Can you remember the first time you fell in love with a now-favourite podcast, writer, filmmaker, magazine?
Lots of times I can't pinpoint the first revelatory introduction, but some first encounters remain vivid.
I remember hearing the This American Life episode 81 Words on Radio National one weekend afternoon when I was painting the cabin of our old wooden boat. It was 2007, and I'd never heard of This American Life. The story was completely gripping and stylistically different from what I was used to hearing on the radio, and it remains one of my all time favourite TAL episodes.
81 Words traces the long campaign to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders. The producer is Alix Spiegel, and much of the story is told from the perspective of her grandfather, a psychiatrist who was directly involved in the unfolding events. Like all great TAL stories, it has some great twists and very strange scenarios (that I won't spoil for you now!), and the personal connection to the story makes it really special.
I highly recommend this story, and would love some links to your standout first encounters from the world of sound, web, magazines, video, anything!
And while we're still on the topic of This American Life, I came across the Longform podcast with TAL contributor Starlee Kine a little while back. I was a bit hesitant to listen to it as I find her voice and uncomfortable giggling so grating, but there's no doubt that she's made some standout TAL stories (like this one about a haunted hotel and the legendary Dr Phil where she seeks breakup advice from Phil Collins). In the interviews, she gives some great behind-the-scenes glimpses of how TAL works, including her own excruciating experience producing her first story. A good companion piece to Sonya's link to the This is How I Work interview with Ira Glass.
Image republished from the This American Life website.
This is a great pop quiz - but I confess it's one I've been stewing over for the last few days. So here goes...
ReplyDeleteMy love for Haruki Murakami books is no secret, and I remember the book that got me started. It was a second hand copy of 'Noreweigan Wood', which in hindsight is now one of my least favourite titles. It was given to me by my friend and housemate of the time Nicky, we were living together in Seoul and doing different media internships. Every few weekends we'd go to the English section of a big bookstore to pick out new books, which we'd inevitably trade. Sadly she worked during the day, and I worked at night so there were long stretches where, without language, we were alone and I for one, felt a little lost. I was a night-time copy editor so I spent my days exploring different parts of the city, always with a book to keep me company. Nicky bagged 'Norweigan Wood' but I found it totally engrossing. I hadn't read a book set in Japan before, and there was something about the quiet complexity of each character that had me hooked. I also fell in love with scenes that depicted really ordinary parts of life - like killing time, preparing meals and navigating new relationships. I've since come to prefer the more surreal and mind-bending books he's written. 'A wild sheep chase' and the related 'Dance dance dance' are my most favourite of his books.
I read comics and graphic novels from time to time, which started with 'Blankets' by Craig Thompson. My friend Matt and I were working on a story about Skilltesters together, and had organised to meet up at a complex in Chinatown, which had a whole floor filled with machines and surprisingly buff young male attendants. Matt's an illustrator and comic artist and he came with Blankets tucked under his arm, thinking I might like to borrow it. The storyline is quite idealistic, romantic and self-conscious, which I related to very much at the time. It was such a thrill to read a story that was told visually as well as in text, some of the segues between the pages were so creative. It was a really lovely personal introduction to graphic novels. These days I prefer Chris Ware's comics, which can be pretty gritty at times but beautiful too. I think he does an excellent job at depicting modern life, and daily life, and he always takes care to draw in dust in the corner of rooms, which is kind of gross but reassuring too :) I would highly recommend 'Building Stories' if you're interested in Chris Ware or comics.
Very quickly - this might be a good one when Bryn is a little older but good for adults too - I love Hayao Miyazaki animations. 'My Neighbour Totoro' was not the first movie I watched but it was the one that had me obsessed. A giant Japanese movie poster of Totoro hangs in my living room! When I watch a Miyazaki film, I am so surprised by all of the colours and the tiny details and new life forms that appear - I have no idea who has an imagination like that. There's always a tiny creature with a funny sound effect attached to its movement, and despite being cartoons there's usually something spooky and yet childlike about the characters and plotlines. They're best watched in Japanese with subtitles, it's not the same when popular American actors do the voices! I'd also recommend 'Ponyo', which has a hilarious scene about ham and is loosely based on the Little Mermaid, 'Spirited Away' and 'Princess Mononoke' - though the latter two are definitely for older kids.
And finally - you got me onto This American Life VM and I remember the first episode I listened to and really enjoyed - it was actually one Nancy Updike hosted called 'Oh you shouldn't have.'
Phew! That was an essay! Over and out.