The story of today was one of change. Well, I guess first it was really all about Amanda Gorman. Just 22 years old. And then it was about Kamala Harris and her historic set of firsts realized today. And then it was about Justice Sonia Sotomayor swearing her in, another barrier breaker (and no, not the pronunciation). And then it was about J. Lo. And then, maybe after some other stories, it was about the inauguration of President Joe Biden, and overall, it was the story of change.
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one all misty-eyed today, because that story of change is one we all need. For once, we could all breathe. It wasn’t about the Big Lie or the Big Liar. But that story isn’t going away. In fact, I would argue that the story of the next four years is going to be about a war for which story will prevail. And as we saw today, Joe can tell a story, but his story is much better told by the women on stage around him, mainly BIPOC women at that. We’re going to need them, and all of our good storytellers, to stay busy in the coming months, because the story that gets told best will be the one that prevails over the next four years.
As I said once before – we need an army. An army of storytellers who can help counter the story of what Ron Suskind calls “the pervasive ongoing insurgency.” Because as clownish as their January 6th revolution looked, they have latched onto a story, and let’s face it – against all odds, have been pretty good at dominating with their stories. Big lies work best. Until they are countered with better truths, better told.
After the inauguration today, I watched my friend David Holbrooke interview Ron Suskind for Original Thinkers, which is where I got that quote from him above. I recommend watching the entire interview. Suskind makes a few really good points that I think are worth keeping in mind for 2021. He recounts interviewing Obama in 2011, just as he had lost his Senate majority, and Obama said that as a candidate, he had his story, but as President, “I lost my narrative.” He continued to say that as President, he, Carter and Clinton got lost in policy, that they thought they could win on “arguments & evidence” but we’re up against “Story and meaning.” (I am paraphrasing here). Suskind points out that Trump was a master of the story – he just lived in the moment, becoming the story. Suskind argues that Biden needs to become the story. He needs to be the “center of an evolving story of what is and what will be.” He goes on to say that this is the heart of the future – that “stories are the flywheels of social change. Period. Period.” (emphasis mine).
He’s not telling us storytellers anything we don’t know, but it’s a good reminder of what’s at stake, and what we need going forward. And let’s face it – Joe’s gonna need some help on the storytelling front. That’s where filmmakers, and other storytellers, come in. In helping to tell the story. But we need to keep in mind Obama’s lesson – not to lose the narrative. We’re talking hearts vs. minds here. We need less of the arguments and evidence, which is what I see a lot of at film festivals and on screens, and a lot more of narrative and meaning.
Suskind makes another point worth keeping in mind, which is that we now live in participatory culture. The boundaries between creator and audience are gone, and that’s where the actor thrives. Trump lived in the moment “constantly occurring in front of you, on screen”– he became himself in real time, which was confounding to most of us, but inspiring to his audience – with whom he became one. But Trump was inauthentic – a phony through and through (something a few of his audience is waking up to), and Biden is genuine. Suskind argues that Biden can use this to his advantage, by just being more in the moment.
My argument is different. It’s that as these boundaries between creator and audience disappear, we as storytellers can help him create the narrative he needs. That co-creation of a story people can believe in will be the task of 2021, so we can live that story into our future(s).
So storytellers have quite a role to play as we move forward. And those of us who work with them, and support them, and fund them, and help them bring their stories to audiences, and help those stories spread. In fact, it’s not just a role, but an obligation.
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Join Showbizing & Film Launch for the Entertainment Industry Insider Series. In this month's panel, we'll be diving in to Film Finance and the trends we expect to see in 2021. We have a fantastic line-up of producers, executive producers and financiers with deep knowledge of the financing models of film and content creation. Info and registration here (free).
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Film
 The Best Virtual Film Fest of 2020/21 is - The Best Video Essays of 2020: Sight & Sound has its annual wrap-up on the best video essays of 2020, and to be honest - clicking through these selections was, for me, better than any film festival I attended online this year. Sure, just like a film fest, there are some clunkers and some videos that should have been shorter, but overall the art of the video essay increasingly nears that of many (mainly doc) films. They aren't cinematic - I wouldn't go see these in a movie theater - but they're great. My personal fave, which I'll be writing about more soon is The Rise of Film TikTok, and What Gordon Parks Saw is quite a gem. But the selections run from comedy to experimental, and you can spend hours in this "fest," and I recommend doing just that.
Inclusive Media Futures & Understanding the Post Process: My friends at Georgia State (esp. Elizabeth Strickler) have posted their video lecture series: Inclusive Media Futures online for free, for all, and I highly recommend watching it. It's got everything from Kamal Sinclair speaking on the main subject, to Paisley Smith speaking about World-Building. But to me, the hands-down must-watch for any filmmaker is Gwenn Smith-Robson lecturing on the post-production workflow. As any producer knows, getting your head around post-supervision is quite a task, and I find it's never taught well enough almost anywhere. Smith-Robson oversees post for Netflix, and her lesson is a "master-class" in the subject, with great explanatory slides.
Movie Theaters Will Survive Streaming - Says a study in the Harvard Business Review. The study's authors point out that in South Korea between 2015-2018, windowing shrunk from 3 months down to 1 month, and the impact on theater-going was negligible (a 0.8% drop in box office), and suggest the same will be true in the US and elsewhere. They also point out that other feared digital changes (Kindles vs. real books) also didn't negatively impact legacy models. Good signs for cinema-going in this New Year/model.
What's the Fest Landscape Look Like for 21? Chaos. Jeffrey Winter of The Film Collaborative - which places a lot of films in film fests - has a run-down on the state of things in film fest land as we head into 2021, and his opening sums it up: "The first six months of the 2021 Film Festival Circuit are going to be WAY weirder—and even more chaotic—and ultimately, probably even more difficult, than the first half of 2020." His article also has a nice chart with updates on some of the major fests. A much more sober state of the union than the one I linked to last week from IndieWire.
Read Laura Poitras's Open Letter Regarding her Firing From FirstLook: Laura Poitras was fired from First Look Media (and The Intercept, etc.), and she claims it was retaliation for speaking out about their failing to protect Reality Winner, and she questions their integrity. She makes a good case. Read her letter and a recent WaPo article about this as well.
Netflix News Roundup - First up, Netflix is Romancing French Cinemas (and policy makers) by Helping to Restore Napoleon - Talk about playing the heart-strings, what more could they do than help re-master Abel Gance's (oft-restored) masterpiece, and sponsor screenings/talks at the Cinémathèque Française?! Hollywood Reporter has the story. Let's see if they can fit the triptych finale on the small screen. And they might be able to, because they're working some magic lately - announcing that they now have enough subscribers to stop taking on debt. That's huge news, as Wall Street naysayers have often claimed they'll never get to this point. And last, but not least, Netflix announced their diversity and inclusion numbers. They have a lot of room to improve, but the transparency is pretty good.
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Miscellany:
Inauguration Poet Amanda Gorman interview on WBUR - On Activism & Art in Times of Darkness - As mentioned above, everyone I know was blown away today by Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman's poetry reading at the Inauguration. On social media, someone posted this interview she gave to WBUR back in Oct 2020, which they've re-posted today and which I highly recommend. It also blew me away. Only 22.
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