Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Autobiographical Mode
At the risk of becoming self-indulgent, I decided to work within the autobiographical mode for this documentary mode activity. For this activity, I decided to talk about some difficult things that I have been grappling with lately. "Baring oneself to a public is at the heart of the autobiographical mode. The emotional and personal life experiences of the producer become the documented reality" (Fox, 41). For this project, I was especially inspired by the Center for Digital Storytelling, Story Corps, and the episode of This American Life that was filled with 20 short stories. I wanted to tell a story that was personal to me in a very short amount of time. From the examples that we viewed in class, I was especially inspired by the stories that shared things that were not incredibly expansive or intense, but that were just small, and personal stories.
I do not know if I was successful in this, but the goal was to have "the example of the self as a means of accessing political and historical questions of larger social relevance. At its best, the autobiographical mode not only closes the gap between the photographer and subject but also the space between the filmmaker and audience"(Fox, 41). I think that the thing that was the most touching about the examples that we saw in class was the way that the personal stories that people have experienced connected and spoke to the people who were viewing them. I did not want my story to come across as so idiosyncratic that no one would be able to relate to the things that I was saying. However, keeping this in mind, I wanted my story to still be personalized and mine. In addition to this, I wanted to focus on audio for this piece, with video merely acting as a supporter. I wanted this project to literally be in my own voice.
I think that the biggest thing that I have learned from the autobiographical mode is that everyone wants to have their story heard, or at least someone who cares about the story that is being told. The digital age has made it 100 times easier for people to have their stories heard. For hundreds of years, people have been keeping records and journals so that people in another time will know what their life was like, but now it is so much easier. Individuals can upload their video log, or blog in seconds, and their is no limitation to what is shared online. All of us just want to be heard. The desire to be understood, appreciated, and listened to is nearly universal.
I do not know if I was successful in this, but the goal was to have "the example of the self as a means of accessing political and historical questions of larger social relevance. At its best, the autobiographical mode not only closes the gap between the photographer and subject but also the space between the filmmaker and audience"(Fox, 41). I think that the thing that was the most touching about the examples that we saw in class was the way that the personal stories that people have experienced connected and spoke to the people who were viewing them. I did not want my story to come across as so idiosyncratic that no one would be able to relate to the things that I was saying. However, keeping this in mind, I wanted my story to still be personalized and mine. In addition to this, I wanted to focus on audio for this piece, with video merely acting as a supporter. I wanted this project to literally be in my own voice.
I think that the biggest thing that I have learned from the autobiographical mode is that everyone wants to have their story heard, or at least someone who cares about the story that is being told. The digital age has made it 100 times easier for people to have their stories heard. For hundreds of years, people have been keeping records and journals so that people in another time will know what their life was like, but now it is so much easier. Individuals can upload their video log, or blog in seconds, and their is no limitation to what is shared online. All of us just want to be heard. The desire to be understood, appreciated, and listened to is nearly universal.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Essay Mode and Sherman's March
On Thursday, we discussed the way that the chapter structure of The Hour of the Furnaces is a limitation on the truly active form that the essay mode typically takes. We discussed the way that breaking up the topic by chapters keeps the documentary from flowing from one idea to another freely. I was very confused by this idea, until we watched Sherman's March. However, after watching this film, I think that I am beginning to understand this concept. I appreciated in Sherman's March the way that Ross McElwee flowed from one concept to another in a way that felt really natural. He would be talking about a woman, and then would suddenly be talking about an aspect of Sherman's March across the South. He moved from woman to woman, and between discussions of various topics in a way that was illuminating to the topic at hand, and that did not feel incredibly contrived or purposeful. It just felt like he was talking to us, and that we accompanied Ross McElwee on a journey.
There is a quote from the reading that really resonated with me, in relation to the way that Sherman's March is structured. "This mode is an active one, in which a proposed idea or question is tested by a range of means and intersecting lines of argument. One stab may lead to a tangentially related concept, personal anecdote, or new approach, providing a serpentine, unexpected, and present tense realness to the journey. Quite often, an essay does not arrive at a finite conclusion, yet the ideas discovered during the process may reshape and reinform the initial query in unforseen ways" (Fox, 44). In the journey that Ross McElwee took us on, many of the various pieces came from tangents. For example, the parts of this documentary that dealt with the state of McElwee's automobile were all tangential to the true topic that was being discussed. Actually, everything in this film that was not specifically discussing Sherman, and his actual, historical march was tangential to the original topic at hand. This film was one long, fantastic tangent.
Just like the reading says, I don't think that we really ended at a finite conclusion at the end of this documentary. Of course, we did end up at the end of Sherman's historical march, and at the physical end of Ross McElwee's journey. However, I do not think that there was much resolution at all in the state of McElwee's love live or of his feelings on love in general. I think that this was not purposeful, and that it just ended up happening, and that it just happened to be a hallmark of essay mode. Even though the entirety of McElwee's personal journey was tangential to Sherman's March, it was apparent that both topics were able to inform the same theme in a way that I had never before considered.
There is a quote from the reading that really resonated with me, in relation to the way that Sherman's March is structured. "This mode is an active one, in which a proposed idea or question is tested by a range of means and intersecting lines of argument. One stab may lead to a tangentially related concept, personal anecdote, or new approach, providing a serpentine, unexpected, and present tense realness to the journey. Quite often, an essay does not arrive at a finite conclusion, yet the ideas discovered during the process may reshape and reinform the initial query in unforseen ways" (Fox, 44). In the journey that Ross McElwee took us on, many of the various pieces came from tangents. For example, the parts of this documentary that dealt with the state of McElwee's automobile were all tangential to the true topic that was being discussed. Actually, everything in this film that was not specifically discussing Sherman, and his actual, historical march was tangential to the original topic at hand. This film was one long, fantastic tangent.
Just like the reading says, I don't think that we really ended at a finite conclusion at the end of this documentary. Of course, we did end up at the end of Sherman's historical march, and at the physical end of Ross McElwee's journey. However, I do not think that there was much resolution at all in the state of McElwee's love live or of his feelings on love in general. I think that this was not purposeful, and that it just ended up happening, and that it just happened to be a hallmark of essay mode. Even though the entirety of McElwee's personal journey was tangential to Sherman's March, it was apparent that both topics were able to inform the same theme in a way that I had never before considered.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Humans of New York Favorites
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/43835301885/when-my-husband-was-dying-i-said-moe-how-am-i
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/40849479658/he-got-me-through-a-tough-time
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/86834845691/i-looked-different-before-the-cancer
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/86364992071/my-dad-died-in-9-11-they-opened-up-the-museum-to
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/86216521361/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice-to-a-large
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/87102548646/i-tend-to-be-cynical-about-a-lot-of-things-but
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/87594084051/i-prefer-maritime-laws-over-laws-on-land
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/85758327681/therapy-seems-to-be-going-well-dad-said-i-love
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/85485554951/im-telling-you-prayer-works-whats-a-time
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/85131871541/saddest-moment-how-am-i-supposed-to-choose
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/84098900032/it-is-my-belief-that-god-created-one-earth-and
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/83336360695/i-have-a-neck-injury-so-i-had-to-tone-it-down
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/82289456926/for-the-longest-time-i-was-so-focused-on-being
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/81926253794/mom-said-tell-him-something-that-makes-you
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Autobiographical Mode Response
There were several different moments in the past several days that I was very touched by the tenacity and strength of autobiographical documentaries. I think that there is just something so beautiful about the power that a single person's story can have. I also think that there is something really beautiful, and
almost of an ancient tradition to listen and learn from what other people have to say. Traditionally, history was passed through the stories of individuals, and I think that this tradition continues today was we share our own stories and our own experiences.
I also think that this type of documentary is a testament to the oneness of human life. In the short films that we watched today, people from all over the world, of all races, genders, backgrounds, and sexual orientations shared their stories. Many of these people are people that I would have never thought I would have anything in common with, at least initially. There was nothing from the outset that should have connected me to these individuals. However, once they began to tell their stories, I found that I could relate in some way to nearly every single video that was shown. "When successful, the example of the self is a means of accessing political and historical questions of larger social relevance. At its best, the autobiographical mode not only closes the gap between photographer and subject but also the space between filmmaker and audience" (Fox, 31). I think that people are more similar than we would ever expect them to be. In the end, we are all just people, despite the minor differences that may be between us. This reminded me of a class I once took, where we had to argue whether humans across cultures are more alike or more different. The point of that class was to realize that we are all just human, and we often have the same needs, desires, and wants as the people around us, as well as people who are thousands of miles from where we are at. Although I knew this in theory, it was touching to understand this concept in a way that hit very close to home, and in the process of connecting with these stories of people that I did not know.
Another thing that I have found interesting this week, was one moment from the film Nobody's Business. In this film, it was the moment when Alan Berliner asks his father about his feelings on the Holocaust. Although he did sound sad, and expressed sorrow over the loss of so many Jews, he did not seem nearly as upset as I was expecting him to be. This moment simply taught me that individuals are still able to have their own reactions, which are separate from the reaction as a whole. Individuals are individuals, and they cannot be expected to act the same as the organization overall.
almost of an ancient tradition to listen and learn from what other people have to say. Traditionally, history was passed through the stories of individuals, and I think that this tradition continues today was we share our own stories and our own experiences.
I also think that this type of documentary is a testament to the oneness of human life. In the short films that we watched today, people from all over the world, of all races, genders, backgrounds, and sexual orientations shared their stories. Many of these people are people that I would have never thought I would have anything in common with, at least initially. There was nothing from the outset that should have connected me to these individuals. However, once they began to tell their stories, I found that I could relate in some way to nearly every single video that was shown. "When successful, the example of the self is a means of accessing political and historical questions of larger social relevance. At its best, the autobiographical mode not only closes the gap between photographer and subject but also the space between filmmaker and audience" (Fox, 31). I think that people are more similar than we would ever expect them to be. In the end, we are all just people, despite the minor differences that may be between us. This reminded me of a class I once took, where we had to argue whether humans across cultures are more alike or more different. The point of that class was to realize that we are all just human, and we often have the same needs, desires, and wants as the people around us, as well as people who are thousands of miles from where we are at. Although I knew this in theory, it was touching to understand this concept in a way that hit very close to home, and in the process of connecting with these stories of people that I did not know.
Another thing that I have found interesting this week, was one moment from the film Nobody's Business. In this film, it was the moment when Alan Berliner asks his father about his feelings on the Holocaust. Although he did sound sad, and expressed sorrow over the loss of so many Jews, he did not seem nearly as upset as I was expecting him to be. This moment simply taught me that individuals are still able to have their own reactions, which are separate from the reaction as a whole. Individuals are individuals, and they cannot be expected to act the same as the organization overall.
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