Jason Popow, as with Mike Krumlauf, is receiving his Barclay Award for an anthology, that is, a collection of videos all connected by a single subject. Also like Krumlauf, his videos are a memoir of his life — the life of a professional truck driver. However, unlike Krumlauf, Jason has yet to actually hold his award in his hands. This is because of what he does for a living he has yet had a chance to pick up his award.
We also interviewed Jason for a podcast and wrote an article about him, so what can we say about Jason that we have yet to say. Well, for starters, the fact that he has been unable to pick up his award says volumes about the kind of life this man leads. As he said in his podcast interview, he has missed so much of what we all consider a normal life. Being on the road as much as he is means he misses out on all the “normal” things. Something as normal as getting a package in the mail.
As I said in my article about him, he is living his best life unapologetically. At 44 he has been driving professionally at 18. There is a certain type of fortitude necessary to do what does. He defies stereotypes. Along with a sense of humor and a sharp wit, his work has given him a sense of connection few have: a sense developed because of his lack of connections. As contrary as this sounds, this is important when you are rarely at a place you can call home.
Jason has traveled to all but four states. His travels have helped him develope a love of the United States. As a Canadian he is able to appreciate things about this country many Americans take for granted. He says the freedoms we enjoy is one of these things: the freedom to do, and the freedom from. In his music videos he puts us in the driver’s seat. When we drive with him we understand more about these freedoms, and more about him and his motivations. We are in modern America and the highways are the life blood of the country and the source of that freedom.
In his video to “Something To Prove” by Will Buck, he touches on a feeling many have — a conflict about our expectations in life, and the haunting feeling we get as we work toward them: it’s about wanting something and what it takes to get it. The end of the video has a voice over talking about the difference between being nice and being a good person. A lesson many need to learn about life. Jason has learned it by traveling around this country. Many of his videos have music referring to the devil. Is this Jason’s way of working off some sin, or is it more like purgatory, where he is pushing a rock up a hill only to have it fall back down, time and again.
In his brilliant video to “One Horse Town” by Blackberry Smoke, he hits on a common feeling many have when they decide to leave home for the first time. We see the conflicts we all have between what we want for our future, and loyalty to family. And, as always, he ends up showing us the future he chose.
Since I first started following Jason and his Waste Of Time Productions, my many news and video feeds have been inundated with other truck driving videos and stories. (Those damned algorithms.) But, as I look through them, I still find Jason and his videos to be unique. The reason for this is because they are very personal to him and his life story. He details his reasons for doing what he does, and, his reason for living his life the way he does. At his age he has nothing to apologize for. Of course there are regrets. Who can go through life and not have regrets. He is, after all, only human.
What makes his videos successful is he touches a nerve with his audience. He is the “everyman.” He knows how to connect with people. As a professional truck driver, he is always on the road, barely able to have friendly conversations because he is forever looking for his next highway exit, he understands what makes people human. This is why he is so modest and humble. During our interview for the podcast he admitted how difficult it was for him to sit and talk about himself. Still, we were fascinated by what he had to say; how easy it was to laugh with him and be amazed at his stories.
Again, it is for his entire collection of music videos that we honored him with the Barclay Award. As with Mike Krumlauf, it was not possible for us to pick just one of his music videos. Each of his Jason’s videos reflect a part of his life. Pulling one out only shows a tiny piece of the puzzle. Jason shows all of us how complex and diverse, his, and our lives are.
This is one thing that he and Mike Krumlauf share, they have both shown us a life using the music video as a vehicle — a life full of change, challenges, loves, and hopes. How could we single out just one of their videos when each life is made up of all of these events. What they have accomplished with their music videos is to let us all watch and see ourselves.
This is what makes their music videos unique — and why we awarded them the Barclay Award.
