Blind and Battered

With no father and a mother who was a sex worker and doing drugs, Mac Wayne didn't grow up easy. In fact, he ended up shooting himself, which he survived, but was rendered blind. This struggle against adversity is absolutely engrossing. Documentary storytelling at its finest. Highly recommend!

Blind and Battered: The Story Of A Blind Kingpin is a no-frills, hard-hitting documentary done the right way by a production team that clearly knows storytelling. It doesn't hurt that at the center of this tale is a truly compelling, singular character born into adverse circumstances made even more complicated by his responses to them.

Mac Wayne, we learn, was born to a mother who was a sex worker at the time. His father wasn't known to him, and never will be. It goes without saying that we expect the nearly impossible from kids when they're born into a socially and economically crippling situation, yet they're expected to find their own way out while avoiding all the usual traps. Wayne's putting flour and sugar in plastic packets and carrying his mom's gun by age nine; as a teen, he fully loses his sight when he puts a gun to his head - not in a suicide attempt, but as a perverse, frightened, animalistic response to feeling imminently threatened. He comes out of the ordeal blind, and a transformation begins: Over time, his loss of his sense of sight drives the sharpening of his other senses...most notably his business sense.

Ultimately, this isn't just the story of a blind drug dealer and pimp. Like the best documentaries, it goes beyond its own plot points to reveal a very big, almost transcendent personality; a smart, cagey young man touted as both a good human and as a live wire by those who know him best. It's a combination of traits to which many can be drawn, and you can hear that's the case in the admiration they show for him as they're recounting his exploits. It's also about someone very nearly strong enough to find his way out of a impossible situation, only to fall short when lured back by their risks and rewards. Money, respect, a sense of pride in being good at one's work, and no doubt a dark sense of thrill-seeking are all powerful intoxicants, and we can feel their hold on a candid and philosophical Mac Wayne as he's interviewed.

Wayne is apparently still alive somewhere in the world, and can keep his story going. For now, Blind and Battered introduces us to his unique personality, and tells what we hope are his life's early chapters amazingly well.

Glorified because he's blind. He is a lowlife drug dealer surrounded by gangsters and worn down prostitutes.

His "clients" and friends talk about what a good person he is, it seems they are a bunch of liars and will say anything to be on camera. Even a DJ at the local radio station raved about his talent- the fact is he's terrible!

I AM puzzled as to why a judge would sugarcoat this career criminal's deeds? Maybe he felt sorry for him because he's blind? I don't get it.

This "documentary" shows how a morally corrupt, no talent, wannabe kingpin is just another bully. The filmmaker doesn't present any opposing viewpoints (such as the police).

He doesn't care about his community and will do anything for a buck- even armed robbery and chopping off a girl's hair during the robbery isn't off limits for this creep.

He needs to be in prison without his entourage around him and then MAYBE, just maybe he will turn his life around.

I was fascinated by this story and the "character" of Mac Wayne and the people in his life. It's the story of a man who aspires to great things despite his disabilities with the dark twist that his disability is a self-inflicted gun shot wound and his aspirations are to be a great criminal. It's funny at times, moving at others and sometimes even a bit disturbing. It's interesting to see the similarities and differences between a real-life kingpin and the kind you see in the movies. Definitely worth a watch.

This documentary is raw and unfiltered and addresses the real life challenge of a young boy and man neglected and brought up in a criminal environment. It reveals why someone who only has known this kind of lifestyle takes so much stock in how much he can accomplish in the criminal world he occupies, even though he is blind from a self inflicted gunshot wound. He tries that much harder. It's hard to take at time, you are sympathetic towards Wayne and get to take an inside look at a real life kingpin and what they involves. It's a fascinating look into that world and one you should experience by watching this informative doc.