I hadn't read the interview before class, but McElwee brings up a lot of points that coincide with our discussion today.
One particular quote that stood out to me was this one: "And, you know, one possible way in which filmmaking can be quite different from the solitary confinement of writing—as you describe it—is that it involves crews of people working together. But of course, that’s not how I work. So in that sense, my enterprise is still a somewhat solitary one." It's interesting the way that McElwee considers writing in relation to filmmaking. Like we talked about in class, Sherman's March to the Sea *is* insular. Though he supposes he will film a documentary, he really takes the viewer down his path of self-exploration as he wrestles with his own identity. Like we've seen in the autobiographies we've read in class, the genre is, in a way, insular. I particularly thought of _Black Boy_. In a way, though Wright is pushing an anti-segregationist agenda there, the modern reader understands that there's no way she can completely understand what has happened in Wright's life.
This feeds into another comment of McElwee's. When asked about therapy, McElwee responds, "Well, there’s the answer. I think the reason that I haven’t done more of it is because the films provide me a way to therapeutically approach problems and disturbing things that I see in the world and in my own life." This feeds back into our earlier discussions of autobiography as an exploration of trauma. McElwee understands his own films as an exploration of his identity and an investigation of his own issues. Instead of therapy on the page, McElwee indulges in therapy on film.
I just thought it was interesting, after our discussion about how film allows for different modes of autobiographical exploration, that the interview would make so many links between film and text.
I hadn't read the interview before class, but McElwee brings up a lot of points that coincide with our discussion today.
ReplyDeleteOne particular quote that stood out to me was this one: "And, you know, one possible way in which filmmaking can be quite different from the solitary confinement of writing—as you describe it—is that it involves crews of people working together. But of course, that’s not how I work. So in that sense, my enterprise is still a somewhat solitary one." It's interesting the way that McElwee considers writing in relation to filmmaking. Like we talked about in class, Sherman's March to the Sea *is* insular. Though he supposes he will film a documentary, he really takes the viewer down his path of self-exploration as he wrestles with his own identity. Like we've seen in the autobiographies we've read in class, the genre is, in a way, insular. I particularly thought of _Black Boy_. In a way, though Wright is pushing an anti-segregationist agenda there, the modern reader understands that there's no way she can completely understand what has happened in Wright's life.
This feeds into another comment of McElwee's. When asked about therapy, McElwee responds, "Well, there’s the answer. I think the reason that I haven’t done more of it is because the films provide me a way to therapeutically approach problems and disturbing things that I see in the world and in my own life." This feeds back into our earlier discussions of autobiography as an exploration of trauma. McElwee understands his own films as an exploration of his identity and an investigation of his own issues. Instead of therapy on the page, McElwee indulges in therapy on film.
I just thought it was interesting, after our discussion about how film allows for different modes of autobiographical exploration, that the interview would make so many links between film and text.