Have you watched any of those biographical films that seem to be being made with increasing regularity these days? Films that purport to tell the story of a musician who has died? I've watched a couple over the last year and the experience has prompted me to write this.
we should know better
but we gather round the flat screen
while a life we think we know
through hits and headlines and idle speculation
and where we were when we heard they’d died
is played out before our eyes
The actors get the set pieces perfect
follow the live footage
better than we remember
but the director has their own ideas
and the script has been negotiated through
the demands of all of those who outlived the subject
we know better but still we watch
as if hoping for a different outcome
On both occasions when I began to watch I said to myself that this will not be my sort of film but I persevered anyway. Neither was. We all have our own idea of a narrative and to make a film you have to ensure that none of the people involved who are still alive are libelled so the film must walk a changing line. I think the poem needs a title, any ideas?
I'm looking forward to seeing Iron and Wine in Bristol in a couple of weeks. His new album is well worth a listen.
Until next time.
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