Every great story has a beginning – or so they say. Your story, much like the New York MTA, might be difficult to navigate, filled with twists, turns, obstacles, and delays. Even after the first few steps, you may feel lost and uncertain. So what do you do when you’re at a crossroads and the compass – okay, let’s be honest – the mobile in your pocket serves better as a paperweight than a navigational guide?
You look for answers. Sometimes, it bubbles up from the deepest fathoms of your mind. Sometimes, an Obi-wan-like master reveals, little by little, the way. Sometimes, it appears unexpectedly like that chatroom stranger showing up at your front door.
Oh, wait. That’s just me.
Look, if X-Files taught us anything it’s “the truth is out there”. I discovered, in Morgan Llywelyn’s Only the Stones Survive, my view summarized perfectly:
“There are three questions that only you can answer, but you must answer them all, in this life or another.
Who am I?
Why am I?
Where am I going?
And this above everything: have courage.”
Many elements must coalesce to make a great story, and you must have courage to pick your path and follow it through to the end. That’s what I love about filmmaking – all the hands involved to create a single story. Like a house of cards, it tumbles down with the slightest of breaths.
One of my film instructors used to tell us that it takes a lot of work to make even a bad film, and it’s true. How many of us sit down in the movie theatre, or unwrap that new DVD, or nestle in for a night of Netflix? Your nerves stand eagerly at attention like little boys armed with nerf guns. Instead, the film disappoints, sometimes, disastrously. What do you do?
You could curse the filmmakers by sticking pins in that poppet you’ve hidden away in your closet. I know you know where it is. Perhaps you’ll brood over it with a straightrazor in one hand and a bottle of Jack in the other. For the less dramatic, more reasonable lot, you could just demand a refund.
Or maybe you’ll just rant and rave like an internet troll that can’t find its hole under the bridge. It’s your poison, now choose…
Personally, and call me an optimist if you will (which is hilarously ironic for any one who knows me in real life), I try to focus on the positive aspects of any film. Clearly, some are more difficult than others, but remember that films were made by people – a lot of people.
Newsflash everybody! People make mistakes, even filmmakers. And even if they made the worst film in history and erase it from their IMDB page after the premiere, they made the film with good intent. And before you say, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”, movies are designed to entertain us. Moreover, a story needed to be told, and they had the courage to tell it. How many of us can claim such a boast?
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” –Maya Angelou
I hope you’ll join me on a journey to explore my love of films, old and new. If you have any suggestions or you’d like to share your story about films, contact me.
Thank you for checking out my blog. Stay tuned…
And remember, be good to one another, my little deviants!
The Amber Firefly 