I seem to be traversing a creative wasteland at present. My imagination has dwindled to a lifeless flicker and, despite ample available time (we had five half-days this week), the creative impulse has turned rather stale. Perhaps Simon killed it. There was, it has to be said, very little to get excited about during that class (except the thievery of Murdo’s keys!) though I did develop a new found respect for the old ‘Attenuation’ since it is, despite any preconceptions I may have had, and beyond all sense or reason, the FIRST control to receive the Input Signal. It precedes even the Master Fader and that is honour indeed… please forgive my sarcasm; as I said, my mind is marginally and momentarily mouldy.
More therapy in Richard’s class which involved allowing our deepest darkest secrets to be read out anonymously. Although it is perhaps interesting to uncover some human debris on occasion I don’t think it is either necessary or helpful, unless as a way of letting go and forgetting. However, I am given to understand that most writers would encourage unearthing the hidden emotions and buried experiences and use these as integral sources. Andrew Davies (Novelist/Screenwriter) said:
“The most embarrassing and shameful experiences of your life; the things you can hardly bear to think about, let alone tell anyone else; your secret dreams, your darkest desires: these are your core material.”
I completely disagree. We have all performed deeds that we regret, said things that we shouldn’t have, thought or felt things that we would never reveal but this is not Truth; it is sin. Yet when writers engage with this material, use this material, wallow in it even, they produce works that, yes, contain something universally human, something everyone can relate to, something which endures… but again, people watch and are moved and can understand not because it is human truth, but because it is human nature: we are sinners, we are born into sin and we all have sinned. I’m really not trying to paint a depressing picture of humanity just for the sake of it. Often the most uplifting of films are those that contain such ruthlessly realistic representations of the evil in this life. But we must always question when it comes to that rude confession of humanity: are we wallowing in it; or are we showing the world that it is wrong.
Kim Miller made her first appearance on Wednesday afternoon, rather appropriately, in our class on Coronation Street. I admit I rather enjoyed our ‘Corrie Party’ on Monday night; not because I enjoyed watching it (I find it rather depressing actually) but because there was something so out of place about a group of young adults getting together to watch Coronation Street. It had that warm glow about it that only comes with happy get-together appointment viewing! Anyway, we discussed it in class, I tried to maintain a grasp on just who everybody was, and I got even more insight into the planning and choreography which goes into the Serial Drama.
A substantial and productive class on Thursday morning which mostly involved just watching a documentary called The Cutting Edge, which was extremely well made, very informative and even quite inspiring. I’ve always enjoyed editing (the little I’ve done) but the only problem is that I don’t like sitting down, staring at a computer for long periods of time except perhaps once in a while if necessary. Generally I’m an active sort of person who likes to be physically doing something or tangibly getting somewhere. We also briefly touched on the subject of Stars (Andy produced a big telescope and we marvelled at the beauty of the night sky) and we all had to name our favourite Star; mine being Charlie Chaplin.
So I was delighted to discover that Friday morning’s screening was City Lights (which tend to obstruct the stars actually) by the one and only Charles Chaplin. I didn’t enjoy it as much as The Kid or The Gold Rush, it didn’t seem quite as funny though it was hilarious at some parts, but perhaps that was a mixture of my mood at the time and a slight complacency on Chaplin’s part. Technically I thought it was a brilliant film with noticeably sophisticated photography and on one occasion I spotted the use of a tracking shot which was an obvious step away from Chaplin’s usual static camera style.
Abigail’s class was cancelled so that was it for this week and I was left to reflect on the apparent wasteland I’d been travelling through. Wasteland or not it seems there have been some very interesting rocks and I have a feeling that there’s an oasis not far off…
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