In this lesson, exploring the concept of identity further, we were split into groups of three and assigned tasks designed to highlight and provoke thought about the different elements that make up a person. Each of us had to draw a portrait of one person in our group, interview the other person and record their answers, then be the subject of the interview and portrait themselves.
Unfortunately I no longer have the portrait I drew in class, but I have drawn another one digitally of a different classmate (Joey). I think it went quite well, especially considering my inexperience with digital painting, and enjoyed the challenge of using a graphics tablet and photoshop, both of which are new media to me.
My digital portrait of Joey. I used colours exclusively for the outlines, avoiding black except where appropriate, which was very different from how I usually draw.
I interviewed Rupesh and discovered a lot about his background in Nepal and his motivations for coming to England. It was fascinating to learn about the path he had taken through life, especially since it was so different from my own. The interview also made me consider what questions are actually useful for discovering information about a person, and how to go above and beyond traditional small talk in doing so.
After this exercise we were shown three films - Whole, by William Reynish, A New Man, by Hughes William Thompson, and The Most Quoted Man in the News, by Andrew David Watson. Each looked at identity in a different way; Whole used the metaphor of spirit animals, and showed a woman finding her own identity and getting over a dependency on a friend and obsession with a man. I enjoyed it a lot - the style was unique and entertaining, and the visual metaphors were very clear and comprehensible. Furthermore, the message was one I agreed with: being comfortable with yourself is fundamentally important, even moreso than friendships and romantic relationships. While loneliness can be a problem, in my view it is even worse to feel lonely even amongst your friends because you are not happy with who you are.
A New Man observed a character, his wife having left him, struggling to find his place in life. After a chance encounter in a coffee shop in which he is mistaken for somebody else, he begins assuming the identities of different strangers in order to find fulfillment. Though the premise was interesting, and the film well executed, I found myself disliking the main character and his method of finding himself. To me, it seemed like little more than escapism, which in my opinion is not fulfilling long-term nor an acceptable substitute for being comfortable in your own skin.
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After this exercise we were shown three films - Whole, by William Reynish, A New Man, by Hughes William Thompson, and The Most Quoted Man in the News, by Andrew David Watson. Each looked at identity in a different way; Whole used the metaphor of spirit animals, and showed a woman finding her own identity and getting over a dependency on a friend and obsession with a man. I enjoyed it a lot - the style was unique and entertaining, and the visual metaphors were very clear and comprehensible. Furthermore, the message was one I agreed with: being comfortable with yourself is fundamentally important, even moreso than friendships and romantic relationships. While loneliness can be a problem, in my view it is even worse to feel lonely even amongst your friends because you are not happy with who you are.
The protagonist of Whole, complete with literal unfilled hole in herself, standing in front of her abusive friend.
A New Man observed a character, his wife having left him, struggling to find his place in life. After a chance encounter in a coffee shop in which he is mistaken for somebody else, he begins assuming the identities of different strangers in order to find fulfillment. Though the premise was interesting, and the film well executed, I found myself disliking the main character and his method of finding himself. To me, it seemed like little more than escapism, which in my opinion is not fulfilling long-term nor an acceptable substitute for being comfortable in your own skin.
Charles, the titular 'New Man', being mistaken for somebody else in the coffee shop.
The third and final film, The Most Quoted Man in the News, was a documentary about Greg Packer, a man who has made a hobby of being featured in articles and news interviews. Most people in the class looked at Packer as I did Charles, in A New Man, as seeking escapism rather than satisfaction, and thus generally disapproved of how he has chosen to pass his time. I accept that viewpoint to some extent, but I also find his eccentricism and devotion to his hobby quite charming. Packer certainly seemed happy with his life and the choices he's made, and though it is not a traditional walk of life I don't see it as negative or destructive in any way.
Greg Packer, exhibiting the happiness of a man who has found satisfaction in pursuing his passion.
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