD and how she admires Darius for his outlook and his ability to still enjoy the life that he has although it is evident that eventually the muscle tissue around his heart will go through degeneration. One of the things I loved most about this film is that Darius' friends treated him like they did any of their other friends. They didn't look at him any differently, they still goofed around with him and even took him out on the town and to the beach to have a good time.
Throughout the film, campaigns are mentioned as Darius aims to continue his brothers legacy and create awareness about DMD as they travel cross country. Unfortunately, pimp my ride does not fulfill his wished of having a pimped out wheelchair, but he was still able to create awareness.
I strongly recommend watching this documentary just for the positive outlook on life that Darius has, he takes it day by day.
Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoWttdXspnY
Update: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/disability-rights-activist-darius-weems-loses-battle-duchenne/story?id=42708683
A couple years later now, I decided to watch the film again and see if I picked up on anything new and if it was still as impactful now as it was then. Not surprisingly, I still thoroughly enjoyed this film. Darius Goes West is a documentary filmed by a young man named Darius and his friends who take a road trip to see if they can get Darius' wheelchair pimped out by "Pimp my Ride". Darius has a condition called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and gets around with his wheelchair as his muscles are slowly fading away. This condition is one that appears in early youth and begins disintegrating the muscle tissue until one becomes reliant on others for basic self needs. The film highlights both this journey and the narrative from his mother about how her older son Mario passes away at age 19 of DMD and how she admires Darius for his outlook and his ability to still enjoy the life that he has although it is evident that eventually the muscle tissue around his heart will go through degeneration. One of the things I loved most about this film is that Darius' friends treated him like they did any of their other friends. They didn't look at him any differently, they still goofed around with him and even took him out on the town and to the beach to have a good time.
Throughout the film, campaigns are mentioned as Darius aims to continue his brothers legacy and create awareness about DMD as they travel cross country. Unfortunately, pimp my ride does not fulfill his wished of having a pimped out wheelchair, but he was still able to create awareness.
I strongly recommend watching this documentary just for the positive outlook on life that Darius has, he takes it day by day.
Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoWttdXspnY
Update: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/disability-rights-activist-darius-weems-loses-battle-duchenne/story?id=42708683
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