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ACF Critic Series #20: Interviewing Titus
Here’s a strange new podcast–our own @FlaggTaylor interviewed me for a change. He got me to spill the beans about the American Cinema Foundation, its past and its projects now that I run it. Also, how I learned about American cinema in post-Communist Eastern Europe, how I became a film critic, how I became a writer for American audiences, and assorted other matters about our podcasts, college lecturing, and educational ideas. Listen and share, friends!
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Published in Podcasts
Yeah, I always wondered about that! ;-)
Morning Titus and Flagg,
Mary want to know when the clean shaven Titus will return? I want to know the address of American Cinema Foundation, if one wanted to send money. Of course it was a delightful conversation.
As usual, a most informative discussion.
Thanks, kindly!
I dunno, Jim. Maybe when it warms up outside…
This is kind & bucks me up. I’ll let you know. Just yet, we’re not asking for people’s money. First, making sure what we have to offer is worthwhile & enduring. As our successes accrue, we’ll feel confident about asking people to make this a going concern.
I don’t know if I want to watch movies better than I do now. I’m not sure that I want to see farther inside than I do already. I’ll tell you what I mean.
After thirty-plus years of writing software, when I look at this web page I’m typing into, I see every single thing that goes into making it work. I know what’s behind every link, what is done when each button is clicked. I can describe for you in detail the database tables and linkages required to support each and every thing being done on the page. That’s because it’s my area of expertise.
I think you see movies the way I see this web page. I think I asked you once, or I meant to, whether you can just watch a movie and enjoy it, accepting it on its own terms and not analyzing it. I really want to hear a story, just like I did in kindergarten when it was story time. And when it’s over, I want to think… that was a good story.
If I saw it as deeply as the web page, could I still simply enjoy watching it?
Yes, it’s possible. I do it all the time. The better the movie-maker, the more stuff he has to say to people who are interested & able to learn. Movies that are better than good stories almost always are also good stories; they just have more going for them. Having fun & being taken in by storytelling, I think, are permanent features of human nature. If storytelling is meant to do more than tickle, it’s meant also to educate. But the point about storytelling not coming with an expiration date–unlike tech–is that human nature really is permanent. We’ll never be smart enough to look down on ourselves for our barbaric pleasures, since we’ll always carry that with us.
One assumes that if you know more about music, you get more pleasure out of it & some learning; that if you have martial art expertise, it is more pleasant to practice, but also just to see. Things make sense more; that’s inherently pleasing, just as when a child figures out something & goes, Now I see! We are naturally interested in learning…
Titus’ facial hair is awesome. He has fans…
Enjoying this, gentlemen, and looking forward to listening to the rest… after I get back from Thomas Edison’s Florida estate where we’ll watch some of the first movies ever made… (the Toad clan is visiting grandparents in Fla.)
Happy travels! Porter–he was one of the more famous directors back in the New York days of movie-making. He worked for Edison…
Thanks for the kind words, MT!