Blog: Occupy M.E., "Expectations"

[Andy]

Unrest, Jen Brea’s documentary about ME, will be shown on PBS stations around the United States on Monday night – January 8th. The film is already available worldwide, and is short-listed for an Oscar nomination (my review of the film is here).

This much success was truly pie-in-the-sky dreaming four years ago. The film’s Kickstarter campaign had raised more than $200,000 in thirty days, four times Jen’s original goal. But even so, the possibility that this film would be anything more than a limited release art house film was hard to imagine.

And yet . . . here we are. Jen and her team imagined it. Then they strapped on some ass-kicking boots and made it happen. No amount of applause or gratitude will ever be enough to convey the magnitude of Jen’s achievement, and the potential this film has for people with ME.

And yet . . . we should make a little room in our minds and hearts for disappointment.

http://occupyme.net/2018/01/06/expectations/

 

[ahimsa]

Great post by Jennie, as always! Thanks for posting the link, @Andy

So many achievements have already been made by Unrest film but here's the one that I would never have dreamed of in a million years:

CDC hosted a screening of Unrest and offered continuing education credit.

When that happened earlier this year it completely blew me away!
(Edit - Oops, it's a new year now! This happened in Nov. 2017 ...)

However, I think it's good to acknowledge that this film is only one step along the way. As she says,

"...there is no Watershed Moment. There are a series of moments along a path that is (hopefully) more progress than backsliding."

I have sent email to a list of friends and family to remind them about tonight's showing of Unrest on TV. This list included my father, brother and sister. I'm pretty sure all three of them have some way to record it and watch it later (e.g., a DVR) so they don't have to watch it live. But I have no idea whether any of them will watch.

They all live far away from me and we only get a chance to meet every few years. I hope that at least one of them watches but I'm not going to ask them. I'll wait for them to mention it to me. I'm trying to keep my expectations low.

On the other hand, one friend of mine, someone I have known even longer than my husband (so she knows me from my days of hiking and climbing Mt. Hood), said that she would be watching tonight. It feels nice to have a friend who cares enough to want to watch this movie.

I won't be watching tonight (11 PM is too late for me). And I already own a DVD.
(Edit - Oops again! I meant tomorrow night! My local PBS station will show it at 11 PM on Monday night. )

But I'll be recording it tonight anyway. I'm pretty sure cable/satellite companies track both viewings and recordings when measuring how popular TV shows are -- I want to add to that number.

 

[Sly Saint]

Shame they use 'Chronic Fatigue' more than once and its under Disease and Mental Health..........
but I guess only PWME might notice (?)

For those who have not seen it yet:
"Unrest will be available to stream for free starting the morning after broadcast, on this site and via the PBS app, for a couple of weeks"
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/unrest/

 

[Andy]

Shame they use 'Chronic Fatigue' more than once and its under Disease and Mental Health..........

Can't disagree with you about the use of Chronic Fatigue but "Disease and Mental Health" seems accurate - it covers a number of docs about AIDS among others.

 

[MErmaid]

I think if Unrest wins the Best Documentary Feature, it will bring on the star power required to break the stigma, raise awareness, and raise funding. Similar to what Elizabeth Taylor did for HIV, a famous person could change the course of ME.

It’s our time to shine! We have been hidden for far too long. We ALL need to come out of the dark crevices and stop worrying about what other people think. ME is the only disease I know of where people are fearful to share their diagnosis.

I have ME. Hear me ROAR.