Comments on watching and making films.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

A thought on filmmaking

Today, I had to go run some errands, and, as I was driving out of the neighborhood, I noticed a dead deer on the side of the road. This isn't thoroughly unusual, since lots of deer live around here, and we see them all the time. The dead one isn't unusual because people drive way to fast, and don't pay attention to what they're doing.

Anyways, when I saw it there, I really had a want to drive back to the house really quick, grab my Super 8 camera and a cartridge of film, and go back and document the carcass. I don't know why, I just have that urge inside of me sometimes, that documentarian's need to record things. 

You may think, but why roadkill? Well, this wasn't a squirrel or a possum. It was a deer. A huge deer at that, which is something you don't see everyday. But, it was also the fact that it was very obvious, by the way the deer was positioned on the side of the road, that someone had probably placed it there. It looked like it had been killed on the road, and then drug off to the side, to get it out of the way.

It was awful, don't get me wrong, and I, for one, do not revel in the sight or thought of a dead animal, but something about the way the deer had so obviously been hit, and had seemingly been drug off the road, made me want to record it. It made me feel like there was a statement to be made from all of that. But, I didn't do it. I hate exploiting things, especially that which deserves our respect and our reverence. I wish other people felt the same way, but, unfortunately, exploiting things has become VERY popular these days.

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