WW. Treatment

Treatment

Brianna Okamoto

Walker World

8.27.15

Driving deep into the woods of Castle Hayne, NC passing by abandoned

hearses, mosaic murals and pianos hanging out of tree houses - a nervous feeling of

unfamiliarity seeps in as the woods consume you.  Don’t turn back yet, things are

just beginning to get weird.  Sit back and hold on to your seat because you are

entering another world, a Walker World.

Allen Walker, the man, the myth, the hippie-renegade who opens his door

with a hoot and holler and welcomes you into his home.  "Home" is hardly a good

word to describe the eclectic artist retreat he lives in.

   Our story begins in 1999 at the age of 22 when a young buck drops out of

ECU to buy a log cabin in the woods.  In pursuit of self-expression and freedom, he

begins adulthood away from the world and its traditional values.  Taking a cue from

his father, he holds a sledgehammer in one hand and a beer in the other, and the

walls start coming down.  Disregarding building codes and regulations he rebuilds

the cabin, opening it to the natural beauty of the outside world.  Walker is no

amateur, though; his part time jobs revolved around farming and building. When it

comes to building his dream home, he uses 100% reclaimed material.  Pulling from

garbage and donated materials, he builds a space that is his own and unlike anything

money could buy.

His home is now a playground for all to come and create, build and explore a

side of themselves that is usually not tapped into.  His playground is open to all, and

all come.  Visitors flock from around the world to get a chance to live the Walker

World lifestyle.

This documentary channels the spirit of Walker and gives the viewer a

chance to reimagine their life and spark a fire of creativity.  While painting a

balanced and realistic image of Walker, we explore how his individualistic lifestyle

has affected him and his family in both good and bad ways.  Once married—now

divorced, his family is split and children stay with him on the weekends.   The three

youngsters say the only rule their dad has for them is, “Don’t die.”  Living like a

modern Jay Gatsby, he finds happiness in company with others.  Can so much

emphasis on individuality and freedom displace the values a relationship needs to

succeed, and can all the parties and friendships in the world make up for the family

life he once had? This documentary will let the viewer decide by jumping into

Walker's World and watching him in action.  Following him deep into his existence

we will see Walker in many settings, diving into his heart to see what really caused

him to seek the attention and affectionately pull strangers from the outside into his

alternate reality.

investigation. WW

    When beginning to conduct my research on walker world the first source I went to was Allen Walker himself. In June 2015 I got his number from mutual friends and called him up and asked if I could come by to meet him.  I had heard numerous stories of this artist retreat hidden in the woods and had to see it for myself.  His out pour of excitement surprised me and he hastily welcomed me to come over the following night.   

 Since June, I have spent numerous days with Walker getting to know his story and life.  My research has been from our person conversations together and listening to his life stories for hours.  Besides our time together I have spent many nights talking to his oldest friends and family interviewing them about walker and his impact on him.  His family tells stories of a wild child with an ambition to roam.   

     His life was recently featured in Salt Magazine.  That interviewer did a brief overview of his life focusing on the look of his home.  This write up gave me some factual information about his childhood.  They are not nearly as personal as the stories I have heard though.   I want this documentary to go much deeper into Walkers psychological perspective on his life and find out what has sculpted him into the person he is.

     Talking to his children and preparing to interview them is another deeper research path I will take.  His three children are just as outspoken and full of love and life as he is.  However, they hold a very mature perspective of their father and notice all the fun and shocking moments his life has presented.  They have been crucial in providing me with a deeper inside perspective on his persona as a father.  It seems that their is a lack of separation between walker the father and walker the entertainer. 

     I want to highlight the realistic sides of his life and the beautiful moments he shares with his family while refusing to place shadows on his life, he is an open book.