Stuttering is seldom talked about. At best it is avoided; at worst it is looked down upon. Media has shed a negative light on those with speech impediments, like when Adam Sandler made fun of a student with a stutter in “Billy Madison” with the famous line, “T-t-t-t-today Junior!” According to the Stuttering Foundation, more than 3 million Americans are affected by stuttering and senior film major Morgan Lott is one of them. However, Lott decided that he would no longer suffer; he would embrace his speech impediment. “Thisisstuttering” is the product of that decision.
LOTT CHOOSES TO TELL HIS OWN STORY
“Thisisstuttering” is Lott’s senior thesis film project, but it started off as a series of video journals he was making for speech therapy. The film is a compilation of video diaries, hidden camera work, interviews and an all-around observation of Lott’s life.
After he had collected hours and hours of footage, he realized that this was bigger than just therapy — it was going to be his senior thesis, and it was going to influence people. This documentary-style film follows Lott’s life as he tries to implement speech therapy, but also as he comes to the realization that stuttering is not something that is going to go away. It is something that he is going to struggle with for the rest of his life, and he is okay with that. In his eyes, stuttering is something that God gave him to accomplish a bigger purpose, even if that may not be obvious to him right now.
“Hopefully when somebody watches this they see part of themselves in this,” Lott said. “It’s not just a stutter; it’s a problem, and we all have problems. It’s important to really come to a realization of what that problem is and how to go forward and … take the necessary steps to come to terms with our issues.”
PREMIERE DRAWS DIVERSE AUDIENCE
The approximately 300 people who attended the premiere on Thursday night took Lott’s film and its message to heart. The crowd contained an assortment of film majors, communication disorder majors, Lott’s friends, family and even fellow stutterers. Looking around the room, there were more than a few people whose eyes were welling up as they watched Lott battle this impediment and the inner turmoil that came with it. His stuttering has affected many people, one of whom is his own sister, Melanie.
Melanie is a junior, majoring in communication disorders. While she said she did not pursue communication disorders solely because of her brother, when she was choosing a major, she found herself curious about the topic because of him. Morgan Lott’s story inspired people by appealing to their emotions as well as their intellect, while simultaneously calling attention to a silent issue. “Thisisstuttering” is important because it is a thread in the fabric of a bigger, ongoing story.
"IT'S GOING TO BE A WILD RIDE"
“God’s got big plans for this,” Lott said. “In some sense, if this is just for me and my own therapy and coming to terms with it … then that’s great and that’s a big deal. If this is for a wider audience, so be it. I don’t know what God’s got in store, but I’m buckling up because it’s going to be a wild ride.”
The next step for the film and its production crew is to send it out to film festivals so that it may have an even wider influence. Lott cannot release the video online for the broader audience because of its film festival potential, he said, but he can share the video with anyone who is willing to watch, if they want to email him.
