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Monday, July 07, 2008

Morgan Spurlock Lives on Navajo Land for '30 Days' Show


Associated Press
      FARMINGTON — Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock lived without running water or electricity during the 30 days he spent with a family on the Navajo reservation.
    "It's like America's dirty little secret," he said. "There's a lot of things people don't know about, and the reservation is like a Third World country."
    Spurlock stayed with the family of Deborah and Karl Dennison in a hogan — a traditional Navajo home — in Tohatchi for an episode of the FX series "30 Days."
    The series is intended open a window into someone else's life and share it, he said.
    "It's to take people on this journey, to walk a mile in someone else's shoes, while promoting an idea of tolerance," said Spurlock, best known for his 2004 documentary "Super Size Me."
    He told The Daily Times of Farmington that he hopes the episode will help people understand life on the reservation and to respect a culture that he learned to love.
    Spurlock said he did not expect to be awakened at 5 a.m. daily to jog across the desert as he and Karl Dennison, a physical education teacher, tried to race the rising sun.
    Spurlock said he continues the morning runs, which free him up to focus on his intentions for the day. "I don't beat the sun, but I'm pretty close," he said.
    Spurlock said he participated in a Coyote Ceremony, spending hours in a sweat lodge, which is supposed to cleanse the body, mind and soul.
    He said he faced and was able to release some difficult memories from his past.
    "It was one of those things that I'm glad I did it by myself. Things happened to me that I cannot explain," Spurlock said. "It really did purge my system. When I was done, I felt raw. I went away, sat in the desert and watched the sunset."

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