THE FAIRFIELD ENIGMA
a documentary film Directed by Quentin Wood
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WHAT IF,....?
What if, people decided to do a reverse migration? What if, young people started to get tired of the big cities and started looking for something different? What if, they gave up on the crime, pollution, commuting, and high cost of living in New York, Chicago, San Francisco,.... add name here,... and realized they could manifest their dreams in a small creative town filled with like minded creators and eccentrics?
Well, if that happened we might just repopulate these empty towns and perhaps,.... make the world more livable everywhere. After all, telecommuting has now made employment geographically flexible. You can live anywhere. Perhaps it's just a dream, but to quote a well known song: "You know I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one" John Lennon
WHY FAIRFIELD?
Fairfield is a small town in Iowa with a population of 10,000. It was home of the infamous Parson College that later went bankrupt. Luckily for Fairfield, a new prospect appeared. The Maharishi known as the Guru of the Beatles, purchased the campus and transformed it in 1974 to Maharishi International University (MIU), a school with a meditation oriented focus. A unique new culture was created in town, with the farm community and meditators learning to live together. Now they have evolved into something of an ENIGMA and that's what I'm investigating.
WHAT'S THE ENIGMA?
Enigma: "A person or place that is mysterious, puzzling or difficult to understand" Google Dictionary. I lived in Fairfield for 14 years and practiced Transcendental Meditation at MIU. About 35 years ago, I left to travel the world. I became a screenwriter in Hollywood and made a series of travel Pilgrimage documentaries on Sacred Sites in India. Now, I have returned to my spawning ground (Fairfield) only to find everything changed into a rather curious and entertaining ENIGMA.
THE DOCUMENTARY
I intend to do some investigative journalism into the fun, quirky, and strange experience which is the Fairfield community of today. I not sure where this will take me, but excited to begin by talking with the truly unique characters that define this town.
THE THREE PARTS
ONE: THE TOWN
Who lives in the Fairfield and why? What motivated them to live there and what niche have they carved out for themselves? Most of all, why are they so diverse and creative? After all, Iowa is not a destination in most peoples minds, but Fairfield people are quite different from your usual 'corn fed' Iowan. They defy the stereotype and I love that!
TWO: THE GOWN
MIU has had it's ups and downs. It's controversies and achievements. What is it today? How does it keep going when the Beatles and the Maharishi are a fading memory of the aging 60s flower children. Who are they teaching and what are they now offering? MIU was flourishing when I first came here seeking Enlightement and a community of like minded people. It was heaven on Earth,... until it wasn't. Does that dream still exist? Where is it in the scheme of things? Is it dying or is the phoenix going to rise again?
THREE: THE FUTURE
Amid the abandoned town square with it's empty shops and flower pots, there is hope. In this post apocalyptic environment, some new spaces and restaurants have popped up. Is Fairfield possibly a 'field of dreams' where you can afford to try your crazy idea and carve out your own creative future? A few millenials, from larger cities have done just that. It's a blank canvas for these visionary souls. "There is something happening here, but what it is it ain't exactly clear",.... as the song goes.
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