The Power of Interaction in Agent of Connection
Agent of Connection is a documentary short that explores the power of human interaction through one Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) employee, William Cromartie.
William Cromartie works the BART ticket booth, greeting every commuter that comes through the turnstile. The film opens with him interacting with each person as they head to work—each vignette is unique and genuine. Cromartie says he feels he was born to do his job. Cromartie discusses his childhood, during which he felt extremely isolated due to his speech impediment; he compares it to being an observer of life, like being trapped in a box. He realizes part of his imprisonment was with his consent, hence his decision to live the rest of his life differently. He explains that he has been working at BART for 20 years, a job to which he commutes two hours each way—however, it doesn't seem to bother him because he gets so much joy out of the social connections he makes each day. …show more content…
Though each moment is short, there is a clear, powerful response from each person on the receiving end. They smile, almost seeming to light up from the inside and become more open and willing to reciprocate his warmth. Cromartie describes his behavior as occupying some else's "space" for a moment to learn about their world. He treats each person as an individual with a rich life behind their commuter façade rather than another anonymous face in the crowd. He shows the same is true of himself—though many would assume to know many of his attributes and identifiers simply because of his occupation, Cromartie is actually a graduate of Berkeley and had his own business for a time. His own identity and his behavior towards others reveal the importance of recognizing everyone's internal complexity. The power of empathy is prominently
Agent of Connection is a documentary short that explores the power of human interaction through one Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) employee, William Cromartie.
William Cromartie works the BART ticket booth, greeting every commuter that comes through the turnstile. The film opens with him interacting with each person as they head to work—each vignette is unique and genuine. Cromartie says he feels he was born to do his job. Cromartie discusses his childhood, during which he felt extremely isolated due to his speech impediment; he compares it to being an observer of life, like being trapped in a box. He realizes part of his imprisonment was with his consent, hence his decision to live the rest of his life differently. He explains that he has been working at BART for 20 years, a job to which he commutes two hours each way—however, it doesn't seem to bother him because he gets so much joy out of the social connections he makes each day. …show more content…
Though each moment is short, there is a clear, powerful response from each person on the receiving end. They smile, almost seeming to light up from the inside and become more open and willing to reciprocate his warmth. Cromartie describes his behavior as occupying some else's "space" for a moment to learn about their world. He treats each person as an individual with a rich life behind their commuter façade rather than another anonymous face in the crowd. He shows the same is true of himself—though many would assume to know many of his attributes and identifiers simply because of his occupation, Cromartie is actually a graduate of Berkeley and had his own business for a time. His own identity and his behavior towards others reveal the importance of recognizing everyone's internal complexity. The power of empathy is prominently