In this month's New Yorker there's a marvelous article titled Late Bloomers: Why Do We Equate Genius with Prococity? Author Malcolm Gladwell refutes the conventional idea that doing something "truly creative" requires "the freshness and exuberance...of youth." Click here to read.
The movie The Visitor is now out on DVD and worth a watch. Written and directed by Tom McCarthy (who also did The Station Agent), the film tells the poignant story of a 62-year old Connecticut economics professor whose dismal life is transformed by a chance encounter with a Syrian musician who teaches him to play the African drum. Photo Credit: JoJo Whildon/Overture Films.
Thanks for the movie tip, I haven't read this months New Yorker issue yet (it is sitting on my kitchen counter). I guess I better update my Netflix queue. :)
ReplyDeletePrill, my mother (age 91) says my daughter (age 44) is a late bloomer. She is getting her Ph.D. at UCLA in an amazing new discipline called Conversation Analysis. I've never thought of myself that way but I think we should all think of ourselves at CONTINUING BLOOMERS. Kind of like perennials. (-:
ReplyDeleteBest,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Author of the multi award-winning novel, This Is the Place
www.carolynhoward-johnson.com
Just followed your recent movie and article tips.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to viewing this movie "standing ovation" at a film festival. Have a personal interest in what it takes a writer to develop a great script.
Read the article, found the wife as patron theme very uplifting (though introduced very close toward the close of the article), as in what a very awesome woman his wife must be, because without her, would he have traveled so much, or at all? The shindigs at their home with fascinating visitors might have certainly been very interesting and fun. And the Fountain's all the while had a family to support!
Did you see the GEM story in USA Today, Gringo En Mexico? The guy has a curiosity about Mexico that is very endearing and flattering to Mexicans that has recently transformed into a tres popular tv show.
Brian P
Brian-- "Standing Ovation"? You mean the film written & directed by Stewart Raffill? My "niece" Katrina Jankowski (technically, she's my husband's second cousin, but she and I are very close) co-wrote a screenplay titled "Nail Polish" that did the film festival circuit. The writing is the easy part. (Ha!)
ReplyDeleteI'll check out the USA Today GEM story. I'm giving a mini-speech tonight (I'm part of a panel sponsored by the Women's Caucus for Art-CT) and am practicing, so that's where my focus is going this afternoon.
Carolyn-- I meant to respond to you as well b/c you make an important point here. I agree that we should think of ourselves not so much as early or late bloomers (early or late according to whom?), but as perennials.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Bravo to your daughter. BTW, I'm curious as to what Conversation Analysis is. I'll have to Google the term and see what I can discover.
OH...and Beth-- I love the New Yorker, but the problem with it is that it's relentless--before I've even had a chance to open one issue, another arrives in the mail.