I've Been Away For A While
Got some thoughts though.
When I started writing these posts, I made a personal and public commitment to writing at least one a day. Unfortunately it turns out that re-watching a movie, gathering my thoughts and emotional responses, then turning that into a coherent piece of (hopefully) entertaining and informative writing is hard. I went into this thinking, alright, re-watch some great films and then just bang out a quick reflection on the movie and what it means to me. I realized that A) these pieces of art deserve better, B) my relationship as a viewer to the film changes significantly when I attempt to truly engage through writing, and C) good writing takes time. The next piece I write will be on Terrence Malick’s 2011 masterpiece The Tree Of Life, which I’ll be screening as soon as this post goes out. Ideally I’d like to have at least a handful of paragraphs written on it by the end of the day, but it’s a challenging, expansive, free-floating, deeply sincere picture and I can already feel the struggle ahead!
I began to write here because I wanted to turn my consumption into production. Engage with art instead of just vacuum it up and check it off the list. So, in short, I began writing here primarily for myself. And hey, I thought, maybe a few people will enjoy it and sign up for my emails! Turns out, people do like it and have signed up. Even with just a small readership, the feedback I’ve received has been highly affirming, invigorating, and deeply touching. An old friend told me that my INLAND EMPIRE piece caused him to see the film in a whole new way. He went on to praise my write-up of Children Of Men, a picture he’s seen at least five times, saying that my writing allowed him to put together the socioeconomic and humanist themes which make the film so very important. I was excited to hear also that he read Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher, my personal favorite nonfiction title (and one I believe everyone should check out!), because of the excerpts I had used.
Online, one commenter on Reddit was so inspired by First Reformed (and I’d like to think by my writing as well!) that they were prompted to write a reflection of their own. I am truly humbled and incredibly happy to have helped foster this type of dialogue. I urge you to read it. It’s wonderfully written, thoughtful, and identifies a great bit of symbolism that I completely missed:
“The irony here, of course, is that as Toller stands up and asks ‘Will God forgive us for what we do this planet?’, he continues to pollute his own body, an idea conveyed precisely in a shot of an evening ‘Whiskey & Pepto Bismol’ cocktail.” - “rishter” (1/16/20)
In another thread, a comment in reply to my INLAND EMPIRE post offered their own interpretation. They stood in general agreement with my takes, but wanted to present a “slightly more focused interpretation.” What follows is a very well considered and thought provoking theses on the plot, themes, and purpose of EMPIRE. I took quite a bit away from this post, and despite some disagreements I may have with who the “real” Laura Dern character is and other plot particularities (I chose to stay away from that in my piece because of how symbolic and nebulous the whole thing is!), I do believe this other interpretation has a ton of truth in it. It made me reconsider and reassess, and also made me mad when I realized I totally omitted Axxon N. in my piece!
Alright, I’ve gone on long enough, but I had to share some thoughts I’ve had rattling around in my head for a while now. I’m happy to be in conversation with these great films through writing and I’m ecstatic that I’ve fostered interest and dialogue among my readers. It is truly a great feeling and a true source of motivation.
Thank you to all, and I hope to have my post on The Tree of Life up very shortly! I may also do a revision/expansion of my Twin Peaks: The Return post because I don’t feel I did it justice.
- Damn Fine Cup Of Coffee
Some questions about all this, interested in what you guys have to say:
How do you feel about the process of writing about films in-depth, and do you find your relationship to a movie evolves when you do so?
Is your primary motivation to write for yourself (perhaps to get your thoughts in order), or do you want to share your thoughts with others?
Do you often find that responses to your writing, either challenging or supporting your theses, cause you to reassess or change your thoughts on the film?
Why do you write about movies? What compels entire subreddits to form around thoughtful, in-depth posts and dialogue about this art form?
How do you feel online written discussion differs from in-person film discussions?
- Damn Fine Cup Of Coffee
Just wanted to say I dig the work you're doing and am glad to be a subscriber! First Reformed remains a movie that devastated me when I viewed it, and is a go-to recommendation to those who ask for movie picks, though always with the caveat that its efficacy can range from thought-provoking to day-ruining.
I find that if I go into a movie with intent to write about at-length it afterwards, it can ruin 'getting into' the film for me. Often the best writing I think I do about a movie is the writing that comes a day or two afterwards once it's had a chance to roil around my gray matter - and I do think it helps cement my feelings on it further. My Letterboxd usage evolved from 'gotta track all my movies' to an outlet for writing, whether long or short. I jokingly call it writing practice, but it does help me log key ideas I have about movies, or the larger ideas that form out of them. If other folks read them, great, if not, then they are there for me to reference when I need them.
I have found over time that my opinions on films are largely fluid - the pop-culture 'hidden gem' or 'overrated' calls that come daily now can push or pull my thoughts, as do conversations with others on film, though I tend to remain constant in my initial gut-check on a movie until I've had a chance to really re-watch it a few times. I enjoy the discourse, as if nothing else it helps me hew my sometimes fluffy thoughts on certain films or subjects to leaner forms of argument or opinion. I much prefer in-person discussion, as you are not (or rather, shouldn't) be facing as many chances to run face-first into the person who has spent ten minutes locking-and-loading a wall of text essay (not that no one ever bloviates in-person, but it's easier to interrupt, though I now have composed said wall-of-text here) or is perched to do a line-by-line dissection. Online is nice when you want to reference things, however - less lunging for my phone to take notes on recommendations when it's all documented in text.