Ms. Films DIY to Film & Video, Third Edition

After graduating from film school, I looked for books that would offer me something that film school didn't, and to be honest that wasn't asking for much. I've used a couple books to inspire me and even though in recent months, I haven't been as interested in filmmaking, I am always interested in cinema studies. What Film School Doesn't Teach You: 161 Strategies For Making Your Own Movies No Matter What by Camille Lanau and Taire White and The Declaration of Independent Filmmaking by Mark and Michael Polish with Jonathan Sheldon are guides to inspire the frustrated amateur filmmaker, aiming to piece together why it's so hard to get to started, and why it's really up to you to get down and dirty: to experiment, to educate yourself, and to ultimately make the film yourself. When I was looking for materials after college to fuel my filmmaking blood, I should have looked into the world of zine-making. 

Ms. Films DIY Guide to Film and Video is a guide focused on helping her figure out where to start, how to write film, and how to make it. From how to get ready and how to tell when you're ready. It's definitely a small guidebook, but it's a starter; to get her going and to inspire her to be her own resource. 

Ms. Films is a non-profit working to empower girls and women who long to be make film and Ms. Films anthologizes articles in this guide to help her get there.  The articles published in this zine cover cameraless filmmaking to screenwriting. It's a guide that supports the girl or woman who wants to start her own film festival and illustrates how to organize the fest. It also pushes her to collaborate and to gain access to the terminology that makes cinema easier to understand. 

Filmmaking is something that has always fascinated me. Ms. Films film and video guide offered me the chance to get back into thinking about film, reminding me that filmmaking is not a solo journey; that it can be fun and that it truly comes down to her - the one with the camera and the idea. Ms. Films has been around for the last five years to help facilitate that. Good job!

Rabbit, Run

This was the first time I'd ever read a John Updike book.  Unquestionably, he was a talented writer, whose knack for descriptive, poetic prose is echoed in writers like Don Delillo.  There were several passages in Rabbit, Run that I thought were great, especially near the beginning.  As the novel wears on though, the novel gets bogged down by a lackluster plot and its supremely self-centered protagonist, Rabbit Angstrom.

Rabbit is in his late twenties, unhappily married with one child and another on the way.  His solution to his problem is to leave his wife on a whim and drive off with no real plan.  Throughout the book, Rabbit acts in the same impulsive manner, reversing himself several times to whatever is convenient in the moment, with little to no regard on how his actions affect others. The novel even winds up with a ludicrous climax that recalls the hoary urban legend about the baby sitter on acid unwittingly putting the baby in the oven. The novel almost works as a black comedy, because Rabbit is such a pathetic, foolish character.  

The problem I had with the book is that I got the feeling that Updike doesn't think that Rabbit is a loser, and in fact even wants the reader to root for Rabbit.  In a way, Rabbit, like many of the Updike's protagonists, is a stand-in for the author himself, who can be as self-centered as Rabbit is (For more on this, I would suggest reading David Foster Wallace's excellent essay on Updike titled "Certainly the End of Something or Other").   Maybe that's the reason why I hadn't read Updike before:  while is writing is talented, his male-centered, narcissistic values are decidedly dated.  Ultimately, what Rabbit is running from isn't his family or his responsiblities, but the 20th century itself.