Synopsis for The Other America

“The Other America” is centered on Ari, a homeless urban teenager.  It is a coming of age story in the context of poverty, disillusionment, and the failure of the American dream to embrace perceived outsiders.  By showing the complexity of Ari’s emotional life, and the conflicts that surround other teens close to him, “The Other America” is about the real hopes and dreams of American kids’ lives.

A budding graffiti artist, Ari secretly calls himself Shelter Boy.  At the same time that Ari is dealing with being homeless and living in a shelter, he writes to another school boy who he dubs Rural Boy.  They send instant messages to each other on the internet.  Ari discovers that Rural Boy wants to bring a gun to school, and that he too, feels isolated and ashamed of who he is.

Ari’s closest friend at school, Jackie, discovers she is attracted to Ari and wants to become closer to him.  Ari is attracted to Cassie, another girl at school who wants to become an actor.  Ari sees Cassie in an audition, and copies her telephone number from a sign up sheet.  This starts a series of events that leads to all three characters realizing they are keeping secrets from one another.